Data from the Anti-Defamation League shows that 2024 had the most recorded instances of antisemitism in the U.S. since the organization began tracking in 1979, according to its annual antisemitism audit that was released on April 22.
The ADL recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents in 2024, a 5% increase from the 8,873 incidents recorded in 2023, with a significant increase of 20% in vandalism incidents and 21% in assaults driving the figures up.
Data on Maryland showed an overall 5% increase in incidents from 2023, in line with the national average, with a 7% reduction in reported harassment, 210 incidents to 195, a 24.2% increase in reported vandalism, 124 incidents to 154, and a 40% increase in assaults, 5 incidents to 7.
“Everything that we do at ADL, from research and advocacy to education and disruption, is grounded in data, not on assumptions, not on perceptions, but rather what is actually happening in our community,” Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counterextremism and intelligence, said during a webinar about the audit. “Some of you may be surprised by this data, 26 incidents a day, at least one per hour, but I would ask you, how surprised can you really be if you have followed our research and our advocacy over the past year?”
The increased figures continue an explosive trend in antisemitic incidents recorded by the ADL, with a 344% increase in incidents over the past five years and an 893% increase over the past 10 years.
ADL data shows a spike in antisemitic incidents in 2023 immediately after Oct. 7, with 58.6% of the yearly total occurring in the last 85 days of the year, peaking at 1,938 incidents in December 2023.
No month in 2024 had a higher total than the 1,137 incidents recorded in May 2024, during the height of the protests on college campuses, and numbers plummeted during the summer months, with 390 incidents recorded in July.
“Each and every one of these incidents is not just a data point or a number. There are human beings behind each and every one of these incidents that have had to endure through these activities,” Segal said.
2024 also marked the first time in the 46-year history of the audit that a majority of the reported incidents contained anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiments, making up 58% of the total incidents.
The audit said that anti-Israel activism is not inherently antisemitic but added that “extreme actors in the anti-Israel space have incorporated antisemitic rhetoric into their activism.”
The ADL provided examples of anti-Israel activism becoming antisemitic, including praise for the Oct. 7 attacks, displaying support for Hamas and Hezbollah, chants like “Death to Israel” and “from the river to the sea,” equating the Star of David to a swastika, and more.
Data from the audit showed the 2,596 of over 5,000 protests tracked by the ADL in 2024 had antisemitic elements through signs, chants or speeches.
Another change in 2024 arrived through the sharp increase of incidents on college campuses, with an 84% rise from 2023 to 1,694 incidents while making up 18% of the national incidents.
ADL reported an increase in harassment of Jewish students and Jewish institutions on campus, vandalism targeting student dorms, Hillels and Chabad chapters, and some assaults during protests on campus.
“While college and university incidents, historically in the audit, comprise only a small percentage of all incidents, in 2024 they became epicenters of antisemitic activity,” said Rachel Sass, ADL’s senior antisemitic incident specialist.
Anti-Israel and anti-Zionist material was again a feature of white supremacist propaganda this year, with antisemitism being a major focal point of these groups’ messaging.
Overall, antisemitic white supremacist propaganda distribution decreased by 17% from 2023, but the total still remains historically high at 962 incidents.
The ADL attributed the drop to new legislation discouraging some groups from distributing certain propaganda and some prominent groups dissolving in 2024.
Looking specifically at Maryland, it was a difficult year for the state regarding antisemitism, recording the sixth most incidents in the country with 356, and ranking fifth per capita with 5.68 incidents per 100,000 residents.
The state’s 5% increase in incidents from 2023 to 2024 also leaves out the larger trend of a 227% increase since 2022.
The highest concentration of incidents came from Montgomery County, which had 38% of all reported incidents in the state and 90% of the state’s K-12 antisemitism incidents.
Public schools have become a hotspot for antisemitism in Maryland, where the state ranks second nationally, according to the ADL.
The audit shows that the state ranks third nationally for school-based incidents and saw the first assault on a local college campus in three years, which contained anti-Israel elements.
Targeted harassment of Jewish institutions is also up in the state, from 39 incidents in 2023 to 65 this year with 48 being categorized as harassment.
The ADL is continuing to monitor these trends throughout the year and is pushing for legislation to protect Jewish communities across the country, including the County Board Member Anti-Bias Training Act in Maryland, which is waiting for Gov. Wes Moore’s signature.
“These numbers are frightening, but they do not define us. We will not let them define us. The friends who want to help us … far outnumber those who [are against us]. We should be proud of our Jewish identity and of our private Jewish communities. We should be proud of our Jewish identity, including that which involves connection to Israel,” Sass said.
