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Antisemitic crime up by 94% in Florida, 70% in Mass., states warn

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Antisemitic crime up by 94% in Florida, 70% in Mass., states warn


Antisemitic crimes rose in Florida and Massachusetts in 2023 compared to 2022, government reports showed.

Antisemitic crimes increased by 94% in Florida and 70% in Massachusetts, according to Florida Attorney-General Ashley Moody’s 2023 Hate Crimes in Florida Report and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Hate Crimes in Massachusetts 2023 report.

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“Following the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Jewish community was increasingly targeted on college campuses, places of worship, and other areas of our country,” said Moody.

“To protect Jewish Americans, we took action – calling for a zero-tolerance policy for hate crimes and urging Florida college and university police chiefs to protect Jewish students and other religious groups.”

Moody’s office collected 311 reported hate crimes in 2023, a 36% increase from the 229 reports in 2022. Among these 311 incidents, there were 70 anti-Jewish motivated crimes. Antisemitic crimes accounted for 22% of all hate crimes in the state.

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Anti-Israel slogans are on display at the University of South Florida. (credit: #EndJewHatred)

Hate crimes motivated by antisemitism

Almost 71% of all religion-motivated crimes were motivated by antisemitism in Florida in 2023. Anti-religion-motivated crimes represented 31.5% of all hate crimes in 2023, second only to racially motivated crimes, which made up 38% of the reports. Twenty of the 2023 hate crime incidents took place at a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque.

Thirty-eight of the anti-Jewish crimes recorded by the Florida Attorney-General’s Office were acts of vandalism, and 15 were acts of intimidation. There were also four incidents of simple assault and the same number of aggravated assaults.

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In 2023, 278 agencies participated in the reporting system, with 75 reporting hate crimes, compared to 58 the previous year.

Eighty-nine municipal police departments, 14 campus police agencies, and the Massachusetts Environmental Police submitted a total of 557 hate-motivated crimes in 2023. Some 314 agencies had no bias crimes to report, and 41 agencies didn’t participate in the project. There were a total of 578 separate offenses, and 634 reported bias incidents in 2023.

Hate crimes in Massachusetts increased by 26.5%, according to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security report. This was the highest amount of hate-motivated crimes reported since 2002.

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The most frequent bias for these hate-motivated crimes has consistently been anti-black crimes, said the state body, followed by anti-gay, antisemitic, and anti-white crimes. Anti-Jewish crimes represented a total of 18.8% of the 634 bias incidents reported to police in Massachusetts. The amount of antisemitic crimes reported to police rose from 70 in 2022 to 119 in 2023.

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Massachusetts police received anti-Jewish bias reports for 82 vandalism incidents, 23 intimidation incidents, four simple assaults, and two aggravated assaults in 2023. Churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques were host to 35 bias incidents in 2023.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security detailed that hate crimes are not reported as a stand-alone offense “but rather as part of a separate criminal violation, ranging from vandalism to harassment to violent crimes.” 





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Massachusetts

Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”

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Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”


It was a treacherous commute for drivers across Massachusetts Wednesday morning. Ice on roads and highways caused several crashes during rush hour.

In Danvers, 22 miles north of Boston, the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars. Three people were taken to local hospitals.

In Danvers, Mass. the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars on March 4, 2026.

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CBS Boston


In Revere, just seven miles north of the city, two tractor-trailers collided on North Shore Road. Police said it will be shut down for most of the day. It’s unclear if this crash was caused by icy conditions.

Forty-four miles west of Boston, a tractor-trailer ran off the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westboro. One person was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with what were described by the fire department as “non-life threatening injuries.”

The ice wasn’t just a problem for drivers. People walking around Boston were also slipping and sliding Wednesday morning.

“I almost fell at least five times but I didn’t. I don’t know how. I screamed and caught edges,” Swapna Vantzelfde told CBS News Boston about her walk to work in the South End. It took longer than usual.

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“The internal streets they just don’t get plowed, the little ones that people live on and then these arteries, the big streets, they’re cleaned a lot better,” she said.

Those on two legs and four were all stepping gingerly across slick spots.

“A little treacherous. Very slick and icy out here,” said a father pushing a stroller. “Sometimes you have something to hold on to, which helps.”

With plenty of snow piled along sidewalks and between parking spots, most people are done with winter.

“I’m over it. I’m ready for the thaw,” said one man. 

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‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran

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‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran


Massachusetts families are stuck in the Middle East amid the war in Iran, and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey says the State Department needs to do more to get them home.

The Trump administration is telling Americans to leave the region, and families would love to, but they haven’t been able to get out.

Stacey Schuhwerk of Hingham has been sheltering in place in a Doha hotel since Saturday.

“We hear the missiles outside,” she said. “We can see them.”

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The Hingham mother and her son are among nearly 1,600 Americans trapped in the Middle East with no way to get home.

“Airspace is shut down. There’s no planes,” said Schuhwerk. “There’s no way to leave.”

Flights between Boston and the Middle East are canceled or delayed as travelers express anxiety over the conflict.

At first, U.S. officials told people to shelter in place and register with the State Department — something Schuhwerk did days ago.

“There’s no help there. The last time we called was 20 minutes ago, and they continue to say that ‘We don’t know anything about any plans for government help to get people out,’” she said.

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Embassies and consulates across the region — including the U.S. Embassy in Israel — have now suspended services, saying they simply can’t get Americans out.

“They did not have a plan to conduct this war, and they clearly did not have a plan as to how to evacuate innocent families,” Markey said.

The senator says his office is hearing from Massachusetts families, and he’s pressuring the Trump administration to come up with an evacuation plan fast.

“We are going to apply that pressure on the State Department until every American who wants to leave that region is out,” he said.

Back in Doha, Schuhwerk keeps watching the war outside her window.

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“The talk here is ‘How much defensive ammunition’s left?’ Good question, you know, because the missiles aren’t stopping,” she said. “So how long are we going to be safe here?”

With no clear end to this conflict, she’s worried she could be stuck there for weeks.



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Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.

The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.

The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.

For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.

The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.

The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.

Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.

That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!

Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.

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