BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pennsylvania and the rest of the nation saw a spike in antisemitic incidents in 2024, with the Anti-Defamation League reporting the highest number of incidents nationwide since tracking began in 1979.
Pennsylvania saw an 18% jump — from 393 incidents in 2023 to 465 in 2024. It was a 308% jump from the 114 incidents tracked in 2022, the report said.
Of the antisemitic incidents confirmed across the state in 2024, 72% were acts of harassment, the ADL said.
An additional 25% were acts of vandalism and the remaining 2% were physical assaults, the ADL said.
Lehigh County ranks fourth
Among the major findings in the report is that Lehigh County ranked fourth for incidents by county in Pennsylvania, recording 18 incidents overall.
The ADL said out of the total incidents tracked across the commonwealth, 45% of incidents occurred on either college campuses or at Jewish institutions.
“The Jewish community is being harassed, threatened and attacked. From synagogues to college campuses and everywhere in between, we must unequivocally stand united against antisemitism and all forms of hate.”ADL Philadelphia Regional Director Andrew Goretsky, in the report.
“This is reflected in the top cities and towns with the most reported incidents,” the report said, with Allentown coming in third and Bethlehem in sixth for having the most reported incidents in the state.
Philadelphia came in first and Pittsburgh second.
“Since I joined ADL three years ago, we have tracked a continuous rise in antisemitic incidents, and the data continues to astound me,” ADL Philadelphia Regional Director Andrew Goretsky says in the report.
“In 2023, Pennsylvania saw five assaults, all of which involved school children. A year later, Pennsylvania saw 12 assaults, one of which included a weapon.
“The Jewish community is being harassed, threatened and attacked. From synagogues to college campuses and everywhere in between, we must unequivocally stand united against antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
Local data
Data available from the ADL showed all 18 incidents reported in Lehigh County occurred in Allentown, with 15 of those incidents classified as harassment.
One incident was classified as assault, and two incidents were classified as vandalism.
An assault was reported Oct. 8, 2024, and involved a suspicious individual with a flag outside of a Jewish community center. The individual “poked a community member with the flag staff and said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’”Anti-Defamation League report
The assault was reported Oct. 8, 2024, and involved a suspicious individual with a flag outside of a Jewish community center.
According to the report, the individual “poked a community member with the flag staff and said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’”
An act of vandalism reported April 29, 2024, occurred at Muhlenberg College, the report said.
It involved the message “From the river to the sea” drawn on the ceiling of a Jewish fraternity. The slogan is commonly used to call for an end to the Jewish state.
In Bethlehem, six of nine incidents were classified as harassment, while three were acts of vandalism.
All nine incidents were linked to Lehigh University. In one incident, graffiti was found spray painted on campus reading, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
In an incident April 3, 2024, a swastika was scratched into a residence hall; in another incident, a mezuzah was stolen from the door of a residence hall.
A mezuzah is a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah, usually affixed in a small case to the doorposts of homes.
According to the ADL, a majority of all incidents nationwide in 2024 were related to Israel. Of all Israel-related incidents, 2,596 took place at anti-Israel rallies in the form of antisemitic speeches, chants, signs, and slogans.
One such incident was reported at Lehigh University on May 3, 2024 during an anti-Israel protest organized by Lehigh 4 Palestine.
