Hate has a target: FBI numbers reveal serious threat facing American Jews

The latest FBI hate crime numbers are out, and one statistic jumps off the page: If you are Jewish in America, watch out. The antisemites are on the prowl. It’s showing up in the crime statistics.

According to newly released FBI data for 2025, 1,528 anti-Jewish hate crime incidents were reported across the United States, representing nearly two-thirds of all religiously motivated hate crimes. 

That’s roughly 64% and the message is unmistakable: Jews remain, by a huge margin, the religious group most frequently targeted in reported hate crimes. 

The sobering context makes this even more striking: Jews make up only about 2% of the American population. So two-thirds of the religion-based hate crimes are targeted at 2% of the U.S. population. Striking and scary.

The good news – if there can be good news in numbers like these – is that anti-Jewish hate crimes fell from the record 1,938 incidents reported in 2024 to 1,528 in 2025, a decline of roughly 21%. Overall reported hate crimes also dropped nationally. But 2025 was still the third-highest year on record for anti-Jewish hate crimes.

Eric D. Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, says the numbers represent something much bigger than random acts of prejudice. “We are experiencing an antisemitic domestic terror crisis – one that Jews, just 2% of the U.S. population, cannot fight alone.”

Fingerhut said the federal government has a responsibility to protect Americans of every religion and called on Congress to pass the Jewish American Security Act, legislation aimed at significantly increasing security assistance to vulnerable religious institutions.

As it stands now, the Jewish Federations of North America estimates that Jewish communities spend more than $765 million every year on security. That money could be spent on Jewish schools and other community programs. 

As for the FBI numbers, a deeper look reveals what the hatred actually looks like. According to an Anti-Defamation League analysis, authorities recorded 162 anti-Jewish assaults in 2025, including 50 aggravated assaults.

There were also three reported murder or non-negligent manslaughter offenses and 505 intimidation offenses targeting Jewish victims. More than half of the 1,685 total anti-Jewish offenses involved vandalism or destruction of property. 

Recently, the headlines continue to smack of antisemitism. Federal prosecutors say 46-year-old Larry Montes walked into Manhattan’s historic Central Synagogue during Friday night Shabbat services attended by roughly 375 people.

He allegedly began shouting, damaged ceremonial candlesticks and punched a female worshipper. Prosecutors say that while being restrained, he also spat on and head-butted a black security guard. 

The Justice Department says Montes later made anti-Jewish statements to investigators explicitly and described his actions as racially and religiously motivated. Federal prosecutors have charged him with two hate crime counts and destruction of religious property resulting in bodily injury. 

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon made clear the federal government's view of the case. “The Civil Rights Division stands ready to combat assaults against worshippers and houses of worship.” FBI New York official James Barnacle added that the bureau “condemns any incident driven by bias or hate.” 

Just one week earlier, another frightening incident unfolded hundreds of miles away. On Aug. 7, authorities say gunfire erupted near Camp Modin, a Jewish summer camp in Belgrade, Maine, sending the camp into lockdown.

Several rounds from a high-powered rifle were fired near the camp, apparently in the direction of its basketball courts. Children as young as seven were reportedly at the camp. 

Authorities charged 36-year-old Nathan Hewett with multiple felonies, including reckless conduct with a firearm and terrorizing with a dangerous weapon. Investigators reportedly seized 23 firearms from his property.

The allegations have been described in court filings and reporting as involving antisemitic hostility, although the case should not be confused with the Central Synagogue matter, where federal hate-crime charges have formally been filed. 

There’s another unsettling part of this story: the FBI 1,528 may not be the real number. The FBI’s hate-crime database relies on reports submitted by law enforcement agencies, and participation remains voluntary for state, local and tribal departments.

In 2025, 16,791 agencies participated – about 86% of those enrolled in the hate-crime collection program.

Then there is the human factor. Victims don’t always call police, and incidents that are reported still must be recognized and recorded as bias-motivated. Justice Department research has previously concluded that official counts “substantially” understate the true number of hate crimes.

That makes the Jewish numbers even more remarkable. The FBI report tells us only what authorities know. The more disturbing question is how much antisemitism never makes it into the FBI report at all.