Continued Post-Oct. 7 Spike in Antisemitism: 84% Increase in Incidents on Campus; 21% Increase in Physical Assaults
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) were the two most active organizers or co-sponsors of protests where antisemitic incidents occurred, and combined were involved in over 50 percent of the protests in this category.
“In 2024, hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the U.S., with more than half of all antisemitic incidents referencing Israel or Zionism,” said Oren Segal, ADL Senior Vice President for Counter-Extremism and Intelligence. “These incidents, along with all those documented in the Audit, serve as a clear reminder that silence is not an option. Good people must stand up, push back, and confront antisemitism wherever it appears. And that starts with understanding what fuels it and learning to recognize it in all its forms. All the data is available in the H.E.A.T. Map, highlighting our commitment to transparency.”
Major Findings
· Assaults: 196 incidents (a 21 percent increase from 2023) were categorized as assault, defined as cases where Jewish people (or people perceived to be Jewish) were targeted with physical violence accompanied by evidence of antisemitic animus. Orthodox Jews were targeted in 30 percent of assaults. The 196 incidents of assault targeted at least 250 victims, none of these assaults were fatal.
· Vandalism: 2,606 incidents (a 20 percent increase from 2023) were categorized as vandalism, defined as cases where property was damaged along with evidence of antisemitic intent or where there was an antisemitic impact on Jews. Swastikas, which are generally interpreted as symbols of antisemitic hatred, were present in 37 percent of these cases.
· Harassment: 6,552 incidents (up from 6,535 incidents recorded in 2023) were categorized as harassment, defined as cases where one or more Jewish people (or people perceived to be Jewish) were harassed with language that includes antisemitic slurs, stereotypes or tropes. There were 647 bomb threats. The harassment category also includes many of the expressions of antisemitism occurring at anti-Israel rallies described above.
· Incidents on (or around) college and university campuses rose more steeply than any other location type. In 2024, ADL recorded 1,694 antisemitic incidents on college campuses, which is 84 percent higher than in 2023. Campus incidents comprised 18 percent of all incidents, a larger proportion than in any previous Audit.
· Antisemitic activity also increased by 19 percent in public areas (3,452 incidents) and by 11 percent at business establishments, including Jewish-owned businesses. 860 incidents were reported at non-Jewish K-12 schools in 2024, a decrease of 26 percent. Given the insidious nature of bullying, compounded by the fact that many children may not feel empowered to report their experiences, it is likely that the actual number of school-based antisemitic incidents was significantly higher than the data reported in the Audit.
· Antisemitic incidents occurred in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The states with the highest levels of incidents were New York (1,437) and California (1,344). Their largest cities, New York City (976) and Los Angeles (297), also reported the most incidents.
White Supremacist Propaganda
There were 962 antisemitic propaganda incidents (dissemination of antisemitic print materials and public events) connected to white supremacist groups last year, down 17 percent from 2023. Incidents were recorded in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Three groups (Patriot Front, Goyim Defense League and the White Lives Matter network) were responsible for 94 percent of this activity.
Targeting of Jewish Institutions
While incidents decreased by 14 percent at Jewish institutions, they remained elevated compared to pre-October 7 levels, with 1,702 incidents recorded in 2024. Moreover, assaults at Jewish institutions more than doubled (from 9 to 20 incidents) and vandalism increased by 39 percent (from 148 to 205 incidents).
Jewish organizations were targeted with a total of 627 bomb threats, 89 percent of which targeted synagogues. Congregants were harassed and even assaulted; some anti-Israel groups also escalated their tactics, protesting Jewish religious and cultural institutions on dozens of occasions.
Methodology
The ADL Audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations and evaluated by ADL’s experts.
The complete dataset for antisemitic incidents for 2016-2024 is available on ADL’s H.E.A.T. Map, an interactive online tool that allows users to geographically chart antisemitic incidents and extremist activity. The full dataset can also be downloaded by anyone who would like to take a closer look at individual incidents.
ADL is careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism. Legitimate political protest, support for Palestinian rights or expressions of opposition to Israeli policies is not included in the Audit. ADL’s approach to Israel-related expressions comports with the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
The complete Audit methodology is included in the report on our website.
The Audit offers a snapshot of one of the ways American Jews encounter antisemitism, but a full understanding of antisemitism in the U.S. requires other forms of analysis as well, including public opinion polling, assessments of online antisemitism and examinations of extremist activity, all of which ADL offers in other reports, such as: ADL Survey of Antisemitic Attitudes in America 2024, Campus Antisemitism One Year After the Hamas Terrorist Attacks, the ADL Global 100: Index of Antisemitism, Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience and White Supremacist Propaganda Assessment Focused on Jews and Immigrants in 2024.
The article is published courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
