At an anti-Israel demonstration in Germany in February 2025, protesters chanted antisemitic slogans and called for violence against Jews. Photo: Foto: picture alliance / Anadolu

I am in Berlin today as a proud Jew with a stark warning: 80 years after the bloodiest war in history — and the systematic genocide of six million Jewish people and millions of others — the promise of “never again” is being severely tested. 

This city, steeped in both unimaginable horror and the commitment to remembrance, is home to the echoes of my family’s memory and those of so many in our community. Their stories are commemorated in memorials, museums, and official German statements of responsibility.  

Yet, in recent years, an unprecedented tsunami of antisemitism has surged across Europe and around the world, threatening to pull us back into our collective past. We cannot — and will not — allow it to happen. In response, the leaders of the seven largest Jewish communities outside Israel: Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States formed the J7 –The Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism.

The complacency we’re witnessing today has dangerous historical parallels. Antisemitism has always been an early warning sign for broader democratic backsliding. This isn’t just a Jewish problem — it’s a threat to Europe as a whole and the values established in the aftermath of the Holocaust. 

Our latest findings confirm what we’ve experienced firsthand: dramatic increases in both total antisemitic incidents and incidents per Jewish capita. This surge accelerated after the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. 

The numbers are stark. Violent incidents against Jews increased 185% in France between 2021 and 2023, 82% in the UK, and 75% in Germany. Most recently, 2024 marked a staggering 317% increase in antisemitic incidents in Australia, while the United States reached another all-time record since we began recording antisemitic incidents at ADL, with a total tabulated 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the country. 

Perhaps most alarming is the rate of incidents per the number of Jewish residents.

In Germany, there were more than 38 antisemitic incidents for every 1,000 Jewish residents in 2023. The UK followed with 13 incidents per 1,000 Jewish residents. These figures reveal the growing vulnerability of Jewish communities worldwide. 

What’s particularly disturbing about this moment is how antisemitism has become normalized in public discourse. Jewish students face harassment on university campuses and schools. Synagogues require armed guards. Many think twice before wearing visibly Jewish symbols. These aren’t isolated incidents, but symptoms of a broader societal failure. When hatred against Jews becomes acceptable, it undermines the very foundations of democratic societies that Europe rebuilt after World War II. 

This crisis demands concrete action. The J7 Task Force is calling on all countries to adopt and implement common sense policies and programs such as those outlined in the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism. These guidelines will help governments, institutions, and civil society partners develop practical policies to ensure the safety, inclusion, and dignity of Jewish communities worldwide. 

We once thought we had reached — or were at least close to reaching — the stage of remembering antisemitism as opposed to living it. Instead, today our communities are forced to rebuild our security and defenses against an age-old hatred that has found its way back into the mainstream. But despite this challenge, Jewish communities remain resilient. 

The most meaningful tribute to Holocaust victims isn’t found in monuments, but in ensuring that Jewish communities can thrive without fear in every society. Eighty years after liberation, our reality requires more than commemorations — it demands action. 

The choice is clear. Eighty years later, the time to act is now.