Continued post-Oct. 7 spike; more than doubling of physical assaults and incidents related to Israel and Zionism
Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2025 …The massive spike in antisemitic incidents following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel continued in 2024, with totals again exceeding any other annual tally in the past 46 years. Nationally, this is the fourth year in a row that antisemitic incidents increased and broke the previous all-time high. It is also the first time that incidents containing elements related to Israel or Zionism made up a majority of all incidents (58 percent of the total).
There were 9,354 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism across the country in 2024, according to ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League) annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, released today. This total represents a 5-percent increase from 2023 (already a record-setting year), a 344-percent increase over the past five years, a 893-percent increase over the past 10 years and is the highest level recorded since ADL started tracking this data in 1979. The 12-month total for 2024 averaged more than 25 targeted anti-Jewish incidents in the U.S. per day, more than one an hour.
Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the United States for most antisemitic incidents, totaling 465 in 2024. This is an 18-percent jump from the 393 incidents ADL tracked in 2023 as well as a 308-percent jump from the 114 incidents tracked in 2022. Of the antisemitic incidents confirmed in Pennsylvania in 2024, 72-percent were attributed to acts of harassment. An additional 25-percent were acts of vandalism and the remaining 2-percent were physical assaults.
“Since I joined ADL three years ago, we have tracked a continuous rise in antisemitic incidents, and the data continues to astound me,” says Andrew Goretsky, ADL Philadelphia’s regional director. “In 2023, Pennsylvania saw five assaults, all of which involved schoolchildren. A year later, Pennsylvania saw twelve assaults, one of which included a weapon. The Jewish community is being harassed, threatened, and attacked. From synagogues to college campuses and everywhere in between, we must unequivocally stand united against antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
New Jersey ranked third in the United States for most antisemitic events, totaling 719 in 2024. ADL Philadelphia covers Southern New Jersey, which is defined as west of Ocean County and south of capital city Trenton. That region saw 73 incidents, which is on par with 2023’s tallying of 69 incidents. About 60-percent of antisemitic incidents in Southern New Jersey were attributed to acts of harassment. With the addition of a single assault reported, the remaining 40-percent of incidents were acts of vandalism.
Major Findings in Pennsylvania
There was a total of 465 antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania, an 18-percent increase from 2023 and a 308-percent increase from 2022. Pennsylvania ranks fourth in the United States for most antisemitic incidents, only behind New York, California, and New Jersey.
- Harassment
- Defined as cases where one or more Jewish people (or people perceived to be Jewish) were harassed with antisemitic slurs, stereotypes or conspiracy theories. A noteworthy example involves nineteen synagogues and Jewish institutions across the Commonweath that were sent antisemitic bomb threats.
- Vandalism
- Defined as cases where property was damaged along with evidence of antisemitic intent or had an antisemitic impact on Jews. In 2024, 40-percent of incidents in this category featured a swastika.
- Assault
- Defined as cases where Jewish people (or people perceived to be Jewish) were targeted with physical violence accompanied by evidence of antisemitic intent. Assault cases more than doubled in 2024 and includes violent attacks across Pennsylvania, from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.
Major Findings in New Jersey
There was a total of 719 antisemitic incidents in New Jersey, 73 of which took place in Southern New Jersey. The state ranks third in the United States for most incidents, behind only New York and California.
For a more detailed view of New Jersey, click here.
ADL Philadelphia classifies Southern New Jersey as including Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties.
Major Findings in Delaware
Delaware is the only state in ADL Philadelphia’s region that went down in antisemitic incidents in 2024. While Pennsylvania and New Jersey both saw new highs, Delaware saw a 35-percent drop in reported incidents.
The majority of incidents took place in larger metropolitan hubs like Wilmington and Newark. It is noteworthy that there was an instance of white supremacist propaganda with an antisemitic slant. Stickers posted in both cities above by a white supremacist group rallied against “Zionists in government,” harboring to a common antisemitic trope of disloyalty among the Jewish people (learn more about this trope through this resource).
On a similar note, ADL found white supremacist propaganda that was distributed in 2024 focused on Jews and immigrants. Propaganda campaigns are hugely popular among white supremacist because they provoke media and online attention for the groups and their messaging, while limiting the risk of individual exposure, arrests and public backlash that often accompanies more public activities.
“This horrifying level of antisemitism should never be accepted and yet, as our data shows, it has become a persistent and grim reality for American Jewish communities,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Jewish Americans continue to be harassed, assaulted and targeted for who they are on a daily basis and everywhere they go. But let’s be clear: we will remain proud of our Jewish culture, religion and identities, and we will not be intimidated by bigots.”
Antisemitic Incidents related to Israel or Zionism
In 2024, for the first time, a majority of all incidents (58 percent, or 5,452 incidents) were related to Israel. Of all Israel-related incidents, 2,596 took place at anti-Israel rallies in the form of antisemitic speeches, chants, signs, and slogans. (About half of the more than 5,000 anti-Israel rallies tracked by ADL in 2024 contained antisemitic expressions; those that did not contain antisemitic elements were not included in the Audit. When antisemitic expressions of this sort appeared at a rally, ADL tabulated them as a single incident regardless of how many times they were repeated or how many different forms they took.)
Activity and rhetoric documented at these rallies included: justification or glorification of antisemitic violence, promotion of classic antisemitic tropes including blood libel, conspiracy theories and signage equating Judaism or Zionism with Nazism, celebration of the anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack in Israel, and unapologetic support for terrorism, designated terrorist organizations and their leaders.
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 National 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.
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.
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.