Racism In The US: Anti-Semitic Incidents Surge Amid Extremist Rhetoric

More than 2,000 anti-Semitic incidents were reported across the United States in 2019, including violent acts that killed five people, the Anti-Defamation League reported Tuesday. The 2,107 acts were a record and represented a 12% increase from 2018 and more than any year in the past four decades.

The ADL has blamed social media for some of the rise in hatred.

The 2019 ADL Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents included fatal attacks on synagogue in Poway, California, a Jersey City, New Jersey, kosher grocery store and an attack on a Hanukkah party at the home of a Monsey, New York, rabbi.

“This was a year of unprecedented antisemitic activity, a time when many Jewish communities across the country had direct encounters with hate,” ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said in a press release. “This contributed to a rising climate of anxiety and fear in our communities.”

The ADL called on Congress to hold hearings on the rise in hate crimes and extremist groups, and the proliferation of their propaganda. The group also called for legislation to improve the response to “domestic terrorism” and said schools should promote anti-bias and bullying prevention, as well as Holocaust education.

The audit found 1,127 harassment incidents, 919 cases of vandalism and 61 assaults, the latter an increase of 56% from 2018. Guns or knives were used in 11 of the 61 assaults and hurt 95 victims, including the five fatalities.

The only states not reporting incidents were Alaska and Hawaii. Five states accounted for 45%of the incidents: New York, 430; New Jersey, 345; California, 330; Massachusetts, 114, and Pennsylvania, 109.

“Anti-Semitism is a virus. It is like a disease, and it persists,” Greenblatt told the Associated Press. “It’s sometimes known as the oldest hatred. It never seems to go away. There truly is no single antidote or cure.”

ADL said 270 of the incidents (13%) were perpetrated by extremist groups or individuals influenced by extremist ideology. The number of incidents in elementary and secondary secular schools were up 19% while incidents at colleges and universities fell 10%, and incidents at Jewish institutions were off 12%.

“At least 170 antisemitic incidents in 2019 referenced Israel or Zionism. Of those, 68 took the form of white supremacist groups’ propaganda efforts, which attempt to foment anti-Israel and anti-Semitic beliefs. Most of the remaining incidents were expressions of anti-Israel animus that incorporated anti-Semitic imagery or harassment and demonization of Jewish students for their real or assumed connection to Israel,” the ADL said.

A poll of 18 countries conducted by ADL last year indicated 25% of Europeans harbor anti-Semitic attitudes, with such sentiments rising in Eastern and Central Europe.