52 in Rhode Island alone
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
“The persistent increase in antisemitic incidents over the past five years is a stark reminder that antisemitism continues to impact our communities,” said Samantha Joseph, ADL New England’s Regional Director. “Particularly concerning is the continued proliferation of extremist incidents and the rise of attacks against Orthodox Jews. The alarming manifestations of antisemitism in 2024 instill fear and are reminders that much work remains to be done.”
Massachusetts
Massachusetts recorded 438 antisemitic
incidents in 2024, making it the fifth-highest number of
incidents per state in the country following New York (1,437), California
(1,345), New Jersey (719), and Pennsylvania (465). 2024 numbers represent a 188
percent increase from the 152 incidents reported in 2022. In 2023, ADL recorded
439 antisemitic incidents in Massachusetts. In 2024, there were 276 reported
incidents of harassment, 157 incidents of vandalism (11 percent increase from
the 141 incidents in 2023), and 5 assaults. A total of 108 cities and towns in
Massachusetts saw at least one antisemitic incident.
Data Highlights for Massachusetts:
- Total
incidents: 438
- Bomb
Threats: 17
- Gathering,
parade, picketing, meeting: 115
- Offensive
Literature Distribution: 12
- Vandalism:
157
- Verbal/Written
Harassment or Threat: 132
- Physical
Assault (no weapon): 4
- Physical
Assault (weapon): 1
- Israel/Zionism
Related: 275
- Swastika
Present: 87
- Extremist
Related: 40
- Antisemitic
white supremacist propaganda: 37
- Impacting
the Orthodox community: 10
Incidents by Location Type:
- Business
Establishment: 29
- Cemetery:
1
- College/University
107 (third in the country in total number of incidents)
- Home/Housing:
31
- Jewish
Institution/School: 55
- Jewish
Owned Business: 5
- Non-Jewish
School: 50
- Online:
11
- Public
Area: 149
New England
ADL New England tracked a total of 638 incidents of assault,
harassment, and vandalism in 2024. 2024 saw 638 incidents compared to 628 in
2023. Incidents remained significantly elevated compared to pre-October 7
levels.
- Massachusetts –
438 incidents
- New
Hampshire – 53 incidents
- Rhode
Island – 52 incidents
- Vermont –
44 incidents
- Maine –
51 incidents
The majority of incidents in New England were harassment
(412), followed by incidents of vandalism (221). New Hampshire saw
a 51 percent increase in total incidents from 2023-2024.
The following cities were identified as having the highest number of reported incidents in each state:
- Boston,
MA – 96 Incidents
- Providence,
RI – 34 Incidents
- Portland,
ME – 23 Incidents
- Burlington,
VT – 21 Incidents
- Manchester,
NH – 13 incidents
Antisemitic incidents in New England took place in a variety of locations, with 151 incidents reported on college campuses (up from 81 in 2023 and 15 in 2022). This represents an 86 percent increase of incidents on college campuses from 2023 to 2024.
Examples include:
- A
spray-painted Israeli flag with a swastika replacing the Star of David was
found on the campus of Smith College.
- A
student told a Jewish classmate that “Jews belong in the oven” and that he
“cannot stop following Israel’s war against Palestinian children” at
the Berklee College of Music.
- Threatening
antisemitic emails were sent to Hillel organizations at Brown University
and Rhode Island School of Design.
- A
group of individuals verbally harassed students in a residence hall and
drew swastikas on the whiteboards of Jewish students at the University
of Vermont.
62 antisemitic incidents in non-Jewish K-12 schools were
reported in the region. Incidents involved swastikas, Heil Hitler salutes, and
the targeting of Jewish faculty. There were 65 antisemitic incidents reported
at Jewish institutions and schools, including 14 bomb threats to Jewish
synagogues, organizations, and schools. Additional locations of reported
antisemitic incidents included:
- Public
areas (parks/streets/transit/buildings): 261 incidents (up from 246 in
2023, and 67 in 2022).
- Private
businesses and retail establishments: 44 incidents (up from 42 in 2023,
and 17 in 2022).
- Homes/
housing: 34 incidents (46 in 2023, and up from 20 in 2022).
