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Press Release

Antisemitic Incident Data Breaks All Previous National Annual Records in 2024 for the Fourth Year in a Row

Southeast region experienced 14 percent decrease in antisemitic incidents from 2023; Significant increase in campus incidents

Atlanta, April 22, 2025 – There were 346 antisemitic incidents throughout the Southeast region in 2024, which includes Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee, according to ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League) annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. This represents a 14 percent decrease from the 404 incidents recorded in 2023, though these numbers remain almost double the levels seen in any year prior to 2023.

Of particular concern is the disturbing increase of antisemitic incidents on college campuses, primarily in spring 2024, with 70 incidents recorded in 2024 compared to 36 in 2023 and just 12 in 2022. The audit data also reveals significant shifts in antisemitic activity across the region, with white supremacist propaganda down dramatically (from 137 in 2023 to 87 in 2024) but becoming more targeted toward specific figures in the Jewish community, including Jewish elected officials and Jewish-owned businesses.

Georgia specifically recorded 163 incidents in 2024, compared to 172 incidents in 2023. There were substantial increases in vandalism and incidents reported on college campuses.

“The levels of antisemitism we’re seeing across the Southeast region should never be accepted and yet have become a persistent reality for Jewish communities,” said Eytan Davidson, ADL Southeast Regional Director. “The disturbing increases in campus antisemitism, vandalism, and targeting of Jewish businesses highlight the continued challenges faced by Jewish communities in our region.”
 

Major Findings in Southeast Region

Alabama:
  • Overall Incidents: 67 incidents in 2024, up from 56 in 2023.
  • Harassment: 34 incidents in 2024, down from 47 in 2023.
  • Vandalism: 33 incidents in 2024, up from 9 in 2023.
  • Jewish Institution Targeting: 4 incidents in 2024, down from 28 in 2023.
  • Anti-Israel Incidents: 60 incidents in 2024, up from 21 in 2023.
  • White Supremacist Propaganda: 39 incidents in 2024, up from 12 in 2023.
Georgia:
  • Overall Incidents: 163 total incidents in 2024, compared to 172 in 2023, representing a 5 percent reduction.
  • Harassment: 135 incidents in 2024, compared to 159 in 2023, a decrease of 15 percent.
  • Vandalism: 25 incidents in 2024, up from 11 in 2023.
  • Assaults: 3 incidents in 2024, up from 2 in 2023.
  • Anti-Israel Incidents: 114 incidents in 2024, up from 65 in 2023.
  • Campus Incidents: 55 incidents on college campuses in 2024, up from 19 in 2023.
  • Jewish-Owned Business Targeting: 5 incidents in 2024, up from 1 in 2023.
South Carolina:
  • Overall Incidents: 35 incidents in 2024, down from 86 in 2023.
  • Harassment: 29 incidents in 2024, down from 79 in 2023.
  • Anti-Israel Incidents: 21 incidents in 2024, up from 18 in 2023.
  • White Supremacist Propaganda: 6 incidents in 2024, down from 27 in 2023
Tennessee:
  • Overall Incidents: 81 incidents in 2024, down from 90 in 2023.
  • Vandalism: 29 incidents in 2024, up from 24 in 2023.
  • Assaults: 1 incident in 2024.
  • Public Area Incidents: 51 incidents in 2024, up from 41 in 2023.
  • Anti-Israel Incidents: 54 incidents in 2024, up from 37 in 2023.

Notable Trends

In 2024, the Southeast region witnessed several concerning trends:

  • There was a marked shift in the type of harassment incidents, with an increase in anti-Israel gatherings and meetings with antisemitic expressions in Georgia (84 in 2024 compared to 39 in 2023).
  • In Tennessee, there was a significant decrease in bomb threats to Jewish institutions (from 14 in 2023 to 1 in 2024), but a concurrent increase in gatherings and meetings with antisemitic expressions (from 10 in 2023 to 26 in 2024).
  • In Alabama, antisemitic gatherings and meetings increased from 8 in 2023 to 21 in 2024, attributable in equal measure to anti-Israel protests and white supremacist gatherings.
  • The Goyim Defense League engaged in onsite activity in Nashville after being in Florida, but did not engage in Georgia where ADL had previously focused on deterrence efforts.

“These numbers reflect shifting patterns of antisemitism that require leaders to adapt responses,” said Eytan Davidson.

The Southeast regional data reflects broader national trends. Nationally, ADL recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2024, a 5 percent increase from the 8,873 incidents recorded in 2023, which was itself a historic high. The 12-month total for 2024 averaged more than 25 targeted anti-Jewish incidents in the U.S. per day, more than one an hour.

ADL’s Response and Community Efforts

ADL Southeast has responded to these evolving challenges through multiple strategic initiatives. The organization led efforts to enact municipal ordinances to counter hateful propaganda being distributed in neighborhoods, with successful implementations in Brookhaven and Sandy Springs, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Regional ADL staff, in partnership with the ADL Center on Extremism and law enforcement partners, helped Nashville community leaders prepare for the arrival of the Goyim Defense League by facilitating a community briefing for leaders at the Jewish Federation, synagogues, and law enforcement agencies.

University administrations have responded well to trends of antisemitism on campus and have been good partners, taking quick action and enhancing policies and enforcement. Six schools in the region evaluated for the 2025 Campus Antisemitism Report Card received a grade of C or better.

Methodology

The ADL Audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations and evaluated by ADL’s experts.

The complete dataset for antisemitic incidents for 2016-2024 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 full dataset can also be downloaded by anyone who would like to take a closer look at individual incidents.

ADL is careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism. Legitimate political protest, support for Palestinian rights or expressions of opposition to Israeli policies is not included in the Audit. ADL’s approach to Israel-related expressions comports with the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

The complete Audit methodology is included in the report on our website.

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: ADL Survey of Antisemitic Attitudes in America 2024, Campus Antisemitism One Year After the Hamas Terrorist Attacks, the ADL Global 100: Index of Antisemitism, Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience and White Supremacist Propaganda Assessment Focused on Jews and Immigrants in 2024.

For more information about the ADL Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, visit adl.org.

ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913 to protect the Jewish people, ADL works to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment to all. In the face of rising antisemitism and extremism, we protect, advocate and educate, through a mix of programs and services using the latest innovations and technology, and seek to create a world without hate.