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.”
Logan Hall is an Emmy award-winning reporter who joined WBZ-TV in November 2024.
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The U.S. Army posthumously awarded three Bronze Star Medals this week to World War II veterans from Charlestown, Massachusetts, honoring their heroism and sacrifice ahead of Veterans Day.
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The medals were presented to the families of Joseph Brennan, John Noonan and William Ryan. The three men gave their lives in combat more than 80 years ago. The Bronze Star Medal is one of the nation’s highest awards for heroic service in a combat zone.
For Richard Brennan, receiving the Bronze Star on behalf of his uncle was a deeply emotional moment.
“My great-grandmother is probably very happy today,” he said. “It is huge. We are so proud and thankful of Joe’s sacrifice.”
Joseph Brennan served in the Army’s 80th Division and was killed in action in France in 1944. Richard said the honor helps keep his uncle’s memory alive for future generations.
“For them, it’s family history,” he said, speaking of his children. “They’re always asking me questions.”
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Also honored were John Noonan, who was killed during the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach, and William Ryan, who died while serving with the Army’s 5th Infantry Division.
The ceremony was organized by local historian and veteran Bill Durette, who said Charlestown’s deep sense of patriotism inspires a life of service.
“When you grow up in Charlestown, right where the battle of Bunker Hill took place, you kind of grow up in a red, white and blue neighborhood,” said Durette. “It inspires you to serve.”
The event was a chance for community members to honor the service of those from Charlestown as Veterans Day approaches.
A pickup truck slammed into two parked cars and then caught fire in Holbrook, Massachusetts, on Saturday, officials said.
Surveillance video obtained by NBC10 Boston shows the crash near Holbrook Square. It left the wrong-way driver seriously injured, according to the Holbrook Fire Department.
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NBC10 Boston
NBC10 Boston
Stills from surveillance video showing a pickup truck slam head-on into a parked car in Holbrook, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.
A police officer pulled the driver from the burning truck, according to fire officials, who referred questions about any charges the driver might face to Holbrook police. NBC10 Boston reached out to the department for comment.
The crash temporarily closed Holbrook Square and totaled all three vehicles that were involved.
State Sen. John Velis. (FILE / THE WESTFIELD NEWS)The Westfield News
BOSTON — The state Senate unanimously approved legislation sponsored by state Sen. John Velis on Thursday that will provide enhanced safety, stability and educational opportunities for military families and strengthen public safety and increase access to justice around military bases, according to an announcement from Velis’s office.
“As we approach Veterans Day, I am incredibly proud to be a part of a legislative body that prioritizes not only our veterans and servicemembers but also our military families as well,” said Velis, the Westfield Democrat who serves as the chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs.
Submitted items and newsbriefs in The Westfield News. To share your news and photographs, email pressreleases@thewestfieldnews.com or mail to The Westfield News, 181 Root Road, Westfield, MA 01085.
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