Full Breakdown
Surge in Antisemitic Physical Assaults in the United States, 2025
5/8/2026, 2:22:24 AM
Record Violence
ADL logged 203 antisemitic assaults in 2025, up 4 % from 2024, with 32 involving a deadly weapon. Three people died: two Israeli Embassy staff shot outside Washington, DC’s Capital Jewish Museum (May 21) and a fire-bomb victim in Boulder, Colorado (June 1).
Background & Trends
Overall antisemitic incidents fell 33 % to 6,274 (17 per day). Campus reports dropped 66 % (1,694 to 583). Vandalism fell 21 % and harassment 39 %. 45 % of incidents referenced Israel or Zionism, 38 % of violent assaults targeted Orthodox Jews, and New York accounted for 1,160 incidents and 90 assaults (44 % of national violent attacks).
Key Figures & Groups
ADL senior VP Oren Segal, CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, and tracker Rachel Sass led the analysis; regional directors Scott Richman and Todd Young reported local spikes. Survivor Ed Victor said he feels unsafe.
Official Statements & Responses
ADL warned the assault surge signals a historically high threat. Greenblatt called 2025 “one of the most violent years for American Jews.” Police coordinated with ADL to protect communities.
Why It Matters / Impact
The rise threatens Jewish safety and public safety. ADL seeks a $1 billion grant increase and the SACRED Act’s 100-foot safe zones.
Criticism & Opposition
Some analysts say ADL’s anti-Zionist definition blurs political speech and inflates numbers; others note overall declines mask violent assaults.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
CNN lists 2025 fatalities as first since 2022; Times of Israel cites 2019. NY Post and Breitbart both report 90 assaults, but the latter stresses 44 % of national attacks. Bomb-threat counts differ: 59 vs 1,160.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Even as overall incidents declined, the surge in physical assaults is a stark reminder that a historically high level of antisemitism puts Jewish lives at risk.” — Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence
- “Numbers that would have shocked us five years ago are now our floor.” — Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and national director
- “It is not antisemitic to criticize Israeli government policies, but it is antisemitic to use criticism of Israel as a pretext to harass, to assault and to otherwise target the Jewish community around the globe,” — Rachel Sass, ADL antisemitism tracker
- “While it is encouraging that reported antisemitic incidents in New York fell by nearly 20% in 2025, the 1,160 cases which we tracked and responded to remain double the number before the massive spike post 10/7, and I know firsthand that too many New Yorkers lived in fear in 2025 of being the victim of antisemitism,” — Scott Richman, ADL New York/New Jersey Regional Director
What's Next
ADL will lobby Congress for a $1 billion grant boost and the SACRED Act.
