Antisemitic assaults reached a record high in the US last year, Anti-Defamation League report says
By Cindy Von Quednow, CNN
(CNN) — Antisemitic physical assaults in the United States reached record highs in 2025 and included the first fatalities from antisemitic attacks on American soil since 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual report.
Two Israeli Embassy staff members were fatally shot last May outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, the first Jewish fatalities from antisemitic attacks on US soil since 2019. Just a month later, a man in Colorado firebombed an event organized by members of the Jewish community to bring attention to the Israeli hostages still in Gaza. An 82-year-old Jewish woman later died from her injuries.
The last death tied to antisemitism was reported in 2022, when a University of Arizona professor, who was not Jewish, was killed by a graduate student who believed he was Jewish.
Antisemitic physical assaults increased by 4% and assaults involving a deadly weapon went up by 39%, the ADL said.
“The surge in physical assaults is a stark reminder that a historically high level of antisemitism puts Jewish lives at risk,” Oren Segal, ADL’s senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence, said in a news release.
Overall antisemitic incidents decreased 33% from 2024, but remain “considerably higher than the total in years prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel,” the ADL said in the release.
There were a total of 6,274 incidents of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism in 2025, an average of 17 incidents per day, according to the report. That’s up from an average of 8 incidents per day between 2020 and 2022.
Last April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was broken into and set ablaze, forcing the governor and his family to flee. Hours before, Shapiro and his family had been celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover.
“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,” Segal said.
A separate annual report that collects incidents around the world found violent antisemitic attacks in 2025 killed the highest number of Jews in 30 years.
In a survey early last year, the ADL found that 46% of adults around the world harbor “deeply entrenched” antisemitic attitudes. The number of people who hold antisemitic beliefs more than doubled over the past decade, the ADL found.
Vandalism and harassment incidents decrease
A total of 203 incidents were described as assaults, with 32 involving a deadly weapon. At least 300 people were victimized by those assaults, the ADL found.
Instances of vandalism decreased by 21%, while incidents of harassment decreased by 39%, according to the report.
Incidents on college and university campuses saw the steepest drop of any location type, according to the ADL. In 2025, the organization recorded 583 antisemitic incidents on college campuses, 66% lower than in 2024, which saw 1,694 incidents. The ADL attributes the decrease in part to colleges addressing antisemitism on campuses.
Antisemitic incidents occurred in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the report.
ADL calls for change on federal level
The ADL is calling for strengthening the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, saying the bipartisan program is “lifesaving.”
The program provides at-risk institutions like synagogues and schools with resources to help prevent attacks before they occur.
The organization also wants Congress to support a bill to protect safe access to houses of worship. The Safeguarding Access to Congregations and Religious Establishments from Disruption, or SACRED Act, would establish safe access zones around houses of worship, prohibiting conduct intended to intimidate or obstruct congregants.
CNN’s Brynn Gingras contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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