Start with the original report or dataset, identify who produced it, and check its date range, geography, definitions, evidence and limits before accepting a claim. For the October 7 attacks, begin with the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry reports and then read Israeli institutional records, including the Israel Defense Forces’ inquiry portal, as records of what those institutions concluded. For antisemitism figures, treat the Anti-Defamation League’s audits as a U.S. organizational dataset with stated counting rules—not as a global census or a list of criminal convictions.
What makes a source reliable on this subject?
Reliability is not a single label attached to an institution. A source can be authoritative about what an organization said or did while still being limited in scope, method or access. A UN commission, a military inquiry, a government announcement, an advocacy-group incident audit and a news investigation answer different questions. The first task is to identify the question a document actually addresses.
For every source, record seven features:
- Producer and institutional role: Is it an investigative commission, government body, military, advocacy organization, university research team, law-enforcement agency or journalist?
- Publication date and period covered: A report issued later may examine only an earlier window. Do not use a 2024 document as if it counted events through 2026.
- Geographic scope: A U.S. incident audit, an Israel-focused inquiry and a worldwide compilation cannot be read as interchangeable datasets.
- Document type: Distinguish a primary institutional record, an investigation, a statistical audit, advocacy analysis and journalism.
- Definition or counting rule: Ask what the source calls an incident, antisemitic expression, civilian, unlawful attack or other key term.
- Evidence and verification: Look for interviews, submissions, official records, photographs, video, forensic work, metadata checks or other stated procedures.
- Access and data limits: A credible document should disclose missing access, uncertain figures, reporting gaps or other constraints.
When two sources disagree, first check whether they cover the same period, place and definition. If they do not, the apparent contradiction may be a comparison error. If they do, report each institution’s conclusion and method rather than silently choosing one.
Use the UN Commission reports as the starting point for October 7 investigations
Detailed findings: A/HRC/56/CRP.3
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry’s detailed findings concerning attacks carried out in Israel on and after 7 October 2023 are an investigative document, not a conventional news account. The Commission describes gathering evidence through interviews and submissions, public sources, official data, photographs and video. It says it cross-checked open-source material and used forensic examination, visual-media authentication, geolocation, chronolocation and metadata analysis.
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Attribute conclusions to “the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry,” and include the identifier A/HRC/56/CRP.3 when pointing readers to the detailed document. The Commission also records limits on access and investigation. Those limits matter: a finding in the report is the Commission’s assessed conclusion based on the material it could obtain and verify, not a claim that every allegation was independently established to an identical evidentiary standard.
Broader period report: A/HRC/56/26
The Commission’s broader report, A/HRC/56/26, covers events from 7 October through 31 December 2023. Use it for that defined period and cite the detailed report when readers need the underlying evidentiary discussion. Do not extend the report’s conclusions to later events without a source covering those events.
What the Geneva summary says
The United Nations Office at Geneva provides a concise summary of the Commission’s legal findings. It states:
“In relation to the attack of 7 October 2023 in Israel, the Commission found that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups were responsible for the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder or wilful killing, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, destroying or seizing the property of an adversary, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages.”
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This sentence is a summary of the Commission’s findings. For legal context, factual reasoning and qualifications, use the Commission’s reports themselves rather than treating the summary as a substitute for them.
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Read Israeli institutional records for what Israeli bodies concluded
IDF “October 7 Inquiries” portal
The Israel Defense Forces’ “October 7 Inquiries” portal is a primary source for the military’s own inquiries and institutional conclusions. It can establish what the IDF says its investigations found: for example, how the military describes decisions, failures, responses or lessons within its institutional remit.
Its provenance should be explicit in any citation: this is an IDF record, not an independent commission. Compare relevant claims with the UN Commission’s evidence-gathering methods and conclusions. Similar wording in two documents does not necessarily mean they used the same evidence, had the same access or answered the same question.
How to compare an IDF finding with a UN finding
- Copy the exact claim. Separate a statement about an operational decision from a statement about a civilian casualty, alleged crime or legal responsibility.
- Mark the publisher. Label one as an IDF institutional conclusion and the other as a UN Commission finding.
- Check the period and location. Confirm that both documents address the same incident and time window.
- Read the method sections. Note whether the document relies on internal records, witness accounts, open-source material, forensic examination or another method.
