Report

Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2022

Audit of antisemitic Incidents

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Executive Summary

Each year, ADL (Anti-Defamation League) tracks incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the United States. Since 1979 we have published this information in an annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.

In 2022, ADL tabulated 3,697 antisemitic incidents throughout the United States. This is a 36% increase from the 2,717 incidents tabulated in 2021 and the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. This is the third time in the past five years that the year-end total has been the highest number ever recorded.

Incidents increased in each of the major Audit categories: antisemitic harassment increased 29% to 2,298; antisemitic vandalism increased 51% to 1,288 and antisemitic assaults increased 26% to 111. The vast majority of antisemitic assaults (107 out of 111) were perpetrated without the use of a deadly weapon. There was one fatality. Notably, visibly Orthodox Jews were targeted in 53% of the assault incidents nationally. This year, no assaults perpetrated against the Jewish community resulted in mass causalities.

The dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents in 2022 in almost all categories cannot be attributed to any one cause or ideology. Significant surges in incidents include high volume increases in organized white supremacist propaganda activity (102% increase to 852 incidents), K-12 schools (49% increase to 494 incidents) and college campuses (41% increase to 219 incidents), as well as deeply troubling percentage increases in attacks on Orthodox Jews (69% increase to 59 Incidents) and bomb threats toward Jewish institutions (an increase from eight to 91 incidents).

 


In 2022, 241 incidents involved references to Israel or Zionism. This is a decline from 345 such incidents in 2021, which was an unusually high year due to antisemitic reactions to the May 2021 military conflict between Israel and Hamas.  This number is still 35% higher than the number of Israel/Zionism-related incidents in 2020. Of 2022’s 241 anti-Zionist/anti-Israel-related incidents, 70 incidents could be identified as having been perpetrated by individuals associated with hostile anti-Zionist activist groups, most commonly Witness for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine and its affiliates. Forty-six incidents took the form of white supremacist groups’ efforts to foment anti-Israel and antisemitic beliefs. For more on how ADL determines which Israel-related incidents to include, please see our Methodology section.

In 2022, there were 589 incidents logged at Jewish institutions such as synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish schools, an increase of 12% from 2021. The vast majority of those incidents took the form of harassment, but there were 86 incidents of vandalism and nine assaults. Bomb threats towards Jewish institutions were unusually high, with a total of 91. This is the highest number of bomb threats since 2017.  

In 2022, 494 incidents took place at non-Jewish K-12 schools, an increase of 49% from 2021. Incidents on college campuses also increased, by 41%, with 219 incidents.

This escalation in antisemitic incidents comes just as ADL has reported on Americans’ highest level of antisemitic attitudes in decades. According to ADL’s 2023 report Antisemitic Attitudes in America, 20% of Americans believe six or more antisemitic tropes, which is significantly more than the 11% that ADL found in 2019. Although a causal link between antisemitic attitudes and antisemitic activity has not been proven, it would not be surprising if some antisemites have become emboldened to act on their hatred in the current environment. This dramatic increase also occurs just as the FBI released its 2021 hate crime data (a year behind this report) showing that Jews remain the single most targeted religious minority in America. 

The complete dataset for antisemitic incidents for 2016-2022 is available on ADL’s H.E.A.T. Map, an interactive online tool that allows users to geographically chart antisemitic incidents and extremist activity nationally and regionally. Some details have been removed from the incident listings to protect victims’ privacy.

ADL acknowledges our Jewish partner organizations who shared data for the Audit. Those organizations include Community Security Initiative (CSI), Community Security Service (CSS), Hillel International, Secure Community Network (SCN), Union of Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. We thank these organizations for their ongoing efforts to help encourage reporting of antisemitic incidents.

Major Findings

In 2022, ADL tabulated 3,697 antisemitic incidents across the United States. This represents a 36% increase from the 2,717 incidents recorded in 2021 and is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

 


Harassment: Of the total, 2,298 incidents were categorized as harassment, defined as cases where one or more Jewish people (or people perceived to be Jewish) were harassed verbally or in writing with antisemitic slurs, stereotypes or conspiracy theories. Acts of harassment increased 29% from 1,776 in 2021.

