Antisemitic crimes are not abstract. They are committed by real people, target real people, and cause real pain. One of the major lacunae in combating them has been that the profiles of offenders have never been systematically studied. This lacuna results from the avoidance of ethnically sensitive issues in an academic climate dominated by political correctness, as well as from the tendency of the field to focus on pompous clichés and tired slogans.

With the aim of filling the scholarly gap, this study attempts to answer crucial questions: Who are the antisemites who assault Jews, vandalize synagogues, and threaten communities? How do they facilitate their attacks? What are their ethnic backgrounds, ages, family statuses, and occupations? What are their religious beliefs and political convictions? How do they explain their actions?

The study offers analyses of indictments proceeded against people who committed antisemitic offenses during a six-year period, 2020 to 2025, in the four countries with the largest Jewish populations outside Israel (the United States, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom). Based on surveying of legal databases and media reports, as well as interviews with defense lawyers and local journalists, the research team sought to first locate all the relevant court cases in the period studied and then to profile the backgrounds of offenders. For the United States, data of non-federal cases was not analyzed because no pertinent databases allowing for exhaustive analysis are available.

The research team located slightly fewer than 100 indictments. This number is strikingly small in comparison to the number of antisemitic incidents reported in the four countries studied over the past five years. It highlights one of the main problems of the fight against antisemitism, which was already analyzed in our Report last year[1]: the vast majority of offenders go unpunished.

The limitations of the profiling should be emphasized. Because only a negligible fraction of antisemitic incidents result in arrests and indictments, and these tend to be the more severe or politically high-profile cases, the research does not offer an exhaustive analysis of those involved in them. In the case of the United States, where only federal indictments were analyzed, crimes that involve interstate activities are likely overrepresented.

The study informs the following about the background of offenders whose indictments were located:

  • Individuals indicted for involvement in antisemitic incidents tend to be “lone wolves” rather than members of extremist, hierarchical nets and organizations obeying orders. With few exceptions, their actions are not the result of carefully premeditated and guided planning. This makes preemption more challenging, although not impossible. Still, two court cases raise concerns of Russian involvement in instigating hate against Jews as a means to undermine Western societies – concerns which to date have not gained the investigative attention they deserve.
  • Men are indicted for antisemitic incidents in significantly larger numbers than women. This observation correlates with the general data on the demographic distribution of hate criminals. [2]
  • Antisemitic offenders show great diversity in age groups, areas of residence and ethnic extraction.
  • Offenders align with two main ideological orientations. They are predominantly Christian white supremacists or Muslims who apply antisemitism as a response to grievances about Middle Eastern political developments.
  • A significant number of offenders were found, or claimed, to suffer from mental illnesses. It is not clear why their situation led them to attack Jews while sparing other groups.
  • In the majority of cases, credible information on the sources of radicalization is not available. Still, the absence of affiliation with in-person antisemitic organizations indicates that online sources were likely an essential part of the process.
  • A disproportionate number of indicted were unemployed or worked in low-paying jobs at the time of committing their offense. Vicious antisemitic attacks are less likely to be committed by people who do well in life.   

Ages of indicted individuals noted in the analyses are from the time the offenses were committed. Names, including Arabic ones, appear as they do in court documents and media reports.

The case of Jihad al-Shami, who committed the October 2, 2025, attack on the Manchester Synagogue Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, is not included in the analysis because he was killed by police and did not face trial.

To read the profiles, click here.

[1] Avi Teich, “Where Are the Arrests?” Antisemitism Worldwide Report for 2024, The Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Justice and Human Rights, Tel Aviv University, pp. 28-29.

[2] Jack McDevitt, Jack Levin, and Susan Bennett, “Hate Crime Offenders: An Expanded Typology,” Journal of Social Issues 58, no. 2 (2002): pp. 303–317.