- Preserve unresolved differences. If the documents reach different conclusions, describe the disagreement and its evidentiary basis instead of presenting one as an automatic correction of the other.
Handle reporting on sexual and gender-based violence without inventing totals
What the ARCCI material is
The Government of Israel’s 21 February 2024 page about the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) report describes a testimonial and research report concerning sexual and gender-based violence. The government page is a primary source for how Israeli authorities present and transmit that report; it is not itself an independent prevalence survey.
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The page expressly cautions that the report provides no quantitative estimate because the full extent of the events is unknown and may be unknowable. Testimony, documented incidents and an investigative conclusion should therefore not be converted into a percentage, rate or total unless a source supplies a substantiated count and explains how it was produced.
A careful description distinguishes among: an individual account; a documented incident; an investigative finding about a pattern; and a population estimate. Those categories carry different evidentiary implications. If a report does not state how many cases occurred, say so plainly.
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Interpret the ADL’s U.S. antisemitism audit in its own terms
The headline figures
The Anti-Defamation League’s Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2024, published in 2025, reports 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2024. The same audit reports 8,873 incidents in 2023. These are ADL totals under its audit methodology.
For 2024, ADL says 58% of the total, or 5,452 cases, were linked to Israel or Zionism under the categories used in its audit. Present that as an ADL classification, not as a neutral measure that exists independently of the organization’s definitions.
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The audit is a U.S. organizational dataset. It is not a global census, and its incident total is not limited to criminal convictions or cases adjudicated in court. A reported incident can enter an organizational dataset under published criteria even when law enforcement has not made a criminal finding.
ADL’s methodology explainer says the organization changed how it handles some Israel-related expressions after 7 October 2023. That change is essential context for annual comparisons and for interpreting the Israel- or Zionism-linked subset. A rise between 2023 and 2024 may reflect events, reporting behavior, classification decisions or a combination of factors; the two totals should not be treated as a perfectly like-for-like time series without discussing the criteria.
A practical way to cite an ADL statistic
- Name the organization: Anti-Defamation League.
- Name the document and publication year: Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2024, published in 2025.
- State the geography and period: United States, calendar year 2024.
- Give the figure and denominator: 9,354 total incidents; 5,452, or 58%, classified as linked to Israel or Zionism.
- State the qualification: these are ADL audit counts under its categories, not a count restricted to criminal convictions.
- Note the post-7 October 2023 methodology change when comparing years or discussing Israel-related expressions.
Use worldwide antisemitism figures cautiously
The Antisemitism Worldwide Report for 2023 from Tel Aviv University and ADL compiles material from varied national sources, including government agencies, law enforcement, Jewish organizations, media and fieldwork. That breadth can help identify reported patterns across countries, but it does not establish that every country used identical definitions, had equal reporting access or followed the same collection procedures.
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When quoting a country figure, identify the report and year and describe it as that report’s estimate or compilation. Do not rank countries as if their totals were directly comparable unless the underlying definitions, reporting rates and collection methods support that comparison. A country with more accessible reporting channels may record more incidents than a country where incidents are systematically underreported; the number alone cannot resolve that difference.
A source-by-source comparison framework
| Source | Producer and type | Period or geography | Evidence or collection approach | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/HRC/56/CRP.3 | UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry; detailed investigation | Attacks carried out in Israel on and after 7 October 2023 | Interviews, submissions, public sources, official data, photographs, video, open-source cross-checking, forensic examination, visual-media authentication, geolocation, chronolocation and metadata analysis | The Commission records limits to access and investigation; attribute findings to the Commission. |
| A/HRC/56/26 | UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry; broader report | Events from 7 October through 31 December 2023 | Commission investigative process and documented evidentiary analysis | Its conclusions should not be extended beyond the stated period without later evidence. |
| “The October 7 Inquiries” | Israel Defense Forces; institutional inquiry portal | Military inquiries concerning October 7 | IDF investigations and institutional records | It is a primary source for what the IDF concluded, not an independent adjudication. |
| ARCCI report announcement | Government of Israel page describing an Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel report | Events addressed by the report; page dated 21 February 2024 | Testimonial and research report described by the government page | No quantitative estimate is provided because the full extent is unknown and may be unknowable. |
| Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2024 | Anti-Defamation League; organizational incident audit | United States, 2024; comparison figure for 2023 | ADL’s published incident-gathering and classification rules | Not a global census or a tally limited to criminal convictions; some Israel-related criteria changed after 7 October 2023. |
| Antisemitism Worldwide Report for 2023 | Tel Aviv University and ADL; international compilation | Countries covered in the 2023 report | Government agencies, law enforcement, Jewish organizations, media and fieldwork | National figures arise from different reporting contexts and are not automatically comparable. |
Verify a claim step by step
- Write the claim in one sentence. Remove loaded adjectives and separate factual, legal and numerical assertions.
