Antisemitic incidents in U.S. up by more than 300% since Israel-Hamas war, study says

CNA Staff, Nov 13, 2023 / 14:40 pm

Antisemitic incidents in the United States have skyrocketed by more than 300% year over year in the weeks since the Israel-Hamas war began, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said this week, with more than two dozen incidents occurring every day on average according to the group’s calculations. 

The ADL said in a press release on Monday that according to preliminary data, “in the month following Hamas’ terror attack on Israel, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 316% compared [with] the same time period last year.”

Hamas’ attack on Israel unfolded Oct. 7 when the terror group invaded Israel, killing over 1,000 and taking hundreds of hostages. Israel quickly declared war on Hamas, with the two sides fighting throughout the region throughout October and into November. 

The ADL said on Monday that “in the one-month period between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7, 2023, the ADL Center on Extremism documented 832 antisemitic incidents of assault, vandalism, and harassment across the U.S., an average of nearly 28 incidents a day.” 

“This represents a 316% increase from the 200 incidents reported during the same period in 2022,” the group said. 

The group shared a map plotting the antisemitic incidents throughout the U.S., which it said included “incidents of vandalism, harassment, and assault directed at Jews (or people perceived to be Jewish) or Jewish institutions.”

Of the 832 incidents on its list, the ADL said it had recorded “632 acts of harassment, 170 instances of vandalism, and 30 assaults.” More than 120 took place on college campuses.

“As we have seen repeatedly, when conflict arises in the Middle East, particularly when Israel exercises its right to self-defense, antisemitic incidents increase here in the U.S. and around the world,” Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of ADL, said in the release.

“These include violent assaults on pro-Israeli students on college campuses, anti-Israel protests openly expressing support for terrorist organizations, as well as white supremacists distributing antisemitic fliers and banners blaming Jews for the war.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray last month said that the number of anti-religious attacks on Jewish people has increased in the wake of the war and that those attacks are “wildly disproportionate” considering the community’s minority status in the United States.

Pope Francis last week, meanwhile, said during a meeting with rabbis in Rome that he “strongly condemned” the spread of antisemitic demonstrations, which the Holy Father in prepared remarks said was “of great concern.” 

And Franciscan University of Steubenville last month announced the creation of an expedited transfer process for Jewish students in danger of antisemitic discrimination and violence on campuses across the United States.