On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigations released data showing that hate crime incidents across the country reached a record high of 11,862 in 2023. Just as importantly, reported single-bias anti-Jewish hate crime incidents rose to 1,832 incidents – a sharp increase of 63 percent from 2022 – and the highest number ever recorded by the FBI since it began collecting data in 1991.

   
Antisemitism began to spike in North America and around the globe after the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. Jewish Federations have been fighting back across North America to ensure not just the physical safety of Jews, but that communities are supported as they face anti-Israel resolutions and protests both on the government and higher education fronts. 

“The data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigations makes it clear that antisemitism has reached a level of epidemic proportions,” said Jewish Federations President and CEO Eric Fingerhut. “Jewish communities cannot flourish if Jews don’t feel safe and supported, which is why Federations continue to invest in LiveSecure to ensure physical safety. At the same time, we're growing our investment in community relations so that we can build alliances across faith groups, business leaders, and policymakers to tackle antisemitism in K-12 schools, college campuses, unions, city councils, and trade groups. Through these resources, we will continue our fight against antisemitism for Jews across North America.”
 

Another way to combat antisemitism is to call upon members of the United States Senate to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which was overwhelmingly passed by the House with a bi-partisan majority.
 
“The Antisemitism Awareness Act codifies a definition of antisemitism to update how this crisis of Jewish hatred is used today and protects a targeted minority community on college campuses. This bill has been gathering dust since last spring and if ever there was a time to call it for a vote, it’s now,” said Jewish Federations Vice President of Government Affairs Karen Paikin Barall. “We encourage everyone to call their senators in support of this critical piece of legislation.