Antisemitic Incidents Rise to New High, Report Says
The ADL says bomb threats, physical attacks on Jews and white supremacist propaganda increased
There were 3,697 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. last year, the most since the Anti-Defamation League started keeping records in 1979.
Antisemitic incidents rose 36% in 2022 from the previous year, according to data from the ADL, a Jewish advocacy group that examines antisemitism in the U.S. On average, there were 10 incidents a day in 2022, according to the data.
Antisemitic incidents have been increasing, according to the ADL. In 2021, there were 2,717 occurrences, then the highest figure on record, the group said.
“We’re deeply disturbed by this dramatic and completely unacceptable surge in antisemitic incidents,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the ADL. “This data confirms what Jewish communities across the country have felt and seen firsthand and corresponds with the rise in antisemitic attitudes.”
The ADL said it counts both criminal and noncriminal events of harassment, vandalism and assault where victims are targeted due to their Jewish identity as antisemitic incidents. The majority of the incidents are reported to the ADL directly by Jewish victims, the group said. ADL researchers also monitor media reports and other online sites for credible reports of antisemitic incidents, the group said.
There were 2,298 incidents of harassment in 2022, an increase of 29% from the previous year, according to the ADL. There were 1,288 incidents of vandalism, a 51% jump, and 111 incidents of assault, a 26% increase.
White supremacist groups were more active last year, according to the ADL. Instances of antisemitic propaganda distributed by white supremacist groups doubled last year, the organization found.
The ADL didn’t identify a single factor or ideology fueling the increase in antisemitic incidents, the group said. But more bomb threats toward Jewish institutions, white supremacist propaganda activity and attacks on Orthodox Jews were all contributing factors, the group said.
Hate crimes have been on the rise. The FBI reported there were 9,065 hate crimes in 2021, a 12% increase from the previous year. There were 817 incidents of anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2021, up 20% from the previous year, according to the FBI.
There were 1,107 anti-Black hate crimes in 2021, an increase of 27% from the previous year, according to the FBI data. Anti-Asian hate crimes more than doubled, to 746. Hate crimes targeting gay men rose 41% to 984.
The FBI defines hate crimes as those motivated by prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity.
The Biden administration has denounced the rise in antisemitic attacks and threats across the U.S.
“I just want to make a few things clear: The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure,” the president said in a tweet in December. “And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity.”