Antisemitic violence escalates as deadly weapon attacks surge in 2025: report
The ADL recorded a 39% increase in attacks involving deadly weapons
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
"Stopping the growing trend of antisemitic attacks and assaults requires a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach involving government action at all levels, community engagement, education and robust enforcement," ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt told Fox News Digital.
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BROOKLYN ATTACK LEAVES 3 INJURED, SUSPECT WEARING IRANIAN FLAG SHIRT ARRESTED BY NYPD
People gather to light candles at a makeshift memorial outside the White House in Washington on May 22, 2025, honoring Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were killed after leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)
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.
"A 33% decrease indisputably is an improvement and a shift in the [right] direction. At the broadest level, anti-Jewish hate came down considerably," Greenblatt said. "However, it’s also not that simple. While antisemitic incidents are down compared to the historic highs of 2023 and 2024, they remain 70% higher than what we saw in 2022, and much higher than what we witnessed in preceding years. It is almost as if we have two eras – pre-October 7 and post-October 7."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
Mohamed Soliman throws an incendiary device into a group of pro-Israel supporters in Boulder, Colorado, on June 1, 2025. He was later arrested by police. (Alex Osante)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
"The increase in assaults involving a deadly weapon is one of the most alarming findings in this year's audit," Greenblatt told Fox News Digital. "Tragically, three people were murdered in antisemitic attacks this past year — the first fatalities in the U.S. from antisemitic attacks since 2022."
"This tells us that antisemitism is not only persistent but it's actually intensifying. Behind every one of these incidents is a real person: a family threatened at their synagogue, a rabbi attacked on the street, a student harassed on campus," he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Israeli flags hung on a railing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are stained with red by Palestinian supporters during a protest on campus. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe)
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In a statement on the audit, ADL Senior Vice President for Counter-Extremism and Intelligence Oren Segal said that the spike in attacks involving deadly weapons showed the threats that American Jews face.
"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," Segal said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ADL's findings reveal a troubling trend: even as antisemitic incidents decline, they are becoming increasingly dangerous.