WORLD - Global Antisemitism Surged in 2025

Tel Aviv University’s annual antisemitism report said that anti-Jewish violence reached its deadliest level in decades in 2025. The university’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute, said physical assaults rose in many places and that antisemitic incidents in Western countries remained dozens of percentage points higher than in 2022, before the war in Gaza.

A separate study in the report examined prosecuted attackers in the US, France, Canada, and Britain between 2020 and 2025 and found many were lone offenders from opposite ideological extremes, including white supremacists and anti-Zionist Muslims.

-themedialine.org, 13 April 2026

Commentary: In general, the world points their accusing finger against Israel because they successfully defend themselves. But that is not what the world wants.

A Google search of the query, “why Jews are different,” reveals: “Jews are considered distinct due to a unique blend of religion, ethnicity, and culture, forming an ‘ethno-religion’ that spans thousands of years of shared ancestry, history, and tradition. They are not defined by race but rather as a cohesive group with common roots in ancient Israel, maintained through historical insularity, religious laws, and a strong sense of collective identity.”

Very true, yet way off. The Jews are the people of the Bible; thus, we must consult Scripture to get the definitive answer to that question: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2).

It is of interest that Peter quotes these words, but with a distinctly different purpose: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Israel is definitely called to be above all nations of the world. The Church, however, is called to “show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

We are to shine our light—which is the Lord Jesus Christ dwelling in our hearts through the Holy Spirit—and proclaim truth to the world, because again, the Bible says, “the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32b).

(See What Should We Think About Israel? Item #2358, $17.99.)