Vandalism: Another 1,288 incidents were categorized as vandalism, defined as cases where property was damaged in a manner that incorporated evidence of antisemitic intent or which had an antisemitic impact on Jews. Swastikas, which are generally interpreted by Jews to be symbols of antisemitic hatred, were present in 792 of these incidents, up 37% from last year. Acts of antisemitic vandalism increased 51% from 853 in 2021.

Assault: A total of 111 incidents were categorized as assault, defined as cases where Jewish people (or people perceived to be Jewish) were targeted with physical violence accompanied by evidence of antisemitic animus. Antisemitic assaults increased 26% from 88 in 2021. The vast majority of antisemitic assaults (107 of 111) were perpetrated without the use of a deadly weapon and there were no assaults perpetrated against the Jewish community that resulted in mass causalities. Visibly Orthodox Jews were targeted in 59 of the assault incidents nationally (53%). Overall, the 111 assaults impacted 139 victims and resulted in one death.

2022 Incidents by State: Incidents occurred in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. The states with the highest number of incidents are New York (580), California (518), New Jersey (408), Florida (269) and Texas (211). Combined, these five states account for 54 % of the total incidents.

 
 

Monthly Comparisons: Incidents in 2022 were highest in November (394), October (347) and May (345) and were lowest in August (223), April (255) and September (260).  The previous highest month on record was May 2021 (387) which coincided with the military conflict between Israel and Hamas. This is the first year on record in which multiple months saw over 300 incidents. There were eight such months in 2022.

 


The dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents in 2022 in almost all categories cannot be attributed to any one cause or ideology. Significant surges in incidents include high volume increases in organized white supremacist propaganda activity (102% increase to 852 incidents), K-12 schools (49% increase to 494 incidents) and college campuses (41% increase to 219 incidents), as well as deeply troubling percentage increases in attacks on Orthodox Jews (69% increase to 59 Incidents) and bomb threats toward Jewish institutions (an increase from eight to 91 incidents).

Known white supremacist networks engaged in coordinated efforts to spread antisemitic propaganda, which accounted for 852 incidents in 2022, more than double the 422 incidents in 2021. If white supremacist activity had remained the same in 2022 as in 2021, the Audit total would have been 3,267 – an increase of 20%, rather than the actual increase of 36%.

This dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents comes as ADL has recorded Americans’ highest level of antisemitic attitudes in decades. According to ADL’s 2023 report Antisemitic Attitudes in America, 20% of Americans believe six or more antisemitic tropes, which is significantly more than the 11% that ADL found in 2019. Although the link between antisemitic attitudes and antisemitic activity has not been proven, it would not be surprising if some antisemites have become emboldened to act on their hatred in the current environment.

Methodology

  1. The ADL Audit of Antisemitic Incidents is comprised of both criminal and non-criminal incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations. It is not a public opinion poll or an effort to catalog every expression of antisemitism.
     
  2. Incidents are defined as vandalism of property or as harassment or assault on individuals and/or groups, where either 1) circumstances indicate anti-Jewish animus on the part of the perpetrator or 2) a reasonable person could plausibly conclude they were being victimized due to their Jewish identity. Vandalism against Jewish religious institutions or cemeteries may also be included.
     
  3. Swastikas: The appearance of swastikas, which are generally interpreted by Jews to be symbols of antisemitic hatred, are included in the Audit. However, swastikas are not included in circumstances when they appear to be targeting a different minority group. Additionally, swastikas used as a means of political protest are also not included. For example, in 2021, some Americans used swastikas, as well as references to Hitler and Nazi-era politics, in protests against COVID-19 public health measures and mask mandates; those incidents are not generally included in the Audit unless there was other evidence of antisemitic animus. ADL carefully examines the credibility of all incidents, including obtaining independent verification when possible.
     
  4. Online Content: The Audit includes cases where individuals or groups were harassed online via antisemitic content in direct messages, on listservs or in social media settings where they would have the reasonable expectation of not being subjected to antisemitism. The Audit does not attempt to assess the total amount of antisemitism online.
     
