The number of physical attacks on Jews worldwide last year was more than double those that occured in 2005, according to an annual report released yesterday by Tel Aviv University's Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism.

The 270 assaults recorded took place primarily in schools, in the work place and near Jewish institutions, according to the report, which classifies the rise as "perhaps the most alarming finding that emerges from the 2006 data." Compiled in coordination with the World Jewish Congress and released to the public on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the report states that crime-scene evidence indicates that Muslims constitute a disproportionately high amount of the perpetrators.

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Some 590 acts of violence and vandalism against Jewish targets around the world took place in 2006, compared to 400 in 2005 - marking a record high in anti-Semitic incidents since October 2000, the report found. It said 19 of the incidents were classified as major attacks perpetrated with a weapon and involving intent to kill, an increase over the 15 such incidents recorded in 2005. The total number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2005 totaled 400.

Prof. Dina Porat, who heads the institute for the study of anti-Semitism and racism, cited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and this summer's war in Lebanon as the major factors spurring anti-Semitic violence.

The greatest increase in the incidence of such violence, according to the report, took place in Australia, Canada, Britain and France. Of the 442 incidents in Australia, 47 were violent attacks targeting individuals and community facilities, while Canada saw the number of violent incidents rise from 44 to 74.

The report found that anti-Jewish sentiments have been increasing particularly in the French-speaking areas of Canada.

The level of anti-Semitism in South Africa hit a peak in 2006, when it recorded the highest number of related incidents since officials began keeping detailed records two decades ago, according to the report.

It said 79 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded there last year, compared to 20 in 2005 and 37 the previous year, and that they reached a peak during and after this summer's war in Lebanon. The number of major incidents of violence and vandalism also rose, from three in 2005 to 15 last year, the report found.