Antisemitic Incidents In IL Nearly Double Amid Nationwide Spike: Report

ILLINOIS — Antisemitic incidents in Illinois, which included harassment, vandalism and assault, nearly doubled last year amid tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League.

According to the new data released Tuesday, the ADL — a national nonprofit that tracks antisemitism and white supremacy across the country — said 8,873 antisemitic incidents were reported in the United States in 2023.

The number marks a 140 percent increase from the 3,698 incidents recorded in 2022 and is the highest number on record since the ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

California had the most incidents in 2023 with 1,266, followed by New York with 1,218, New Jersey with 830, Florida with 463 and Massachusetts with 440, according to the report. Combined, these five states accounted for 48 percent of the total incidents.

Illinois had 211 antisemitic incidents in 2023, compared to 121 in 2022 and 53 in 2021, according to the ADL, which reported that the state's incidents last year fell into the following categories:

• Harassment: 155
• Vandalism: 54
• Assault: 2

At colleges across the country, antisemitic activity reported on campuses more than tripled in 2023. Incidents increased by 321 percent from 2022, according to the ADL.

In August, a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago spat at a Jewish student, used an expletive and called them a Zionist during an argument, the report said.

In non-Jewish K-12 schools, 1,162 incidents were reported, an increase of 135 percent.

Nationally, the ADL recorded 1,987 incidents targeting Jewish institutions such as synagogues, Jewish community centers, and Jewish schools, an increase of 237 percent from 589 in 2022. The increase was in part due to a dramatic spike in antisemitic bomb threats, the vast majority of which targeted synagogues in the fall.

Synagogues experienced 73 percent of all incidents affecting Jewish institutions in 2023.

Bomb threats toward Jewish institutions increased dramatically, with a total of 1,009 bomb threats — the highest number ever recorded and an increase of over 1,000 percent from 91 in 2022, according to the data.

The ADL data is compiled using law enforcement data and information provided by faith leaders and community members before analysts verify it.