New York, NY, April 16, 2024… According to new data released by ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today, reported antisemitic incidents in 2023 rose by a stunning 103% in New Jersey, reaching 830 total incidents – the highest number ever recorded by ADL in the state and the third-highest number recorded in any state across the country last year. This is on the heels of a record-breaking year in 2022, which saw a 10% increase from 2021. These 830 incidents in New Jersey constitute 9% of the total number of antisemitic incidents recorded across the United States last year.
Nationally, reported antisemitic incidents in the United States hit an all-time high of 8,873 incidents in 2023, a 140% increase relative to the previous record high in 2022 of 3,697 incidents.
The 2023 New Jersey data reflects a disturbing increase from last year’s record high of 409 antisemitic incidents. The fourth quarter of 2023 hit a staggering 409 reported antisemitic incidents in New Jersey – equaling the total reported in New Jersey in all of 2022.
According to the data, New Jersey experienced significant increases in documented antisemitic incidents in all of the three main categories compiled by ADL – harassment, vandalism and assault.
Major New Jersey Findings
In total, ADL recorded the following number of antisemitic incidents in New Jersey in 2023:
- 572 incidents of harassment;
- 241 incidents of vandalism; and
- 17 incidents of assault.
The 572 incidents of antisemitic harassment documented in 2023 represent a 134% increase relative to 2022. The 241 incidents of antisemitic vandalism recorded in 2023 represent a 55% increase relative to 2022. ADL also recorded 17 incidents of antisemitic assault, a deeply concerning 89% increase above the previously record-high number recorded in 2022.
“We are alarmed by an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents in New Jersey, mirroring the trend we saw nationally,” said Scott Richman, Regional Director of ADL’s New York/New Jersey office serving Northern and Central New Jersey. “ADL is working closely with victims, schools, law enforcement, elected officials, and faith and community leaders to combat these record levels of antisemitism.”
Of particular concern to ADL were the 213 antisemitic incidents that took place at non-Jewish K-12 schools in 2023 – a 78% increase over the already record high increase seen in 2022. Also of concern were the 124 incidents that took place at Jewish institutions – representing a 170% increase relative to the already record-high number recorded in 2022.
Incidents involving swastikas also increased. In 2023, ADL recorded 227 antisemitic incidents in New Jersey involving swastikas – up 39% from 2022. 28% of all incidents in New Jersey involved the display of a Nazi swastika, which serves as the most significant and notorious symbol of antisemitism and white supremacy.
Geographic Data
ADL documented the highest number of antisemitic incidents in the following five counties in New Jersey:
- Bergen (166) had a 269% increase;
- Middlesex (91) had a 122% increase;
- Monmouth (91) had a 117% increase;
- Essex (77) had a 133% increase; and
- Ocean (75) had a 21% increase.
Although most counties in New Jersey experienced a significant uptick in reported antisemitic incidents, Bergen County documented a dramatic 269% increase in reported antisemitic incidents, from 45 incidents in 2022 to 166 incidents in 2023 – taking the lead spot from Ocean County. Shockingly, Bergen County had 39 antisemitic incidents reported by the end of the first quarter of 2023 – nearly the same number they had in all of 2022, which was 45.
Bergen County’s antisemitic incidents occurred primarily at non-Jewish K-12 schools or in public areas – 52 incidents occurred in each of those locations and 31 occurred at Jewish institutions.
Middlesex County, which tied for second place in 2023, recorded 22 incidents on college campuses. The remainder occurred in non-Jewish K-12 schools (24), public areas (16), Jewish institutions (15), business establishments (9), home (4), and online (1).
ADL’s Audit documented incidents of antisemitism in 20 of the 21 counties in New Jersey. Only Cape May County did not report any incidents.
Assaults
New Jersey recorded 17 antisemitic assaults in 2023, which represents an 89% increase from 2022 – 1 was with a weapon, 5 were directed towards Orthodox Jews, and 4 were Israel or Zionism related. Three assaults occurred in public K-12 schools and 11 occurred in public places. The remainder occurred at a college campus, synagogue and a business establishment. Bergen County had the highest number of assaults with 5 reported. These assaults included Jews being egged, shot with pellet and BB guns, punched, pushed to the ground, and run off the road while driving in their car. During these assaults, the antisemitic slurs included “f*ing Jew,” “Jewish N***,” “Dirty Jew,” among other insults.
