'Brooklyn is the epicenter of antisemitic assaults'

Antisemitic assaults surged 56% in Brooklyn last year — ADL report

While incidents declined across the city, physical attacks on Jews in borough increased from 32 to 50, mostly targeting visibly identifiable Orthodox community members, watchdog says

NEW YORK — Antisemitic incidents in New York declined last year, in line with national trends, but Brooklyn saw an increase, including a surge in anti-Jewish assaults, according to an Anti-Defamation League audit released this week.

The ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents tracks reported antisemitic incidents around the US. This year’s report, collating data on 2025, found that overall in the US, antisemitic incidents decreased last year, although physical violence increased, hitting a record high.

In line with national trends, every borough in New York City saw a decrease in antisemitic incidents, except Brooklyn, where there was a 12% increase, including 50 assaults.

The number of assaults in Brooklyn last year marked a 56% jump over the 32 attacks in 2024, and a record since the ADL began its annual audit in 1979.

Visibly identifiable Orthodox Jews were targeted in 37 of the 50 Brooklyn assaults.

“Brooklyn is the epicenter of antisemitic assaults, not only in the city and the region, but across the country,” Tova Rosenfeld, ADL associate regional director for Brooklyn, said during a Friday briefing.

Rosenfeld said antisemitism in the borough had become “more interpersonal,” marked by face-to-face hostility, while less personal incidents like bomb threats had declined.

Some of the physical attacks in the city last year included a man charged with a hate crime for attacking Jews with scissors, a Jewish man who was knifed in the chest and an assault on a Hasidic man on a subway.

The ADL recorded 1,160 antisemitic incidents in New York State, a 19% decrease from 2024. The most common locations were the 410 incidents in public areas, 227 at Jewish institutions and 141 at schools.

Reported antisemitic harassment and vandalism each dropped by about 20% in the state, but assaults increased by 10%, to 90. That total was three times higher than the next state, California, which had 30 assaults.

Of the state total, 860 incidents — around three-quarters — took place in New York City.

Manhattan was the “dominant hotspot” for total incidents, with 465, the ADL said, followed by Brooklyn, with 278.

The number of Manhattan incidents dropped 21% compared to 2024, driven by a decline in campus protests and bomb threats.

In New York State, there was a 64% decline in antisemitic incidents on college campuses, to 105, but a 19% increase at non-Jewish K-12 schools.

Overall, incidents related to Israel or Zionism dropped from 58% in 2024 to 48% last year.

New York State has recorded a 480% increase in antisemitic incidents since 2016, the ADL said.