Antisemitism In PA Still Rampant: Anti-Defamation League

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pittsburgh was the site of the nation's worst antisemitic attack in 2018 in which a gunman shot to death 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

Yet a new report, released on Monday by from the Anti-Defamation League, reveals the antisemitic and extremist activity increased in Pennsylvania between January 2023 and June 2024.

“Hate in the Keystone State” is the latest in a series of reports from the ADL Center on Extremism zeroing in on extremist trends specific to certain states.

Key findings for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania include:

• Increasing Antisemitic incidents: in 2024, the number of antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania rose to 465 from 394 in 2023. Pennsylvania faces the country’s fourth-highest rate of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault. Preliminary numbers through June 2025 indicate at least 76 additional antisemitic incidents in the state.

• Political Violence: Pennsylvania has seen two major acts of political violence since 2023. In April 2025, Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence was targeted with Molotov cocktails. The suspect, Cody Allen Balmer, told police he wanted to stop Shapiro’s “plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.” In July 2024, 20-year-old Bethel Park resident Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler. Meanwhile, at least four Pennsylvania residents have been arrested for making threats against public officials over the past two years.

• Anti-Israel Activity: Extreme anti-Israel activity surged in Pennsylvania following the Hamas-led terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 in Israel and increasingly crossed the line from legitimate political critique into the realm of violence, acts of sabotage and vandalism, expressions of support for terror, antisemitic tropes and extreme calls for the exclusion of “Zionists.”

• Far-Right Extremism: The Pennsylvania chapter of White Lives Matter (WLM) was the most active white supremacist group in the state between January 2023 and June 2025, organizing at least 10 events and distributing propaganda on at least 28 occasions. WLM’s Pennsylvania chapter has also been at the center of a collaborative network of white supremacists in eastern Pennsylvania that includes the Active Club network and smaller white supremacist groups like Storm Division (S14) and the New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA).

“Extremists are targeting Pennsylvania with their hateful ideologies with the intent to spread fear and to intimidate marginalized groups," said Andrew Goretsky, ADL Philadelphia Senior Regional Director. "The concerning trends of rising antisemitism and extremism documented in this report highlight the critical need for coordinated action across the state. We call on our civic leadership, government officials and all citizens of the Commonwealth to firmly denounce hateful rhetoric and condemn antisemitism and extremism whenever and wherever it occurs.”

“The first step in combatting antisemitism is to identify it and call it out,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “The ADL’s report demonstrates what many of us have feared - antisemitism and other hate-based crimes are far too prevalent here in Pennsylvania. Hate has no home here in our Commonwealth, and I look forward to working with all Pennsylvanians to foster an environment where these types of acts become unthinkable and rare.”

“This report exposes a stark and urgent reality: Over the past two years, antisemitic incidents and extremist activity have surged across Pennsylvania, fueled by a dangerous mix of groups and ideologies,” said Oren Segal, ADL Senior Vice President of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence. “These threats are not isolated — they put the safety and security of our communities at risk. Grounded in our rigorous monitoring and analysis, this report provides a critical roadmap for leaders and residents alike to recognize, confront, and push back against hate. Our mission is to shine a light on the extremism that endangers us all — and we urge a unified, immediate response.”

The ADL report includes recommendations of how policymakers can act to more comprehensively address hate and extremism in the state while preserving civil liberties. The recommendations include supporting legislation to address masked harassment and intimidation (SB543), establishing a state task force dedicated to addressing antisemitism and extremism and taking legislative steps to protect the civil rights and safety of all Pennsylvania residents.