Incident Locations
Of the 830 antisemitic incidents recorded in New Jersey in 2023, 292 took place in public areas (113% increase), 213 took place in non-Jewish K-12 schools (78% increase), 124 took place at Jewish institutions (170% increase), 57 occurred at private residences and 54 took place at business establishments. The remaining incidents occurred at colleges/universities (51), online (27), Jewish owned businesses (10) and non-Jewish places of worship (2).
Public Areas
Of the 292 incidents that took place in a public area in New Jersey in 2023 – representing a 113% increase from 2022’s all-time high – there were 179 reported incidents of antisemitic harassment, 102 incidents of antisemitic vandalism and 11 assaults. Incidents in public areas experienced a dramatic uptick in the fourth quarter, with 149 in the fourth quarter alone – 49 of these were Israel or Zionism related and 31 involved swastikas.
Non-Jewish K-12 Schools
Of particular concern were the 213 antisemitic incidents that took place at non-Jewish K-12 schools in 2023 – a 78% increase over the already record high increase seen in 2022. Although the fourth quarter of 2023 saw the highest number of school incidents (83), the first quarter of 2023 was nearly as high, with 77 school incidents.
Of the 213 reported antisemitic incidents in non-Jewish K-12 schools in 2023, 128 were incidents of harassment, 82 were incidents of vandalism and 3 were assaults. 106 incidents (50%) involved the use or display of a swastika, and several schools experienced multiple incidents involving swastikas. One of the incidents at a Bergen County school was an assault of a visibly Orthodox Jewish child. Only 24 of the antisemitic incidents in non-Jewish K-12 schools were Israel/Zionism related.
New Jersey K-12 schools saw an outburst of antisemitism around Hitler’s birthday (April 20). The list of incidents around Hitler’s birthday included students performing Nazi salutes and remarking that “Nazis are the best,” swastika graffiti in schools, middle school students singing happy birthday to Hitler and performing Nazi salutes in class, “F*k Jews” vandalism found on school basketball hoop, and “Hitler will rise” graffiti found in school. Perhaps most shocking were the mock parking tickets printed out by middle school students and handed out in town on April 20, 2023 that read “GASTHEJEWS.”
In 2023, Bergen County led this category with 52 antisemitic incidents in non-Jewish K-12 schools, followed by Monmouth with 28 and Middlesex with 24. Essex County had 15; Union and Camden had 12; Morris had 13 and Passaic had 10.
“No student should feel unsafe or suffer from bias, discrimination or hate in school. Yet, antisemitic incidents in schools have reached unprecedented levels. The 46% increase that we saw in New Jersey schools is unfortunately in line with the 49% increase seen nationally,” said Scott Richman, ADL’s Regional Director for New York and New Jersey. “Our schools need to recognize that focusing on antisemitism is their job now given these extraordinary increases. We are their partners in this effort through our programs that combat antisemitism and fight bias in our schools and hope that many more schools will work more closely with us in the coming year.”
Campus
ADL recorded 51 incidents on college campuses in New Jersey in 2023, a 200% increase from 2022 (17 incidents).
Rutgers University has been a hotbed for antisemitic incidents in 2023. On October 20, an individual posted anonymously on a social media site targeting AEPI (a Jewish fraternity) stating, “There is an Israeli at the AEPI house, go kill him.” Five days later, members of the AEPI fraternity at Rutgers were targeted again when an individual in a car outside the fraternity house yelled antisemitic slurs and threw eggs at them.
ADL also recorded antisemitic anti-Israel protests at campuses such as Princeton, Rutgers, TCNJ and Montclair State University, which included rhetoric such as “From the River to the Sea” and “Globalize the Intifada,” and incidents of vandalism at many New Jersey schools. One incident occurred at Montclair State University, where an individual wrote a message on a Jewish student’s door calling the student a “genocide lover.” The Rutgers Students for Justice in Palestine chapter was suspended, stating that SJP had violated the school’s code of conduct for disrupting classes, meals and programs and allegedly vandalizing campus property.
Jewish Institutions
The 124 incidents that took place at Jewish institutions represent a 170% increase relative to the record-high number recorded in 2022. These incidents included 112 incidents of harassment, 11 incidents of vandalism and 1 incident of assault. 2023 saw a spate of swatting and bomb threats at synagogues across America, including New Jersey. These disruptive threats scared community members and abruptly ended synagogue services for building evacuation and police response. Specifically, there were 39 bomb threats or swatting incidents at Jewish Institutions in 2023. Four New Jersey synagogues had bomb threats during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, and 20 New Jersey synagogues had bomb threats between December 16 and 18, 2023.
