‘Against All Antisemitism’: A solidarity vigil outside a synagogue in Berlin, Germany, following the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of Israel. Photo: Reuters/Liesa Johannssen

An international task force of Jewish organizations focused on combating global antisemitism has highlighted the spiral in attacks on Jews since the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, warning that it expects more “such worrying reports from other Jewish communities across the globe in the days and weeks ahead.”

A statement released on Tuesday by the J7 — the “Large Communities Task Force Against Antisemitism” — said that it appreciated “the strong support of our governments and our law enforcement agencies for our Jewish communities,” but added that “regrettably, our communities are seeing a shocking increase in antisemitic incidents, which foreshadows a troubling period ahead.”

The J7 statement noted that there had been a “500 percent increase in documented antisemitic incidents” in the United Kingdom since Oct. 7. An analysis published on Monday by the Community Security Trust (CST), the UK Jewish community’s voluntary security organization, said that “at least 320 antisemitic incidents across the UK” had been recorded compared with “47 antisemitic incidents over the same 10 days in 2022.”

“This means that we have seen an increase of 581 percent this year compared to the same period last year,” the CST underlined.

The statement also noted that in “the United States, there have been 107 antisemitic incidents since October 7. In France, the Minister of Interior reported 189 antisemitic incidents, which led to 65 arrests. In Berlin, Germany, Stars of David were painted on the homes of Jews.”

“We expect such worrying reports from other Jewish communities across the globe in the days and weeks ahead,” the J7 warned.

The statement urged governments to continue their denunciations of antisemitism, demanding the prosecution of “perpetrators of antisemitic incidents to the full extent of the law.”

Formed in July on the initiative of the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the J7 task force includes Crif, the representative body of Jews in France; DAIA, the umbrella body representing Argentinian Jews; the Central Council of Jews in Germany; the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs (CIJA) in Canada; the Board of Deputies of British Jews; and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).

The J7 is loosely modeled on the G7 intergovernmental forum, which brings together the world’s advanced democracies and specifies a country’s population size as one condition of membership. All the countries represented in the J7 are home to Jewish communities of 100,000 or more.