Anti-Semitic Incidents Have Already Jumped 86% So Far This Year

Sharp Rise in Anti-Semitic Incidents Linked to 2016 Election

Harassment, threats, or acts of violence aimed at the Jewish community in the United States have spiked 86 percent in the first part of 2017, according to a new report released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Monday.

The ADL routinely monitors acts of anti-Semitism across the country and publishes aggregated findings annually. This year’s report showed incidents affecting the general Jewish population have risen sharply since November while reports of bullying and vandalism at non-denominational K-12 schools has doubled.

“Schools are a microcosm of the country. Children absorb messages from their parents and the media, and bring them into their schools and playgrounds,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “We are very concerned the next generation is internalizing messages of intolerance and bigotry.”

2016 saw a 34% increase in harassment, assaults, and vandalism with roughly a third of all of 2016’s incidents taking place in the final two months alone. According to ADL’s projections, the 541 events in the first part of 2017 put the US on track for more than 2,000 anti-Semitic incidents this year.

NBC News video from March:

According to ADL data, 34 incidents were specifically linked to the 2016 presidential election. Graffiti posted in Denver in May 2016 said, “Kill the Jews, Vote Trump.”  And a St. Petersburg, Florida, man was accosted by someone who told him, “Trump is going to finish what Hitler started,” in November.

“These incidents need to be seen in the context of a general resurgence of white supremacist activity in the United States. Extremists and anti-Semites feel emboldened and are using technology in new ways to spread their hatred and to impact the Jewish community on and off line,” noted Oren Segal, director of the ADL Center on Extremism. “The majority of anti-Semitic incidents are not carried out by organized extremists, as the bomb threats in 2017 demonstrate.”

While there were anti-Semitic incidents in nearly every region of the country, areas with high Jewish populations (California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts) saw the largest amount of activity. 

So far in 2017, reports of the 541 anti-Semitic incidents have included: 380 harassment incidents, including 161 bomb threats, an increase of 127 percent over the same quarter in 2016; 155 vandalism incidents, including three cemetery desecrations, an increase of 36 percent; and Six physical assault incidents, a decrease of 40 percent.

“What’s most concerning is the fact that the numbers have accelerated over the past five months,” Greenblatt said. “Clearly, we have work to do and need to bring more urgency to the fight.”

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Image: Screenshot via NBC News/YouTube