Antisemitic Assaults Rose to Record High in 2025, ADL Audit Reports

Antisemitic assaults in the United States reached a record level in 2025 even as the overall number of incidents tracked by the Anti-Defamation League declined, according to an audit released May 6. The report recorded 203 physical assaults, up from 196 in 2024 and 111 in 2022, the last full year before the Israel-Hamas war.

Researchers identified three killings in antisemitic attacks during 2025, the first year since 2019 in which U.S. Jews were murdered in hate crimes. The audit counted a total of 6,274 antisemitic incidents in 2025, down from a record high of more than 9,300 in 2024.

The 2025 figure marked the third-highest annual total since the ADL began its audit in 1979.

Colleges and universities also recorded fewer incidents than in 2024, when the pro-Palestinian encampment movement contributed to higher numbers. The ADL audit includes harassment, vandalism and physical attacks. Data is compiled from law enforcement reports, news accounts and direct submissions by alleged victims.

The organization said it differentiates criticism of Israel from antisemitism, though some researchers note its criteria are broader than federal standards. A senior vice president of counter-extremism and intelligence at the ADL told USA TODAY that the rise in assaults explains why many in the Jewish community feel vulnerable.

The report aligns with data from other organizations tracking hate crimes against Jewish Americans.

FBI figures released in August showed anti-Jewish hate crimes made up nearly 70 percent of all religious-based hate crimes. Jews, who represent about 2 percent of the American population, accounted for 16 percent of all hate crime victims in 2024, the highest share since federal recording began.

The increase in incidents followed the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza. Incidents related to Israel or Zionism comprised about 45 percent of all cases in the ADL audit, a share that has remained elevated since before 2023.

The deputy director of research at the Southern Poverty Law Center said the targeting of Jewish communities for their identity has increased and noted a rise in conspiracy theories and antisemitic language, particularly among youth on social media. She attributed part of the decline in non-violent incidents to fewer in-person gatherings by white nationalists and neo-Nazis.

The audit identified at least 300 people who experienced assaults, including public figures and bystanders. In April a man firebombed the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro hours after he and his family held a Passover Seder. In December a suspect made antisemitic comments outside a New York City Jewish center before stabbing a Jewish man.

In late May a gunman fatally shot two Israeli embassy staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. Days later an 82-year-old Jewish woman in Colorado died from injuries sustained when a man threw gasoline bombs at a pro-Israel rally. Officials said suspects in both fatal attacks made remarks about Israel's actions in Gaza.

A director at Florida State University’s Hate Crime Research and Policy Institute said the ADL report attempts to separate criticism of Israel from antisemitism but applies a broader definition that includes some Israel-related expressions. A former ADL researcher who now directs the Nexus Center for Antisemitism Research described the rising number of assaults, even as total incidents fell, as a red flag and called for further study of motivations behind physical attacks.

Hate crimes are historically underreported, and federal data often face long delays, making precise nationwide measurement difficult.