While overall hate crime rates in major U.S. cities dropped by nearly 3% in 2024, targeted attacks against Jews and Muslims surged, according to new preliminary data released by a leading hate crime researcher.

The multi-city survey, conducted by Brian Levin, professor emeritus of criminal justice at California State University, San Bernardino, found that anti-Jewish hate crimes rose by 12% and anti-Muslim incidents by 18%—marking the fourth consecutive year of increases for both groups.

Levin, who founded the university’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, attributed the sharp uptick to the ongoing impact of the Gaza war. “Crimes against Jews and Muslims rose for a fourth consecutive year and were accelerated by the Gaza War,” he said.

Despite the higher rate of increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes, Jews continued to be the most frequently targeted group, accounting for 25% of all hate crimes reported in the survey.

The data showed that other ethnicity-based hate crimes declined slightly in 2024, though most changes remained within the margin of error.

Meanwhile, college campuses have seen an unprecedented explosion of antisemitic incidents. A report by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism revealed that antisemitic incidents on U.S. campuses spiked by a staggering 3,000% in 2024—much of it in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The new findings follow a troubling trend documented by the FBI, which reported in 2023 that antisemitic hate crimes in the U.S. had surged by 63%, reaching an all-time high.

The data comes amid growing concerns from Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups, who warn that political polarization and global conflict are contributing to a dangerous environment for religious and ethnic minorities in the U.S.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)