According to a preliminary report by the Anti-Defamation League Center for Extremism, the number of reports of antisemitic incidents has reached a new high in the US since last year’s Hamas attacks in Israel.
The group found over 10,000 incidents between 7 October 2023 and 24 September this year. This is a more than 200% increase in comparison to the same period last year.
The ADL has been tracking such incidents since 1979.
The report comes only days after the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Department of State issued a joint warning of possible violent threats in the Middle East amid the ongoing turmoil.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated that since the Hamas attack last October on Israel, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths, “Jewish Americans” have not had a moment of respite.
“Instead, instead of facing a shocking number antisemitic threat and hearing calls for more violence to be committed against Israelis and Jews worldwide.”
The ADL reported more than 10,000 incidents of antisemitism, including approximately 8,015 incidents involving verbal or written harassment. There were also 1,840 incidents involving vandalism and about 150 incidents involving physical assault.
California had the most recorded incidents in the report, with 1,266. New York was next with 1,218, New Jersey was 830 and Florida had 463.
The ADL stated that it expects its preliminary numbers will increase as it receives additional data. The final report for the year 2024 will be released in spring 2025.
ADL stated that part of the increase is due to a change in the methodology, which now includes “expressions of opposing Zionism as well as support against Israel or Zionists who could be perceived to be supporting terrorism”, as well as “support for resistance against Israel and Zionists”.
The preliminary report of the ADL tallied over 3,000 incidents that occurred during anti-Israel rallies, “which regularly expressed explicit support for terrorist groups”, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
The ADL, after excluding these incidents, counted 7,523 antisemitic incidents, an increase of 103% from 2022.
Israel launched a massive operation in the Gaza Strip following the 7 October attack with the stated goal of eliminating Hamas.
Hamas’ health ministry reports that since then, more than 97,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been injured and 41,870 Palestinians killed in Gaza.
Many protested against the increasing humanitarian toll.
Since Israel’s attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah, up to one million people could have been displaced in Lebanon.
The violence in the Middle East has led to an increase in anti-Muslim, and Islamophobic incidents in the US.
According to a report released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in April, anti-Muslim incidents will reach 8,061 in 2023. The report marked the highest number of incidents since CAIR began counting nearly 30 years ago. Nearly half of the incidents occurred after the 7th October attack.
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