Despite drop in violent attacks, US campuses see record levels of antisemitism

A record 2,334 antisemitic incidents were reported on US college campuses during the 2024-2025 school year, even as violent attacks declined, Hillel International reports.

The total was 26% higher than the 1,853 incidents recorded in 2023-2024, in the immediate aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. It’s nearly ten times the 289 incidents reported in the 2022-2023 year before the war started.

The number of incidents involving violence, threats of violence, vandalism and graffiti dropped by 22% to 752, the Jewish campus organization says. The main cause of the rise was a 185% rise in online harassment, it notes.

Antisemitism has spiked in the US and around the world since October 7. In the US, a record 9,354 cases of harassment, vandalism and assault were recorded in 2024, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

“Over the past year, many universities have made significant changes to better clarify and enforce their policies and codes of conduct, supported by our work with them to achieve these improvements,” says Hillel president and CEO Adam Lehman. “When universities step up and enforce their rules, Jewish students and all students benefit from a safer, more inclusive campus environment.”