November 20, 2025 — Boston
The Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism, which examined the extent and impact of antisemitism in the Commonwealth, today released its recommendations for addressing the viral spread of anti-Jewish hatred.
“The Commission has created a clear, practical roadmap to guide political, educational, and civic leaders in a statewide effort to help people better understand and address antisemitism and its impact on Jewish people,” said American Jewish Committee (AJC) New England Director Rob Leikind, who served on the Commission. “Now it’s time to translate this plan into concrete action.”
The Commission completed its 13-month study and held its final meeting today. Its landmark report, informed by 16 public hearings and comments from thousands of Massachusetts residents, details key findings and recommendations for how to better understand and confront anti-Jewish hate in schools, universities, the workplace, and other venues.
Among the report’s key recommendations:
- Instituting mandatory anti-bias education, including on antisemitism, for K-12 educators
- Teaching about antisemitic tropes and myths, which are prevalent online, when educating about digital literacy
- Creating a statewide bias reporting program that includes antisemitism
“The overwhelming majority of Massachusetts residents share our commitment to confront the surge of antisemitic activity that is having a deep and painful impact on Jews across the Commonwealth and the country,” said Leikind. “We were gratified to discover that there has been a deep well of support for the Commission’s work. Its efforts have shown clearly the problem of antisemitism in our state, launched many important discussions in schools, workplaces, and various community institutions, and led to important insights about the nature of antisemitism and how best to confront it.”
The Commission is the first in the U.S. to undertake a statewide assessment of how antisemitism affected residents and develop recommendations for how to better understand and address it. It also found that as school-based incidents persist, many educators still lack an understanding of antisemitism, school-sponsored anti-bias programs often neglect teaching about antisemitism, and Jewish and Israeli students face mental health challenges arising from the failure to adequately address antisemitism.
As the report documents, antisemitic hate crimes in Massachusetts rose by more than 20% in 2024. Of the religion-based hate crimes in Massachusetts, 84.4% were directed against Jews. Nationally, according to the 2024 FBI Hate Crime Report, 69% of all religion-based hate crimes were directed against Jews, who constitute just 2.4% of the U.S. population.
AJC New England extended its thanks to the government leaders who made this critical effort possible, including the Commission Co-Chairs, State Sen. John Velis and State Rep. Simon Cataldo; Gov. Maura Healey; State Senate President Karen Spilka; and Speaker of the House Ron Mariano.
AJC New England connects our community with American Jewish Committee’s global advocacy work to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel. Our access to diplomats, elected officials, and interfaith leaders at the local level advances AJC’s broader priorities: combating antisemitism, promoting Israel’s place in the world, and countering the spread of radicalism and extremism. Learn more at ajc.org/newengland.
