Anti-Semitism reached an unprecedented level in the Czech Republic in 2024, in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, according to the annual report of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the country.
The organization reports 4,694 anti-Semitic incidents recorded last year, an increase of 8.5% compared to 2023, a year which had already seen a 90% explosion after the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas in southern Israel.
For Petr Papoušek, president of the Czech Federation, the Czech Republic is not immune to “an explosive global wave of antisemitism” triggered immediately after the Hamas attack. According to him, expressions of hatred against Jews, particularly through the demonization of Israel, have become “socially acceptable” and now occupy a dominant place in the public sphere.
The report highlights an “unprecedented synergy” between the far right, the far left, Islamist movements and disinformation media, all united, according to Papoušek, by “hatred of Israel, fueled by myths and conspiracies inherited from traditional anti-Semitism”.
While the majority of incidents—96%—occurred online, primarily via social media, 2024 was also marked by a worrying trend: four physical assaults, all linked to the conflict in the Middle East, whereas none had been recorded the previous year. In addition, there were twelve acts of vandalism against Jewish cemeteries, monuments, or community property, double the number recorded in 2023.
For the Czech Jewish community, these figures demonstrate a change of scale and a climate of unashamed hatred, fueled by the conflict in the Middle East but rooted in much
