Antisemitic incidents in U.S. up by more than 300% since Israel-Hamas war, study says

 

Vandalized tombstones are seen at the Jewish Mount Carmel Cemetery, Feb. 26, 2017, in Philadelphia. / Credit: DOMINICK REUTER/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Nov 13, 2023 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

Antisemitic incidents in the United States have skyrocketed by more than 300% year over year in the weeks since the Israel-Hamas war began, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said this week, with more than two dozen incidents occurring every day on average according to the group’s calculations.

The ADL said in a press release on Monday that according to preliminary data, “in the month following Hamas’ terror attack on Israel, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 316% compared [with] the same time period last year.”

Hamas’ attack on Israel unfolded Oct. 7 when the terror group invaded Israel, killing over 1,000 and taking hundreds of hostages. Israel quickly declared war on Hamas, with the two sides fighting throughout the region throughout October and into November.

The ADL said on Monday that “in the one-month period between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7, 2023, the ADL Center on Extremism documented 832 antisemitic incidents of assault, vandalism, and harassment across the U.S., an average of nearly 28 incidents a day.”

“This represents a 316% increase from the 200 incidents reported during the same period in 2022,” the group said.

The group shared a map plotting the antisemitic incidents throughout the U.S., which it said included “incidents of vandalism, harassment, and assault directed at Jews (or people perceived to be Jewish) or Jewish institutions.”

Of the 832 incidents on its list, the ADL said it had recorded “632 acts of harassment, 170 instances of vandalism, and 30 assaults.” More than 120 took place on college campuses.

“As we have seen repeatedly, when conflict arises in the Middle East, particularly when Israel exercises its right to self-defense, antisemitic incidents increase here in the U.S. and around the world,” Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of ADL, said in the release.

“These include violent assaults on pro-Israeli students on college campuses, anti-Israel protests openly expressing support for terrorist organizations, as well as white supremacists distributing antisemitic fliers and banners blaming Jews for the war.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray last month said that the number of anti-religious attacks on Jewish people has increased in the wake of the war and that those attacks are “wildly disproportionate” considering the community’s minority status in the United States.

Pope Francis last week, meanwhile, said during a meeting with rabbis in Rome that he “strongly condemned” the spread of antisemitic demonstrations, which the Holy Father in prepared remarks said was “of great concern.”

And Franciscan University of Steubenville last month announced the creation of an expedited transfer process for Jewish students in danger of antisemitic discrimination and violence on campuses across the United States.


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2 Comments

  1. I wonder if there is a general demographic profile of the the perps that the FBI could be provide so that we can be on our guard when see them. Also, it is worth noting that yesterday in the Wall Street Journal two prominent Israeli poliitical figures wrote an op-ed demanding that Western nations take in all the Gazans Israel intends to expel. Perhaps the ADL can give us an estimate of what the impact of such a move would have on antisemitic incidents in the US.

    • Israel’s not expelling Gazan citizens but many people in Gaza have been evacuated & may want to voluntarily emigrate following this war. Jordan & Egypt aren’t offering them entrance because they don’t want terrorists coming posing as refugees. Gazan residents have had a “refugee” status for 4 or 5 generations now which only benefits Hamas & any other crooks who profit from a perpetual source of humanitarian aid.

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