IKG Antisemitism Reporting Centre Director: “It is important to report every antisemitic incident”

In 2025, the antisemitism reporting centre of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG Wien) recorded more reports than ever before. Of the incidents documented, 1,532 were classified as antisemitic.

In an interview with WINA, the centre’s director Johannan Edelman reflected on how the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 reshaped his team’s daily work, and why reporting every incident remains essential. He also warned that a significant number of cases likely go unreported.

The reporting centre within Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG Wien) was established in 2019, initially in response to rising conspiracy narratives during the COVID-19 pandemic and the practical challenges of remote work and data protection.

According to Edelman, the situation changed dramatically after 7 October 2023.

“The challenges reached a completely new level, both in terms of the number of reported cases and their severity,” he explained. “We are a small team of three people, effectively far less than three full-time posts, and we faced a doubling of cases.”

He added that the psychological strain on victims reporting incidents has also increased significantly.

Edelman confirmed that the centre received more than 2,000 reports in 2025. Of these, 1,532 were classified as antisemitic under the working definition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

Even cases not meeting the formal definition, he stressed, can still have a serious impact on victims and require support and guidance. The centre routinely directs individuals to relevant organisations and services, as many are unaware of available assistance.

A recurring concern highlighted in the interview is the large number of incidents that are never reported.

“The number of unreported antisemitic incidents has always been an issue,” Edelman said. “After 7 October 2023, with the massive increase in antisemitism, there has been a certain desensitisation. Things that would have been considered shocking a few years ago are now sometimes perceived as almost normal.”

He argued that reporting remains essential for two reasons: first, to ensure victims receive support; and second, to enable policymakers, law enforcement and judicial authorities to understand the scale of the problem and respond appropriately.

He also cited concrete outcomes from reporting, including a case involving an Uber driver that led to engagement with the company’s management on addressing antisemitism-related incidents.

Following the publication of the 2025 report, Edelman noted a familiar pattern: increased media attention is often followed by a surge in antisemitic content on social media and online forums.

The centre monitors such content and encourages users to report it directly to media outlets or platforms. In cases that may be criminal, they also refer material to the relevant authorities.

Edelman also criticised media organisations for failing to adequately moderate antisemitic comments on their platforms, particularly when young people are exposed to them.

“Media companies have a responsibility to act,” he said. “This responsibility cannot simply be shifted onto platform operators.”

The 1,532 antisemitic incidents recorded in 2025 represent a new record for the Vienna reporting centre. These included:

• 19 physical attacks
• 27 threats
• 205 cases of property damage
• 439 mass mailings
• 842 incidents of offensive behaviour

On average, this equated to 4.2 incidents per day.

In terms of content, Israel-related antisemitism was the most prevalent (1,186 cases), followed by Holocaust denial or relativisation (625 cases) and antisemitic discrimination (750 cases). Many incidents fell into multiple categories.

Ideologically, the cases were distributed across different milieus: 28% from left-wing circles, 20% from right-wing circles, and 24% from Muslim environments, with the remainder unclassified.

IKG President Oskar Deutsch described the post–7 October situation as a transformation from an initial “tsunami” of antisemitism into a “sustained flood” during the presentation of the report.

He stressed that Austria’s relative position compared to other countries is partly due to strong institutional efforts to protect Jewish life. However, he warned that without such protection, everyday Jewish life would be impossible, describing the situation as “an intolerable state of emergency” that society must not normalise.