ADL: Antisemitic assaults in US hit record high in 2025 as overall incidents declined

In a year with 203 violent incidents, including the murders of three Jews, the total number of incidents dropped 33% from 2024’s record high

Acts of physical violence against Jewish Americans reached record levels in 2025, even as the total number of antisemitic incidents declined, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

While the total number of recorded incidents fell 33 percent from 2024 to 6,274, the number of violent incidents rose 4% to 203, and included Jewish fatalities for the first time since 2019, the antisemitism watchdog said.

The number of assaults involving a deadly weapon surged by 39%, rising from 23 in 2024 to 32 in 2025, the report said. At least 300 victims were targeted in violent attacks during the year, and three were killed: two in a shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on May 21, and one in a firebombing attack at a rally for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, on June 1.

Other high-profile attacks included a firebombing at the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and a stabbing in New York City. Orthodox Jews were targeted in 38% of the violent assaults, the ADL said.

The total number of antisemitic incidents broke annual records in each of the last four years, and soared in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The 2025 total is the third-highest since the ADL began tracking data in 1979, and translates to an average of 17 antisemitic incidents a day across the country.

“Numbers that would have shocked us five years ago are now our floor,” said ADL CEO and national director Jonathan Greenblatt. “People are being murdered because of antisemitism on American soil, and thousands more are threatened.”

The report counted 2,068 incidents of vandalism (a 21% decrease from 2024) and 4,003 incidents of harassment (a 39% decrease).

The ADL attributed the overall decline in incidents largely to a 66% drop in activity on college campuses, which fell from 1,694 to 583. This shift was linked to the decline of anti-Israel encampment movements and improved administrative responses.

At non-Jewish K-12 schools, however, the number of incidents declined only slightly, reaching 825 compared to 860 in 2024. Unlike campus incidents, which are often driven by organized groups, K-12 incidents were characterized primarily by peer-to-peer bullying and swastika vandalism, the report said.

The number of bomb threats made against Jewish institutions declined significantly during the year to 59, from 627 in 2024 and 996 in 2023.

Most of the incidents occurred in New York (1,160), California (817) and New Jersey (687), the ADL said. In New York, 60% of all assaults targeted Orthodox Jews, and over half of the state’s total assaults occurred in Brooklyn.

About 45% of all national incidents were related to Israel or Zionism, a decrease from 58% in 2024. White supremacist propaganda distribution also saw a nearly 50% drop, though such groups remain active, the report noted.

In response to the surge in violence, the ADL is advocating for a $1 billion federal investment in the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to protect synagogues and schools. The organization is also calling for the passage of the SACRED Act to establish 100-foot safe access zones around houses of worship, as well as educational measures.

“Behind every one of these incidents is a real person,” said Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence. “The safety of Jewish communities depends on our collective willingness to meet this moment with urgency.”