Geographic Hotbed – Bergen County
ADL documented a dramatic 269% increase in reported antisemitic incidents in Bergen County, from 45 incidents in 2022 to 166 incidents in 2023. Of the 166 reported incidents in Bergen County, 12 were incidents of harassment, 37 were incidents of vandalism and 5 were assaults. 4 of the 5 assaults occurred post October 7.
Incidents occurred primarily at non-Jewish K-12 schools or in public areas – 52 incidents occurred in each of those locations. 31 incidents occurred at Jewish institutions and 36 incidents included the use of a swastika. 39 of the 166 events were Israel/Zionism related.
Significantly, Bergen County already had 39 antisemitic incidents reported at the end of the first quarter of 2023 – nearly the same number they had in all of 2022, which was 45. At the end of the second quarter of 2023, months before October 7, Bergen County already had 64 antisemitic incidents reported; this is more than Ocean County, which was the highest reporting county in 2022, had in all of 2022. And in the fourth quarter, Bergen County had 89 incidents, of which 71 were harassment. Some examples of reported antisemitic harassment in Bergen County during the fourth quarter of 2023 include:
- An ice cream truck driver said, “You’re a Jew you think you can f*ck everybody, f*ck you” to visibly Jewish customers.
- Anti-Israel protestors shouted antisemitic comments at Jewish individuals, including: “Gas them, you filthy Jews” and “Go run you dirty Jew b*tch, we will get you!”
- Four individuals approached a Jewish child on the street wearing a Star of David necklace and shouted, “Free Palestine” and “That’s why we bomb you.”
- A child stated to a Jewish peer in a group chat: “I will bomb your house,” “I notified the KKK” and “They say exterminate the Jews and the blackies.”
- A student stated in earshot of a Jewish classmate: “Jihad, Jihad,” “I am going to kill all of them and make them go back to where they came from,” “go back to the gas chambers” and that he was going to “kill all Jews”
- Multiple incidents of Heil Hitler salutes being performed at Jewish students in schools.
Orthodox-Related Incidents
New Jersey recorded 29 antisemitic incidents specifically directed at Orthodox Jews in 2023 compared to 30 in 2022.
Extremism and White Supremacist Activity
2023 saw a 69% increase in extremist-related antisemitic incidents in New Jersey compared to 2022 (22 incidents, up from 13 in 2022), making it clear that extremist groups continue to maintain an active presence in New Jersey and use propaganda to both communicate their hateful messages more broadly and recruit new members. Groups responsible for reported incidents include: The New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA), Goyim Defense League (GDL), the KKK, Black Hebrew Israelites, Storm Division 14, and Embrace Struggle Active Club. GDL was responsible for zoombombing and disrupting town council meetings with hateful speech – both racist and antisemitic – in Passaic in October, and Newton in December.
At a national level, organized efforts by white supremacists to share antisemitic propaganda, mostly through distributing fliers with antisemitic messages, accounted for 1,160 incidents in 2023, up from 852 in 2022. In addition to propaganda distributions, there were 49 recorded antisemitic white supremacist events nationwide in 2023.
Methodology
The ADL Audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs, as well as vandalism and assault. Compiled using information provided by victims, law enforcement and community leaders, and evaluated by ADL’s professional staff, the Audit provides a regular snapshot of one specific aspect of the Jewish-American experience while identifying possible trends in the types of activity reported.
ADL’s 2023 Audit numbers contain 1,350 incidents included due to a post-October 7 methodology update (see Methodology in the Audit). Excluding incidents included under the methodology update, ADL tabulated 7,525 incidents, a 103-percent increase in antisemitic incidents from the incident total in 2022.
The complete dataset for antisemitic incidents for 2016-2023 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.
The Audit offers a snapshot of one of the ways American Jews encounter antisemitism, but a full understanding of antisemitism in the U.S. requires other forms of analysis as well, including public opinion polling, assessments of online antisemitism and examinations of extremist activity, all of which ADL offers in other reports, such as the ADL Survey of Antisemitic Attitudes in America 2024, Campus Antisemitism: A Study of Campus Climate Before and After the Hamas Terrorist Attacks, ADL Global 100, Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience, Murder and Extremism and White Supremacist Propaganda.
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all. More at www.adl.org.
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