Incidents in North Carolina in 2025 are still up 638% from five years ago
RALEIGH, N.C., May 6, 2026, … North Carolina recorded a significant decrease in antisemitic incidents in 2025, according to ADL’s (the Anti-Defamation League) annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, released today. The state reported 96 incidents, which is a 45-percent decline from the 175 incidents recorded in 2024, outpacing the national one-year decrease of 33 percent.
“North Carolina saw meaningful progress in the fight against antisemitism last year, with incidents falling at a rate well above the national average,” said ADL D.C. Regional Director. “But progress and safety are not the same thing, and the rise in vandalism across the state signals that our vigilance cannot let up. The work of building safer communities for Jewish North Carolinians is far from finished.”
Notable Findings in North Carolina
- Overall: North Carolina recorded 96 antisemitic incidents in 2025, down from 175 in 2024.
- White Supremacist-related: North Carolina ranked 5th nationally for white supremacist propaganda.
- Vandalism incidents: Even as overall incidents declined, incidents of vandalism increased from 33 to 35 incidents.
- Five-year trend: Incidents are up 638 percent since 2020 (from 13 to 96), reflecting the persistently elevated post-October 7 baseline.
Factors that Explain the Decrease in Overall Antisemitic Incidents in 2025:
The decrease in national antisemitic incidents was 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. In North Carolina, more than half (51) of all incidents in the state were related to Israel or Zionism. However, these incidents decreased by 59 percent, down from 124 in 2024.
Antisemitic incidents on college and university campuses fell 66 percent nationally and 52 percent in North Carolina (from 31 in 2024 to 15 in 2025), in part because schools took concrete steps to address antisemitism – motivated by ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card, which has led universities to adopt stronger policies, and from ADL’s legal actions. In North Carolina specifically, ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card showed that the majority of schools showed significant progress in protecting Jewish students. For example, Elon University earned an A, which is reflective of their commitment to supporting Jewish student life.
National Trends
Nationally, 2025 marked one of the most violent periods for American Jews, with physical assaults reaching record high levels and antisemitic attacks resulting in fatalities on American soil for the first time since 2022, 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.