As anti-Semitic hate reaches a fever pitch, the firebombing of Israel supporters in Colorado shows just how deadly the consequences can be. 

Eight people – many of them elderly, including a Holocaust survivor – were attacked and critically injured at a gathering to mourn the hostages being held by Hamas in Palestine.  

The suspect yelled “free Palestine” while in police custody, after allegedly throwing homemade Molotov cocktails at the pro-Israel crowd. The FBI said, “It is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism.” 

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This attack occurred just two weeks after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed in Washington, DC. The suspect in that terrorist attack also shouted “free Palestine” after being arrested. 

Sadly, this is part of an alarming trend: anti-Semitic hate crimes in the U.S. have risen sharply in the wake of Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.  

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that anti-Semitic incidents were up 361% in the three months after the October 7 attacks, compared to the same period in 2022. The ADL found 3,291 anti-Semitic incidents in those three months alone, more than all of 2021 (2,717). 

The FBI’s hate crime statistics show a similar trend. In 2023, the latest year on record, reported hate crimes against Jewish people were up 58% compared to 2022.  

This chart below shows hate crimes over time that the FBI reported as anti-Jewish (a term the FBI uses in place of anti-Semitic). That big spike is October 2023. 

While it’s true that religiously motivated hate crimes are on the rise in general, anti-Jewish attacks make up the bulk of the uptick.  

In fact, over half – 59% – of all religiously motivated hate crimes reported in 2023 targeted Jewish people, who make up only 2.4% of the U.S. population.  Here’s a breakdown. 

These figures only reflect hate crimes the FBI was able to investigate. According to the American Jewish Committee, “the actual numbers of incidents is likely greater, as hate crimes are widely underreported across the country.”  

As No Labels put it: “We need zero tolerance for the antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric” that is fueling this violent epidemic.  

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