This tracker brings together the official and credible counts of antisemitic incidents in Boston and Massachusetts for the last six years, 2020 through 2025. It uses three sources: the Anti-Defamation League’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, FBI hate crime statistics for Massachusetts and the Boston Police Department, and the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) hate crime reports. Every figure shows its source and year. Where no reliable figure has been published, the table says n/a. We do not estimate missing numbers.
The short version: incidents rose sharply after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, stayed near record levels in 2024 and fell in 2025, while remaining far above 2020. For background, see our reports on Massachusetts antisemitism ADL data and the state’s response and antisemitism in Canada by the numbers.
By Jenna Caldwell | The Boston Report
Updated Oct. 22, 2026. Latest full-year data: ADL audit for 2025 (released May 6, 2026) and FBI hate crime data for 2025 (Crime Data Explorer, refreshed Oct. 15, 2026). The state EOPSS report for 2025 has not been published. No credible 2026 year-to-date totals exist yet, so 2026 is n/a.
Highlights
Sources: ADL, Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2025; ADL New England, May 6, 2026: 2025 audit release; FBI Crime Data Explorer, hate crime data (Massachusetts; Boston Police Department, ORI MA0130100), data refreshed Oct. 15, 2026. ADL counts and FBI counts measure different things and should not be added together or compared directly. See methodology.
ADL audit: Massachusetts incidents by type, 2020–2025
| Year | Total | Harassment | Vandalism | Assault | Boston (city) | Source and note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 73 | 38 | 35 | 0 | n/a | ADL, Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020 (state table, 2017-2020) |
| 2021 | 108 | 48 | 58 | 2 | n/a | ADL, Hate in the Bay State: Extremism & Antisemitism in Massachusetts, 2021-2022 Assaults: ADL says 2022's four assaults were double 2021. |
| 2022 | 152 | 66 | 82 | 4 | n/a | ADL, Hate in the Bay State: Extremism & Antisemitism in Massachusetts, 2021-2022 |
| 2023 | 440 | 293 | 139 | 8 | n/a | WBUR, April 17, 2024, quoting ADL's 2023 Massachusetts data ADL later cited 439 incidents and 141 vandalism cases for 2023. |
| 2024 | 438 | 276 | 157 | 5 | 96 | ADL New England, April 22, 2025: 2024 audit release |
| 2025 | 279 | n/a | n/a | 4 | 57 | ADL, Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2025; ADL New England, May 6, 2026: 2025 audit release; Jewish Journal, May 14, 2026, quoting ADL New England (4 assaults in 2025) ADL has not published a 2025 Massachusetts harassment/vandalism split we could verify. |
| 2026 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | ADL publishes annual totals each spring; the 2026 audit is expected in 2027. |
Boston city figures are n/a for 2020–2023 because ADL's published Massachusetts summaries we reviewed did not list a Boston count for those years.
Police-reported anti-Jewish hate crimes: FBI and state data
Why the state and FBI numbers differ: EOPSS submits Massachusetts data to the FBI but keeps verifying and updating reports afterward, so its report "may not match the FBI's published data," the agency says. Boston Police Department hate crime counts are shown here from the FBI; we did not find a separate public annual BPD report with anti-Jewish totals, so a BPD-published column is n/a.
Notable verified incidents in the Boston area
| Date | Place | What was reported | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 2026 | Newton Highlands | Two swastikas and a Nazi phrase were found painted on playground equipment at an apartment complex. Police charged a person, whose name was not released, with defacement of property. | Charged | Boston Globe, Sept. 3, 2026: Newton playground graffiti |
| Aug. 14, 2026 | Brighton, Boston | A driver shouted an obscenity about Israel at a Jewish couple walking to Shabbat services outside Congregation Kadimah-Toras Moshe, the congregation's rabbi said. Boston police said a preliminary review found the driver was not intentionally driving at the couple; no charges were filed, and the department's civil rights unit was reviewing possible bias. | Under review | Boston Globe, Aug. 18, 2026: Brighton synagogue encounter |
| June 15, 2025 | Brookline | A brick reading "Free Palestine" was thrown through the window of The Butcherie, a kosher grocery store on Harvard Street. Brookline police investigated it as a hate crime; at least two masked people were seen on video. | Under investigation, no arrest reported | Boston Globe, June 15, 2025: Brookline kosher grocery store hit with 'Free Palestine' brick; CBS Boston, June 15, 2025: Brookline community rallies after brick thrown |
| Sept. 12, 2024 | Belmont | A swastika was carved into a tree at a Jewish person's home, according to ADL New England's 2024 audit release. | Listed by ADL | ADL New England, April 22, 2025: 2024 audit release |
| July 1, 2021 | Brighton, Boston | Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed outside the Shaloh House Jewish day school. Boston police arrested a suspect nearby; a grand jury returned nine indictments, including civil rights charges, and he pleaded not guilty. | Indicted; final verdict not confirmed by The Boston Report | Suffolk County DA: Indictments returned in Brighton hate crime |
Methodology: what each source counts
- ADL Audit of Antisemitic Incidents: counts criminal and non-criminal incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault reported by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations, after ADL review. It is not a poll. Each incident is counted once, and some “sprees,” such as flyers dropped across one town in a weekend, count as one incident. Since 2021 the audit has also included reports from partner organizations such as Hillel, which ADL notes in its methodology.
