The region also experienced the first fatalities on American soil due to antisemitism since 2022.
WASHINGTON, May 6, 2026, …The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia recorded significant decreases in antisemitic incidents in 2025, according to ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League) annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, released today. Specifically, the District of Columbia saw an 18-percent decrease (124 incidents), Maryland saw a 49-percent decrease (181 incidents), and Virginia a 40-percent decrease (159 incidents). Despite this progress, incidents across the region remained higher than 2022 levels, reflecting the persistently elevated post-October 7 baseline.
Notably, the first fatalities due to antisemitism in the United States since 2022 happened in D.C., with the murders of a young couple in the May 2025 shooting outside of the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Antisemitic incidents in our region declined sharply last year, and that reflects the immense effort from educators, law enforcement and community partners,” said Tali Cohen, Regional Director of ADL D.C. “But incidents are still dramatically higher than pre-October 7 levels, a reminder that our normal has fundamentally shifted. ADL will remain on the frontlines of fighting antisemitism, no matter what, alongside our communities across Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.”
Key Regional Findings
District of Columbia:
- Overall: 124 antisemitic incidents in 2025, down from 151 in 2024. The District of Columbia ranked #15 in the United States for overall incidents.
- Israel/Zionism-related: 63 percent of incidents were related to Israel or Zionism (a decrease from 71 percent in 2024).
- Five-year trend: Incidents are up 188 percent since 2020, when the District had 43 incidents.
Maryland:
- Overall: Maryland recorded 181 antisemitic incidents in 2025, down from 356 in 2024, ranking 9th in the United States.
- Israel/Zionism-related: 34 percent of incidents were related to Israel or Zionism (a decrease from 46 percent in 2024).
- Focus on Montgomery County: The majority of Maryland’s antisemitic activity occurred in Montgomery County, which experienced 121 incidents in 2025, a slight decrease from 196 incidents in 2024. 51 incidents in the county
- Five-year trend: Incidents are up 285 percent since 2020, when Maryland had 47 incidents.
Virginia:
- Overall: Virginia recorded 159 antisemitic incidents in 2025, down from 266 in 2024, ranking 12th in the United States.
- Israel/Zionism-related: 43 percent of incidents were related to Israel or Zionism (a decrease from 63 percent in 2024).
- Five-year trend: Incidents are up 225 percent since 2020, when Virginia had 49 incidents.
ADL’s Response and Community Efforts
ADL takes action when incidents occur. From March 2024 through June 2025, an individual mailed threatening letters to more than 25 synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, and schools in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, as well as to the ADL office. ADL coordinated a community response and worked with the FBI and local law enforcement to provide information, which ultimately contributed to this individual’s arrest. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison.
Factors that Explain the Decrease in Overall Antisemitic Incidents in 2025:
The decrease in incidents across the Washington, D.C. region mirrors national trends driven largely by a significant drop in Israel/Zionism-related incidents and a steep decline in campus antisemitism. Nationally, the share of antisemitic incidents related to Israel or Zionism fell from 58 percent in 2024 to 45 percent in 2025. Anti-Israel rallies featuring antisemitic content decreased 67 percent overall and 83 percent on college campuses.
Antisemitic incidents on college and university campuses fell 66 percent nationally, in part because schools took concrete steps to address antisemitism – driven in part by pressure from ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card, which has led universities to adopt stronger policies, and from ADL’s legal actions. In the D.C. region specifically, ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card showed that the majority of schools made significant progress in protecting Jewish students, following extensive ADL work with college administrators to improve the campus climate. For example, American University and Johns Hopkins University each improved their grades from a B to an A.
National Trends
The sharp drop of incidents in the D.C. region reflects broader national trends. Nationally, 2025 marked one of the most violent periods for American Jews, with physical assaults reaching record high levels, according to ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League) annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, released today.
Across the country, there were 6,274 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism in 2025, an average of 17 incidents per day. While this total represents a 33-percent decrease from 2024, it remains considerably higher than the total in years prior to the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel, and ranks as the third-highest year for antisemitic incidents (after 2023 and 2024), since ADL began tracking in 1979.
Even as overall incidents decreased nationally, physical assaults increased by 4 percent, and incidents of assault involving a deadly weapon increased by 39-percent. Moreover, three people were murdered in antisemitic attacks this past year: two victims in the May 21, 2025, shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., and one victim who died from injuries sustained in the June 1, 2025, firebombing attack at a "Run for Their Lives" event in Boulder, Colorado.
Nationally, incidents on college and university campuses saw the steepest decline of any location type in part due to colleges addressing antisemitism on their campuses. In 2025, ADL recorded 583 antisemitic incidents nationally on college campuses, which is 66 percent lower than in 2024 (1,694 incidents).
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 2016-2025 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. As an example, slightly fewer than half of anti-Israel rallies assessed by ADL contained antisemitic content that qualified to be counted within this 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.
Individuals who experience an antisemitic incident can report it to ADL: https://www.adl.org/report-incident.
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.