Antisemitic violence escalates as deadly weapon attacks surge in 2025: report

Antisemitic violence escalated in 2025, with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) noting in its annual audit that attacks with deadly weapons surged, even as overall incidents declined.

The organization recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents in 2025, an average of about 17 every day, including 203 assaults, 32 of which involved a deadly weapon, a 39% increase from 2024. Additionally, the ADL recorded 4,003 instances of antisemitic harassment and 2,068 acts of vandalism. While the attacks occurred across the country, the states that saw the most incidents were New York (1,160), California (817) and New Jersey (687), according to the ADL.

The number of incidents in 2025 represented a 33% decrease from 2024, when the ADL recorded 9,354 incidents across the U.S. However, the ADL said that the number of incidents remains “considerably higher” than it was in the years before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. The organization said that 2025 was ranked as the third-highest year for antisemitic incidents after 2023 and 2024.

BROOKLYN ATTACK LEAVES 3 INJURED, SUSPECT WEARING IRANIAN FLAG SHIRT ARRESTED BY NYPD

College and university campuses saw the sharpest decline in antisemitic incidents as activity tied to anti-Israel protests declined, according to the ADL. In 2025, the ADL recorded 583 antisemitic incidents on college campuses, a 66% decrease from 2024, when 1,694 incidents were recorded. The ADL has also pushed colleges and universities to address antisemitism and released new report cards evaluating campus responses.

Less than half of antisemitic incidents in 2025, about 45%, were related to Israel or Zionism, according to the ADL. That marked a notable drop from 2024, when roughly 58% of incidents were tied to Israel. Additionally, antisemitic incidents occurring at or near anti-Israel protests dropped by 67% in 2025, but still totaled 856 cases.

ELISE STEFANIK REVEALS HER VIRAL GENOCIDE QUESTION WASN’T EVEN THE ONE SHE PREPARED

Despite this decrease in the number of incidents, the ADL reported a “historic high” in antisemitic assaults and attacks with deadly weapons in 2025, noting a 39% increase. This included the deadly shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025, in which Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were killed. Days later, on June 1, 2025, a firebombing attack left 82-year-old Karen Diamond severely injured. Diamond later died as a result of the attack.

“Our 2025 audit, which shows it was one of the most violent years for American Jews on record, is a reminder of how dramatically the threat landscape has shifted. Numbers that would have shocked us five years ago are now our floor,” ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “People are being murdered because of antisemitism on American soil, and thousands more are threatened.”

“Even as overall incidents declined, the surge in physical assaults is a stark reminder that a historically high level of antisemitism puts Jewish lives at risk,” ADL Senior Vice President for Counter-Extremism and Intelligence Oren Segal said in a statement.

The ADL’s findings reveal a troubling trend: even as antisemitic incidents decline, they are becoming increasingly dangerous.