COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Anti-Defamation League reports it collected data on a record number of events targeting minority groups across the country in 2023.

Antisemitic incidents increased 140% nationwide from the year before, with the most dramatic rise after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, according to the ADL. In Ohio, the number of antisemitic incidents nearly quadrupled from 2022 to 2023, according to the Cleveland ADL, from 61 incidents in 2022 to 237 incidents in 2023.

What You Need To Know

  • Antisemitic incidents increased 140% nationwide from the year before, with the most dramatic rise after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, according to the ADL

  • The number of antisemitic incidents in Ohio nearly quadrupled from 2022 to 2023, according to the ADL

  • A banner outside Congregation Tifereth Israel in Columbus calling for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas was set on fire

Leaders of a Jewish synagogue in Columbus said they were the target of recent vandalism.

Rabbi Hillel Skolnik said it's a miracle the fire from a burning a banner outside Congregation Tifereth Israel in the middle of the night didn't spread to nearby trees or the building.

"While the emotional scarring is intense, it's not as, forgive the pun, burned into our minds as it otherwise would have been," he said.

Police are investigating the fire. The synagogue provided surveillance video to help with the investigation.

Nicole Kaunitz, marketing and communications director for the congregation, hand-painted the banner that noted the number of days Israeli hostages have been held captive by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and called for their release.

"Many of them don't know for sure if their loved ones are alive and still suffering," Kaunitz said.

On Oct. 7, Hamas stormed Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages to Gaza. That prompted the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which has claimed the lives of 36,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The sign outside the Columbus synagogue sat untouched for about six months before the vandalism.

"I don't think now, and I didn't then, that it was controversial to say that, you know, to advocate for the lives of innocent hostages," Kaunitz said. "I understand that that's wrapped up in a much bigger conversation and that people, you know, have very strong opinions, rightfully so, on that. But when it comes to advocating for the hostages to be released, I can't understand why you'd want to destroy a message that was advocating for that."