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.”
No other city in the country boasts more championships than Boston, giving Massachusetts a sporting pedigree unlike any other.
What’s unique about many of the state is that several of the stars from those championship-winning teams were Massachusetts natives.
Before they were winning the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, World Series or a gold medal, those athletes were high school standouts.
Which high schools in Massachusetts are considered the best for athletes today?
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According to a study conducted by Niche, which accounts for survey feedback from students and parents—accounting for “reviews of athletics, number of state championships, student participation in athletics, and the number of sports offered at the school”—and data from the U.S. Department of Education, these are the top 25.
BOSTON (WHDH) – It was a powerful moment on Friday during the annual Law-Enforcement Memorial Ceremony at the State House, as the ceremony remembered those lost in the line of duty, including State Trooper Kevin Trainor.
Trainor was killed in a wrong-way crash this week. Trainor’s family was in attendance.
“We’re here today with the Trainor family as another tragedy and agonizing time in policing has found us,” Larry Calderone, Boston Police Union President, said.
The day brought a moment to pause and remember the 30-year-old who is being hailed a hero after he was struck and killed Wednesday morning on Route 1 in Lynnfield.
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“We’ve lost a brother,” Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said.
The fallen trooper’s fiancée spoke out for the first time since losing the love of her life. She posted to social media, “I am beyond proud of the amount of love you have been given by those who loved and cared about you shows us who you really were, a friend, a partner, a brother, a son, and a hero. You weren’t just a hero to me but a hero to all.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Bishop Feehan moves up to the No. 2 spot — the Shamrocks have won eight straight against in-state competition, and ace Brody Bumila continues to look unbeatable. Natick enters the top five for the first time at No. 4 — the Redhawks are 12-1 with a 9-0 mark in Bay State play.
In the back half, Reading rises to No. 13 after getting some revenge on No. 19 Arlington. Also rising are No. 12 Plymouth North and No. 16 Canton, each up two spots.
New entrants are No. 18 Winchester, which returns to the rankings, and No. 20 Hopkinton, in for the first time this year on the back of four straight wins.
Records based on scores reported to the Globe.
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The Globe’s Top 20 baseball poll
The Globe poll as of May 8, 2026. Teams were selected by the Globe sports staff.
Mike Puzzanghera can be reached at michael.puzzanghera@globe.com. Follow him on X @mpuzzanghera.