  5. Israel and Zionism:
  • ADL is careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism. Legitimate political protest or expressions of opposition to Israeli policies is not included in the Audit.
  • The Audit includes cases where Jewish individuals or identifiable groups are subjected to harassment or demonization for their perceived or actual support for Israel or Zionism, especially when the harassment incorporated anti-Jewish references, accusations and/or conspiracy theories.
  • The Audit also includes cases of picketing of Jewish religious or cultural institutions for their purported or real support for Israel. It does not include protests outside pro-Israel political activist groups or Israeli embassies/consulates unless those protests incorporate classic antisemitic tropes.
  • Public statements of opposition to Zionism, which are often antisemitic, are included in the Audit when it can be determined that they had a negative impact on one or more Jewish individuals or identifiable, localized groups of Jews. This is most commonly the case on college campuses, where studies have shown that vociferous opposition to Israel and Zionism can have a chilling effect on Jewish student life.  A full assessment of the scope of anti-Israel activism and its impact on American Jewish college students may be found in:
  1. The Audit excludes the following types of incidents:
  • Antisemitic activities or statements which take place in private venues (e.g., at a private meeting) or in a manner that requires potential victims to “opt-in” in order to access them (e.g., by going to websites where unmoderated discussion occurs, looking at specific individuals’ social media pages, etc.)
  • Instances of discrimination (e.g., a Jewish employee not receiving an accommodation for Rosh Hashanah), unless the discrimination is accompanied by verbal harassment as described above.
  • General expressions of white supremacy or other hateful ideologies, unless those expressions include overt antisemitic elements.
  1. Data Sources:
  • Incidents included in the Audit are identified through numerous methods, as explained below. ADL staff verify the credibility of every incident, eliminate duplicates and weed out trolling and spam before including them in the Audit.
  • The majority of the incidents included in the Audit are reported to ADL directly by Jewish victims via our online form, email or phone message.
  • ADL Center on Extremism researchers also monitor media reports and other online spaces for credible reports of antisemitic incidents.
  • In 2021, the Audit began incorporating reports of antisemitic incidents from other Jewish organizations with whom ADL has established partnerships. Those organizations include Community Security Initiative (CSI), Community Security Service (CSS), Hillel International, Secure Community Network (SCN), Union of Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. We thank these organizations for their ongoing efforts to help encourage reporting of antisemitic incidents.
  • ADL appreciates the assistance of our many law enforcement partners who share information about antisemitic incidents and criminal activity with us. Many of those incidents are included in the Audit as well.

Policy Recommendations for Government

The 2022 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents documents alarmingly high levels of antisemitism in the United States, which requires a concerted whole-of-government, whole-of-society response. While there is no single fix to this alarming trend, ADL’s COMBAT Plan offers a comprehensive, six-part framework for elected officials and policymakers to take meaningful action to fight antisemitism. ADL urges leaders to:

Condemn Antisemitism

Oppose Hate and Extremism Driven by Antisemitism

Make Communities Safe from Antisemitism

Block Antisemitism Online

Act Against Global Antisemitism

Teach about Antisemitism

Condemn Antisemitism

Public officials and civic leaders — from the President, to governors, attorneys general, mayors, other civic leaders, and law enforcement authorities — must use their bully pulpits to speak out against antisemitism and all forms of hate and extremism. Regardless of its origins — from the far left to the far right and anywhere in between — leaders must call out antisemitism, including anti-Zionist antisemitism, and rally their communities to action.

  • Condemn all forms of antisemitism, and respond to antisemitic incidents, in timely, specific, and direct ways.
  • Challenge antisemitism in the United States via a whole-of-government strategy.
  • Incorporate antisemitism education and training in government, as part of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) efforts and other anti-bias initiatives.
  • Urge federal, state, and local elected officials to sign ADL's Pledge Against Antisemitism.
  • Adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism as a legally nonbinding education tool.

Oppose Hate and Extremism Driven by Antisemitism

Fighting hate crime is a critical task, especially now that antisemitism and other forms of hate, racism, and bigotry are at all-time high levels. It is particularly alarming that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) hate crime statistics for 2021 convey the lowest participation from cities and states in two decades. At a time when communities across the country are feeling increasingly vulnerable to bias-motivated crimes and extremist-fueled attacks, the work to address them and resolve the alarming gaps in data collection and reporting becomes more important to combat hate-motivated violence.

  • Support hate crime laws and improve hate crime data collection and reporting.
  • Support full funding of the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act.
  • Adopt wide-ranging measures to combat all forms of domestic antisemitic extremism, most notably the array of policy recommendations outlined in ADL’s PROTECT plan.