- Identify the narrowest relevant primary document. For Commission findings, use A/HRC/56/CRP.3 or A/HRC/56/26; for IDF conclusions, use the IDF inquiry portal; for ADL totals, use the audit and methodology explanation.
- Check the date and cutoff. Record both publication date and the events covered. A report about 7 October–31 December 2023 cannot verify a later incident.
- Check geography. Label a figure as U.S., Israel-focused, or international rather than allowing a local number to sound global.
- Find the definition. Look for the source’s treatment of antisemitic expression, Israel-related speech, incident, war crime, allegation or other key term.
- Inspect the evidence trail. Note whether the source names interviews, submissions, official records, imagery, forensic examination, fieldwork or another basis.
- Read limitations before drawing a conclusion. Access restrictions, unknown prevalence, changed criteria and uneven reporting can materially affect interpretation.
- Compare like with like. If another source uses a different period, geography or definition, present the figures separately and explain why they cannot be directly combined.
- Quote the institution precisely. Use “the Commission found,” “the IDF inquiry concluded,” “the Israeli government page states,” or “ADL reports,” rather than turning an institutional position into an unqualified fact.
- Preserve uncertainty. If the source says the extent is unknown or may be unknowable, retain that wording instead of supplying an invented estimate.
Common errors and how to correct them
Calling every official document independent
An official page can be highly useful primary evidence of an institution’s position while still reflecting that institution’s remit and interests. Label the publisher and avoid implying external adjudication.
Turning an incident audit into a hate-crime count
ADL’s 9,354 U.S. incidents for 2024 are audit figures collected under ADL rules. They should not be rewritten as 9,354 criminal convictions or as the number of incidents worldwide.
Using a percentage without its denominator
“Fifty-eight percent” is meaningful here only with its denominator: ADL’s 2024 U.S. total of 9,354 incidents, of which ADL classified 5,452 as linked to Israel or Zionism. Omitting the organization, year, geography and category creates a broader claim than the data support.
Comparing annual totals after a category change
ADL says some Israel-related criteria changed after 7 October 2023. A year-to-year comparison must disclose that methodological context; otherwise the reader cannot tell how much of a difference reflects classification rather than incidents.
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Converting testimony into prevalence
The ARCCI material does not provide a quantitative estimate and says the full extent may be unknowable. Testimony can be important evidence without producing a defensible population total.
Ranking countries from unlike datasets
The worldwide report draws on different national sources and reporting environments. Without evidence that definitions and reporting rates align, a cross-country ranking overstates what the compilation can show.
Using a summary instead of the underlying legal analysis
The UN Geneva summary is a useful guide to the Commission’s conclusions. For the reasoning, evidence and qualifications behind a legal finding, consult A/HRC/56/CRP.3 or A/HRC/56/26.
A compact checklist for documentary research and scripts
- Have I named the publisher and its institutional role?
- Have I stated the publication date, event period and geographic scope?
- Is this a primary record, investigation, incident dataset, advocacy analysis or journalistic report?
- What definition or counting rule produced the claim?
- What evidence-gathering and verification steps does the source describe?
- What access, reporting or methodological limits does it acknowledge?
- Am I presenting an institutional conclusion as that institution’s conclusion?
- Have I avoided converting an unknown quantity into a number?
- If I compare figures, do they share the same period, geography and definitions?
- Can a viewer locate the exact report identifier, title and year I used?
Following this process lets viewers distinguish an investigated finding from an allegation, an organizational count from a criminal statistic, and a national estimate from a globally comparable measurement. That distinction is the foundation for reliable documentary work on Israel, antisemitism and the events of 7 October.
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