Anti-Defamation League: Antisemitic Incidents Up 36% from 2021 to 2022

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BOSTON – Antisemitic incidents were up 36% from 2021 to 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the United States.

“In 2022, ADL tabulated 3,697 antisemitic incidents throughout the United States. This is a 36% increase from the 2,717 incidents tabulated in 2021 and the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. This is the third time in the past five years that the year-end total has been the highest number ever recorded,” said the ADL in a report released today, March 23.

Incidents increased in each of the major audit categories:

• antisemitic harassment increased 29% to 2,298
• antisemitic vandalism increased 51% to 1,288
• antisemitic assaults increased 26% to 111

“The vast majority of antisemitic assaults (107 out of 111) were perpetrated without the use of a deadly weapon. There was one fatality,” said the ADL in his executive summary of the report.

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Visibly Orthodox Jews were targeted in 53% of the assault incidents nationally. This year, no assaults perpetrated against the Jewish community resulted in mass causalities, said the organization in its report.

“The dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents in 2022 in almost all categories cannot be attributed to any one cause or ideology. Significant surges in incidents include high volume increases in organized white supremacist propaganda activity (102% increase to 852 incidents), K-12 schools (49% increase to 494 incidents) and college campuses (41% increase to 219 incidents), as well as deeply troubling percentage increases in attacks on Orthodox Jews (69% increase to 59 Incidents) and bomb threats toward Jewish institutions (an increase from eight to 91 incidents),” said the organization.

“In 2022, there were 589 incidents logged at Jewish institutions such as synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish schools, an increase of 12% from 2021. The vast majority of those incidents took the form of harassment, but there were 86 incidents of vandalism and nine assaults. Bomb threats towards Jewish institutions were unusually high, with a total of 91. This is the highest number of bomb threats since 2017,” said the ADL. 

In 2022, 494 incidents took place at non-Jewish K-12 schools, an increase of 49% from 2021. Incidents on college campuses also increased, by 41%, with 219 incidents, said the organization.

Incidents occurred in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia.

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The states with the highest number of incidents are New York (580), California (518), New Jersey (408), Florida (269) and Texas (211). Combined, these five states account for 54 % of the total incidents, said the ADL.

Massachusetts had more than 100 incident in 2022 – specifically 152 incidents.

“Of the 589 incidents targeting Jewish institutions, 494 were incidents of harassment, 86 were incidents of vandalism and nine were incidents of assault. Of the 494 incidents of harassment, 92 were anti-Zionism/Israel-related and 91 were bomb threats. Vandalism incidents at Jewish institutions decreased by 15% in 2022 from 101 in 2021 to 86 in 2022. Most acts of vandalism took the form of graffiti, usually with a swastika or other antisemitic message. Other cases involved religious artifacts being tampered with, including menorahs being stolen or vandalized and Sukkahs being destroyed. Of the 86 vandalism cases, 25 had swastikas present and five were anti-Zionism/anti-Israel-related. Ten of the 589 incidents targeting Jewish institutions were perpetrated by white supremacists; six of those were fliering incidents. Assaults at Jewish institutions decreased from 11 incidents in 2021 to nine in 2022. Six of the nine assaults (67%) occurred at synagogues. The nine assaults took place in four states; five in New York, two in New Jersey, one in Oregon and one in Texas,” reported the organization in its report today.

The ADL recommends “Public officials and civic leaders — from the President, to governors, attorneys general, mayors, other civic leaders, and law enforcement authorities — must use their bully pulpits to speak out against antisemitism and all forms of hate and extremism. Regardless of its origins — from the far left to the far right and anywhere in between — leaders must call out antisemitism, including anti-Zionist antisemitism, and rally their communities to action.”

To read the full report, click here.

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