US Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who co-chair the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, issued a joint statement following the release of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2024 Hate Crime Statistics Report.
“The FBI’s latest hate crime report paints a troubling picture. Jewish Americans continue to be targeted simply because of their faith and heritage in schools, synagogues, and in their own neighborhoods,” said Lankford. “This disturbing trend demands urgent attention. I remain committed to confronting antisemitism and strengthening reporting to fully understand the scope of this threat. By working together, Congress, the Administration, and law enforcement can help ensure that every Jewish American can live without fear.”
“All Americans should be deeply troubled by the sharp increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes detailed in this report,” said Senator Rosen. “As one of the co-chairs of the Senate Bipartisan Task Forces for Combating Antisemitism, I remain steadfast in our commitment to work across party lines to root out the scourge of antisemitism. We’ll continue pushing to ensure the federal government keeps Jewish Americans safe from discrimination, violence, and hate.”
According to data released by the FBI for 2024, there were 11,679 reported hate crime incidents across the United States. Of these cases, 3,096 were single-bias offenses motivated by religious bias; nearly 70 percent targeted Jews specifically. The report found that out of 3,235 victims of anti-religious hate crimes nationwide, 69.1 percent were targeted due to anti-Jewish bias.
The number of Jewish victims reached 2,237—the highest recorded since the FBI began collecting such data in 1991.
Jews make up about two percent of the U.S. population but accounted for 16 percent of all reported hate crimes in this period. In total, 16,419 law enforcement agencies participated in compiling data for this year’s report.
Senators Lankford and Rosen have called for continued support for bipartisan legislative efforts such as the Antisemitism Awareness Act—which would formalize use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism by the Department of Education—and robust funding for programs like the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). The NSGP is designed to provide security enhancements and other protections for nonprofit organizations at higher risk for terrorist attacks.
The Department of Education has used IHRA’s definition when investigating Title VI violations under Civil Rights law since 2018.
