In 2023, Germany saw a record 4,886 anti-Semitic incidents, largely driven by solidarity with Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. But 2024 eclipsed that figure: 8,627 cases, a 77 percent increase, averaging nearly 24 incidents per day, up from 13 daily in 2023.

The number of anti-Semitic incidents directly targeting Jews or Israelis nearly tripled in two years, rising from 331 in 2022 to 966 in 2024. For a nation that once institutionalized Jew hatred and vowed “never again,” these numbers are deeply alarming.

The June 4 report by the Federal Association of Anti-Semitism Research and Information noted:

Anti-Semitism related to Israel was the most common form of anti-Semitism in terms of content, with 5,857 incidents in 2024. This is double the number of incidents in 2023, which was 2,518. The increase in anti-Semitism related to Israel was not accompanied by a decline in other forms of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism related to Israel does not replace other forms of anti-Semitism but rather connects more strongly with them and complements them.

The association reported:

• 1,802 anti-Semitic gatherings, about 35 per week, up from 16 weekly the year before
• 8 cases of extreme violence, 186 attacks, and 300 threats
• 544 right-wing extremist anti-Semitic incidents, the highest number since national records began in 2020

While some hoped that the increased attacks on Jews and anti-Semitic hatred in the weeks following Oct. 7, 2023, would gradually drop, the report concluded that the massacre began a “new era” for Jew hatred.

“Call this 1930s-style anti-Semitism, if you will,” Brad Macdonald wrote in 2009. “And history shows that unless it is checked, it leads directly to Jews being gassed and tossed like worthless fodder into ovens, or what in hindsight might be called 1940s-style anti-Semitism.”

What we saw on October 7 was 1940s-style anti-Semitism. If it remains unchecked, we will see a lot more of this barbarity on a much larger scale globally.

“How often have we heard that history repeats itself?” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry asked in “The Law of History.” “It does—time and time again. If we live the same lifestyles our forefathers did, we will attain virtually the same result—good or bad. History becomes prophecy. History prophesies the fate of nations, whether they will thrive or collapse! This is ‘a law of history.’ It is not about luck or happenstance. It is a law of history. If we break that law, the law breaks us!”

This lesson is particularly applicable when it comes to attacks on Jews. As we wrote in our January 2024 Trumpet issue:

Throughout history, rising anti-Semitism has been a symptom of a society in crisis. The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland wrote, “Jews have often functioned as a canary in the coal mine: When a society turns on its Jews, it is usually a sign of wider ill health” (March 30, 2018). It is no coincidence that the world’s worst-ever attack on Jews, numbers-wise, took place at the same time as the world’s most destructive war.

The hatred of Jews now spreading in Germany and across the world is a grave and urgent warning—not only of the danger of another Holocaust but of global conditions rapidly aligning for another world war. History follows patterns. There is cause and effect—a law of history. If we refuse to learn from it, historical evils will not only haunt us but intensify, and the consequences this time will be far more devastating.

To many, the insanity of evil spreading in our world is impossible to comprehend. But the Bible reveals the cause of these horrors and the solution. The Apostle Paul said Satan was the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Apostle John noted that Satan has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9). Ephesians 2:2 says that he works in the minds of people. Jesus Christ identified him as the source of human evil (John 8:44). But why does he target Jews, and why has God not intervened to stop this and other monstrous evils?

The answer is explained in detail in “Truth and Lies About Anti-Semitism.” For a biblical explanation about the source of this satanic evil, and additional literature to help you understand God’s plan for mankind, read “Truth and Lies About Anti-Semitism.”