Examples:
- Graffiti
saying “Gas Jews” with a swastika was found underneath an intersection in
Harpswell, ME. (1/14)
- An
online Jewish prayer service was disrupted by an individual who started
playing an antisemitic audio recording and posting offensive imagery,
including Nazi symbols in Burlington, VT. (2/17)
- Several
Star of David stain glass windows at a synagogue were smashed with a
hammer in Portsmouth, NH. (4/8)
- A man
waved a gun in front of a Jewish Community Center and yelled antisemitic
threats Longmeadow, MA. (4/14)
- A
swastika was carved into a tree on a Jewish person’s home in Belmont, MA.
(9/12)
- Two
individuals were picked up by a rideshare driver from synagogue and were
forced to exit early after being harassed for praying in a “terrorist
Israel institution” in Springfield, MA. (10/23)
Of the 638 antisemitic incidents recorded in New
England, 81 had an extremist nexus (115 in 2023 and up from 28
in 2022). The majority of incidents (73 of the 81) involved the distribution
of white
supremacist propaganda.
Examples include:
- New
England White Network hung up “Boycott Jewish Businesses”
pamphlets on community bulletin boards
- City
Council Death Squad zoombombed city council meetings with
rhetoric such as “We could really improve things if we just removed all
Jews from the country.”
- Patriot
Front propaganda posters and stickers that read “American spirit,
European blood” and “No Zionists in government, we serve one nation.”
- Antisemitic
graffiti by the Goyim
Defense League.
ADL tracked a troubling rise in antisemitic incidents
targeting Orthodox Jews, with a jump to 12 reported cases compared to 4 in the
New England region in 2023. The majority of incidents took place in
Massachusetts (10). One incident involved a man yelling at a Jewish child, who
was identifiable by their kippah, “You are a Jew, f*** you” while shopping with
their mother at a Massachusetts kosher grocer — a repeated incident of
harassment at this location.
United States
Across the country, ADL recorded 9,354 incidents of
antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism in 2024. This total represents a
5 percent increase from 2023, a 344 percent increase over the past five years,
an 893 percent increase over the past 10 years and is the highest level
recorded since ADL started tracking this data in 1979. The 12-month total for
2024 averaged more than 25 targeted anti-Jewish incidents in the U.S. per day,
more than one an hour.
Incident Response work is core to ADL
When incidents of antisemitism and other forms of hate are
reported, ADL ensures the individual impacted gets the help they need.
Depending on the nature of the incident, we will engage a range of partners
including K-12 school and college administrators, law enforcement, the Attorney
General’s office, faith leaders and other community partners. Follow-up actions
include working with law enforcement professionals to disrupt potential
threats, advocating for legislation that improves state and local prevention
and response tactics to antisemitic hate crimes and all forms of hate violence,
and providing education and training to teachers and administrators, through
programs like No Place for Hate. The ADL team is proud of our work to support
community members in the wake of an incident. If you experience an incident of
antisemitism, please report it to ADL: https://www.adl.org/report-incident
Methodology
The ADL Audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts
of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported
to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations and
evaluated by ADL’s experts.
The complete dataset for antisemitic incidents for 2016-2024
is available on ADL’s H.E.A.T. Map,
an interactive online tool that allows users to geographically chart
antisemitic incidents and extremist activity. The full dataset can also be
downloaded by anyone who would like to take a closer look at individual
incidents.
ADL is careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel
or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism. Legitimate political protest,
support for Palestinian rights or expressions of opposition to Israeli policies
is not included in the Audit. ADL’s approach to Israel-related expressions
comports with the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
The complete Audit methodology is included in the report on
our website.
The Audit offers a snapshot of one of the ways Jews in
America encounter antisemitism, but a full understanding of antisemitism in the
U.S. requires other forms of analysis as well, including public opinion
polling, assessments of online antisemitism and examinations of extremist
activity, all of which ADL offers in other reports, such as: ADL
Survey of Antisemitic Attitudes in America 2024, Campus
Antisemitism One Year After the Hamas Terrorist Attacks, the
ADL Global 100: Index of Antisemitism, Online
Hate and Harassment: The American Experience and White
Supremacist Propaganda Assessment Focused on Jews and Immigrants in 2024.
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all. More at www.adl.org
