Anti-Semitic Incidents Climbed 57 Percent Last Year In US: Report

NEW YORK, NY — Anti-Semitic incidents increased dramatically across the United States last year and experts warn that should serve as a “wake-up call” to the Jewish community. The Anti-Defamation League recently released its yearly audit and said actions considered hostile toward or prejudiced against Jews climbed 57 percent in 2017 — the largest single-year increase since the group began tracking the statistic in 1979.

There were 1,986 anti-Semitic incidents last year, the organization said, referring to harassment, vandalism and assault. That’s the second highest number the group has ever seen.

While assaults nationwide dropped by nearly half from 36 in to 19, vandalism nearly doubled from 510 to 952.

Yael Rabin, an analyst with the ADL’s center on extremism, noted there was also an uptick in harassment, such as white supremacists distributing flyers with overt or explicit anti-Semitic content on them "demonizing Jews, dehumanizing Jews, et cetera.”

Verbal harassment —such schoolyard bullying — was also prevalent, she told Patch, such as one child telling another “they should be gassed because they’re Jewish,” or that Adolf Hitler “should’ve killed them all.”

The number of incidents reported in schools likely only scratched the surface of the real number, Rabin said.

There was at least one anti-Semitic incident such as these in every state last year, the group said in its report on Monday. But just six states accounted for more than three-fifths of the country’s total. New York had 380 incidents, California had 268 and New Jersey had 208. Massachusetts saw 177 anti-Semitic incidents, Florida had 98 and Pennsylvania saw 96.

Alaska, Minnesota and South Dakota each saw one such incident.

The Anti-Defamation League’s audit showed 952 instances of anti-Semitic vandalism last year — an 86 percent increase over 2016 and the largest of the three categories.

“The dramatic increase in anti-Semitic acts of vandalism is particularly concerning, because it indicates that the perpetrators feel emboldened enough to break the law,” the audit said.

Anti-Semitic incidents happened at businesses, in private homes and at public places like parks and streets, the organization said. They also occurred at Jewish institutions and schools, as well as colleges and universities.

The audit looked at both criminal and non-criminal incidents against individuals and groups that were reported to the group by victims, law enforcement agencies and media outlets.

Incidents are defined as vandalism, or harassment or assault if the circumstances indicated the perpetrator displayed anti-Jewish hostility or Jews saw themselves as victimized due to their Jewish identity. Vandalism against Jewish religious institutions and cemeteries was also included.

Rabin said the ADL sees a lot of vandalism accompanied by the word “Jew” or the Swastika symbol. Some vandalism acts also incorporate the number 1488, she said, a white supremacist slogan that refers to Hitler, and the 14 words coined by white supremacist leader David Lane that say: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

The spike in anti-Semitic incidents could be due to several factors. Better technologies make it easier to find and report such incidents, she said.

Both the media and constituents alert the ADL and law enforcement agencies when anti-Semitic incidents happen, she said, and people are starting to use social media to spread the word about hateful messages.

Rabin said one of her own Facebook friend’s posted an image of a swastika over a celebrity’s face — possibly Sarah Silverman or Jon Stewart — and the word “Jewed.” That image was then reported to appropriate person in that ADL region, she said.

To curb anti-Semitic incidents this year, Rabin said schools must be diligent about teaching tolerance and fighting hatred. It’s also imperative, she said, that Jewish leaders speak out nationally and locally about anti-Semitism.

Even as anti-Semitic incidents increased, Rabin said Jewish people in America shouldn’t necessarily worry more this year.

“If anything, these numbers are a wake-up call for the Jewish community that there is still anti-Semitism,” she said.

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