New ADL Data Shows Shift: Fewer Incidents, More Violent Antisemitism

Antisemitic incidents in the United States declined sharply in 2025, but the nature of those attacks became more violent, according to an annual audit released Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

The report, published today, recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents nationwide in 2025, a 33% drop from 9,354 in 2024. But alongside that decline, assaults increased, attacks involving weapons surged, and three people were killed in antisemitic violence, marking the first such deaths since 2019.

The data presents a shift in how antisemitism manifested over the past year: fewer total incidents, but a rise in the most dangerous forms of attack. While harassment and vandalism fell significantly, physical violence continued to climb, making 2025 one of the most violent years for American Jews in recent memory.

According to the ADL, assaults rose from 196 in 2024 to 203 in 2025, with at least 300 victims targeted. Incidents involving a deadly weapon jumped by 39%, from 23 to 32 cases. The year also saw three fatalities linked to antisemitic attacks, including two Israeli embassy staffers shot outside a Jewish museum in Washington and a victim who later died from injuries sustained in a firebombing attack during a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado.

“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,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL’s CEO. “People are being murdered because of antisemitism on American soil, and thousands more are threatened. ADL will not stop until that baseline changes.”

Oren Segal, the group’s senior vice president for Counter-Extremism and Intelligence, added: “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. 2025 brought some of the most violent antisemitic attacks in recent memory.”

At the same time, several major categories of antisemitic activity declined. Incidents of harassment dropped from 6,552 to 4,003, while vandalism fell from 2,606 to 2,068. Incidents targeting Jewish institutions decreased by 34%, and bomb threats dropped sharply, from 627 in 2024 to 59 in 2025.

College campuses, which had been a central flashpoint in 2024, saw one of the steepest declines. The ADL recorded a 66% drop in campus-related incidents, from 1,694 to 583. Incidents tied to anti-Israel protests on campuses fell by 83%, as many universities imposed stricter rules on demonstrations and dismantled protest encampments.

Incidents in K-12 schools also declined slightly, with most involving peer-to-peer harassment such as antisemitic bullying or vandalism. The report also noted a nearly 50% decrease in the distribution of white supremacist propaganda.

The audit continues to draw criticism from some pro-Palestinian voices over how it classifies certain anti-Israel expressions. This year, 45% of incidents recorded by the ADL were related to Israel or Zionism, down from 58% in 2024. The organization said its methodology excludes legitimate political protest, but includes cases where demonstrators glorify violence against Jews or support terror groups such as Hamas or Hezbollah.

Aryeh Tuchman, a former longtime ADL researcher now with the Nexus Project, said that despite disagreements over definitions, the audit remains the most comprehensive dataset available. “The best data set of antisemitic incidents that anyone can compile in the United States,” he said, adding that debates over what constitutes antisemitism continue across the field.

The ADL findings leave a mixed picture: while antisemitic incidents became less widespread in 2025 compared to the previous year, the attacks that did occur were more likely to involve direct violence, weapons, and, in some cases, deadly outcomes.