58% of antisemitic incidents in the United States contain references to Israel and Zionism, the ADL reported.
By Rachel Avraham
Antisemitic incidents in the United States reached unprecedented levels in 2024, breaking annual records for the fourth consecutive year, according to a report released by the Anti-Defamation League, the Times of Israel reported. According to the report, the 9,354 recorded cases of harassment, vandalism, and assault was the highest total since the ADL began tracking incidents in 1979, and five percent higher than in 2023, when the previous record was set, the antisemitism watchdog proclaimed.
The Times of Israel noted that the annual figure translates to more than 25 targeted anti-Jewish incidents per day, or more than one every hour, it noted. According to the report, New York (1,437) and California (1,344) led in total cases, which were documented in all 50 states. The ADL noted in their report, “As in previous years, states and metropolitan areas with the largest Jewish populations continued to report the highest levels of incidents.” Other states that have reported a high level of antisemitic incidents include New Jersey (719), Pennsylvania (465), Massachusetts (438), Maryland (356), Florida (353), Illinois (336), Colorado (279) and Virginia (266).
Assaults increased by 21% to 196 incidents, with 250 victims, while vandalism increased by 20% to 2,606 incidents, Arutz Sheva reported. According to the report, 1,694 antisemitic incidents occurred on college campuses, an increase of 84% over 2023. The ADL reported, “For example, at an anti-Israel encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), protesters displayed signs that included: “Death 2 Zionism,” “Israelis are native 2 hell” and “Long live the intifada.” Chalk depicting a Star of David with the words “step here” was also drawn on the ground in the encampment. At the University of California, Berkeley, protesters occupied and vandalized a condemned building and left behind messages including: “Zionism is Nazism,” “For the martyrs,” “Intifada” and multiple instances of imagery equating a Star of David with a swastika.”
The ADL told Arutz Sheva that “elevated antisemitism has become a persistent reality for American Jewish communities rather than a temporary spike in the months immediately after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. These incidents occurred across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., showing that antisemitism is not confined to a particular region but represents a national challenge.”
According to the report, ADL added, “Increasingly, extreme actors in the anti-Israel space have incorporated antisemitic rhetoric into their activism, and it has become commonplace for perpetrators across the political spectrum to voice hatred of Israel or conspiracy theories about the state in a range of antisemitic attacks. Thousands of antisemitic incidents occurred at or in the vicinity of anti-Israel rallies, many of which were organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and other anti-Israel groups. More than half of all antisemitic vandalism incidents included references to Israel or Zionism. Hundreds of incidents emerged from white supremacist groups’ anti-Israel activity, with Patriot Front racking up the most mentions.”
“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, CEO of the group, in a statement, the Hill reported. “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.”
The new ADL report highlights that “for the first time in the history of the Audit, a majority (58%) of all incidents contained elements related to Israel or Zionism. A large portion of Israel-related antisemitic incidents occurred at or in the vicinity of anti-Israel protests. Out of over 5,000 anti-Israel rallies tracked by ADL in 2024, 2,596 involved antisemitic messaging in the form of signs, chants or speeches.”
Greenblatt has argued it’s “absurd” to think criticism of anti-Zionism isn’t connected to Judaism, noting half the world’s Jews live in Israel, the Hill reported. “Anti-Zionism doesn’t mean having a problem with a set of actions by the Israeli government. Anti-Zionism doesn’t mean protesting the policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu. Anti-Zionism doesn’t mean you support Palestinian human rights. Anti-Zionism doesn’t mean that you’re not upset about the conflict in Gaza,” he said in a speech last year. “Anti-Zionism, plain and simple, means that Jews — alone among the peoples of the world — do not deserve freedom and self-determination in their homeland.”
“These incidents… serve as a clear reminder that silence is not an option,” Oren Segal, ADL’s senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence, told the Times of Israel. “Good people must stand up, push back, and confront antisemitism wherever it appears.”
Photo from HoppingRabbit34: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Baptists-against-jews.jpg
