Antisemitic hate crimes reported in Massachusetts increased 70% from 2022 to 2023, according to a study released by the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
The 2023 Hate Crime Report for Massachusetts showed 119 reported Jew-hatred incidents in 2023 compared to 70 in 2022.
The percentage of all bias-related crimes in the state that were specifically antisemitic also rose, increasing from 14.5% of the total in 2022 to 18.8% in 2023. It is the fourth year the percentage of all hate crimes that are specifically anti-Jewish has continued to grow.
Additionally, the report showed that more hate crimes targeting Jews were reported in 2023 than in the previous eight years. Most incidents involved vandalism and intimidation; physical attacks remained rare.
Approximately 72% of antisemitic incidents took place in the counties of Middlesex, Suffolk and Norfolk, which contain the highest levels of Jewish population.
The report also found that the number of incidents targeting Arabs in the state rose to 20 in 2023 from seven in 2022, while the number of incidents targeting Muslims fell from 13 in 2022 to five in 2023.
The most common hate crimes reported in 2023 in the state were those targeting African-Americans, accounting for 149 incidents, a nearly 6% decrease from the previous year. Anti-black hate crimes accounted for 23.5% of total hate crimes reported in the state.