Assaults, death threats, Nazi salutes in Massachusetts schools

Antisemitic incidents have spiked across the U.S. in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel — an “avalanche” of disturbing reports as assaults, death threats, Nazi salutes and more have been reported at local schools.

More than 10,000 antisemitic incidents have been recorded in the U.S. since last year’s Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, according to new data from the Anti-Defamation League.

This is the highest number of incidents ever recorded in any single year period since the ADL started tracking in 1979.

These newly released figures — from Oct. 7, 2023 to Sept. 24, 2024 — represent an over 200% increase compared to the year before. The more than 10,000 incidents in the last year is a stunning surge from the 3,325 incidents during the previous year.

“There has been such a spike, an avalanche of incidents since 10/7,” Peggy Shukur, of the Anti-Defamation League’s East Division which includes New England, told the Herald on the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attack.

“People are on edge,” Shukur added about those in the Jewish community.

According to the ADL Center on Extremism, the more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents break down into the following categories: More than 8,015 incidents of verbal or written harassment; more than 1,840 incidents of vandalism; and more than 150 incidents of physical assault.

At least 1,200 of these antisemitic incidents happened on college campuses. In the same period a year before, ADL recorded about 200 incidents, representing a 500% increase. Some of the antisemitic incidents reported in Massachusetts include assaults on college campuses.

Young Jewish students in the region have reportedly been bullied, harassed with hateful taunts, and have faced death threats, Shukur said. Schools have reported swastika vandalism.

“There have been Holocaust jokes and Nazi salutes,” Shukur said. “During protests, there have been chants for Hitler.”

In Newton, for instance, there was a string of incidents targeting Jewish individuals and properties. Israeli kidnapping posters have been damaged.

Of the more than 10,000 incidents across the country, more than 2,000 occurred at Jewish institutions such as synagogues and Jewish centers. More than half of all incidents at Jewish institutions took the form of bomb threats. By comparison, 81 bomb threats against Jewish institutions were recorded in the same period during the previous year.

Synagogues and Jewish centers have stepped up security in the wake of Oct. 7, especially during this time of the year as Jews gather for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

ADL’s data also found that more than 3,000 of all incidents took place during anti-Israel rallies, which featured explicit expressions of support for terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — one of the most concerning antisemitic trends ADL captured since Oct. 7.

“Today, we mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, marking one year since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

“From that day on, Jewish Americans haven’t had a single moment of respite,” Greenblatt added. “Instead, we’ve faced a shocking number of antisemitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere.”