Pro-Palestinian students and activists protest at an encampment in the campus of California State University, Los Angeles, in Los Angeles, California, May 6, 2024. (Etienne Laurent / AFP via Getty Images)

(JTA) — Antisemitic incidents in the United States increased once again in 2024, the Anti-Defamation League reported, reaching a new all-time high and providing the latest indicator of a festering surge in antisemitism following Oct. 7, 2023.

The report, published Tuesday, recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the country, marking a 5% increase from the previous year. That figure is almost 10 times the number recorded a decade ago, in 2014. Tuesday’s report found that antisemitic assaults, vandalism and harassment all rose year over year.

For the first time since the ADL began publishing the audits, in 1979, a majority of all incidents were related to Israel or Zionism. Half took place at anti-Israel rallies.

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And the report found that the increase was driven by an 84% spike in campus antisemitism in a year when the pro-Palestinian encampment movement swept campuses nationwide and, many Jewish students said, created a hostile atmosphere.

“This horrifying level of antisemitism should never be accepted and yet, as our data shows, it has become a persistent and grim reality for American Jewish communities,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, in a press release. “Jewish Americans continue to be harassed, assaulted and targeted for who they are on a daily basis and everywhere they go. But let’s be clear: we will remain proud of our Jewish culture, religion and identities, and we will not be intimidated by bigots.”

The audit appears to give statistical heft to widespread American Jewish anxiety over rising antisemitism — particularly on campus — since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the outbreak of the war in Gaza. For years, the ADL’s audit has been seen as an authoritative survey of antisemitism in the United States, trusted by groups across the political spectrum.

But in tallying thousands of instances in which it says criticism of Israel constituted  antisemitism, the report touches on contentious territory. Pro-Palestinian groups have criticized the ADL for equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and what they say is an outsize focus on their movement.

The findings also come as the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus antisemitism has reached a fever pitch: The White House is seeking to deport a string of student activists in the encampment movement and has frozen billions of dollars of funding to a growing number of elite schools. Some Jewish groups on the right hope to aid that effort and have criticized legacy organizations like the ADL for being too timid.

In its count of 5,452 incidents related to Israel or Zionism, the ADL says it focused on sentiments it said “crossed the line into antisemitism through a range of concerning expressions.” Actions taken by anti-Israel protesters that the ADL counted as antisemitic included glorification of Hamas or celebration of the anniversary of Oct. 7.

The tally also includes slogans such as “death to Israel” and tropes about the blood libel or “Zionist media.” It also counted symbols such as Hamas armbands, Hezbollah flags and signage equating swastikas with Stars of David.

The group also tallied the common slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Many Jewish groups say the slogan is a call for Israel’s destruction, while activists have countered that it is a call for freedom.

Campus incidents accounted for 18% of the total, the largest proportion in the audit’s history. A month-by-month graph of the incidents tracks the school year: incidents peak in the spring, dip sharply in the summer and rise again in the fall, when classes resume.

The audit highlighted some specific campus incidents. At Depaul University’s encampment, the ADL noted that a person was told to “go back to Poland,” and another person was told they would be beheaded and that “[you] and the Jewish people like [you] should leave America.”

Broadly, the report documented an increase of around 20% in both assaults and vandalism since 2023. The ADL recorded 196 assaults in 2024 compared to 161 in 2023, and 2,606 incidents of vandalism in 2024 compared to 2,177 in 2023. There was a slight increase in antisemitic harassment.

In public areas writ large, antisemitic activity rose by 19%. And Jewish organizations received a total of 627 bomb threats, 89% of which targeted synagogues.

One assault included in the ADL’s audit was the stabbing of a Jewish man near the Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn last August. The assailant allegedly shouted “Free Palestine” and “Do you want to die?” at the victim before the attack.

And while the audit found that antisemitism swelled on campus, at the K-12 level, antisemitic incidents dropped by 26%, with a total of 860 incidents. The audit stated that category of incidents may be under-reported due to their sensitivity.

Antisemitic propaganda, including printed materials and public events, also saw a drop of 17% from 2023. Three white supremacist groups — the Patriot Front, Goyim Defense League and White Lives Matter network — were responsible for 94% of the propaganda.

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