Antisemitic incidents in the Czech Republic saw a significant rise last year, particularly in the final quarter of 2023 following the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, which led to the war in Gaza, according to the country’s Jewish community.
In its annual report, the Federation of the Jewish Communities noted 4,328 antisemitic incidents in 2023, marking a 90% increase from the 2,277 incidents recorded the previous year.
The report highlighted that 1,800 incidents, accounting for 41.59% of the total, occurred in the last three months of the year.
“The Oct 7 was immediately followed by a global explosive wave of antisemitism, which also strongly hit the Czech Republic,” the report said.
The majority of anti-Jewish hatred, 98%, was expressed online, mostly through social media.
This included the publication of false, dehumanizing, demonizing, vulgar content, and conspiracy theories and stereotypes, as well as hatred aimed at the state of Israel.
Antisemitism refers to hatred of Jews, but there is no universally agreed definition of what exactly it entails or how it relates to criticism of Israel. The Israeli government, for instance, regularly accuses its opponents of antisemitism, while critics say it uses the term to silence opposition to its policies.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its significant impact on Palestinian civilians has reignited the long-standing debate about the definition of antisemitism and whether any criticism of Israel — from its military’s actions to questions over Israel’s right to exist — constitutes anti-Jewish hate speech.
Despite the rise in antisemitic incidents, the report concluded that the Czech Republic remains a safe country for Jews.
There were no physical attacks registered for the second straight year. However, 18 incidents involved antisemitic threats, harassment, and verbal insults, more than double the previous year. The rest of the incidents included demonizing the Jewish community with conspiracy theories and stereotyping.
The Hamas attacks on Israel resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants took around 250 people hostage.
Israel’s ongoing offensive in response has resulted in at least 39,580 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.