ADL registers over 10,000 antisemitic incidents in US since Oct 7

Over 10,000 antisemitic incidents have been recorded in the United States since the Hamas Oct. 7 invasion and massacre in southern Israel last year, according to data published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Sunday.

The report revealed a 200% increase in anti-Jewish incidents across the U.S. between October 7, 2023, and the end of September 2024. More than 1,200 of these incidents occurred on U.S. campuses, with an additional 2,000 cases targeting Jewish American institutions. This marks the highest number of antisemitic incidents ever recorded in a single year in the ADL’s over 100-year history.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt warned of the dramatic rise of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.

“Today, we mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, marking one year since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. From that day on, Jewish Americans haven’t had a single moment of respite,” Greenblatt stated.

“Instead, we’ve faced a shocking number of antisemitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere.”

ADL data showed that around 80% of the antisemitic incidents (8,015) involved written or verbal harassment. Furthermore, there were 1,840 cases of anti-Jewish vandalism and more than 150 cases of physical attacks on Jews in America.

The ADL report noted a 500% increase in antisemitic incidents on America's college campuses.

While anti-Israel activists worldwide often deny harboring antisemitic sentiments, the ADL survey revealed that more than 30% of all recorded antisemitic incidents – more than 3,000 – took place during anti-Israel rallies. Such incidents frequently included support for antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Each of these organizations openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

While the recorded data is already disturbing, ADL expects the trend will continue and said it plans to publish its final antisemitic incident report for 2024 in the spring of 2025.

The dramatic rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7 is not limited to the United States.

In May, an ADL-Tel Aviv University joint report revealed a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents across Western society.

Antisemitic incidents in France quadrupled from 436 cases in 2022 to 1676 cases in 2023. Furthermore, 74% of the antisemitic cases in France were registered during the last quarter of 2023, following the Hamas attack. France is home to both Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities.

The ADL report emphasized that the Oct. 7 atrocities appeared to facilitate pre-existing anti-Jewish beliefs.

“For those whose views serve an anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist ideological and instrumentalist purpose, October 7 was a golden opportunity to advance further their hateful and racist fringe perspectives into mainstream conservative discourse, using it to attack rivals, mobilize supporters and attract new followers.”

Last month, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt noted that a growing number of countries increasingly realize that antisemitism is a societal problem with global implications.

“It is one of the oldest hatreds, one of the most consistent hatreds in the world. It’s like a virus. It adapts. There is no other prejudice that can be found on the Right and on the Left; that can be found amongst Christians, Muslims, atheists, Jews; and between socialists, communists, and the most conservative right-wing nationalists,” Lipstadt warned.