Make Institutions Safe from Antisemitism

Whether the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Chabad in Poway, or hate against Jewish students on college campuses, there is an acute threat of antisemitic violence and harassment. For the past decade, funding assistance from federal, state, and local governments has provided crucial support for security hardening and enhancements for our nation’s non-profit institutions, including religious institutions. This responds to the continuing targeting by violent extremists of synagogues, mosques, churches, temples, and other houses of worship and religious gathering places – a threat that was once again brought into stark reality by the horrific hostage-taking at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on January 15, 2022. At a time of increased vulnerability to threats of hate-motivated violence by domestic extremists, the Jewish community must be protected from these threats and counter the movements that produce them.

  • Protect the physical security of Jewish community institutions through full funding of the Non-Profit Security Grant Program.
  • Request synagogues across the country to join ADL’s Kulanu: Synagogues in Action Against Antisemitism program.
  • Safeguard Jewish students in post-secondary institutions.
  • Fully enact Executive Order (EO) 13899 on Combating Anti-Semitism enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against prohibited discrimination rooted in antisemitism.
  • Urge federal and state Departments of Education and post-secondary institutions to rigorously enforce existing anti-discrimination policies and ensure that appropriate disciplinary measures are employed against individuals and institutions when appropriate.

Block Antisemitism Online

Federal and state governments have an important role in reducing online hate, harassment, and extremism fueled by antisemitism, which have become all too commonplace. The proliferation of online harassment, abuse, and misogyny has resulted in the normalization of this abusive behavior and the degradation of our democracy and public safety, including through the suppression and silencing of diverse voices, and the violent expression of gender-motivated, extremist acts.

  • Adopt ADL’s comprehensive approach to combating online hate, harassment, and extremism, including antisemitism, as delineated in the REPAIR plan.
  • Advocate for platform accountability, transparency, and data access measures.
  • Support online literacy programs, in collaboration with the private sector, to help educate the general public to identify hate speech to avoid unintentional indoctrination.

Act Against Global Antisemitism

Global antisemitism is on the rise. Cultures of violence, silence, and complacency have helped antisemitism to gain new currency around the world. Without the requisite proactivity and knowledge to recognize this evil, we are at a disadvantage to stop it. Combating antisemitism around the world is an American interest, and there is no way that we can win this fight unless America plays a leading role by pressing other countries to do more.

  • Strengthen the Offices of the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and the U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues.
  • Amplify intergovernmental cooperation between the U.S. and foreign governments to fight global antisemitism and specific regional manifestations.
  • Support furthering the Abraham Accords to usher in a new era of bridge-building between Israel and her neighbors and provide unprecedented opportunities to promote tolerance and fight antisemitism in the region.
  • Counter state-sponsored antisemitism and related terrorism.
  • Mobilize against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and other efforts to demonize, delegitimize and isolate Israel in international fora.

Teach About Antisemitism

Eliminating antisemitism and other forms of bigotry requires government and civil society leaders to promote anti-hate, anti-bias, and civics education programs. As intolerance, antisemitism, bigotry, and Holocaust denialism and distortion are on the rise and continuously promoted by hate groups, Holocaust education provides a context in which to learn about the danger of what can happen when hate goes unchallenged and there is indifference in the face of the oppression of others; learning how and why the Holocaust happened is an important component of the education of members of our society. If we do not make sure our children are learning about the Holocaust and antisemitism, history will repeat itself.

  • Promote understanding of Jewish people today.
  • Include antisemitism in anti-bias education and related training.
  • Support ADL’s #LearnToNeverForget campaign.
  • Study Holocaust education efforts nationwide and properly resource them, including through the Never Again Education Act.
  • Encourage state governments to institute age-appropriate Holocaust and antisemitism education as part of their curricula and provide the means for school districts and educational institutions to deliver such education.
  • Advance global efforts to support Holocaust and antisemitism education and curriculum that fights violence, bigotry, and hate, particularly within the Middle East.

Policy Recommendations for Technology Platforms

These recommendations are informed by incident reports of antisemitism involving technology that the ADL received in 2022.  While the pervasive scope of these incidents touched individuals across different age ranges, professional disciplines, cultural backgrounds, and geographic locations–including everyone from teenagers to university professors to elected officials to religious leaders–all are bound by the common experience of online hate and its detrimental impacts.

