Dear John,

During the decades ADL has been releasing our annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, we’ve never had a year like 2021.

Antisemitic incidents tracked in this report reached an all-time high of 2,717 in the United States last year — an average of more than seven incidents per day and a 34 percent increase year over year, including assaults, harassment and vandalism.

Despite this increase in incidents in 2021, thankfully there were no deadly attacks perpetrated against the Jewish community. However, that does not mean that there weren’t violent incidents. They ranged from an individual yelling “f***ing Jew” and throwing a glass bottle at a Jewish girl as she got off a school bus in University Heights, OH, to a driver backing his car into a group of Hasidic Jewish men in Brooklyn to Jewish diners at a restaurant in Los Angeles being attacked by a group carrying Palestinian flags and yelling antisemitic slurs.

The data shows that no part of the country is immune to this rise in antisemitic incidents, with all 50 states and the District of Columbia affected. Too many Jewish communities had direct encounters with hate, and too many Jewish institutions — from schools to synagogues to community centers — have been reminded that they are vulnerable as incidents targeting these institutions climbed 61%.

ADL remains committed to challenging antisemitism in all forms. With your help, we will double down on our work with elected leaders, schools and communities to Fight Hate for Good.

Sincerely,

Meredith R. Weisel
Regional Director, ADL Washington, D.C.

P.S. Today (4/26) at 11 a.m. ET, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt will be hosting a special Fighting Hate from Home webinar and press briefing with Oren Segal, VP of the ADL Center on Extremism to discuss these important findings. You can register here.

In 2021, ADL tracked 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the United States. This represents a 34 percent increase from 2020 and is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. The Audit classifies incidents into three categories:

ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents shows alarming levels of antisemitic incidents reported across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in 2021.

Specifically, Washington, D.C. saw a 23 percent increase in the number of antisemitic incidents reported in 2021, and Maryland saw a 17 percent increase. While Virginia saw a slight, 6 percent decrease in reported antisemitic incidents in 2021, the total last year was 64 percent higher than the number of incidents recorded in 2019. 

In Washington, D.C., 53 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2021, a 23 percent increase from the 43 incidents reported in 2020, and a 179 percent increase from the 19 incidents reported in 2019. Washington, D.C. reported the 12th highest number of antisemitic incidents in the country in 2021.  
 

In Maryland, 55 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2021, a 17 percent increase from the 47 incidents reported in 2020, and a 175 percent increase from the 20 incidents reported in 2019. For the second year in a row, Maryland was the state with the 11th highest number of antisemitic incidents reported in the country for 2021.  

In Virginia, 46 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2021, a 6 percent decrease from the 49 incidents reported in 2020, and a 64 percent increase from the 28 incidents reported in 2019. Virginia was the state with the 15th highest number of antisemitic incidents reported in the country for 2021.    

“We are deeply concerned by the volume of antisemitic incidents reported across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in 2021,” said Meredith R. Weisel, Regional Director, ADL Washington, D.C. “It is particularly troubling that Maryland and D.C. saw such pronounced increases in reported incidents this year, and that levels of antisemitic activity in Virginia remain alarmingly high. With D.C., Maryland and Virginia all ranking in the top 15 jurisdictions with the most reported antisemitic incidents in the country, ADL’s work in the region is more important than ever. We must work together to combat the spread of bigotry and hate in our communities.”  

You can read more about the data by clicking the release below.

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ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents shows that North Carolina saw a 131 percent increase in reported incidents of antisemitism in 2021. 

In North Carolina, there was a substantial increase in reported antisemitic incidents last year, from 13 incidents reported in 2020 to 30 incidents reported in 2021 (a 131 percent increase). After two years of decreasing numbers in the state, the 2021 numbers almost reached the 2018 peak of 34 incidents – the highest number of antisemitic incidents on record for the state according to ADL’s audit.

“We are deeply troubled by the stark increase in antisemitic incidents reported in North Carolina in 2021,” said Weisel. “It is particularly disturbing that we saw such an extreme uptick in antisemitic vandalism. We must work together to disrupt this upward trend and combat the spread of hate and bigotry across North Carolina.”

You can read more about the data by clicking the release below.

While we have always seen a rise in antisemitic activity during periods of increased hostilities between Israel and terrorist groups, the violence we witnessed in the U.S. during the conflict last May was shocking.

