Analysis · 2 min read
Antisemitic hate crimes during the Gaza war
After October 7, 2023 the number of reported antisemitic hate crimes more than doubled. Two years later the level is still well above the starting point. What has happened — and what is being done?
Short version in the chapter: Antisemitism & hate crimes — overview
Published 2026-07-16
From 240 to 610 reports
Brå hate crime statistics: 240 reported crimes with antisemitic motive in 2021, 280 in 2022. After October 7, 2023, the figure rose to 490 (2023) and 610 (2024) — a doubling.
Preliminary 2025 statistics: about 540 reports. A slight decline from 2024, but still far above the pre-Hamas-attack level.
Where do the crimes occur?
Graffiti and vandalism against synagogues, Jewish schools and cemeteries account for about 45% of reports. Threats and harassment online: 30%. Physical violence: about 8% (Brå 2024).
The Jewish Community in Stockholm reports that the Hillel school has had round-the-clock police protection since December 2023.
The Security Service's assessment
The Swedish Security Service (Säpo) raised the threat assessment against Jewish targets to 'elevated' in October 2023, where it remained throughout 2024. Since March 2025 it is 'slightly elevated' — but still higher than before the Hamas attack.
Säpo points to two parallel threat environments: violent Islamism and the white-power milieu. Both have increased their activity during the period.
What is being done?
The government allocated an extra SEK 20 million to Jewish religious communities for security measures 2024–2026. The Police Authority has set up a special coordination unit for hate crimes against religious minorities.
Sweden adopted a 2024 action plan against antisemitism (in line with IHRA's working definition), as part of the EU strategy.
Counter-arguments and alternative readings
Part of the 2023–2024 increase is interpreted by the Security Police as a 'reporting effect' — the Jewish minority was actively encouraged to report after the October 7 attack, which may explain some of the peak without the actual crime volume changing at the same rate.
Other researchers (Bachner, SUV 2024) argue the opposite: that under-reporting is large and that the reported increase understates reality. Surveys by the Jewish Central Council show that 4 in 10 Swedish Jews considered leaving the country in 2024 — suggesting a considerably deeper concern than the reporting statistics indicate.
Method and uncertainty
Brå changed the categorization of hate crime motives in 2018, which breaks comparability backwards. The 2018–2025 series is internally consistent; series with earlier years should be read with caution.
What counts as an 'antisemitic motive' rests on the police assessment at the time of reporting. Cases later reclassified (e.g. to 'other hate crime') are not always updated in the statistics. That implies both over- and under-estimation in different directions.
What this does NOT say
The analysis says nothing about who commits the crimes. Brå's perpetrator statistics for hate crime are heavily under-reported — the perpetrator is unknown in 70% of cases. Assumptions about the perpetrator group should therefore be made cautiously and always with a source.
Nor does it say anything about the school environment or online hate. The Schools Inspectorate reports and the National Center Against Antisemitism (NCA) publish separate patterns not captured in police hate-crime statistics.