The number of antisemitic incidents in the United States tallied by the Anti-Defamation League declined by 33% in 2025 — the first drop in five years — due in large part to what the ADL said was a dramatic decrease of incidents on college campuses. After pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist student protests proliferated in 2024, the ADL tallied 1,694 antisemitic incidents on U.S. college campuses during that year. According to the ADL's latest figures released Wednesday, the number plunged by 66% in 2025, to 583, as many colleges and universities — under pressure from President Donald Trump's administration — took steps to curb such protests.
Jewish communities everywhere reacted with horror at last year's Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. But the approaching one-year commemoration of the assault hits home particularly hard in Pittsburgh's Jewish community. It already marks a grim anniversary in October. It was in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018, that a gunman carried out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, killing 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue. Adding to the intensity is the arrival of the Jewish High Holy Days — days that bracket the Oct. 7 anniversary with rituals focused on mortality and recalling the deaths of loved ones. Many are taking consolation in the rituals as they mark an emotionally fraught milestone.
