Antisemitic incidents in Italy surged to a record level in 2025, with nearly 1,000 cases reported nationwide, underscoring growing concerns about online radicalization and the normalization of hate speech in public life.

According to new data released by the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation (CDEC), 963 antisemitic incidents were documented last year — the highest total since the organization began systematically tracking such cases.

The figure marks a sharp rise from previous years. CDEC recorded 241 incidents in 2022, 453 in 2023, and 877 in 2024, reflecting what researchers describe as a sustained and accelerating upward trend.

“This is no longer a marginal phenomenon,” CDEC researchers wrote in their annual report. “Antisemitic discourse is increasingly becoming normalized in Italian society.”

The majority of incidents in 2025 occurred in digital spaces. CDEC reported 643 cases involving social media platforms, messaging apps, and online forums, where conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial, and anti-Jewish slurs circulate with limited oversight.

Physical and in-person incidents accounted for another 320 cases, including graffiti, vandalism, threats, and assaults.

Among the most serious incidents last year were the defacement of synagogues in Rome with Nazi slogans, physical attacks against Jewish individuals in Milan, and repeated verbal harassment in Venice, according to the report.

The rise in incidents coincides with troubling shifts in public opinion. A survey conducted last September found that roughly 15 percent of Italians consider attacks on Jews to be “justifiable” under certain circumstances — a finding CDEC researchers described as “deeply alarming.”

Experts say such attitudes reflect broader polarization in Italian politics and society, fueled in part by global conflicts, misinformation, and the erosion of trust in institutions.

“Once violence is framed as understandable or defensible, the moral barriers collapse,” said a senior CDEC analyst.

Beyond the raw numbers, CDEC’s report highlights what it calls a “shrinking civic space” for Jewish life in Italy. Researchers warn that antisemitic rhetoric is increasingly tolerated in mainstream discourse, undermining constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and equality.

“In many environments — especially online — being openly Jewish is no longer perceived as fully legitimate,” the report states.

This normalization, analysts argue, makes it harder for authorities to intervene early and for victims to seek redress.

The findings are likely to intensify pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government to strengthen enforcement against hate crimes and regulate online platforms more aggressively.

While Italian officials have repeatedly condemned antisemitism, critics say government responses remain fragmented and reactive.

Opposition lawmakers have called for expanded monitoring of extremist networks, tougher penalties for online incitement, and greater funding for education.

Italy’s spike mirrors broader patterns across Europe, where Jewish communities have reported rising hostility in the wake of geopolitical crises and domestic political upheaval. But CDEC researchers caution that Italy’s trajectory is particularly concerning because of the speed of the increase and the apparent shift in social norms.

“Numbers tell only part of the story,” the report concludes. “The deeper danger lies in a society that is slowly learning to tolerate intolerance.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)