Sylvan Adams warns Florida Jews of coordinated, state-backed antisemitism campaign
World Jewish Congress leader says hostility facing Jews is strategic and escalating, as Ron Dermer urges unity and resolve
Jews around the world are facing a coordinated and state-backed campaign of antisemitism, the President of the World Jewish Congress Israel and the Region has warned, describing the threat as strategic rather than isolated.
Speaking to the Florida Jewish community at Palm Beach Synagogue’s Critical Conversations series, Sylvan Adams said the surge in antisemitic incidents since 7 October has exposed a hostility that long pre-dated the Hamas attacks.
“7 October 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 a new language.”
The evening included a wide-ranging on-stage conversation between Adams, senior Israeli leader Ron Dermer and commentator Dan Señor, focusing on Israel’s security, US-Israel relations and the global implications of rising antisemitism from Jewish communities.
Adams warned that antisemitic demonstrations and narratives seen across Western capitals are often the result of long-term influence efforts rather than spontaneous outrage.
“The demonstrations we see around the world are not always spontaneous, and the narratives driving them are not accidental,” he 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.”
He cautioned that Jewish communities in Europe, North America and Australia should expect further escalation if those drivers are not confronted directly.
Dermer echoed the warning, telling the audience that the moment demands resolve rather than retreat. “This is a time that demands unity, leadership, and the courage to fight back,” he said.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Adams said Hamas has misjudged the Jewish response to 7 October. “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.”
Turning to Iran, Adams described the Islamic Republic as a central exporter of instability and antisemitic narratives beyond the Middle East.
“We cannot speak about antisemitism without understanding where much of it is coming from,” he 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 praised US leadership during the war, thanking President Donald Trump and his administration for standing with Israel at critical moments.
“Leadership is revealed under pressure,” he 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.”
Dermer publicly thanked Adams for his leadership and philanthropy, highlighting major donations made following 7 October. “Sylvan Adams is one of the Jewish people’s great philanthropists,” he said, adding that Adams’ contribution extends beyond financial support. “He has focused for years on Israeli soft power… But now he’s also taken on the harder fights, and that takes courage.”
Dermer also praised Dan Senor’s role in shaping post-7 October public understanding. “In the aftermath of 7 October, there was a deep hunger for information from someone people could trust,” he said. “Dan created a space where both Jews and non-Jews could actually understand what was happening in Israel, not through slogans, but through serious conversation.”
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