The Israeli and Palestinian war sparked an uproar of anti-Semitic attacks and riots worldwide affecting Jewish people in every corner of the world.  

Background 

On October 7, 2023,  a terrorist group based in Palestine, Hamas attacked Israel because of the growing tension between their countries. 

That date is a Jewish holiday called Shemini Atzeret, seen here is history repeating itself as thousands of Jews die on a holy day. 

Hamas launched the brutal attacks breaking through fences in Israel from the Gaza Strip and overtaking local law enforcement while killing those who stood in their way. 

According to NPR, there have been over 10,000 deaths in the wake of the initial attack. 

This includes both Palestinian and Israeli civilians. 

Since then, Israel has struck back with their full military power declaring a war on Hamas and commencing air bombing and mobilizing thousands of troops into Gaza.  

War crimes are being committed on both sides of the conflict as the UN calls for a humanitarian ceasefire so that citizen casualties stop but neither side wants to put down their defenses.  

War crimes are when international rules and regulations about war are broken such as willful murder, torture, rape, and genocide or ethnic cleansing. 

As the war continues, the Israeli government and military have cut off resources to the Gaza Strip where the Hamas headquarters are. 

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces were cutting their food, water, wifi, and other essential items off to try and starve Hamas while also harming innocent Palestinians. 

Turning the Palestinians home in Gaza into a war zone they didn’t ask for; constant bombings and running in fear for their lives in a conflict they didn’t start that the Israeli government is committed to ending on its terms.  

As the war wages on, it is spreading its violent tones all over the world, bringing back waves of anti-semitism that hasn’t been seen this large since the Holocaust. 

Roots of antisemitism

 According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” 

Since 1991, when this data started being collected,  hate crimes against Jewish people are at an all-time high

According to the Anti-Defimation League(ADL), antisemitic incidents across the US have risen 388 percent over the same period last year. 

“Reported hate crime incidents across the country have once again reached record highs, with anti-Jewish hate crimes at a number not seen in decades,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO.

These attacks haven’t just been happening in the US, they have been rapidly increasing in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, South Africa, and the UK to name a few. 

All of these countries have seen a spike in antisemitic displays or attacks in their countries since the Hamas attacks. 

Controversy on US universities 

 Ivy League universities Harvard and Cornell have seen a massive uproar in anti-semitic demonstrations that the school administration has lost control of. 

Threats against Jewish students have been most prominent at Cornell University and  Harvard University. 

At Cornell, one student, Patrick Dai was arrested on a charge of posting twice on social media threatening the lives and security of Jewish students on campus. 

Saying he was “gonna shoot up” a building that is frequented primarily by Jewish students, calling for the death of Jews on campus. 

In another post on an online discussion site, he said he would  “ bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig Jews” according to the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of New York. 

Cornell has condemned his comments and the actions of its students who support his comments but the school has done no real reprimanding of these inexcusable comments. 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said “ Free speech crossed the line into hate speech” while commenting on the Pro-Hamas protests in New York. 

Similar to Cornell, Harvard University has had trouble with its students spreading hate speech and hateful protests over the Israel-Hamas war. 

The university has found itself in a difficult situation because prominent donors are pushing the administration to take action over this blatant demonstration of anti-semitism or they will pull their donations to the university. 

Billionaire hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman said “Jewish students are being bullied, physically intimidated, spat on, and in several widely disseminated videos of one such incident, physically assaulted.” 

Harvard has encouraged students to file police reports with campus security but this isn’t enough according to Harvard donors. 

These universities set the standards for other universities in the United States and we may see the chain reaction of other universities not knowing what to do with their students spreading hate speech on campus. 

It’s been over a month since Hamas’s attack on Israel and its violent agenda has spread worldwide. 

As of November 27, 2023, a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas enters its fourth day with 58 hostages released from Hamas capture and 117 Palestinian prisoners released from Israel. 

This brings renewed hope to the conflicts in Israel and Palestine and hopefully, this momentary peace spreads throughout the world.