Argentina experienced a 44% increase in reported antisemitic incidents in 2023, mostly following the 7th October attack on Israel, according to a report issued by the country’s Jewish umbrella organisation.
The report makes Argentina the latest country to record a spike in antisemitism following the attack and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Antisemitism watchdogs in the United States, Germany, and elsewhere across Europe have all recorded steep rises.
According to DAIA, which unveiled the report at the Buenos Aires City Legislature, 57% of all antisemitic incidents last year occurred in the three months after the attack.
Furthermore, the organisation found that references to Israel surged as a cause of antisemitic incidents. In 2022, about 11% of antisemitic incidents in Argentina were related to Israel. Last year, the proportion rose to 40%.
And the rate at which antisemitic incidents occurred in person also rose. (Most incidents recorded by DAIA took place online.) In the nine months before the 7th October attack, 72 in-person incidents were recorded. In the three months after, there were 150.
Among the in-person incidents that DAIA logged in its report were the word “Hamas” and a crossed-out Star of David drawn on a student’s desk, as well as a building that displayed a sign reading, “Zionists out of Palestine. This did not start on 7/10. Hitler fell short.”
