About
Why I’m doing this
I made this website to answer a question on the lips of many Jews today: when should I leave?
Unfortunately, the age-old repugnant theme of anti-Jewish hate is again rearing its head around the world. Antisemitic incidents are growing at rates not seen since the holocaust.
As the tide of Jewish sentiment turns negative, it is natural to consider at what point one’s life, loved ones and livelihood may no longer be safe in a particular location.
While recent attacks on Jews in the US, Australia, Canada and many more countries have caused great tragedies, my belief is that they do not represent a systemic threat to Jewish identity or Jewish life in those countries. This is because these attacks have been enacted by lone individuals, small groups, or foreign actors and have been met with condemnation and protective responses from local governments. Jews are still free and equal citizens in these countries and are able to defend themselves.
In my belief, the clearest sign that a place has become unsafe for Jews is when the government of that place starts to discriminate against its Jewish population. This is my red line and Global Jewish Policy Watch scans the globe each week to identify countries where this is happening.
Josh
How we assess a country
Independent verification
We open and check the primary material. A separate search then challenges each finding and looks for omissions and counterevidence.
Three treatment categories
- 1
- Explicit discrimination against Jews.
- 2
- Discrimination against Jews via unfair and selective enforcement of the law.
- 3
- Enforcement of the law against Jews without evidence of selective or discriminatory motivation.
Practical effects and government attitudes are recorded separately, and so are protective developments.
The Israel axis
A government’s policy on Israel is kept apart from how it treats local Jews.
- A
- No relevant connection to Israel.
- B
- Israel-related background, with no established transfer onto local Jews.
- C
- Proxy targeting: local Jews treated as stand-ins for Israel.
Four signals
Each signal is an editorial judgment, not a numerical score, and names its geographic scope.
Current baseline research finds no government-discrimination warning at the threshold. It is not a safety guarantee and not advice to stay.
A government is proposing or considering a policy that targets Jews, or its officials speak against Jews, but no such policy is in force yet.
A government policy that targets Jews is in force. Seriously consider leaving the affected area or country.
Assessed: there is no known Jewish community and no government policy concerning Jews. Any warning we find still shows here.
Evidence standards
- Every claim lists its sources and dates, legal and implementation status, source lineage, counterevidence, uncertainty and a reasoned verification outcome.
- Proposals, enacted rules and actual enforcement are kept distinct.
Human review and corrections
Every consequential assessment is reviewed by an accountable human editor. Corrections follow a visible process and are logged publicly with their dates.
A single government policy that targets Jews is enough to set a signal. A policy keeps its signal for as long as it remains in force, however long ago it began.
We trace every claim back to its primary source where one exists and cite it directly. Where none survives, we rely on sources with a strong track record and say so, and we weigh each claim by how well it is corroborated.