In the span of one week this spring, two St. Louis area schools were defaced with swastikas and white supremacist slogans. The antisemetic and racist graffiti—spray-painted on Affton High School and Rogers Middle School—shocked families and led to the arrest of an 18-year-old former student, now charged with hate-motivated property damage.
Though those incidents occurred in 2025 and are not included in the Anti-Defamation League’s just-released audit, they reflect exactly the kind of trend the organization says it’s now tracking in Missouri: increasingly public, increasingly aggressive acts of antisemitism.
“Antisemitic incidents dropped slightly from last year but incidents remain at alarming and historically elevated levels,” said Jordan Kadosh, ADL Heartland regional director. “In 2024, we met students who were fearful of going to class on college campuses and white supremacist groups spread antisemitic propaganda across communities in Missouri.”
Hate hits home: Missouri’s antisemitic landscape in 2024
According to the ADL’s 2024 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, Missouri reported 105 total incidents last year. That included:
- 67 cases of harassment
- 37 acts of vandalism
- 13 incidents on college campuses
- 1 assault, involving a man yelling “Free Palestine” and throwing a drink at two Jewish men outside Tin Roof, a bar in downtown St. Louis. No charges were filed, according to Kadosh.
The state also recorded 38 incidents of antisemitic white supremacist propaganda, ranking seventh in the country—ahead of larger states like Illinois and Texas. Kadosh said while high-profile moments like the Nazi flag demonstration in Town and Country grabbed headlines, much of the hate flies under the radar.
“These aren’t just protests. There’s a lot of residential targeting going on,” Kadosh said. “A single incident of flyering might hit 300 homes in a neighborhood, but it’s counted once.”
In August 2024, a middle school teacher in Kirkwood sparked backlash after displaying a Palestinian flag in his classroom. Parents raised concerns about whether the flag—and a reported classroom discussion that minimized the Holocaust—created an unsafe learning environment for Jewish students. The flag was removed the next day, and the teacher later expressed regret for the decision, saying he did not intend to cause harm.
When protest becomes antisemitism
The ADL is careful in what it includes in its audit, especially when it comes to protests involving Israel. Not all anti-Israel demonstrations are considered antisemitic.
“ADL does not record criticism of Israel or Zionism as antisemitic unless it demonizes or delegitimizes Israel, promotes conspiracy theories or incites violence or hatred against Jews,” the audit states.
In 2024, the ADL reviewed more than 800 anti-Israel incidents nationwide. Of those, only 500 were included in the final count as antisemitic. Protests that celebrate terrorism, use Holocaust inversion or employ classic antisemitic tropes are counted. Signs comparing Zionism to Nazism or praising the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks were frequently cited.
Two groups—Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)—were named in the audit as frequent organizers of protests where antisemitic content appeared. Kadosh confirmed both groups are active in Missouri, including on campuses like Mizzou and UMKC, and in cities like St. Louis and Springfield. However, he emphasized that ADL does not attribute specific incidents to specific groups unless fully documented.
Lawmakers respond: House Bill 937
While the audit paints a disturbing picture of rising hate, Missouri lawmakers have taken steps they say are meant to help. Earlier this month, the Missouri House passed House Bill 937, aimed at curbing antisemitism in public schools and universities.
The bill uses the IHRA definition of antisemitism, a framework adopted by dozens of governments and organizations. It outlines how certain language, harassment and threats—especially those tied to Jewish identity or Israel—can create a hostile learning environment.
Danny Cohn, president of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, and board chair Todd Siwak wrote in a recent op-ed that the bill is a necessary tool.
“This bill does not limit criticism of Israel,” they wrote. “It limits harassment, threats and the kind of disruption that chills Jewish students from fully participating in campus life.”
The bill now moves to the Senate, with a final vote expected before the end of the legislative session on May 16.
What schools and governments can do next
As incidents continue to rise, the ADL isn’t just documenting problems—it’s offering tools. Kadosh said the organization has developed a No Place for Hate incident response guide, which is free to any school, even if they don’t formally join the program.
For universities, ADL publishes a six-page policy toolkit alongside its national report card. And for local governments, it offers a program called No Hate on Main Street, which has already been shared with officials in St. Louis County and Springfield.
“We want to help communities move beyond piecemeal solutions,” Kadosh said. “That means naming the problem, and then following through with real strategies to address it.”
