Rising Antisemitism in the United States Since October 7, 2023

The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack triggered the sharpest rise in antisemitism in modern American history. See the data, the documented incidents, and how Shai Fund is fighting back.

The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza, triggered one of the most significant increases in antisemitism in modern American history. Jewish organizations, federal authorities, universities, and law enforcement agencies have all documented a dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents, threats, assaults, vandalism, and intimidation targeting Jewish individuals and institutions across the country.

Scale of the Increase

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the United States during the first year following October 7, representing an increase of more than 200% compared with the previous 12 months. There were more than 8,000 incidents of harassment, over 1,800 acts of vandalism, and more than 150 physical assaults.

Federal hate crime data show a similar trend. The FBI reported 1,832 anti-Jewish hate crime incidents in 2023, a 63% increase from 2022. The trend continued in 2024, with the FBI reporting 1,938 anti-Jewish hate crime incidents — a 5.8% increase from 2023 and the highest number ever recorded since the bureau began collecting hate crime data in 1991.

Although Jews only comprise roughly 2% of the U.S. population, anti-Jewish incidents accounted for 16% of all reported hate crimes nationwide and some 70% of all religion-based hate crimes, underscoring the disproportionate impact of antisemitism relative to other forms of religiously motivated hate crime.

Impact on Jewish Communities

1. Heightened Security Concerns

The primary security organization for North American Jewish institutions, Secure Community Network (SCN), reported nearly 6,900 threat incidents and a record 1,642 bomb threats and swatting incidents during the year following October 7. As a result, many synagogues, Jewish schools, community centers, and cultural institutions have been forced to significantly increase security measures, adding yet another burden for these vulnerable communities to bear.

2. Behavioral Changes Among American Jews

Numerous surveys and community reports indicate many Jews have become more cautious about publicly displaying their Jewish identity. These include:

• Avoiding wearing kippot, Stars of David, or visibly Jewish clothing in public.
• Changing commuting routes.
• Increasing concern about attending synagogue.
• Limiting participation in public Jewish events.
• Greater anxiety about discussing Israel-related topics in educational or professional settings.

The unprecedented number of threats and attacks has led many Jewish organizations to describe the current environment as one of sustained insecurity rather than isolated incidents.

3. Campus Climate

Universities became a major focal point of concern. ADL documented 1,694 antisemitic incidents on college campuses in 2024, an 84% increase over 2023. The organization reported that campus incidents constituted the largest share of recorded antisemitic activity in its history.

Jewish students experienced:

• Harassment and intimidation.
• Exclusion from activist groups.
• Antisemitic rhetoric at demonstrations.
• Fear related to campus encampments and protests.

While many protests focused on criticism of Israeli government actions, investigations by universities and civil rights agencies documented numerous instances where anti-Israel activism crossed into harassment of Jewish students.

4. Psychological Impact

The psychological effects on America's Jewish communities have been substantial:

• Increased fear of targeted violence.
• Community trauma following highly publicized attacks.
• Growing concern for children's safety in Jewish schools.
• Increased demand for security training and mental health support.

Jewish leaders frequently compare current anxiety levels to periods immediately following earlier major antisemitic attacks, such as the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh. This time, however, the psychological impact has been sustained and unrelenting.

Some of the Most Serious Antisemitic Incidents Since October 7

1. Death of Paul Kessler (California, November 2023)

Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man, died after a confrontation at opposing Israel-Palestinian demonstrations in Thousand Oaks, California. Prosecutors charged a pro-Palestinian protester with involuntary manslaughter and hate crime-related offenses. The case became one of the earliest fatal incidents associated with post-October 7 tensions in the United States.

2. Chicago Shooting of Orthodox Jewish Man (October 2024)

A visibly Jewish man wearing a kippah was shot while walking to synagogue in Chicago. Authorities charged the suspect with attempted murder and other offenses. The attack heightened concerns over the targeting of identifiable Jews in public spaces.

3. Attack on Jewish Students at DePaul University (November 2024)

Two Jewish students demonstrating in support of Israel at DePaul University in Chicago were physically attacked by masked individuals. The incident resulted in criminal charges and became one of the most prominent campus-related antisemitic assaults.

4. Murder of Two Israeli Embassy Employees in Washington, D.C. (May 2025)

On May 21, 2025, two employees of the Israeli Embassy, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were shot and killed outside an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Federal authorities charged the suspect with murder, terrorism-related offenses, and hate crime violations. According to court documents and public statements by investigators, the attack was motivated by hostility connected to the Israel-Gaza conflict and targeted individuals associated with the Jewish and Israeli community. The shooting was widely condemned by political leaders across the spectrum and is considered one of the most serious deadly antisemitic attacks in the United States since October 7.

5. Massive Wave of Bomb Threats Against Jewish Institutions

Since October 2023, Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centers across the country received hundreds of bomb threats. Although most were hoaxes, they caused evacuations, police deployments, and significant disruption to Jewish communal life.

6. Widespread Harassment and Vandalism

Jewish communities across the United States suffered thousands of incidents involving:

• Swastika graffiti.
• Threatening messages.
• Property damage targeting Jewish homes and institutions.
• Harassment of visibly Jewish individuals.

The ADL recorded more than 1,800 vandalism incidents and over 8,000 harassment incidents in the first year after October 7 alone.

7. Violent Threats Against Synagogues and Jewish Schools

Law enforcement agencies investigated numerous threats involving synagogues, Jewish schools, and community centers nationwide. These included threats invoking Hamas and other terrorist organizations and prompted major security responses.

Key Drivers Identified by Researchers

Researchers and monitoring organizations generally point to several overlapping factors:

• The Israel-Hamas war, which dramatically intensified passions and polarization.
• Social media amplification of extremist content, conspiracy theories, and hate rhetoric.
• Growth of both far-right and far-left antisemitic narratives, which often differ ideologically but may converge in hostility toward Jews.
• Campus and protest environments where some demonstrations included antisemitic signs, chants, or glorification of terrorist groups.
• Long-term growth in antisemitic activity that predates October 7 but accelerated afterward. ADL data show dramatic increases over both five- and ten-year periods.

Conclusion

Evidence from the ADL, FBI, Justice Department, and Jewish security organizations all indicates that antisemitism has now reached historic levels in the United States. The overall trend is clear: Jewish communities face an unprecedented surge in threats, harassment, vandalism, and violence in a post-October 7 world. And this is directly affecting how American Jews across the nation worship, travel, educate their children, express their identity, and engage in public life.

Societal failure on the part of many politicians, civic organizations, religious leaders, media outlets, educational administrators, and other influencers to seriously address or even acknowledge this disturbing trend is not only ensuring its continuance but is actively facilitating a permission structure in which the scourge of antisemitism continues to fester and grow.

Our Response

Recognizing the pivotal role social media is playing in the amplification of hate, and how that impact is driving antisemitism across American society, Shai Fund has launched the Antisemitism Watch website.

Every month, the site monitors antisemitic content across 8 major platforms and scores it against the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. This enables the categorization of antisemitic content on a Hostility Index to determine how severe the danger to Jewish Americans has become and if online rhetoric is moving from protected free speech into prosecutable incitement to violence. It also tracks spikes in antisemitic posts to facilitate a better understanding of how real-world events can trigger an avalanche of online hate towards Jews from malevolent accounts.

The purpose of all this is to raise the kind of awareness that prompts real action to curb the proliferation of antisemitism and bring to justice those seeking to bring harm to Jewish communities in America.

This is about turning the tide. This is about going on the offense. This is about returning America to a place where antisemitism is no longer tolerated, platformed, rewarded, or amplified.

Are you with us?