New England saw a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in 2023, surpassing the national increase, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League.
“ADL has been carefully tracking antisemitic incidents for 45 years,” said Rabbi Ron Fish, ADL New England interim region director. “The numbers are simply stunning. We have observed a significant rise of incidents, followed by a surge, followed now by a tsunami.”
A total of 623 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism were recorded in the New England region last year, according to ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which was released Tuesday.
“[That’s] a 205 percent increase from 2022 and the highest number of antisemitic incidents ever recorded in the region,” ADL wrote in a release Tuesday. “The regional increase in antisemitic incidents reported to ADL outpaced the 140 percent increase reported across the country.”
Across the nation, ADL recorded 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2023, which is the highest total since the organization began collecting data on antisemitic incidents in 1979.
There was a “dramatic” spike post Oct. 7 recorded, according to the report. Of the 623 incidents, 351 happened in the final three months of the year.
Massachusetts accounted for 440 incidents — a 189% increase over the previous year, according to ADL’s report, outpacing the increase nationally.
Vandalism increased by 70%, harassment went up by 344% and assaults doubled, ADL said.
The Bay State recorded the fifth highest number of incidents per state in the U.S., according to ADL, and placed sixth among highest number of incidents per state.
The other New England states also saw an uptick in incidents “year over year,” ADL said. Maine recorded 53 incidents, New Hampshire 35, Rhode Island 52 and Vermont 43.
In Massachusetts, 127 cities and town witnessed at least one antisemitic incident last year, ADL reported.
“Included in the count are antisemitic assaults, incidents of white supremacist propaganda, incidents in K-12 schools and vandalism of Jewish institutions,” said ADL.
Incidents on college campuses, according to ADL, tripled and in non-Jewish K-12 schools, the number doubled.
Of the 623 incidents, 115 had an “extremist” connection, ADL reported, including white supremacist propaganda distribution, swatting and bomb threats.
Bomb threats directed at Jewish institutions were up tenfold across the U.S., ADL said.
“This is intolerable in New England as it is anywhere in the country,” said Fish. “We call upon everyone who cares about living in a decent society to unite and stop this rise in anti-Jewish hate. Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem. It is a societal problem. We can only solve it together.”
