ADL report: Pennsylvania ranked fifth nationwide for antisemitic incidents in 2025

Pennsylvania recorded the fifth most antisemitic incidents nationwide last year, according to the new Anti-Defamation League Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2025. New York ranked first, followed by California, New Jersey and Florida.

There were 281 antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania in 2025, according to the ADL. More than half of those incidents — 53% — occurred in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Jewish institutions were the most frequently targeted sites, accounting for 63 incidents. K-12 schools, colleges and universities reported a combined 53 incidents. The remaining cases occurred in public areas (62), businesses (50), homes (27), and an “other” category (26). The report noted that incidents at businesses and Jewish K-12 schools increased in 2025 by 61% and 19%, respectively.

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The number of antisemitic incidents documented in the state was down 40% from 2024, which the ADL said was “driven partly by the fact that antisemitic bomb threats, which accounted for 31 incidents in 2024, did not occur at all in 2025.” Incidents related to Israel or Zionism also fell from 278 to 129, something the organization said was due to a lower level of antisemitic activity at rallies organized by anti-Israel groups.

According to Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh records, more than 300 antisemitic incidents were reported in Pittsburgh in 2025, surpassing the number of incidents in both 2024 and 2023.

The ADL recorded 6,274 incidents nationally last year. While down by 33% from 2024, that number is still five times higher than a decade ago.

Three people were killed last year in antisemitic attacks across the United States and at least 300 people were victimized by physical assaults.

High profile antisemitic incidents in 2025 included the shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.; a Molotov cocktail attack at a Run for Their Lives event in Colorado; a stabbing of a Jewish man on the streets of New York; and a firebombing of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence on Passover while the first family was inside.

Kelly Fishman, the ADL’s regional director serving Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania, said the 2025 decrease in antisemitic incidents overall reflected “the hard work of our partners in law enforcement, higher education and the broader community.”

“Pittsburgh is a great example of that partnership in action: When antisemitic flyers were distributed in broad daylight in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, ADL worked alongside the Pittsburgh Jewish Federation and local law enforcement which led to the identification, apprehension and sentencing of the perpetrator,” she said.

Still, Fishman noted that 281 antisemitic incidents is too many,and said that every number represents a real person “whose sense of safety was shaken.”

“Antisemitism remains a genuine and prevalent threat to Jewish Pennsylvanians, and ADL Ohio River Valley remains committed to expanding on the progress we saw in 2025,” she said. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.