It Did Not Begin on October 7, 2023: A Century of Violence Against Jews and Israelis

The October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel was an unprecedented catastrophe for the country and the Jewish people in the modern era. More than 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken, according to widely documented accounts of the assault. But while October 7 marked a devastating turning point, it did not mark the beginning of violence against Jews or Israelis in the Middle East and around the world.

The history is considerably longer and more complicated.

Long before Hamas crossed the Gaza border in 2023, Jewish communities had experienced pogroms, massacres, bombings, kidnappings, terrorist attacks and expulsions across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and elsewhere.

Among the earliest incidents frequently cited in this historical record are the Nebi Musa riots in Jerusalem in 1920, the Jaffa riots of 1921 and the widespread violence of 1929, including the massacre of Jews in Hebron. The 1929 violence left 133 Jews and 116 Arabs dead, with hundreds more injured.

The violence continued through the 1930s and 1940s, including attacks in Jaffa and Tiberias and the destruction of Jewish communities during periods of escalating Arab-Jewish conflict in Mandatory Palestine.

The story also extends beyond Palestine.

One of the most significant examples was the Farhud pogrom in Baghdad in June 1941. Over two days, Iraqi Jews were attacked, with the official investigation recording 128 Jewish deaths and 210 injuries. More than 1,500 Jewish homes and businesses were also damaged or looted. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum describes the Farhud as a turning point in the history of Iraq's Jewish community.

Further violence occurred in parts of North Africa and the Middle East during and after the Second World War, including episodes in Libya, Tripoli, Aden, Aleppo and Cairo. The establishment of Israel in 1948 was followed by war, further attacks on Jewish communities and a dramatic transformation of Jewish life throughout the region.

The subsequent decades witnessed attacks such as the Ma'alot school massacre, Kiryat Shmona massacre, Coastal Road massacre, Achille Lauro hijacking, Neve Shalom synagogue massacre, the 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing in Buenos Aires and the 1994 AMIA Jewish community-centre bombing.

The Second Intifada brought another wave of deadly attacks in Israel, including the Dolphinarium bombing, Sbarro restaurant massacre, Passover massacre at the Park Hotel, Hebrew University bombing and numerous bus and marketplace attacks.

The violence did not end there. Jewish and Israeli targets were attacked in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and North America. Among the most notorious incidents were the Mumbai Chabad House attack in 2008, Toulouse Jewish school shooting in 2012, Brussels Jewish Museum attack in 2014, Har Nof synagogue massacre in 2014, Hyper Cacher attack in Paris in 2015, Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue massacre in 2018 and the 2019 Jersey City kosher-market attack.

Then came October 7, 2023.

Hamas and other armed groups launched a massive assault from Gaza into southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people. The attack included massacres in Israeli communities and at the Nova music festival. It became the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

But even after October 7, attacks targeting Jews and Israelis continued internationally.

In 2025, two Israeli Embassy employees were murdered near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. In September, six people were killed in the Ramot Junction shooting in Jerusalem. And in October, the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue attack in Manchester killed two worshippers and injured others; British authorities declared it a terrorist incident.

Australia also experienced the deadly Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack in December 2025, further demonstrating that the threat had not disappeared.

This history does not mean every conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, or every act of violence involving Jews, has the same explanation. The political, religious, national and historical circumstances varied considerably from one incident to another. Nor does acknowledging attacks against Jews erase the suffering of Palestinian civilians or the violence they have experienced.

Rather, the historical record demonstrates one important point:

October 7 did not happen in a historical vacuum.

There is a documented history of attacks against Jewish communities and Israeli civilians stretching back well before 2023. Understanding that history is essential to understanding why October 7 had such a profound impact on Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.

Indeed, the continuing rise in antisemitic incidents after October 7 underscores the point. The Anti-Defamation League recorded 8,873 antisemitic incidents in the United States during 2023, a 140 percent increase from 2022, with more than half of the year's incidents occurring after October 7.

History therefore cannot begin on October 7, 2023.

And it cannot end there either.