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Jews 525% likelier hate-crime targets in first half of 2026 than population share suggests, per FBI data

Jews have been targets of about 15% of religion-based hate crimes since Jan. 1, compared to 2% each for Sikhs and Muslims, and 1% for Arabs.

FBI
FBI badge and gun. Credit: U.S. Federal Government/Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Of the 4,384 offenses in 3,750 hate crime incidents from Jan. 1 until this month, Jews have been targets of 15% of incidents, according to FBI data. The 566 anti-Jewish hate-crime incidents so far this year include 613 offenses—a number that in other circumstances Jews happily note corresponds to the number of commandments in the Torah.

Overall, hate-crime offenses are down 43%, and incidents have decreased 41.5% compared to last year, although the FBI’s 2025 data came from self-reported state statistics covering between 95% and 96% of the U.S. population. At the beginning of this year, the January data covered about 88% of the country. By April, it was about 75%, 55% by May, and by June, it had only covered nearly 19.5% of the nation.

Last year, there were 1,062 anti-Jewish offenses in 957 incidents, according to the bureau’s data.

Jews make up about 2.4% of American adults, according to data from the Pew Research Center. That means that so far this year, Jews are 525% likelier hate crime targets than their population share suggests, according to the FBI data.

The 978 religion-based incidents recorded this year made up 25.1% of all incidents. After the 15% of religion-based incidents targeting Jews, the next most likely targets were Sikhs and Muslims (2% each) and Arabs (1%).

The majority (55%) of anti-Jewish incidents involved destruction, damage or vandalism of property, followed by intimidation (31%), simple assault (8%), and aggravated assault and all other larcenies (2% each).

The largest amount (17%) took place on the highway, a road, alley, street or sidewalk, followed by an elementary or secondary school (16%), home (15%), and college or university (9%).

A smaller number of anti-Jewish incidents have occurred so far this year at a park or playground or house of worship (6% each) or commercial or office building, parking lot or garage, government or public building or online (3% each). And 1% each of incidents have taken place at an air or bus or train terminal, drug store or medical facility, construction site, field or woods, restaurant, grocery or supermarket, shopping mall, specialty store, abandoned or condemned structure or department or discount store.

New York state had only reported 88 anti-Jewish hate crimes to the FBI so far this year, even though New York City alone recorded 26 anti-Jewish hate crimes last month, and there were 178 confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes in the Big Apple from Jan. 1 to June 30, per New York City Police Department data.

The FBI data suggests that the NYPD reported 74 anti-Jewish hate crimes to the bureau so far this year.

California has reported 158 offenses from 142 anti-Jewish hate crime incidents to the FBI so far this year.

Florida has reported 9, Illinois 17 (16 incidents), Maryland 10 (9 incidents), Massachusetts 5, Michigan 29 (26 incidents), Minnesota 6, New Jersey 102 (92 incidents), Pennsylvania 22 (18 incidents), Texas 13, Virginia 24 (23 incidents) and Washington state 15 (12 incidents).

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