Antisemitic incidents in the US reached the highest on record in 2019, ADL says
Antisemitic incidents in the United States reached the highest on record in 2019, according to a press release from the Anti-Defamation League.
More than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment were reported last year, according to the ADL, which has been tracking these incidents since 1979.
“This was a year of unprecedented antisemitic activity, a time when many Jewish communities across the country had direct encounters with hate,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “We are committed to fighting back against this rising tide of hate and will double down on our work with elected leaders, schools, and communities to end the cycle of hatred.”
An Audit of Antisemitic Incidents issued Monday showed a 12% increase in incidents and a 56% increase in assaults.
More than 230 incidents targeting Jewish synagogues and community centers were recorded, including three major attacks:
–In Poway, California, a shooting at a Chabad center killed a 60-year-old woman and injured three others in April 2019.
Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said at the time that the congregation was targeted by “someone with hate in their heart … towards our Jewish community and that just will not stand.”
–In Jersey City, New Jersey, two suspects are accused of killing a police detective near a cemetery in December and then storming a nearby kosher market. There, police say, they shot and killed three people in what authorities said were acts of domestic terrorism “fueled by both anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs.”
–In Monsey, New York, five Orthodox Jews — including 72-year-old Josef Neumann — were stabbed by an attacker during a Hanukkah celebration. Neumann died in March from his injuries.
“Please stand up and stop this hatred,” said Neumann’s daughter, Nicky Kohen, said in December. “It cannot keep going on. We want our kids to go to school and feel safe. We want to go to our synagogues and feel safe. We want to go to groceries and malls and feel safe.”
Overall, five deaths linked to antisemitic violence were reported and 91 people suffered from physical assaults, according to the ADL release.
“We need to ensure that synagogues and community centers have the right security measures in place to prevent the next potential attack,” Greenblatt said in the release.
There were six antisemitic incidents per day on average in the US, the release said.
Every state but Alaska and Hawaii reported incidents, with the highest numbers in New York, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. More than half of the reported assaults occurring in New York City, the release said, and 25 happened in Brooklyn alone.
