Surge in Harassment Towards Jewish and Muslim Americans Documented in Wake of October 7 Hamas Assaults

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Since the attacks by Hamas on October 7, both Muslim and Jewish civil liberties organizations report significant upticks in incidents of harassment, discrimination, and even violent assaults against individuals from their respective communities.

Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations have observed an escalation in reported occurrences, many of which entail violence or threats targeting demonstrators at pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian rallies during the recent armed conflict between Israel and Hamas. Additional incidents of harassment and attacks have been indiscriminately aimed at Muslim and Jewish individuals in public spaces.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations revealed on Wednesday that between October 7 and October 24, their local chapters and national office recorded 774 reports related to bias-driven acts. During this same period, the national office directly received 110 such reports, a stark contrast to the 63 reports gathered throughout the month of August. The council’s leaders have described this surge in complaints as the most substantial since December 2015, when Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate, announced his plan to prohibit Muslim immigration to the United States following the San Bernardino mass shooting that claimed 14 lives.

Incidents since October 7 range from an Illinois landlord allegedly murdering a 6-year-old Muslim child and injuring the child’s mother to the arrest of a Michigan man accused of soliciting individuals on social media to participate in attacks against Palestinians.

Corey Saylor, the research and advocacy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, urged public officials to proactively stem the current nationwide rise in hate crimes. Saylor cited the placating influence of former President George W. Bush’s mosque visit post-9/11 on the Muslim community and called upon President Joe Biden to meet with American families who have lost loved ones in Gaza.

Comparatively, during a similar time frame in 2022, there were 64 documented reports that included acts ranging from graffiti and slurs to physical violence, such as a woman in New York who was assaulted and called “You are Jewish.”

The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism has collected 312 reports that include 109 expressions of anti-Israeli sentiment voiced or displayed at rallies. These sentiments, according to the organization, strongly or explicitly supported Hamas or violence against Jews in Israel. Various protests featured the chant, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which has been criticized by Jewish groups as an endorsement to dismantle Israel. Palestinian activists, however, assert that their objective is not the obliteration of Israel but the assurance of freedom of movement and equal rights for Palestinians in the region.

In response, the Anti-Defamation League is advocating for decisive action against antisemitic expressions, both online and offline. The organization reported that digital platforms like Telegram Messenger have witnessed an even greater increase in antisemitic messages than real-world instances.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, emphasized the onus on leaders across all sectors to resolutely condemn both antisemitism and terrorism.

It is not only in the United States that Jewish civil rights organizations have observed this alarming trend. In countries across Europe, Latin America, and North Africa, there has been a noted increase in antisemitic activities in recent weeks when compared to data from 2022. For instance, London police recorded 218 reports of antisemitic crimes between October 1 and October 18, marking a thirteen-fold increase compared to the same period in 2022.

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This article has been amended to rectify the name of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in two instances.

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Contributions to this report were made by Big Big News reporter Noreen Nasir in New York.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Hamas attacks and community harassment

More about Hamas attacks and community harassment

• Anti-Defamation League Official Website
• Council on American-Islamic Relations Official Website
• FBI Hate Crime Statistics
• Department of Justice on Hate Crimes
• San Bernardino Mass Shooting
• London Police Hate Crime Reports
• Donald Trump’s Proposed Muslim Immigration Ban
• George W. Bush Mosque Visit Post-9/11
• Telegram Messenger and Hate Speech