Antisemitism, One Year Later

Many posts have discussed antisemitism and the Israel-Hamas war. 

From ADL:

There have been more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, according to ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) preliminary data. This is the highest number of incidents ever recorded in any single year period since ADL started tracking in 1979.

These newly released figures, from Oct. 7, 2023 to Sept. 24, 2024, represent an over 200-percent increase compared to the incidents reported to us during the same period a year before, which saw 3,325 incidents.

“Today, we mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, marking one year since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. From that day on, Jewish Americans haven’t had a single moment of respite,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Instead, we’ve faced a shocking number of antisemitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere.”

According to the ADL Center on Extremism, which gathers reports and tracks antisemitic incident data, these more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents break down into the following categories:

· Over 8,015 incidents of verbal or written harassment.

· Over 1,840 incidents of vandalism.

· Over 150 incidents of physical assault.

Moreover, at least 1,200 of these antisemitic incidents happened on college campuses. In the same period a year before, ADL recorded about 200 incidents, representing a 500-percent increase.

Of these incidents, over 2,000 occurred at Jewish institutions such as synagogues and Jewish centers. More than half of all incidents at Jewish institutions took the form of bomb threats (only 81 bomb threats against Jewish institutions were recorded in the same period in the prior year.)

ADL’s preliminary data also found that over 3,000 of all incidents took place during anti-Israel rallies, which featured regular explicit expressions of support for terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), one of the most concerning antisemitic trends ADL captured since Oct. 7, 2023.

Each year, ADL tracks incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the United States. This data is published annually in the Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. In 2023, ADL recorded an unprecedented total number of 8,873 antisemitic incidents, a 140-percent increase from the previous year.

ADL expects these preliminary figures to increase as it receives more incident reports from partners, law enforcement and victims. Final antisemitic incident data for 2024 will be published in the spring of 2025.

To learn more about our methodology, please refer to the methodology section of our 2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.

ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all. More at www.adl.org.