September 7 cover story of the Toronto Dispatch on the surge of antisemitism in the city. Photo: Twitter.

JNS.org – Antisemitic incidents in Italy increased slightly from 226 in 2021 to 241 in 2022. That’s according to an annual report published by the Milan-based Foundation Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation’s observatory on antisemitism department.

The CDEC report compiles statistical data on economic, social and security conditions, per a release. It found that 164 of the antisemitic incidents in 2022 occurred online, while 77 were offline. The latter included two assaults, 10 threats and one serious vandalism of Trieste’s synagogue.

“The main ideological driver of antisemitic discourse continues to be conspiratorial hatred based on the old trope of an alleged ‘Jewish power,’ ” it stated, “which is modernized and adapted to today’s world, such as the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine or the energy crisis.”

Among young students, 27% agreed fully or partly that Jews own “huge possessions,” while 44% said they did not know. About the same number, 24%, said that Jews had a lot of financial and political power and influence, while 45% did not know.

The report discussed antisemitism in a broader context of an aging and shrinking Italian population, higher unemployment and general malaise. “In a social context of growing worries and disorientation, conspiracy thinking is gradually spreading,” it states.