Antisemitism during the 2026 Iran war

During the 2026 Iran war, antisemitic incidents worldwide increased.^[1][2] Combat Antisemitism Movement’s (CAM) 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 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 13, 2026, an attack damaged a synagogue on A.B.N. Davidsplein in Rotterdam. While no injuries were reported, the explosion did cause a fire. International outlets reported about the incident as part of several suspected antisemitic attacks following the outbreak of the Iran war.^[7][8][9]

On March 14, 2026, a Jewish school in Amsterdam was damaged by an explosion, characterised by the city's mayor Femke Halsema as "a deliberate attack against the Jewish community". She also stated that "Jewish people in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. This is unacceptable.” This incident was reported alongside the incidents Rotterdam and Liège targeting Jewish institutions following the outbreak of the Iran war.^[10][11][12]

On March 24, 2026, four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish emergency medical service, were set on fire in Golders Green, London. Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley said that officers were investigating the possibility that a group linked to the Iranian government could be behind the attack. The group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia claimed responsibility, but police have not yet confirmed the veracity of their statement.^[13]

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.^[14][15]

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.^[16] 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.^[17]

On March 5, 2026, activists staged a performance on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House in Washington, D.C., depicting figures representing Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, and Jeffrey Epstein consuming a mock infant. According to The Times of Israel, the display was described as invoking the antisemitic “blood libel” trope, and included banners referencing the “Zionist World Plan” and a “pedophile blackmail dinner.”^[18] The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington characterised it as 'a sickening display of full-throated antisemitism',^[19] whereas the American Jewish Committee said 'Blood libel was on full display today at Union Station in Washington, D.C. ... this was nothing less than the revival of one of the oldest and most dangerous antisemitic tropes in history.'^[20] In an opinion piece for the Washington Jewish Week, Pamela S. Nadell wrote that images of leaders consuming “blood and organs” echo the medieval blood libel.^[21]

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.^[22][23][24]

On March 12, a Lebanese-American 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.^[25][26][27]

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.^[28][29]

Monitoring content in several languages and across different social media platforms, CyberWell said there was a sharp rise in antisemitic incitement and online hate speech following the outbreak of the war.^[30][31][32] One example presented by CyberWell is the AI-generated song "Boom Boom Tel Aviv", that had originally been released online and gained popularity around the time of the 12‑day war in 2025,^[33][34][35] and saw massive resurgence after the war started, both offline^[36] and offline. CyberWell said that the song was shared online alongside posts celebrating missile strikes on Israeli cities as a part of a broader surge in online antisemitic incitement.^[30]

CAM's Antisemitism Research Center also reported monitoring a surge in antisemitic content online, including posts on social media that publicly support for Iranian attacks on Israel.^[37][1]

CyberWell said antisemitic tropes and the Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG) conspiracy theory had been published on social media during the war, claiming that Israel secretly controls the U.S. government.^[31][32] CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center also reported the circulation of antisemitic posts on social media using traditional antisemitic tropes and imagery.^[37][1]

• New antisemitism
• Timeline of antisemitism in the 21st century
• Antisemitism during the Gaza war
• Antisemitism by country
• 2026 Iranian diaspora protests#Violence towards diaspora protesters