Nearly two-thirds of the 250 antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents documented in New York City public schools since October 2023 were classified as direct acts, including harassment, vandalism, assaults and verbal threats, according to an August 2026 report by United Jewish Teachers.
The group tracked incidents from October 2023 through July 2026, documenting 250 cases across the city’s five boroughs. Brooklyn recorded the most, with 91, followed by Queens with 68, Manhattan with 62, the Bronx with 22 and Staten Island with seven, according to the report.
“With antisemitism rising across New York City and a new school year about to begin, this report could not come at a more critical moment,” Moshe Spern, president of United Jewish Teachers, told JNS. “The data make clear that current policies have failed.”
Direct acts accounted for 64.8% of the incidents. Another 23.2% involved curricular materials or related instruction, while 9.6% involved events such as walkouts and protests. The remaining 2.4% were categorized as “other,” including incidents related to teachers’ unions.
“Before students return to classrooms, New York City Public Schools must adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, require immediate NYPD investigation of all hate graffiti, establish transparent public tracking of incidents and hold leadership accountable,” Spern told JNS. “Jewish students and educators cannot afford another year of the same.”
The report states that many of the incidents it documented showed “limited or no effective follow-through” by school or district leadership, allowing what it described as hostile conditions to persist.
“These patterns have continued across multiple school years, indicating that existing policies and practices have not adequately protected Jewish members of the school community,” according to the report.
