Antisemitic assaults in the US hit all-time high, says ADL

Report says 17 antisemitic incidents documented every day in the US last year, with a record-breaking level of antisemitic violence.

By World Israel News Staff

Antisemitic assaults in the United States reached a record high in 2025, even as the overall number of antisemitic incidents declined from the previous year, the Anti-Defamation League said Wednesday.

The ADL recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism in 2025, an average of 17 incidents per day.

The total marked a 33% decrease from 2024 but remained the third-highest annual figure since the organization began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

The group said 2025 was one of the most violent years on record for American Jews. Physical assaults rose 4%, from 196 incidents in 2024 to 203 in 2025. Assaults involving a deadly weapon increased 39% – from 23 incidents to 32.

Three people were killed in antisemitic attacks during the year, including two victims in the May 21 shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., and one victim who died from injuries sustained in the June 1 firebombing attack at a “Run for Their Lives” event in Boulder, Colorado.

“Our 2025 Audit, which shows it was one of the most violent years for American Jews on record, is a reminder of how dramatically the threat landscape has shifted,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and national director. “Numbers that would have shocked us five years ago are now our floor.”

“People are being murdered because of antisemitism on American soil, and thousands more are threatened,” he added. “ADL will not stop until that baseline changes.”

The ADL recorded 4,003 incidents of harassment, a 39% decrease from 2024, and 2,068 incidents of vandalism, a 21% decrease.

Incidents were reported in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. New York had the highest number, with 1,160 incidents, followed by California with 817 and New Jersey with 687.

“Behind every one of these incidents is a real person: a family threatened at their synagogue, a rabbi attacked on the street, a student harassed on campus,” said Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence.

“Even as overall incidents declined, the surge in physical assaults is a stark reminder that a historically high level of antisemitism puts Jewish lives at risk,” he said.

The ADL said incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools remained largely stable, with 825 incidents in 2025 compared with 860 in 2024. The group said school incidents often involved peer-to-peer harassment or students vandalizing classrooms with swastikas.

College campuses saw a sharper decline. The ADL recorded 583 antisemitic incidents on college campuses in 2025, down 66% from 1,694 in 2024. Still, the organization said campus incidents remained nearly three times higher than in 2021.

The ADL said 45% of all incidents in 2025, or 2,847 incidents, were related to Israel or Zionism. That was down from 58% in 2024.

The group also reported a nearly 50% drop in white supremacist propaganda distribution and a significant decline in anti-Israel rallies that it said crossed the line into antisemitism.