ADL: Antisemitic incidents hit record high in year since Oct. 7
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A woman wears the Star of David and another necklace that reads "Bring Them Home Now!" during a rally against campus antisemitism at George Washington University in Washington. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The United States has experienced more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, according to preliminary data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The big picture: It's the highest number of antisemitic hate crimes, insults, bullying and vandalism ever recorded in any single-year period since ADL started tracking in 1979.
- The incidents, recorded from Oct. 7, 2023, to Sept. 24, 2024, represent a more than 200% increase compared with the same period a year before.
Context: Antisemitic, Islamophobic and anti-Arab incidents all have skyrocketed nationwide during the Israel-Hamas war, which became a flashpoint on college campuses.
- After the Oct. 7 attacks, the Biden administration unveiled a series of new initiatives in response to rising antisemitism across the U.S.
By the numbers: Of the more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023, some 8,015 were verbal or written harassment cases, according to the ADL Center on Extremism report released Sunday.
- Some 1,840 incidents were reports of vandalism, and around 150 were cases of physical assault.
- At least 1,200 of these antisemitic incidents happened on college campuses and another 2,000 occurred at Jewish institutions.
What they're saying: Since Oct. 7, "Jewish Americans haven't had a single moment of respite," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
- "Instead, we've faced a shocking number of antisemitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere."
- "It's just one long nightmare heading into year two," Daniel Karon, who teaches at the University of Michigan Law School and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, tells Axios
Context: The data collected by the ADL's Center on Extremism not only includes hate crimes — defined as violence stemming from a victim's race, color, sexuality, religion or national origin — but also cases involving verbal harassment and speeches on college campuses.
Zoom out: The ADL report comes weeks after the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, shared with Axios new data that showed 2023 hate crimes hit records across 10 of the nation's largest cities, rising 16%.
- Anti-Jewish hate crimes reported to police across 20 major cities in 2023 rose 48% to a new record.
- Anti-Muslim crimes rose 51%, with spikes starting in October 2023.
- Relatedly, anti-Arab crimes rose 136% in a smaller sample, the center said.
Zoom in: Brian Levin, the recently retired director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, tells Axios that antisemitic hate crimes historically rise during Jewish High Holy Days.
- He says antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes also rise every time there's a conflict in the Middle East.
