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During the 2026 Iran war, antisemitic incidents worldwide increased [1] [2] . Combat Antisemitism Movement’s Antisemitism Research Center documented an increase in 34% in global antisemitism in the week following the beginning of the war. The report indicated that close to half of those cases (73 out of 154) were directly tied to the war. These included threats, violence, and conspiracy theories blaming Jews for the war. [1] [2]
On 9 March 2026, the Synagogue de Liège in Belgium was damaged by an explosion. While no one was hurt, some damage was cause to the synagogues' windows and a nearby building. [3] [4] Authorities started a federal investigation into what they characterized as an antisemitic incident. Liège mayor Willy Demeyer described the blast as an antisemitic act and stated, “We cannot allow foreign conflicts to be imported into our city.” [5] [6]
On March 2 at about 10:49 p.m., gunshots were fired towards Temple Emanu-El synagogue in Toronto. While no injuries were reported, the window of the building was damaged in what the authorities described as a targeted hate-related act. [7] [8]
On March 6-7: Gunshots were targeting Beth Avraham Yoseph Modern Orthodox synagogue in Thornhill, no injures were reported to the people inside, but damage was caused to the glass doors. [9] At around the same time, another synagogue, Shaarei Shomayim, was damaged from multiple bullet holes found in the front doors during overnight shooting by an unidenfied individual. [10]
On March 8, 2026, two men who spoke Hebrew in a Santana Row restaurant, San Jose, California, were violently assaulted. The attacker allegedly shouted at them "don't mess with Iran" and antisemitic slurs. Video footage showed the victims being punched and kicked in an incident investigated as a possible antisemitic hate crime. [11] [12] [13]
On March 12, a man rammed a vehicle into Temple Israel, a Reform Jewish synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, causing the vehicle to catch fire and igniting smoke inside the building. Security personnel shot and killed the attacker. A security guard was injured after he was hit by the vehicle and at least 30 law‑enforcement officers were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. The incident is being investigating as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. [14] [15] [16]
On 4-5 March 2026, American right-wing political commentator Candace Owens made several posted on X, including a reshared AI-generated image of US President Trump with Israeli flags, suggesting that the US was “blowing up” Iranians because it’s “controlled by” Jews. [17] [18]
Monitoring content in several languages and across different social media platforms, CyberWell noted a sharp rise in antisemitic incitement and hate speech online following the outbreak of the war, referring, among other things, to antisemitic tropes and the "ZOG" conspiracy theory (Zionist Occupied Government) claiming that Israel secretly controls the U.S. government. [19] [20] Combat Antisemitism Movement’ s Antisemitism Research Center also reported monitoring such a surge, including antisemitic posts on social media to public displays of support for Iranian attacks on Israel, to the use of traditional antisemitic tropes and imagery. [21] [1]