By: Fern Sidman

Two years after the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023 — the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust — the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has issued a sobering warning that antisemitism in New York City has not only persisted but is escalating at an alarming pace. According to a new interim report released on Wednesday, 2025 is on track to surpass 2024’s record-breaking number of antisemitic incidents across the five boroughs.

The report, cited by World Israel News on Wednesday, shines a spotlight on a dramatic and troubling reality: antisemitism, once relegated to the margins of public discourse, has become increasingly brazen, organized, and mainstream. “The sheer scale and number of antisemitic activities in New York City this year is alarming,” said Scott Richman, ADL’s regional director for New York and New Jersey. “From violent attacks on visibly Jewish New Yorkers to threats targeting synagogues and dehumanizing rhetoric on campuses, antisemitism is no longer hiding in the shadows. It is out in the open, and it’s making Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe in one of the most important centers of Jewish life in the world.”

The World Israel News report noted that this latest report confirms what Jewish residents and community organizations have been warning for months: that the climate of hostility toward Jews has intensified dramatically since October 7, 2023, and that the city’s leadership has yet to implement a coherent strategy to protect its Jewish population — the largest outside the State of Israel.

According to the ADL’s interim findings, major antisemitic incidents have been reported in every borough of New York City, with hundreds of cases already logged in 2025. These include violent physical assaults, hate graffiti, online threats, and organized harassment campaigns directed at Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centers.

Last year, there were 157 recorded attacks against Jewish religious and communal institutions in New York City — a figure that shattered previous records. This year, that trend has accelerated. In one of the most disturbing incidents of 2025, police thwarted a Brooklyn-based plot to “slaughter” local Jews at a religious center, an event that investigators described as a “potential mass casualty hate crime.”

World Israel News reported that the ADL’s data shows Orthodox Jews bear the brunt of physical assaults. Although they make up only about 20 percent of the city’s Jewish population, Orthodox Jews accounted for more than half of all antisemitic assaults recorded. Many of these attacks occurred in neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Borough Park, where Orthodox Jews are highly visible due to traditional dress.

The report detailed several disturbing cases: in February, three separate assaults were reported within a single week targeting Orthodox individuals in Brooklyn and Queens. In June, an Orthodox man was beaten unconscious by an assailant shouting anti-Israel slogans related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

“The numbers tell a horrifying story,” Richman said. “But behind every number is a human being — a Jewish New Yorker who was harassed, threatened, or attacked simply for their faith or appearance.”

The ADL’s report, cited in the World Israel News report, identifies radical anti-Zionism as the leading driver of antisemitic incidents in New York City. Once confined largely to fringe activist circles, anti-Zionist ideology — which often veers into overt antisemitism — has become a dominant factor in public demonstrations, academic institutions, and online discourse.

In 2022, incidents linked to anti-Israel sentiment accounted for just 5 percent of the city’s antisemitic cases. By 2024, that number had skyrocketed to 58 percent, representing a twelvefold increase in less than three years.

This shift reflects the growing alignment between radical anti-Israel activism and open hostility toward Jews, a phenomenon that has become particularly visible on college campuses. Nearly 200 anti-Jewish incidents were documented on New York campuses last year, including 53 at Columbia University alone, where Jewish students have reported threats, harassment, and exclusion from campus groups.

The report at World Israel News noted that Columbia — once considered a hub of academic pluralism — has become a focal point of concern for Jewish advocacy groups, which accuse university administrators of failing to curb hate speech disguised as political expression.

“Radical anti-Zionism has provided a convenient cover for traditional antisemitism,” said one senior ADL researcher quoted in the World Israel News report. “It’s no longer just about Israel’s policies. It’s about the delegitimization of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination — and that ideology is fueling violence here in New York.”

The ADL report describes an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty gripping Jewish communities across the city. Synagogues and yeshivas have increased security, with some installing armed guards or surveillance systems for the first time. Jewish parents are withdrawing their children from certain public schools due to concerns about antisemitic bullying.

“This is not the New York we once knew,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO and national director, in comments cited in the World Israel News report. “What we are seeing in New York City is nothing short of shocking. The Jewish community needs all public officials to come out front on this issue — not with platitudes, but with a concrete plan.”

Greenblatt added that the timing of the report — released just hours before a crucial mayoral debate — was intentional. “On the eve of this important debate, it is vital that all candidates go on the record and publicly lay out their strategy for how they will keep Jewish New Yorkers safe during this unprecedented time,” he said.

The ADL has called for several policy actions, including increased funding for hate crimes prevention units, better interagency coordination between the NYPD and FBI, and the creation of educational initiatives aimed at combating antisemitism in schools and universities.

Despite the escalating crisis, the World Israel News report observed that many city and state officials have been reluctant to address antisemitism head-on, fearing political backlash from progressive constituencies aligned with anti-Israel activism. This hesitancy, critics argue, has allowed extremist rhetoric to spread unchecked.

“Public leaders must stop equivocating,” said Richman. “There can be no moral ambiguity when it comes to antisemitism — whether it comes from the far right, the far left, or anyone in between.”

Jewish leaders in New York echoed the ADL’s call for action. Rabbi Mendel Cohen of Brooklyn told World Israel News, “Our people are scared. When a man can be beaten on the street for wearing a yarmulke or a mezuzah can be defaced with a swastika, it means the city has failed in its duty to protect us. We need leadership, not excuses.”

The broader Jewish community has mobilized in response. Grassroots groups have organized safety patrols, advocacy campaigns, and educational outreach programs designed to foster awareness among non-Jewish neighbors. Still, many fear that without decisive government intervention, the trend will continue to worsen.

While the report focuses on New York City, the report at World Israel News emphasized that its implications extend nationwide. Antisemitic incidents have been rising sharply in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., suggesting a broader cultural shift in how anti-Jewish sentiment is expressed and normalized.

Experts warn that the persistence of such hatred — particularly in a city historically viewed as a beacon of diversity and tolerance — should serve as a wake-up call. “If antisemitism can flourish in New York, it can flourish anywhere,” Greenblatt cautioned.

As the second anniversary of October 7 is commemorated, the ADL’s findings paint a stark picture of a community under siege — not in the war-torn streets of the Middle East, but in the very heart of America’s largest metropolis. The challenge is whether New York’s leaders will confront the problem with the urgency it demands — or allow silence and complacency to define this moment in the city’s history.