ADL: Antisemitic acts down in Palm Beach County, Florida in 2024, but troubling trends persist
Despite the decline, ADL officials in Florida said there were still troubling trends, including a nearly identical number of bomb threats against Jewish institutions and a growing number of Israel-related antisemitic acts.
Despite recording a 39% decrease in 2024 from 2023, Palm Beach County had the highest number of incidents in Florida for the second consecutive year, the ADL Florida Region reported April 22 in its 2024 audit.
There were 51 reported antisemitic incidents in Palm Beach County for 2024, down from 83 cases in 2023, according to the ADL audit. Estimates have placed the Jewish population in the county, home to about 1.5 million people, at about 12%.
Statewide, there were 353 incidents report in 2024 compared to 463 cases the year before.
Nationally, there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents reported in 2024, the highest total recorded since the ADL began tracking data in 1979, the organization reported. That total translates to more than 25 per day across the U.S.
"One of the trends that we saw in the state of Florida was that extremist and white supremacist activity declined in Florida in 2024," said Lonny Wilk, deputy director of the ADL Florida Region.
ADL officials noted a "substantial reduction" in offensive literature distributed to Jewish communities, with only eight reported incidents statewide in 2024, compared to 75 in 2023. They credited in part a state law introduced in 2023 that allows for such acts to be prosecuted as hate crimes.
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The ADL's audit includes criminal and noncriminal acts of harassment, vandalism, and assault against individuals and groups as reported by victims, law enforcement, media outlets, and partner organizations.
"While we most certainly welcome any decrease in the total number of incidents, the Florida numbers remain at significant levels," said Daniel Frank, the ADL Florida regional director.
He noted that Florida had the seventh-highest total of reported incidents nationally, behind New York, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland.
"These improved numbers in context illustrate concerning trends and an overall trajectory that requires a little further exploration," Frank said. "When we look at the last five years, it is clear that despite a decrease in 2024, the overall pattern is one of increasing antisemitic incidents in Florida."
Bomb threats against Jewish institutions remained near previous levels, with 82 incidents in 2024 compared to 89 the previous year. Statewide there were 292 reports of harassment and 55 acts of vandalism, the ADL reported.
The organization noted an incident from 2024 at an unspecified Palm Beach County school in which multiple students harassed a Jewish classmate with antisemitic comments, including including, 'Kill the Jews."
It also referenced an incident near Jupiter in October in which a neo-Nazi organization infiltrated a boat parade in support of President Donald Trump, then a candidate for a new term in office, and displayed flags bearing swastikas.
'Acts of antisemitism should not be alarming just for the Jewish community, but must be recognized as detrimental to our entire society,' Frank said.
While addressing the increase nationally, Oren Segal, the ADL's vice president of its Center on Extremism, said the 2024 statistics show that a rise in antisemitic acts in the wake of Israel's response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks was not a temporary spike.
"There has been a fundamental shift in the landscape," he said. "Antisemitism has become a persistent reality for the American Jewish community. … It corresponds with the notable rise in antisemitic attitudes."
The ADL reported that first time in the history of the audit, a majority of all antisemitic incidents — 58% — contained elements directly related to protests against Israel. Segal rejected arguments that such acts are a form of political activism.
'If your idea of protesting Israeli government policies is to assault, or harass, or intimidate Jews, that doesn't make you a political activist," he said. "That makes you a bigot."
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: ADL: Antisemitic acts down in 2024; Palm Beach County most in Florida
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