Speaking to the Florida Jewish community this past week, Sylvan Adams, President of the World Jewish Congress Israel and the Region, warned that Jews worldwide are facing a coordinated, state-backed campaign of antisemitism driven by hostile foreign actors, and urged Jewish leaders and Western governments to recognize the threat as strategic rather than episodic.
The evening was part of the Critical Conversations series held by Palm Beach Synagogue and was preceded by a wide-ranging discussion between Adams, senior Israeli leader Ron Dermer, and Dan Senor on Israel’s security, US–Israel relations, and the strategic implications of rising global antisemitism.
“October 7 didn’t create antisemitism,” Adams said. “It revealed a latent antisemitism that had never disappeared. What we are seeing now is not confusion and not coincidence. It is the resurfacing of something old, now dressed in new language.”
Dermer echoed Adams’ warning, telling the audience that the current moment requires resolve rather than retreat. “This is a time that demands unity, leadership, and the courage to fight back,” Dermer said.
According to Adams, the surge in antisemitic activity across Western capitals is not spontaneous but the result of a long-term, well-funded influence effort led by hostile states and ideological movements seeking to weaken Israel and intimidate Jewish communities globally.
“The demonstrations we see around the world are not always spontaneous, and the narratives driving them are not accidental,” Adams said. “They are the product of decades of investment in propaganda, disinformation, and intimidation by regimes and movements that view both Israel and the Jewish people as obstacles.”
Adams warned that the consequences of this campaign are now visible in increasingly frequent and violent antisemitic attacks across North America, Europe, and Australia, cautioning that Jewish communities should expect escalation if the underlying drivers are not confronted directly.
Despite the gravity of the moment, Adams argued that Hamas fundamentally misjudged the Jewish response to October 7.
“Hamas believed we were divided, and that we would collapse,” he said. “The opposite happened. We have seen unprecedented unity among Israelis and renewed unity between Israel and Jews in the diaspora. That unity is one of our greatest strategic assets, and we cannot allow it to fray.”
Addressing Iran, Adams described the Islamic Republic as the central orchestrator of regional instability and global antisemitic narratives, coordinating proxy forces across the Middle East while exporting ideological hostility toward Jews worldwide.
“We cannot speak about antisemitism without understanding where much of it is coming from,” Adams said. “Iran and its partners are not only waging war on Israel militarily. They are exporting hatred, disinformation, and intimidation far beyond the Middle East.”
Adams also expressed gratitude for US leadership during the war, thanking Donald Trump and his administration for standing with Israel at critical moments.
“Leadership is revealed under pressure,” Adams said. “When Israel needed clarity and resolve from its allies, the United States delivered. That leadership mattered not just for Israel, but for the security of Jews everywhere.”
Adams went on to praise Dermer, describing him as one of the central architects of Israel’s strategic posture during its most dangerous modern chapter.
“There are moments in Jewish history when our fate turns not only on soldiers and generals, but on those who understand power, judgment, and timing,” Adams said. “Ron Dermer has served Israel at the highest levels during the most perilous moments we have faced, helping ensure that the Jewish people are never again left defenseless.”