ADL finds 10,000 antisemitic incidents in US since Hamas’s October 7 attack

Largest number of incidents recorded in US since watchdog began keeping records, with hotspots including college campuses, Jewish institutes targeted with bomb threats

A demonstrator holds an 'intifada revolution' sign as protesters block the Port of Tacoma entrances, November 6, 2023, in Tacoma, Washington. (AP Photo/ Lindsey Wasson)
A demonstrator holds an 'intifada revolution' sign as protesters block the Port of Tacoma entrances, November 6, 2023, in Tacoma, Washington. (AP Photo/ Lindsey Wasson)

More than 10,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the US in the last year since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, according to statistics released by the Anti-Defamation League on Sunday.

The data, which was gathered between October 7, 2023 and September 24, marked a massive spike in antisemitism in the US in the last year with a more than 200 percent rise from the same period the previous year, which saw 3,325 incidents.

The last year also saw the largest recorded number of antisemitic incidents in the US since the ADL began keeping track in 1979.

The incidents recorded by the ADL included at least 8,015 cases of verbal or written harassment, 1,840 incidents of vandalism, and more than 150 physical assaults.

At least 1,200 antisemitic incidents happened on college campuses, where massive anti-Israel protests took place over the last year at institutions across the US. Discourse featured at the demonstrations ranged from calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the enclave and calling for more violence against Jews.

The latter included calls to “globalize the intifada,” a reference to two periods in Israeli history that were characterized by constant terror attacks against Jews in the country as well as calls for “another 10,000 October 7s.”

An antisemitic sign at a pro-Palestinian protest of NYU students and others in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park on October 25, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

The number of antisemitic incidents on US college campuses marked a 500% rise from the year before, which only saw 200 cases.

The ADL added that over 2,000 antisemitic cases were recorded at Jewish institutions, where more than half took the form of bomb threats, and 3,000 took place at anti-Israel protests which were not confined to colleges but also took place off campus across the US.

“Today, we mourn the victims of the October 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,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “Instead, we’ve faced a shocking number of antisemitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere.”

The ADL’s antisemitism report comes a day before the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel last year.

During the attack, Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages. The atrocities committed during the attack included sexual abuse, the murder of entire families, and the massive destruction of homes in Israeli communities near the Gaza border.

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