Hateful words against Jews and Israel lead to physical violence. The proof is in the eleven attacks documented by the CDEC Foundation’s Anti-Semitism Observatory between January and September 2025. \u201cAn alarming figure, but one that does not surprise us,\u201d comments Stefano Gatti, a researcher at the Observatory. \u201cThe demonization of Jews and \u2018Zionists\u2019 by politicians, influencers, and the media generates hostility and then violence. In 2025, we have seen a clear increase in aggressive acts: since the beginning of the year, including November, we have recorded 14 or 15 physical attacks.\u201d The researcher continues, saying that the comparison with data from the last decade is striking: \u201cFrom 2012 to 2016, we recorded only one isolated case of assault. It’s an incredible increase, and I fear it won’t end there.\u201d
According to the report, between January and September there were 766 incidents of anti-Semitism, 82 more than in the same period in 2024. The increase mainly concerns acts committed in the real world, with 238 incidents including threats, discrimination, graffiti, vandalism, and physical assaults. The report speaks of a \u201csharp increase in cases in the real world\u201d and a context in which hostility towards Jews more easily translates into concrete behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hatred against Israel<\/strong> The perpetrators of the attacks<\/strong>
Anti-Semitism linked to Israel is the most prevalent form, with 390 incidents. The report describes the use of the term \u201cZionist\u201d as a generalizing and derogatory label, loaded with anti-Jewish stereotypes such as cruelty, conspiracy, and dehumanization. This distortion, also spread via social media, is often the source of threats and hostile acts.
Discrimination is another significant element. Gatti explains that, after demonization, exclusion follows: \u201c\u2018I don’t want Zionists\u2019: I won’t serve you in my restaurant, or worse.\u201d The report confirms this trend: increasingly, Jewish citizens, or those perceived as such, face exclusion and hostile treatment in the workplace, schools, and healthcare settings, where hostility translates into concrete acts of rejection.
The report describes a climate defined as \u201cpopular anti-Semitism,\u201d that is, a growing social acceptance of anti-Jewish sentiments. This phenomenon is found in areas such as schools, universities, politics, culture, and entertainment, where \u201calarming\u201d levels of indifference are observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gatti also highlights the recurrence of the perpetrators’ background: “The perpetrators of physical attacks are linked to the Arab-Islamic world and second generations. This phenomenon affects not only Italy but Europe as a whole. This is a fact that must be reflected upon in order to understand how to intervene, including with the help of religious leadership.\u201c In some cases, he adds, the reaction of those around is revealing: \u201dDuring the attack in Milan by a Pakistani man against a group of Haredi Jews, it appears that some of those around him were inciting him.\u201c This is a sign that Gatti describes as \u201dsignificant of the general climate.”
Alongside offline incidents, the radicalization of online language remains evident: 510 incidents occurred on social media and digital platforms, with insults, threats, comparisons with Nazism, and references to the Holocaust used as tools of derision or threat.
The picture painted by the Observatory for the first nine months of 2025 is therefore one of growing anti-Semitism, both in terms of numbers and intensity of acts. \u201cIt is a disturbing phenomenon,\u201d concludes Gatti, \u201cbecause we have never recorded such high numbers and there is no sign of it stopping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n