Anti-Defamation League: anti-semitism hit highest number in 2021
COLLEYVILLE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) - According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number of reports of assaults, vandalism and harassment targeting Jewish communities and individuals in the United States was the highest on record in 2021.
A total of 2,717 anti-Semitic incidents were reported last year, an annual audit released by the ADL states. That was a 34% increase compared to the 2,026 incidents reported in 2020, the group said.
The ADL has been tracking such incidents since 1979 -- and its previous reports have found that anti-Semitism in America has been on the rise for years. Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL's CEO and national director, said Jews in the US are experiencing the most anti-Semitism they have seen in the past 40 years and it's a "deeply troubling indicator of larger societal fissures."
Most of the incidents included in the report -- 1,776 -- were described as harassment, meaning one or more Jews or those perceived to be Jewish were the target of anti-Semitic slurs, stereotypes or conspiracy theories, the report states.
A total of 853 incidents were acts of vandalism, and 88 were assaults. There were no deaths linked to anti-Semitic violence, the report said.
While the incidents surged several times through the year and for the most part advocates can't pinpoint the motivation, the ADL noted a significant number of incidents reported as fighting between Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls Gaza, took place in May 2021.
There were 387 incidents in May 2021 and the majority took place after the "official start of the military action," the ADL says.
Among the places where incidents were reported were Jewish institutions, including community centers, synagogues, grade schools and college campuses. There were 525 incidents at Jewish institutions; 331 were reported at non-Jewish K-12 schools and 155 at colleges and universities, the report found.
Every state and the District of Columbia reported incidents, with the highest numbers in Texas, New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Michigan, the ADL audit found. Nearly 60% of the total incidents were in those six states.
Earlier this year, experts and Jewish advocates called anti-Semitism a "growing crisis for the country" after a series of events, including a hostage standoff at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. Malik Faisal Akram, a British national, held four people hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in a more than 10-hour standoff. An FBI team killed Akram after one hostage was released and three others escaped.
