Anti-Defamation League reports record level of antisemitic incidents in 2021

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. reached a historic high last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League, with more than 2,700 cases of assault, harassment, and vandalism reported to the organization last year.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the 2,717 total incidents across the U.S. is are the most antisemitic incidents reported to the agency in a single year since it began tracking such data in 1979, and a 34% increase from 2020.

An audit by the ADL found 484 antisemitic incidents were attributed to known extremist groups or individuals inspired by extremist ideology, accounting for 18% of the total number of incidents. According to the ADL, white supremacist groups or extremists were responsible for 422 antisemitic propaganda distributions, a 52 percent increase year over year.  

There were a total of 175 antisemitic incidents reported to the ADL in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, combined in 2021, a 62% increase over 2020, and a 202% increase over five years ago.

According to the ADL, those cases in the Midwest include 134 acts of antisemitic harassment, 39 acts of antisemitic vandalism, and 2 acts of antisemitic assault.

"Antisemitic incidents in the Midwest are reaching a watershed level, and our team is responding to incidents on a near daily basis," said ADL Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg. "The common thread linking the perpetrators of these incidents is not political ideology, geography, race or ethnicity: it is hate against the Jewish community - whether their own hate or hate linked to generations old antisemitic stereotypes. A wholistic, systemic approach is needed across communities in response. This includes speaking out, naming antisemitism when we see it; sharing facts through education and research; and showing strength as neighbors united against hate."

Illinois alone saw a 15% increase in antisemitic incidents last year, and a 430% increase since 2016, according to the ADL.