- FBI hate crime statistics: counts criminal incidents that police agencies classify as motivated by anti-Jewish bias and submit to the FBI. Figures here come from the FBI Crime Data Explorer, which was refreshed on Oct. 15, 2026. 2021 was the first year of full NIBRS reporting, so 2020 and later years are not perfectly comparable.
- Massachusetts EOPSS hate crime reports: compiled from data police departments supply voluntarily under the state’s 1991 Hate Crime Reporting Act. We use the anti-Jewish line in each report’s table of bias types. EOPSS keeps updating reports after sending them to the FBI, so its numbers can differ from the FBI’s.
- Not comparable: ADL counts and police hate crime counts measure different things. A higher ADL total does not mean police undercounted crimes, and the numbers should not be added together.
- Percent changes are calculated by The Boston Report from the published figures. The 2020-to-2025 change compares each source with itself.
- Incident table: includes only incidents reported by prosecutors, ADL or established news organizations, in neutral terms, with the legal status as last reported. Charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.
More for Boston’s Jewish community
- Jewish community resources in Boston: CJP, JCCs and JF&CS
- Synagogues in Brookline and Newton
- Hanukkah 2026 in Boston: menorah lightings and events
- Kosher restaurants in Greater Boston
FAQ
How many antisemitic incidents were there in Massachusetts in 2025?
The ADL counted 279 antisemitic incidents in Massachusetts in 2025, down 36% from 438 in 2024 but up 282% from 73 in 2020. Boston had 57, the most of any city in the state.
Is Boston’s number of antisemitic hate crimes rising?
Boston police reported 17 anti-Jewish hate crime incidents to the FBI in 2025, the same as in 2024 and down from a peak of 22 in 2023, but more than double the 7 reported in 2020. The 2020 figure is likely incomplete, because the state says part of Boston’s 2020 data was not in the FBI release.
Why are ADL numbers so much higher than FBI numbers?
The ADL counts harassment, vandalism and assault whether or not it is a crime, and it takes reports from victims, partner groups and the media. The FBI and the state count only crimes that police classify as motivated by anti-Jewish bias. The two measure different things and are not comparable.
Is there 2026 data yet?
Not as credible full totals. The ADL releases each year’s audit the following spring, the FBI publishes annual data the following fall, and the state EOPSS report usually comes out about a year after the year ends. We list 2026 as n/a and show verified individual incidents instead.
How do I report an antisemitic incident in Boston?
If you are in danger, call 911. Hate crimes can be reported to your local police department; in Boston that includes the Boston Police Department’s civil rights unit. Non-criminal incidents can also be reported to ADL New England through ADL’s online incident form.
Sources
- ADL, Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020 (state table, 2017-2020)
- ADL, Hate in the Bay State: Extremism & Antisemitism in Massachusetts, 2021-2022
- WBUR, April 17, 2024, quoting ADL’s 2023 Massachusetts data
- ADL New England, April 22, 2025: 2024 audit release
- ADL, Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2025
- ADL New England, May 6, 2026: 2025 audit release
- Boston Globe, May 6, 2026: Antisemitic incidents fell in New England in 2025
- Jewish Journal, May 14, 2026, quoting ADL New England (4 assaults in 2025)
- FBI Crime Data Explorer, hate crime data (Massachusetts; Boston Police Department, ORI MA0130100), data refreshed Oct. 15, 2026
- Mass.gov, Reports on hate crimes in Massachusetts
- Mass. EOPSS, Hate Crime in Massachusetts 2020, Table 2
- Mass. EOPSS, Hate Crime in Massachusetts 2021, Table 2
- Mass. EOPSS, Hate Crime in Massachusetts 2023, Table 2 (2022 and 2023 columns)
- Mass. EOPSS, Hate Crime in Massachusetts 2024 (Dec. 2025), Table 2
- Suffolk County DA: Indictments returned in Brighton hate crime
- Boston Globe, June 15, 2025: Brookline kosher grocery store hit with ‘Free Palestine’ brick
- CBS Boston, June 15, 2025: Brookline community rallies after brick thrown
- Boston Globe, Aug. 18, 2026: Brighton synagogue encounter
- Boston Globe, Sept. 3, 2026: Newton playground graffiti