Anti-Semitic incidents hit record number in past year, report says

The Anti-Defamation League on Sunday reported that over 10,000 documented incidents of anti-Semitic comments, attacks, or vandalism have occurred since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Militants from the Gaza-based terrorist organization killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped roughly 250 hostages in that attack. Instead of receiving support following the attack, Jewish Americans have faced ceaseless harassment, the league’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said Sunday.

When in the past year did most of these instances occur? While instances of anti-Semitic behaviors hit a record number in the United States in the past year, much of the spike came in the months immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the league said. More than half—5,200—of all the incidents took place between Oct. 7, 2023, and the end of that year, the league said. In 2022, only about 3,700 documented instances of anti-Semitic behavior occurred in total.

What kinds of behaviors are we talking about? The league found roughly 8,000 documented instances of anti-Semitic written or verbal comments. It also found roughly 2,000 incidents of vandalism or physical assault that occurred during the same period. Many of those incidents also occurred at events that openly promoted terrorism and on college campuses. Bomb threats called in against Jewish institutions—schools, synagogues, or cultural centers—comprised a large portion of those threats.

What sort of report was this? The Anti-Defamation League annually surveys the prevalence of anti-Semitic behaviors in the United States, according to the organization’s website. Anti-Semitic incidents have been increasing year-over-year since 2014, according to the league. But from 2014 to 2022, every year saw well under 4,000 incidents—less than half of 2023’s number.

Dig deeper: Read William Inboden’s column in WORLD Opinions about the challenges facing Israel a year after the Oct. 7 attack.