Antisemitic Incidents Hit 42-Year High Across U.S. In 2021, ADL Report Says

Topline

Reported antisemitic incidents in the U.S. surged by 34% in 2021 as American Jews were blamed for renewed violence between Israel and Hamas, according to a report released Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

Key Facts

The ADL recorded 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the U.S. in 2021, the highest number since the organization began tracking incidents in 1979, perpetrated by groups ranging from “traditional” far-right organizations to informal coalitions of online trolls.

This increase in antisemitic incidents was driven mainly by a 43% increase in harassment compared to 2020, while incidents of vandalism and assult also increased but still accounted for a minority of incidents.

The proportion of incidents linked to anti-Israel or anti-Zionist sentiments rose from 8.8% in 2020 to 12.7% in 2021, coinciding with a spike in antisemitic incidents during the May 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas that killed hundreds of people and displaced 72,000 Palestinians.

While most of the over 400 anti-Israel rallies held in the U.S. during the conflict were not antisemitic, some did feature antisemitic tropes, such as collectively blaming Jews for the death of Jesus, the ADL said.

Incidents of antisemitic propaganda distribution by white supremacists increased by 52% in 2021, and ranged from anti-communist leafleting by the Ku Klux Klan to social media stunts by troll group the Goyim Defense League.

While antisemitic incidents were reported in all 50 states, the six states with the most incidents—New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, Michigan and Texas—collectively accounted for 58% of all incidents.

Key Background

In 2021, American Jews and Americans perceived to be Jewish were sometimes harassed and assaulted by people who blamed them for Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, which reportedly killed 245 Palestinians. In one such incident recorded by the ADL, Jewish patrons at a Los Angeles restaurant were pushed and kicked by people displaying Palestinian flags for their supposed complicity in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The indiscriminate identification of Jews with the nation of Israel has been echoed last year by former President Donald Trump, who complained that American Jews weren’t as loyal to Israel as they supposedly had been in the past. The ADL compiled its 2021 report with the assistance of organizations including the Union of Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Contra

Critics on the left have accused the ADL of allying with right-wing leaders against Muslims, Arabs and other groups and of supporting police suppression of protesters. In a 2020, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, the Movement for Black Lives, Democratic Socialists of America and 228 other groups signed an open letter urging social justice organizations to stop working with the ADL due to its alleged support for militarized policing and other policies. Though the ADL does maintain a close relationship to law enforcement, and claims to have involved 100% of major U.S. metropolitan police departments in its anti-terrorism training program, the organization denied it supported militarized policing. An ADL spokesperson said the group was not concerned about the letter and dismissed signatories as “the same groups who have been pushing an anti-Israel agenda for years.”

Surprising Fact

North Dakota and West Virginia only reported one antisemitic incident each during 2021, according to the ADL.

Further Reading

“American Jews Still Reeling From Rise In Anti-Semitism After Israel-Hamas Conflict, Survey Shows” (Forbes)