State

Antisemitic incidents nationwide and in Ohio went down last year, according to new report

By Megan Henry/Ohio Capital Journal
A new ADL report shows antisemitic incidents fell to 6,274 nationwide and 117 in Ohio in 2025, yet violence and assaults increased and campus cases remain above 2021 levels.
A new ADL report shows antisemitic incidents fell to 6,274 nationwide and 117 in Ohio in 2025, yet violence and assaults increased and campus cases remain above 2021 levels. Photo courtesy of the official Ohio Statehouse website

The number of antisemitic incidents decreased in Ohio last year, according to a new report.

Ohio had 117 antisemitic incidents in 2025 — a decline from 233 in 2024 and 237 in 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Antisemitic incidents were down last year nationally. There were 6,274 antisemitic incidents last year in the United States — 33% lower than the 9,354 incidents tracked in 2024, according to the report.

Despite the overall decrease, it was still the third-highest year on record for antisemitic incidents since the ADL started tracking them in 1979.

“I think this year it was really impressive to see the numbers finally come down a little bit,” said Kelly Fishman, regional director of ADL Ohio River Valley.

“It’s not something we’ve seen for over a decade. Unfortunately, the numbers are still up pre-Oct. 7, 2023 levels.”

There was a spike of antisemitic incidents after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, especially on college campuses. Hundreds of Ohio college students protested the Israel-Hamas war during spring 2024.

Antisemitic incidents on college campuses decreased last year by 66%, going from 1,694 to 583, according to the report.

“We know that hate doesn’t stop at one identity group, and it’s the same with anti-semitism,” Fishman said. “We see anti-semitic ideology often bleed into other identities, and universities took that really seriously because they saw that it wasn’t just their Jewish students who were being impacted.”

Despite last year’s overall decrease, incidents on college campuses were almost three times higher in 2025 than in 2021.

There was an increase in physical assaults this past year — going from 196 in 2024 to 203 in 2025, according to the report.

Assaults in Ohio went from none in 2024 to two in 2025, according to the report.

“While we did see incidents go down, we saw the intensity of incidents increase so they were more likely violent, and they more likely involved a deadly weapon,” Fishman said. “Unfortunately, I do think there is a bit of a correlation to the rhetoric that we’re seeing online manifest in real life.”

Antisemitic harassment went down 39% to 4,003 incidents and vandalism decreased by 21% to 2,068 incidents, according to the report.

There were 825 incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools last year, a slight dip from 860 in 2024, according to the report.

Most of those incidents were antisemitic bullying or vandalizing classrooms with swastikas.

“We are still seeing incidents with a swastika show up quite a bit in those K-12 spaces,” Fishman said.

Ohio Senate Bill 87 would codify the definition and examples of antisemitism into law, but those opposed to the bill said it would violate free speech and be used to protect speech about Israel.

The bill passed the Ohio Senate in March and is now in the Ohio House Judiciary Committee.