Mass. had fifth most antisemitic incidents in the country last year

The Anti-Defamation League reported 438 antisemitic incidents in Massachusetts in 2024 — the fifth most of any state — as part of its annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. 

The audit, which is made up of both criminal and non-criminal incidents reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media, and partner organizations, has been conducted and published annually since 1979. ADL tabulated 9,354 antisemitic incidents nationwide last year, the highest number on record since the annual audits started in 1979 and a 5% increase from the 8,873 incidents recorded in 2023. There has been a 344% increase in incidents over the past five years and an 893% increase over the past 10 years.

Of the 438 incidents reported in Massachusetts, 276 were classified as harassment, 157 as vandalism, and five as assault. It’s a very slight decrease from the 440 incidents reported in 2023 and a major increase from the 152 incidents reported in 2022. 

“Elevated antisemitism has become a persistent reality for American Jewish communities rather than a temporary spike in the months immediately after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023,” ADL wrote in its report. 

Massachusetts had the fifth most antisemitic incidents, after New York, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Its “primary hotspots” were identified as Boston with 96 incidents, Cambridge with 52 incidents, and Newton with 25 incidents. 

Massachusetts also ranked third for college campus incidents, which saw an 84% increase nationally. On Massachusetts campuses, 89% of the total 107 incidents were Israel-related. ADL reported Jewish students were “spat on and harassed” during a student government meeting at Tufts University in March 2024 that also included incidents of aggression toward Palestinian students and supporters and that signs at a Suffolk University protest displayed messages including “Zionists not welcome here” and “Eat this you fascist Zionist scum.” 

Overall, anti-Israel sentiment played a larger role in incidents than ever before, ADL said, with 58% of all incidents “elements related to Israel or Zionism.” It’s the first time references to either have made up a majority of incidents. 

“ADL does not consider criticism of Israel or general anti-Israel activism to be antisemitic and does not count such incidents in the Audit,” ADL wrote. “But increasingly, extreme actors in the anti-Israel space have incorporated antisemitic rhetoric into their activism, and it has become commonplace for perpetrators across the political spectrum to voice hatred of Israel or conspiracy theories about the state in a range of antisemitic attacks.”