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The number of reported anti-Semitic incidents in the United States has reached an all-time high since last year's Hamas attacks in Israel, according to a preliminary report from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.
The group discovered more than 10,000 cases between October 7, 2023 and September 24 this year, an increase of more than 200% compared to the same period last year.
This is the highest amount since ADL began tracking such cases in 1979.
The report was released days after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security released a joint statement warning of possible violent threats amid the continuing turmoil in the Middle East.
Since last October’s Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, “Jewish Americans have not had a moment of respite,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. said in a statement.
“Instead, we faced an alarming number of anti-Semitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere.”
The more than 10,000 incidents of anti-Semitism reported by the ADL include approximately 8,015 incidents of verbal or written harassment, 1,840 incidents of vandalism, and 150 incidents of physical assault.
The states with the highest number of cases in the report were California with 1,266 cases, New York with 1,218 cases, New Jersey with 830 cases and Florida with 463 cases.
ADL said it expects the preliminary numbers to increase as more data is received. The final report for 2024 is expected to be published in spring 2025.
Part of the overall increase was due to a change in methodology to include “expressions of opposition to Zionism and support for resistance to Israel and the Zionists that could be considered support for terrorism,” the ADL said. said.
ADL’s preliminary report tallied more than 3,000 incidents that occurred during anti-Israel rallies that “regularly feature clear expressions of support for terrorist organizations,” including Hamas and Hezbollah.
Excluding these incidents, the ADL counted 7,523 episodes of anti-Semitism, an increase of 103% from 2022.
After the October 7 attack, Israel launched a major military operation in the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of eliminating Hamas.
Since then, 41,870 Palestinians have been killed and more than 97,000 injured in Gaza, mostly women and children, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
The war sparked a wave of demonstrations across the United States, particularly on college campuses, with many protesting the mounting humanitarian toll.
More than 1,000 people have been killed and up to a million may have been displaced in Lebanon since Israel launched an offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The continued violence in the region has led to a similar spike in anti-Muslim and Islamophobic incidents across the United States.
According to a report released in April by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), anti-Muslim incidents will reach 8,061 in 2023. The report marks the highest level since CAIR began compiling it nearly 30 years ago, with nearly half of the numbers coming after the Oct. 7 attacks.
