From when did the Anti-Semitism Surge, after the October 7 2023 attack, really occur?

The antisemitism which directly followed the attack emanated from groups who had always hated Jews and opposed Israel, people who were already predisposed to support attacks on Jewish individuals and the Israeli state. The "pundits" you refer to were making a distinction between those legacy anti-Semites and the opposition to the Israeli conduct of the war which began to grow after the tactics of the IDF came under criticism. Many of these people had supported Israel in the past and were not necessarily antisemitic nor anti-Zionist – they simply objected to the way the war against Hamas was being waged. All anti-Semites criticize Israel but not all critics of Israel are anti-Semites.

I've often wondered if there might have been another way for Israel to respond to the act of terrorism which should go down in history as one of the biggest blunders ever conceived. The only thing Hamas achieved was the wholesale destruction of Gaza and the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians. It wasn't even a Pyrrhic victory, unless you consider the global surge of anti-Israel sentiment a win for Hamas. I don't. I think Netanyahu felt compelled to wage pitiless destruction but what if cooler heads had been in charge, politicians who didn't owe their power to the support of the right-wing militarists and ultra-orthodox West Bank expansionists? There was widespread sympathy for Israel directly following the terrorist attack and I think an opportunity was wasted.

Both Victor Orban and Elon Musk have been accused of antisemitism, yet both are seen as friends of Israel.

True. There are some USAmerican politicians who fit that bill as well – Trump, for one. But he wouldn't support Israel if it were run by democratic socialists, if he didn't have people like the Adelsons contributing millions to his campaign, and if he couldn't use it as a wedge to pry Jewish voters from the Democratic Party. I think Netanyahu has cultivated friendships with those sorts of crypto-Nazis with the same goal in mind – political and personal expediency, Realpolitik at work.

Some people see no contradiction with support for Israel coupled with antisemitic language towards George Soros.

That's only because my countrymen are largely idiots.