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BDS Global Impact

Fact

The October 7 massacre was not just a turning point for Israel—it triggered a terrifying new wave of antisemitism and anti-Israel violence in nearly every corner of the globe. Iran’s allies seized the moment, mobilizing BDS activists and anti-Israel networks to unleash hatred and physical danger as never before.

1. Explosion of Antisemitism​

  • In the immediate aftermath of October 7 and throughout Israel's defensive operations, Jews worldwide suffered a historic and terrifying rise in hate crimes. In the United States, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported a 388% increase in antisemitic incidents. Across Canada, hate crimes surged by 670%, including arson attacks on synagogues, shootings at Jewish schools, and brazen threats against Jewish businesses and daycare centers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it “a terrifying rise in antisemitism here at home” .

  • In London, antisemitic hate crimes soared by 1,350% after the start of the war, forcing British police to intervene. In France, President Macron warned of a 350% spike in antisemitic incidents, marked by stars of David painted on buildings, stabbings, attempted arson at synagogues, rapes, and even attacks on Jewish children .

2. University Campuses—Ground Zero for BDS-driven Antisemitism​

  • BDS and its campus arms (such as "Students for Justice in Palestine") coordinated violent, hateful protests targeting Jewish students at Columbia, Harvard, Yale, MIT, UCLA, and over 142 American colleges. These protests featured explicit calls for violence, physical intimidation, the display of Hezbollah flags, and desecration of university property with anti-Israel and antisemitic symbols. Jewish students were told by rabbis and administrators to stay home for their own safety; some faculty and alumni demanded expulsions of the worst offenders.

  • On nearly every continent, BDS-led protests and hate campaigns disrupted Jewish life—at NYU’s campuses in Buenos Aires and Berlin, at the University of Tokyo, at the University of Sydney, Paris's Sorbonne, and more—echoing the propaganda and psychological warfare tactics pioneered by Iran and Hamas.

3. Incitement, Harassment, and Real-life Attacks​

  • Synagogues burned or defaced in Armenia, France, Switzerland, Spain, and Australia. Jewish homes marked with the Star of David in Berlin and elsewhere. Jewish people stabbed, assaulted, and threatened on the streets of Zurich, London, Davos, and Sydney. In Brazil, Hezbollah-directed plots aimed to murder Jews and attack communal targets .

  • Removal and destruction of hostage posters became a symbol of antisemitic hatred in major world cities. The American Jewish Committee and the ADL identified these acts as manifestations of basic inhumanity—a refusal to even acknowledge Jewish suffering. In some cases, those caught removing posters faced criminal charges or job loss, revealing the deep societal rift and the normalization of antisemitism in the name of anti-Israel activism .

  • Pro-Arab rallies worldwide were filled with chants advocating for Israel’s destruction, with slogans like “from the river to the sea”—a recognized call to annihilate the Jewish state. Criminal investigations have revealed these rallies as incubators for hate speech and actual violence .

4. The Jewish Diaspora—Victims and Defenders​

  • Despite the terror, the Jewish world responded with unprecedented solidarity. Massive rallies in Washington and New York drew hundreds of thousands in support of Israel. Jewish communities raised over $1.4 billion for Israel’s defense, and thousands volunteered to help in Israel or to care for those traumatized by the war. As antisemitism mounted, offers to host threatened families, transfer students, and build networks of advocacy showed the unbreakable bond between Israel and Jews everywhere .

The Danger of BDS​

  • BDS is not merely a campaign of “boycotts”—it is weaponized activism whose rhetoric spills into physical attacks, intimidation, economic harm to Jewish-owned businesses, and the systemic marginalization of Jews and Israel supporters globally. University presidents and politicians who failed to condemn genocidal rhetoric faced public ire—and, ultimately, pressure to resign because the world saw the cost of appeasing hate.