The World Economic Forum gathers this week in Davos, at a moment of extraordinary geopolitical and technological flux. The annual meeting, nestled in the Swiss Alps, attracts presidents, prime ministers, chief executives, decision-makers, and opinion leaders who shape the global agenda for finance, trade, and innovation.
The official themes predictably revolve around pressing economic issues. These include the escalating trade dispute between the US and Europe after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on those European states that objected to his proposed Greenland takeover, as well as concerns about AI, energy markets, and the trajectory of the global economy.
It is no surprise that a large portion of the agenda is reserved for geopolitical discussions. Davos has become a diplomatic arena where governments seek to signal priorities and manage rivalries.
Absent from this crowded agenda, however, is a topic that deserves urgent global attention – antisemitism.
Why is antisemitism not on the WEF agenda?
The sharp rise in antisemitic rhetoric and violence around the world intensified after Hamas’s terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, and has spread with the viral ease of a cultural pandemic.
It manifests in shooting incidents, physical assaults on streets and campuses, open intimidation on social media, and in conspiratorial narratives that circulate through politics and entertainment landscapes.
Given the presence of global leaders and the stated ambition of Davos to address global risks, one might expect a serious discussion on how to confront this ancient hatred now retooled for the AI age.
A responsible global forum could use its convening power to articulate a set of norms for combating antisemitism, and to call for a coordinated governmental and educational response. It could highlight successful national programs that track hate crimes, encourage digital platforms to enforce consistent community standards, and promote historical literacy, so that societies understand what unchecked antisemitism has produced in the past.
Davos excels at generating frameworks, task forces, and pledges. A pledge to counter antisemitism would fit easily within its repertoire if there were the will to pursue it.
THE OMISSION of this subject says something uncomfortable about the priorities of global leadership. The forum remains fascinated by the contributions of Jewish scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors, but is much less eager to defend Jewish communities against persecution.
Antisemitism is treated as a parochial concern rather than a civilizational threat, despite its proven ability to destabilize societies, fracture democracies, and normalize bigotry. That indifference carries a price. Hatreds that are tolerated at the margins eventually migrate to the center.
There is still time for global leaders at Davos to correct this. A simple acknowledgment that antisemitism is rising and is intolerable would matter. A commitment to study and counter it would matter even more.
The world has no shortage of difficult problems. Yet, some problems are made harder by silence. To ignore the spread of antisemitism at a gathering that claims to champion global cooperation would be a moral and strategic failure. A world that prides itself on learning from history should not repeat its worst mistakes.
The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and a professor of European studies and international relations in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.