As we found in our Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience 2022 survey, hate-based harassment, which targets people because of their membership in a marginalized or minoritized identity group, remains high and significantly impacts its victims.  Further, we found that it continues to be the most prevalent on social media platforms, including Facebook (68% to date), Instagram (26% to date), and Twitter (23% to date).

As platforms can play a significant role in curbing online hate-based harassment and abuse, the following recommendations provide a range of options that platforms should pursue as they do their part to promote user safety and combat online hate, harassment, and extremism.

1. Ensure strong policies against hate.

Effective content moderation cannot exist without strong content policies that unequivocally condemn hate, harassment, and abuse.  In addition to prohibiting abusive conduct and establishing consequences for policy violations, a platform’s content policies should be clear and instructive to users, which may include examples as necessary in order to illustrate the conduct and content that are not permitted on a platform.

2. Make content policy and reporting features more accessible for users.

Strong policies against hate and robust moderation efforts can only be as helpful as they are accessible. Content policies should be  easy to find, read, and understand, and use plain language that makes sense to users of any background. It should be translated into the languages that its users read, and also consider the needs of users with disabilities: for example, including audio and alt text options.

Reporting systems for violations of content policies should be accessible to users as well.  Making reporting accessible ensures that users who spot or experience online hate can play a role in preventing its spread and preserving online safety for themselves and others.

In addition to having a centralized reporting center, platforms must also ensure that their interfaces allow for easy flagging and reporting of individual objectionable posts, comments, and users that violate their policies.

3. Using both policy and product tools, develop and implement effective, scalable, and equitable enforcement mechanisms.

Policy

It isn’t enough for platforms to have policies against hate; they must consistently and effectively enforce these policies.  Platforms must dedicate resources (technical and personnel) toward trust and safety efforts and have staff in place tasked with enforcing platform policies and addressing violations.

When engaging in content moderation efforts, platforms must be conscious of making equitable moderation decisions: ensuring that all users are held to the same standards of conduct, including (and especially) celebrities, politicians, and premium or verified users.

Product

Product-focused best practices for content moderation involve developing and implementing effective tools and features for flagging violative content.  These mechanisms may function by limiting the reach of violative content; creating barriers that delay or discourage the spread of hateful content, or determining when hateful words, symbols, or expressions are being weaponized on a platform.

We encourage technology companies to refer to our Hate Symbols Database, a helpful resource for identifying and screening out hateful and antisemitic content before it causes harm.

4. Center the experiences of victims of online harassment and abuse, and approach design decisions through an anti-hate lens.

While major technology platforms may have millions, and even billions, of users, they are still composed of networks of individuals, and individuals can suffer severe injury from online harms.  It is incumbent on platforms to engage in content moderation and product design measures that are inherently considerate of individual users and their experiences. Examples of this include reporting processes that don’t subject victims of online abuse to undue burden or hardship, automatically hiding content that is likely to be hateful in nature, and facilitating access to external resources–like law enforcement, emergency healthcare, or mental health support–for users who may urgently need them.  Tech companies should implement the anti-hate by design principles in ADL’s Social Pattern Library.

5. Commit to transparency in content moderation decisions and approaches to online hate, harassment, and abuse. 

Technology companies must produce regular transparency reports and submit to regularly scheduled external, independent audits so that the public knows the extent of hate and harassment on their platforms.

Transparency reports must be expanded to include far more data about online hate than what is generally available at present and should include data from user-generated, identity-based reporting.

Platforms should also provide transparency regarding non-removal related content moderation actions they take, and the effects of these measures. In addition to transparency reports, technology companies should allow third-party audits of their work on content moderation on their platforms. Audits would also allow the public to verify that the company followed through on its stated actions and to assess the effectiveness of company efforts across time.

Acknowledgements

The work of ADL’s Center on Extremism is made possible, in part, with generous support from:

Anonymous(4)
The ADL Lewy Family Institute for Combatting Antisemitism
David Berg Foundation
Crown Family Philanthropies
Lillian and Larry Goodman Foundations
Klarman Family Foundation
Morton H. Meyerson Family Foundation/Marlene Nathan Meyerson Family Foundation
Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation
The Nancy K. Silverman Foundation
The Tepper Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation

ADL is grateful to all of the generous supporters who make our work possible.