Argentina Records Massive Spike in Antisemitism Following Oct. 7 Attack

Argentina experienced a 44 percent increase in reported antisemitic incidents last year, mostly after the Palestinian terror group Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, according to a report issued by the country’s Jewish umbrella organization on Monday.

The Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA) presented the results of the 25th Annual Report on Antisemitism in Argentina to the Buenos Aires City Legislature, showing that Argentina was the latest country to record a massive increase in antisemitism since last fall, amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

According to the report, a total of 598 complaints of antisemitism were registered in 2023, and a staggering 57 percent of all such antisemitic cases occurred in just the three months after the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7.

“There was a significant rise in Judeophobia in universities, and anti-Zionist rhetoric increased by 380 percent compared to 2022, across the country,” the organization said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the report found that some 65 percent of antisemitic acts occurred in the “digital space,” while the remaining number of incidents in the “physical space” marked a significant increase from the prior year.

“The [Oct. 7] massacre increased the number of [antisemitic] complaints, far from generating empathy and condemnation,” DAIA executive director Victor Garelik said during the presentation, according to Argentine media. “On that fateful day, thousands of people were murdered, women were raped, children were kidnapped and massacred.”

Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people, wounded thousands more, and kidnapped over 250 hostages during their Oct. 7 onslaught across southern Israel. The surprise invasion, in which the terrorists perpetrated mass sexual violence against the Israeli people, was the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Israel responded with an ongoing defensive military campaign in neighboring Hamas-ruled Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling the terror group’s military and governing capabilities.

Nonetheless, Israel has been widely blamed worldwide for both the massacre and the ensuing Gaza conflict, helping to fuel the global surge in antisemitism following Oct. 7.

“It is shamefully cynical to blame the Israelis for their own tragedy,” said DAIA president Jorge Knoblovits.

The DAIA report found that visceral hatred of Israel was a major source of the surge in antisemitism, causing 40 percent of last year’s antisemitic incidents in Argentina compared to just 11 percent the prior year.

“In various countries, protests against the existence of the State of Israel have multiplied, manipulating public opinion with unsubstantiated information accusing the victims of being the perpetrators. At the same time, levels of anti-Jewish hatred have increased,” Knoblovits said at the presentation of the report, according to Argentine media.

“Universities in our country were the place where hundreds of students and teachers expressed their hatred of both the State of Israel and, on occasion, the Jewish community,” Garelik added.

Twice as many in-person antisemitic cases occurred after Oct. 7 in Argentina last year than during the prior nine full months of 2023. One such incident after the Hamas massacre was a building that hung a sign reading, “Zionists out of Palestine. This did not start on 7/10. Hitler fell short,” according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Jewish Argentine leaders noted that while their community has not experienced some of the more violent antisemitic attacks seen in the US and Europe, they must be vigilant.

“Although in our country there have not been situations of extreme violence as in Europe or the United States, it is still a concern and a permanent challenge to prevent its escalation,” Garelik said. “We must be vigilant; the task of prevention and clarification must continue without interruption. Clear and timely information dismantles prejudices and stigmatizations. Let us exalt democracy, and continue working towards respect for the Jewish community, for our ideals.”

Argentina has been hardly alone in reporting a surge in anti-Jewish crimes. In the spring, for example, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high. Most of the outrages occurred after Oct. 7, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, antisemitic incidents have also skyrocketed to record highs in several other countries around the world, especially in Europe, since the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7.

“2023 was a pivotal year in terms of antisemitism worldwide,” academic researcher Verónica Constantino said in a statement in response to the DAIA findings. “Following the attack perpetrated in Israel by the terrorist group Hamas and the subsequent war that broke out, antisemitic acts multiplied throughout the [Jewish] diaspora. Even in the moments after the attacks, voices were heard celebrating the massacre. Argentina was no exception.”

Argentina has become a key player in organizing efforts to combat antisemitism in recent months. In July, for example, more than 30 countries led by the United States adopted “global guidelines for countering antisemitism” during a gathering of special envoys and other representatives from around the globe in Argentina.

The gathering came one day before Argentina’s Jewish community commemorated the 30th anniversary of the 1994 targeted bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Argentine President Javier Milei, a vocal supporter of the Jewish community, promised to right decades of inaction and inconsistencies in the investigations into the attack.

In April, Argentina’s top criminal court blamed Iran for the attack, saying it was carried out by Hezbollah terrorists responding to “a political and strategic design” by Iran.

Iran is the chief international sponsor of Hamas, providing the terror group with weapons, funding, and training.

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