Jews were the targets of two of the seven religion-based hate crimes in the state of Idaho in 2025, or about 29%, according to a new Idaho State Police report, although Jews reportedly make up about .3% of all Idahoans.
There were 5,920 Jews in the state in 2024, according to the 2024 “American Jewish Year Book.” According to that data, Idaho is in the bottom 18% of all American states, with just Arkansas (.17%), Iowa (.2%), Mississippi (.1%), Montana (.28%), North Dakota (.12), Oklahoma (.22%), South Dakota (.08%) and West Virginia (.17%) having smaller percentages of Jewish residents.
Idaho reported 52 hate crime incidents in 2025.
Randy Kessler, executive director of StandWithUs Northwest, told JNS that “even in a state with a very small Jewish population, Jews remain disproportionately targeted for hate crimes.”
“This is a stark reminder that antisemitism is not confined to places with large Jewish communities. It is a national challenge, and one that StandWithUs was built to tackle,” Kessler said. “Idaho’s leaders have consistently made clear that antisemitism has no place in our state, and we appreciate their willingness to stand with the Jewish community.”
“Those words and actions matter,” Kessler told JNS. “But these statistics show that there is more work needed. Every act of anti-Jewish hate is an attack not only on one community, but on the values of pluralism and religious freedom that benefit us all.”
“Hate crime incidents are identified on the subjective motivation of the offender(s),” the report states. “Law enforcement investigations solely determine the sufficient objective facts to lead to a reasonable and prudent conclusion that the offender’s actions were motivated by bias against a racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, mental/physical disability or sexual orientation group.”
“Idaho was one of the first 12 states to pass legislation regarding malicious harassment,” the state adds in the report, which runs 264 pages.
The 52 incidents were down 23.5% from 68 hate crimes in the state in 2024, and were less than hate crimes in prior years—55 in 2023, 50 in 2022 and 47 in 2021. (JNS sought comment from the state police.)
“The ‘Crime in Idaho Report’ is more than a collection of statistics. Behind every number is a person, a family, a community and a story,” stated Col. Bill Gardiner, director of the Idaho State Police. “The information contained in this report helps us better understand where we have made progress, where challenges remain and where we must continue to focus our efforts. It provides valuable information that guides decision-making, strengthens partnerships and supports efforts to prevent and reduce crime.”
In 2025, 17 of the hate crimes involved intimidation, 14 were simple assaults and 10 involved destruction of property, according to the state report. Fewer were aggravated assaults (6), fondling (2), larceny or theft (2) and arson (1). Of the injuries, eight were apparently minor, while one each was a major injury, possible internal injury and unconsciousness, per the report.
The largest number of hate crimes targeted black people (22), followed by gay people (6), Hispanics or Latinos (5) and white people (5). In the category of religion-motivated hate crimes, which were 13.46% of all hate crimes, two hate crimes targeted Muslims, one was anti-Sikh and two were against those of an “other religion.”
The largest number of victims (9) of the hate crimes were between the ages of 25 and 29, and six incidents each targeted those 30-34, 35-39 and 13-14. One incident targeted someone over the age of 60, and three were against those under the age of 10.
Only one of the 52 hate crimes occurred at a “church/synagogue/temple/mosque,” per the report. Three were at elementary or secondary schools, and two at colleges.
