Antisemitic incidents in U.S. surged 360% after Hamas attack: ADL
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Demonstrators in support of Israel gather to denounce antisemitism and call for the release of Israeli hostages, on the National Mall in Washington on Nov. 14, 2023. Photo: Ali Khaligh/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have more than tripled in the three months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, according to new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) preliminary data.
Driving the news: Antisemitic cases involving incidents like physical assault, harassment and vandalism, were higher than the total number of antisemitic episodes tracked in almost every year since ADL started monitoring this data in the late 1970s, the group said Wednesday.
By the numbers: The ADL documented 3,283 antisemitic incidents between October 7, 2023, and January 7, the group's report said. That's a 360% jump from the same period a year earlier.
- At least 628 incidents were reported against Jewish institutions such as synagogues and community centers.
- The report said 505 incidents occurred on college campuses, and another 246 were reported in K-12 schools.
- About two-thirds of the reported incidents could be directly related to the Israel-Hamas war, the ADL report said.
Zoom out: Since Oct. 7, there was an average of nearly 34 antisemitic incidents per day, putting 2023 on track to be the highest year for antisemitic acts against Jews, according to ADL records.
- The preliminary three-month tally is higher than the total number of antisemitic incidents tracked in any year in the last decade, except for 2022, when the number of such incidents reached a historic high of 3,697.
Zoom in: The average Jewish school is now spending $315,943 annually on security, up from $215,560 before October 7, according to a new study by Teach Coalition's Office of Jewish Education Policy and Research.
- That report, based on survey responses from 75 Jewish schools in New York, New Jersey and Florida, found a 47% rise in average annual security costs for Jewish day schools and yeshivas since the Hamas attack.
- These spending increases were tied to a surge in antisemitic threats and incidents, the report said.
What they're saying: "The American Jewish community is facing a threat level that's now unprecedented in modern history," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
- "It's shocking that we've recorded more antisemitic acts in three months than we usually would in an entire year."
The big picture: Most of the nation's 10 largest cities saw major surges in hate crimes in 2023, increases that averaged 11%, according to another preliminary report.
- It was the third straight year of spikes in the big cities' overall average number of hate crimes and came as the Israel-Hamas war sparked jumps in antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes in the last months of 2023.
Of note: The data collected by the ADL's Center on Extremism not only includes hate crimes — defined as violence stemming from a victims' race, color, sexuality, religion or national origin — but also cases involving verbal harassment and speeches on college campuses.
What's next: Anti-Jewish hate crimes are likely to set a record when the FBI releases national data later this year.
- Anti-Muslim hate crimes, which also saw significant spikes in the fall in larger cities, could also exceed the number of reported incidents in recent years.
Editor's note: This article was updated with details from Teach Coalition's survey of K-12 schools.
