Antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania in 2024 set a record for the number of offenses, marking the third straight year that the total surpassed the previous record, according to a report released by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.
Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the country for number of antisemitic incidents, with 465. This marks an 18% increase from last year’s 393 incidents and a 308% jump from 2022, when there were 114 incidents. The report says that 72% of the tracked events were harassment, while 25% were vandalism and 3% were physical assaults.
“We’ve seen incidents across Philadelphia and the surrounding counties happening in many different venues,” said Jason Holtzman, chief of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Jewish Community Relations Council. “It was really the [entire] Philadelphia area that received the most antisemitic incidents [of any area in the state], and that doesn’t surprise me much.”
Philadelphia County saw the most incidents of any in the state at 162. Second was Allegheny County with 84, nearly half as many as Philadelphia. Montgomery County (38), Delaware County (27) and Lehigh County (18) rounded out the top five.
Nationally, the ADL said that there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the country last year. That was a 5% increase from 2023, a 344% increase over the past five years and an 893% increase over the previous 10 years. The year 2024 saw the most national incidents in a year since the ADL started tracking antisemitic incidents.
“Since I joined ADL three years ago, we have tracked a continuous rise in antisemitic incidents, and the data continues to astound me,” said ADL Philadelphia Regional Director Andrew Goretsky. “In 2023, Pennsylvania saw five assaults, all of which involved schoolchildren. A year later, Pennsylvania saw 12 assaults, one of which included a weapon.
The Jewish community is being harassed, threatened and attacked. From synagogues to college campuses and everywhere in between, we must unequivocally stand united against antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
The worst of these incidents — assaults — were disproportionately committed against Orthodox Jews. Thirty percent of assaults were committed against the Orthodox community. Fortunately, none of the national assaults resulted in fatalities.
Vandalism incidents overwhelmingly saw Nazi iconography used. Thirty-seven percent of the vandalism cases nationwide in 2024 included a swastika.
Holtzman said that what is even more alarming is that these figures are certainly understating the problem, as there are always events that go unreported.
“If you don’t report an incident, it’s almost like it never happened,” he said. “We need people to report incidents of antisemitism and discrimination so they can be investigated.”
In 2024, for the first time, a majority of the antisemitic incidents, 58%, came in relation to Israel. The ADL made a point of noting in its report that it was “careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism.”
Its leaders said that this covers “legitimate political protests, support for Palestinian rights or expressions of opposition to Israeli policies.” Instead, the organization tracked and found people glorifying antisemitic violence, denying the Holocaust, celebrating the Oct. 7 attacks and supporting terrorist organizations at an unprecedented rate.
“This horrifying level of antisemitism should never be accepted and yet, as our data shows, it has become a persistent and grim reality for American Jewish communities,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “Jewish Americans continue to be harassed, assaulted and targeted for who they are on a daily basis and everywhere they go. But let’s be clear: we will remain proud of our Jewish culture, religion and identities, and we will not be intimidated by bigots.”
One-hundred and forty-three of the incidents in Pennsylvania came in public spaces, 121 came at Jewish institutions or schools and 90 were committed at a college or university. Additionally, 35 came at private homes, 31 in places of business, 19 in non-Jewish schools, 14 online and 12 at Jewish-owned businesses. The ADL includes incidents that are reported to them — criminal or not — by the public, law enforcement, the media and other organizations.
ADL Senior Vice President for Counter-Extremism and Intelligence Oren Segal said that in order to effectively combat these issues in Pennsylvania and the rest of the country, American Jews have to study why they happen.
“[The incidents] documented in the audit serve as a clear reminder that silence is not an option. Good people must stand up, push back and confront antisemitism wherever it appears. And that starts with understanding what fuels it and learning to recognize it in all forms,” he said.
Holtzman said that, while the trends this report reveals are concerning, the Jewish community of Philadelphia is resilient.
“This is the story of the Jewish people. We’ve been massacred, expelled from many countries and experienced genocide. But every time that’s happened to us, we’ve rebuilt and we’ve carried on,” he said. “As much as antisemitism has dramatically increased in the past year and a half, we’re also seeing an increase in attendance at synagogue and attendance at Jewish events. And we have to remember as a community that we have a lot of joy.”
