The Anti-Defamation League released the 2023 edition of its annual antisemitism audit, which shows a major spike in antisemitic incidents nationally and in the DMV area. There were more incidents recorded nationally in 2023 than the previous three years combined, and a 362% rise in reported incidents in Washington, D.C., with Maryland and Virginia experiencing significant increases as well.
The 8,873 reported incidents in the U.S. in 2023 shattered the record for yearly antisemitic incidents since the ADL began compiling this annual audit 45 years ago, with a staggering 5,204 antisemitic acts post-Oct. 7, bringing the average number of antisemitic incidents in a day in 2023 to 24, or roughly one per hour.
“There is a plague of antisemitism. And this is a national crisis. It’s a national emergency that we’re seeing,” said Meredith Weisel, regional director of the ADL’s Washington, D.C., office.
Weisel and the ADL report said that this dramatic increase is due in some part to a rising trend of antisemitism that’s been noticeably present for around five years, but is largely due to the conflict in Israel, with 52% of antisemitic incidents post-Oct. 7 including references to Israel, Zionism or Palestine.
But the report shows that even when excluding the post-Oct. 7 surge and any Israel-related incidents, there were still major increases in antisemitism. Notably, five of the nine months in 2023 prior to October all broke the previous record for incidents recorded in a single month, which was set in November 2022.
There was also a 65% increase in non-Israel related incidents from 2022 to 2023, up to 5,711 from 3,457.
“This data is confirming what Jewish communities are seeing firsthand across the country, because we are also seeing this corresponding notable rise in antisemitic attitudes,” Weisel said. “Whether every incident has been recorded or not, we know that this is impacting us on a national basis.”
The national figures are also reflected in the DMV community, with Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia all being in the top 20 states with the most antisemitic incidents in the nation, ranking seventh, 17th, and 11th, respectively.
Washington, D.C., had the largest percent increase in antisemitic incidents of the three local areas from 2022 — up 362% — going from 37 incidents in 2022 to 171 in 2023.
The District had massive increases in antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault, with 119 reported incidents of harassment in 2023 (a 396% increase), 46 cases of vandalism (a 254% increase) and six assaults, up from zero in 2022.
Virginia was next, seeing a 223% increase in incidents from 2022, and recording 223 incidents in 2023, up from 69 in 2022.
Virginia faced similar concerning problems with increased harassment, vandalism and assault, with harassment up 108 incidents (a 216% increase), vandalism up 43 incidents (a 226% increase) and three assaults, up from zero in 2022.
Maryland had the lowest percent change in incidents but the highest total number, with a 211% increase overall and 339 antisemitic incidents in 2023, up from 109 in 2022.
The state also had increased harassment, vandalism and assault, with 210 incidents of harassment (a 233% increase), 124 incidents of vandalism (a 188% increase) and five incidents of assault (a 67% increase).
These statistics are significantly affecting Jewish communities across the country, with Weisel saying that people are feeling the impact of extremist actors disrupting the lives of Jewish people.
“Statistics are not just numbers. We have to remember that behind every single incident, whether it’s a piece of propaganda or somebody physically assaulted or some graffiti that somebody saw on the street, there’s an innocent person behind every single one of these,” Weisel said.
That principle is a major driving force behind why the ADL works so hard to compile this data each year. It enables the anti-hate organization to see where the major issues are, allowing them to fight vigorously for policy changes at both the local and national levels to address concerning antisemitic trends in the U.S.
“We want to know [about any incidents] because that helps us have a better sense of the trends. And it helps us do better advocacy with our federal government or state government and our local governments, and also within our education systems,” Weisel said.
Weisel spoke about some of the things that she and the ADL would like to see from governments as they work to quell the spread of hate and bigotry highlighted by the report.
She said the ADL has been working to help get the Countering Antisemitism Act passed by Congress, one of the most comprehensive pieces of legislation focused on antisemitism ever introduced, along with efforts to boost Holocaust education in schools across the country and having local leaders recognize Jewish American Heritage Month, which falls in May.
Weisel said that now is an important time for people in all areas of life, Jewish and non-Jewish, to clearly set zero-tolerance policies for antisemitism and to stand together as allies against the wave of hate we’re currently seeing.
“I have a call to everybody, anybody who is willing to stand up with your Jewish friends, with your neighbors and say, ‘I’m here for allyship, I am here to help figure out how to stop this dramatic increase.’ That alone means so much to everybody,”
Weisel said.
