The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza triggered the largest global surge in antisemitism since the Second World War. Understanding this crisis is essential context for anyone working on antisemitism today.

The Immediate Spike

Within hours of the October 7 attacks, antisemitic incidents surged worldwide. In the Netherlands, CIDI recorded a 145% increase in antisemitic incidents in 2023 compared to 2022, with the overwhelming majority occurring after October 7.

The spike was not a response to Israeli military operations in Gaza, which had not yet begun. It was a response to a massacre of Jews - celebrated, justified, or used as a pretext for attacks on diaspora Jewish communities.

Patterns of Post-October 7 Antisemitism

Celebration and justification: Open celebration of the October 7 attacks, including the murder of civilians and the taking of hostages. Signs reading "Resistance is justified" and "By any means necessary" appeared at demonstrations worldwide.

Collective responsibility: Attacks on diaspora Jewish individuals, businesses, and institutions based on the actions of the Israeli government. Dutch Jews were verbally and physically attacked for events in a country many have never visited.

Campus hostility: University encampments and protests created hostile environments for Jewish students. Slogans like "From the river to the sea" were experienced by many Jewish students as calls for the elimination of Israel.

Online escalation: Social media saw an explosion of antisemitic content, including Holocaust inversion, conspiracy theories about Jewish/Israeli responsibility for world events, and coordinated harassment of Jewish users.

The Amsterdam pogrom: On November 7, 2024, organized mobs attacked Israeli football supporters after a Maccabi Tel Aviv match in Amsterdam. The violence, coordinated through social media, was widely described as a pogrom - organized anti-Jewish violence reminiscent of historical European patterns.

The Scale in the Netherlands

The numbers are stark: - CIDI: 155 incidents (2022) to 379 (2023) to 421 (2024) - Police registrations: 549 (2022) to 880 (2023) - Prosecutions: 94 (2022) to 181 (2023) - National threat level raised to "Substantial" (level 4 of 5)

The Reporting Gap

Despite these dramatic increases, the data understates the problem. FRA survey data indicates that approximately 74% of antisemitic incidents go unreported. Reasons include: - Belief that reporting will not lead to action - Fear of retaliation - Normalization of low-level antisemitism - Lack of knowledge about reporting channels - Reporting fatigue

Implications

The post-October 7 crisis has demonstrated several things: - Antisemitism is not a historical relic but an active, present danger - Diaspora Jewish communities are targeted for events they do not control - Existing monitoring and response infrastructure is insufficient - The gap between incident volume and institutional response capacity is widening - AI-powered monitoring and classification tools are no longer optional

This is the context in which HateCheck operates. The platform exists because the current crisis has made the need for scalable, legally grounded antisemitism monitoring undeniable.