The impact of the war with Iran on antisemitic discourse

The document analyzes a 68 percent increase in antisemitic social media content following military strikes on Iran in February 2026. It identifies a shift toward narratives of Jewish political control and backlash against Israel, noting that this online escalation coincided with at least eight offline antisemitic attacks in March 2026 across five countries.

• Following the 28 February 2026 US and Israeli strikes on Iran, there was a 68 percent increase in online antisemitic content, rising from 34,060 posts the previous week to at least 57,133 posts in the week immediately following the outbreak of war.
• The narrative of 'backlash to Israel and Zionism' saw the most significant proportional growth, increasing from approximately 15 percent of the antisemitic dataset before the war to about 28 percent afterward.
• The most voluminous narrative both before and after the strikes involved tropes of Jewish political control, including claims that Western governments serve a 'manipulative Jewish elite' and the use of the white nationalist term 'ZOG' (Zionist occupied government).
• There was a significant increase in interpersonal antisemitic hate speech, characterized by slurs and insults directed at Jewish social media users and commentators, including the use of the term 'zogbot'.
• The escalation in online rhetoric correlated with a rise in offline violence; in March 2026, at least eight antisemitic attacks were recorded across five countries, including targets such as synagogues and Jewish institutions in the US, Canada, Belgium, and the UK.
• While narratives like classic antisemitism, white nationalist content, and media control claims increased in absolute volume, their overall share of the conversation decreased as they were eclipsed by political influence and Israel-backlash narratives.
• Certain historical conspiracy theories, such as those involving a secret alliance between Jews and Freemasons or 'Khazarian' claims, saw a slight decrease in absolute volume as users focused on more modern political influence claims.

APA

Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2026). The impact of the war with Iran on antisemitic discourse. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-impact-of-the-war-with-iran-on-antisemitic-discourse/

Chicago

Institute for Strategic Dialogue. The impact of the war with Iran on antisemitic discourse. 2026. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-impact-of-the-war-with-iran-on-antisemitic-discourse/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |title=The impact of the war with Iran on antisemitic discourse |date=22 April 2026 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-impact-of-the-war-with-iran-on-antisemitic-discourse/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforstrategicdialogue2026impact, author = {{Institute for Strategic Dialogue}}, title = {{The impact of the war with Iran on antisemitic discourse}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-impact-of-the-war-with-iran-on-antisemitic-discourse/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }