The record rise in antisemitism is a warning to all Americans

The numbers are staggering — and sobering.

In 2024, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 9,354 incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the U.S. That’s the highest total in our 46-year history of tracking this data, averaging more than 25 incidents per day. 

For the fourth year in a row, the count has broken previous records, and for the first time, a majority of these incidents were tied to Israel or Zionism — often in the form of grotesque celebrations of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, calls for violence and centuries-old antisemitic tropes repackaged for a new generation.

Let’s be clear: this is not business as usual. This is an inflection point — for the Jewish community and for the American society we cherish.

More than 18 months after the Oct. 7 massacre — an event that shattered the lives of thousands in Israel and brought unimaginable loss to so many — the wave of antisemitism has not receded. What might have been seen as a temporary backlash in the immediate aftermath of that horrific day has instead hardened into a sustained assault.

We are not only experiencing a wave of antisemitism; we are watching the tide of hatred rise alongside a broader assault on societal norms.

Just days ago, we witnessed the chilling arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) home on the first night of Passover. Shapiro, a Jewish public servant, was seemingly targeted in an act of political intimidation because of his support for Israel. 

Let’s be clear: This was not simply an attack on one leader, party or community. It was an attack on the very ideals that undergird pluralism — a stark reminder that hatred directed at Jews rarely stays contained to one group.

We are seeing these assaults not just in isolated incidents but reflected in broader, deeply troubling realities across the country. The data in this year’s audit tells the story — but the audit is more than just a tally. It is a snapshot of a deeper trend: When hateful ideologies move from the margins to the mainstream and are reflected across all types of incidents, the impact on Jewish life is profound, and it signals a broader unraveling of the health of our society.

Campus incidents of antisemitism rose by 84 percent last year, the steepest increase we’ve ever recorded at colleges and universities. Swastikas — the chilling signature of white supremacy — appeared in more than a third of antisemitic vandalism cases. Even as some voices claim to champion justice, we saw unapologetic support for terror and open calls for the destruction of Jews and Jewish life.

This is not activism. It is hatred entering the mainstream. We will not be silent in the face of this menace — not on campus, not in our communities, and not in our politics.

Jewish Americans and all Americans deserve to live openly and proudly without fear or apology. We cannot be intimidated by bigots, and we cannot retreat from the public square. To the contrary, we must stand even taller, shoulder to shoulder with other communities under threat, knowing that our future is intertwined.

We need leaders to call out antisemitism in all its forms — without equivocation, without delay. We need allies to link arms with the Jewish community — not just when headlines demand it, but every day, in the daily work of fighting hate.

This is a time for moral clarity. For courage. For solidarity. It’s natural to feel afraid when the threats are so real, and the stakes so high. 

But we must not let fear paralyze us. We must find our courage and act. The future of our free and fair society depends on it.

Jonathan Greenblatt is CEO of the Anti-Defamation League.