KINSELLA: Vast majority of antisemitism coming from far-left, report finds

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Does antisemitism come from the left or the right?

In truth, Jew-hatred is a shape-shifter. It isn’t practised by one ideology — it’s embraced, at different moments in history, by every ideology, right and left. It is an ideology unto itself, in fact, one that is older than capitalism, communism, and all the other isms.

It adapts, it changes with the times. It endures, like a pestilence for which we have no cure.

But in the 600 days since Oct. 7, 2023 — when Hamas and Palestinian civilians slaughtered 1,200 Jews in Israel, raped 200 women and girls, and kidnapped 250 Jews and non-Jews — antisemitism has been overwhelmingly seeping out of just one side of the ideological spectrum: The left.

Readers of this newspaper won’t be particularly surprised by that. Since October 7, my colleagues and I have been writing about the unspooling of sanity in the West, and documenting the delusional psychosis that has seized the new generation of Jew-haters: Gen Z and Millennials who overwhelmingly classify themselves as “progressives.”

There’s nothing “progressive” about hating someone because of their faith, race or sexual orientation, you might say, and you’d be right. But the youthful leftist Israel-haters have seemingly convinced themselves that they are opposing a colonialist, settler, white supremacist apartheid state — and, ipso facto, they aren’t antisemites. They’re fighting racism.

It’s no longer a theory, too: It’s a fact.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) is a loose coalition of about 700 mostly American organizations who, as the name implies, oppose antisemitism. It has been critical of antisemitic politicians on both sides of the ideological spectrum — from Democratic Rep. Ilan Omar to Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — and has been attacked by Iranian state media, always a good sign.

In their just-released report, Echoes of the Past and a Warning for the Present, CAM studied the unprecedented rise in antisemitism around the world in 2024. CAM summarized their findings in this way:

“We are now facing the most severe wave of antisemitism since the end of the Second World War, a phenomenon that demands urgent global attention. Jewish communities worldwide have been subjected to an unrelenting onslaught of violence, harassment, and systemic discrimination, fuelled by a fusion of far-left, far-right, and Islamist extremism.”

But the vast majority of the hate, concluded CAM, is now coming from the left. Some of their key findings:

“Far-left incidents surged by 324.8 per cent compared to 2023, rendering the far-left the dominant ideological camp of antisemitic incidents. Radicalized social movements, media disinformation campaigns, and efforts to target Jewish communities under the guise of anti-Israel activism have primarily fuelled this increase.”

“Far-right incidents dropped by 54.8% from 2023, suggesting that while the extreme right remains a threat, it has been eclipsed by the radicalization of leftist movements.”

“Islamist-motivated incidents increased by 44.3% from 2023, underscoring the dangerous convergence of far-left antisemitism and militant Islamist propaganda. This rise can be traced to coordinated propaganda networks, extremist religious teachings, and recruitment efforts targeting vulnerable individuals susceptible to radicalization.”

What is fascinating, and ominous, is how far-left and Islamic extremists have partnered around the world — as they do, for example, every weekend at Dundas Square in Toronto. Marxists and pro-Hamas zealots have made common cause since October 7, and their unholy alliance, CAM reports, has “evolved into a global force, leveraging anti-colonial narratives, certain critical theories, and anti-Zionist propaganda to fuel hostility toward the Jewish state and Jewish communities worldwide.”

Grimly, they point to the most shocking evidence of this of all: The assassination of two young Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. last week — allegedly carried out by a Jew-hating fanatic long associated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. A group that trades in far-left, antisemitic conspiracy theories.

The worst places for the explosion in antisemitic hate? The United States and then Europe, unsurprisingly, given their relative populations. But the country that has had nearly as many antisemitic crimes as all of the rest of the world? Canada.

Concludes the Combat Antisemitism Movement:

“The rise of antisemitism … is not a historical aberration — it is a defining moment in modern history. If the world fails to act now, we risk entering a new dark era in which antisemitism is not only tolerated but condoned, allowed to fester and become institutionalized. Such a process creates a downward spiral, as hate begets hate, and calls for the extermination of the Jewish state can quickly transform into actions designed to harm and to kill Jews.

“We must act decisively, forcefully and without hesitation. The Jewish people have endured persecution for centuries — but they will not stand alone. The time for action is now.”