"Significant and Historical Surge in Anti-Semitic Threats Widespread across the United States, According to ADL"
Over 10,000 antisemitic occurrences took place between October 2023 and September 2024, going from 3,325 incidents the previous year. This is the highest number of incidents recorded in a 12-month period by the organization since they started tracking threats in 1979.
Following the terrorist attack last October, "Jewish Americans have not had a moment of peace," stated ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Instead, they have faced a significant increase in antisemitic threats and witnessed calls for violence against Israelis and Jews worldwide.
The organization released preliminary data ahead of a forthcoming full report, with law enforcement agencies across the nation increasing patrols around Jewish and Muslim establishments as a safety measure in response to the intensifying Middle East conflict, the October 7 anniversary, and the Jewish High Holidays.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out, reports of hate crimes and bias incidents targeting Jews, Muslims, and Arabs have significantly increased across the United States.
In April, the Council on American-Islamic Relations reported receiving 8,061 anti-Muslim bias reports in 2023, marking the highest number in the 28 years the group has tracked hate.
The FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security issued a joint public advisory, warning that the October 7 anniversary and ongoing Middle East turmoil could inspire acts of violence by extremists.
ADL's threat data included over 150 cases of physical assault, over 1,840 instances of vandalism, and over 8,000 antisemitic occurrences involving verbal or written harassment.
The organization reported at least 1,200 antisemitic occurrences on U.S. college campuses within the past year, representing a 500% increase compared to the previous year's figures in this category.
U.S. colleges and universities became a focal point early this year as thousands of protesters demonstrated in support of Palestinians under attack by Israel's military response to the October 7 terrorist attack.
The Gaza health ministry reports that over 41,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel launched its war against Hamas. Israel, for its part, states that it has killed more than 17,000 combatants in Gaza since the start of the war. CNN cannot independently verify either set of figures due to limited access afforded to international journalists in the conflict zone.
Although most U.S. college protests were peaceful, they were often marked by violence, including clashes with law enforcement, numerous reports of antisemitic intimidation against Jewish students and faculty, and some instances of assaults by counterdemonstrators.
"ADL's preliminary data also found that over 3,000 of all incidents took place during anti-Israel rallies, which featured frequent and explicit expressions of support for terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine," the organization stated in a statement.
According to the FBI, which is responsible for enforcing federal hate crime laws and collecting statistics on acts of violence, incidents targeting Jews in the U.S. make up the largest category of religious-based hate crimes.
"The Jewish community is unusually – unusually – targeted by almost every terrorist organization across the spectrum," stated FBI Director Christopher Wray during testimony before Congress shortly after the October 7 attack.
"Given that the Jewish community represents approximately 2.4% of the U.S. population, it should alarm everyone that this same population accounts for approximately 60% of all religious-based hate crimes."
In light of these escalating incidents, the Joint Committee on Capitol Hill called for a meeting with US law enforcement agencies and community leaders to discuss measures to protect Jews and combat antisemitism.
Despite the heightened tension and increasing antisemitic occurrences, we as a nation must stand together with the Jewish community and promote unity and tolerance to counteract the hate and intolerance.
