After two Jewish teenagers were chased through the streets of Montevideo by young men hurling anti-Semitic slurs, B’nai B’rith International Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn warned that hateful messages circulating on social networks in Uruguay are fueling rising anti-Semitism and showing how online incitement can spill into real-world threats against the Jewish community.

Read more in the Jerusalem Post.

Attackers shouted anti-Semitic slurs and threatened the mother with paving tiles, the community said as prosecutors probed a possible hate crime.

Two Jewish teenagers were chased through the streets of Montevideo and up to the door of their home by young men hurling antisemitic slurs and threatening to hit them with pieces of paving tiles, in what Uruguayan Jewish leaders described as a shocking antisemitic attack.

The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon in the Punta Carretas neighborhood of the capital and was first reported late Wednesday in local Spanish-language media.

According to multiple reports, the victims, aged 13 and 14, were walking home from school in their uniforms from a local Jewish high school when they were approached by two young men described as apparently in their early twenties.

Recognizing the boys as Jewish, the assailants allegedly pushed them and shouted, “Jews, we know what you did,” a phrase understood locally as blaming them for events related to Israel and Gaza. As the teenagers ran, the attackers picked up broken paving tiles from a construction area and chased them for several blocks, threatening to strike them.

The pursuit reportedly continued to the home of one of the boys. There, the attackers stood outside the house, shouted more antisemitic slurs, and threatened the boy’s mother, telling her that they now knew where the family lived.No physical injuries were reported, but the teenagers were described as deeply vshaken. One parent called the incident a “lynching attempt.”

Police and prosecutors probed a hate crime

The parents filed a formal complaint at a local police station, and prosecutors began examining potential hate crime charges, including “incitación al odio,” incitement to hatred. Police were reviewing CCTV footage from the area, although no arrests had been announced as of Thursday afternoon.

The Central Jewish Committee of Uruguay, the umbrella body representing the country’s Jewish community, said it would fully support the family’s complaint and push for the attack to be prosecuted as an antisemitic offense.

In public statements, the committee said the teenagers “were pursued, harassed, and threatened because they are Jews” and warned that hate speech in the country was “enabling real attacks.” The leadership expressed confidence in the justice system but urged a clear national response to rising antisemitism.

Roby Schindler, president of the Central Jewish Committee, called the incident “outrageous” and said it should serve as a wake-up call for authorities and civil society.

Jewish groups said online hate was spilling into the streets

Regional antisemitism monitors pointed to the attack as another example of online radicalization translating into real-world violence.

Eduardo Kohn of B’nai B’rith Latin America said that hateful messages circulating on social networks “reach their destination” and urged Uruguayans not to normalize such acts. The Spanish-language arm of a global antisemitism watchdog also condemned the incident and called on the public to report similar cases.

Jewish institutions across Latin America documented a sharp rise in antisemitic rhetoric and incidents after the October 7 Hamas massacre and the subsequent Gaza war. Some watchdogs reported increases of several hundred percent in threats, harassment, and vandalism.

Uruguay’s Jewish community on edge

The Jewish community of Uruguay, estimated at roughly 15,000 to 18,000 people, is one of the most historic in South America. For decades, Uruguay was regarded as a relatively safe and tolerant environment for Jews, but community leaders warned over the past year that incidents had increased, from threatening graffiti to harassment near Jewish schools and institutions.

They linked the trend to increasingly toxic online discourse about Israel and Gaza and to the spread of conspiracy theories and extremist rhetoric on social media platforms.

The families involved said their priority was the safety and emotional well-being of their children, who remained frightened but physically unharmed. Police and prosecutors, they reported, assured them that the investigation was moving forward.