As fighting broke out between Israel and Hamas, it heightened tensions and triggered violence in some Israeli cities with large Arab and Jewish populations. As the crisis unfolded, there was a surge of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. and around the world.

Between May 10 and the end of the month, ADL tracked a 141 percent increase in incidents — 211 cases of harassment, 71 cases of vandalism and 15 assaults across the United States. Nearly 40 percent of the total incidents included explicit references to Israel or Zionism.

Students were targeted in the halls of their schools. Other incidents included harassing phone calls to Jewish institutions such as a Colorado synagogue that received a threatening phone call from an individual who said, "Watch your back. We are coming for you. All of you. You and everyone in the building. The Zionists and the Jews." Some anti-Israel rallies crossed the line from protests about Israel’s behavior to antisemitic tropes and to opposition to all Jews, such as a Chicago rally where a protester held a sign with a swastika referencing “Nazi Zionist Jews.”

Violent assaults took place from coast to coast, often targeting those visibly Jewish, including a Jewish man in Manhattan wearing a yarmulke who was attacked by a group that yelled anti-Jewish and anti-Israel slurs while they punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and beat him.

Jewish Institutions like synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish schools are core elements of Jewish life in their communities. In this past year, they were also increasingly targeted with antisemitic incidents.

At these institutions, hundreds of incidents of harassment and vandalism as well as nearly a dozen assaults were recorded as part of a 61 percent increase since 2020. Security measures have been stepped up at many of these institutions as the people who rely on them feel endangered by incidents like Zoombombings, swastika graffiti and damage to religious artifacts like mezuzot and menorahs.

To help address this threat, ADL continues to press for additional funding for security enhancements for at-risk houses of worship, schools, community centers and other non-profit institutions. At a time of increased attention to extremism and hate-motivated violence, the federal government and states should significantly increase support for the Non-Profit Security Grant program funding and institutional security training and outreach in order to provide non-profits with the capacity to increase their defense against these threats, including physical security and cybersecurity capacity and coordination.

In addition to incidents at the kinds of institutions listed above, Jewish graves and/or cemeteries were desecrated six times in 2021, down from 11 in 2020. The desecration of Jewish headstones is a long-standing act of antisemitism that has been employed by those looking to terrorize and offend Jews.

In 2021 alone, ADL investigated over 9,700 incidents of hate, leveraging ADL’s incident-response expertise through teams in each of our 25 regional offices as well as the nationwide work of the ADL Center on Extremism.

Each report was assessed, and our staff stepped in to respond in many cases across the country. We gathered facts and worked with partner agencies as well as law enforcement, schools and other organizations. We ensure that people who encounter hate have a place to go to bring attention to these incidents. If you experience or witness such an incident, please report it to ADL using our incident response form.

This past year, thousands of incidents reported directly to ADL became part of this Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which also includes criminal and non-criminal incidents reported to law enforcement or covered in the media. We are now also incorporating reports of antisemitic incidents from Jewish organizations with whom ADL has established partnerships: the Community Security Initiative (CSI), Community Security Service (CSS), Hillel International, Secure Community Network (SCN), Union of Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Note: This new reporting from partner agencies represents 18% of the total number of incidents covered in this assessment. However, even without factoring in the reporting from partners, the 2021 Audit numbers would still have been the highest recorded by ADL.

Sometimes, a single community’s challenge can have a ripple effect that results in wider change...

An incident involving the Duxbury (MA) high school football team came to ADL’s attention last year after news reports that the team had been shouting out Holocaust-related and other Jewish words like "Auschwitz," "rabbi" and "dreidel" while calling plays during games.

ADL made sure the issue was not ignored by the school, and we called for an investigation of the team’s inexcusable decision to use that language. We already had a relationship with the school, having previously provided educational content to students and teachers. So, we hit the ground running in helping to address this concern about the football team’s actions.

We were invited by the school to provide professional development for educators and we advised the administration on how best to respond in support of students and others in the community who were understandably dismayed by what happened. And, by amplifying this incident in the media, we helped garner much-needed statehouse support for mandatory genocide education in Massachusetts, which was our top legislative priority last year. The bill became a law in December 2021 and will ensure that education about the Holocaust and other forms of genocide will be a focus of future students across the state and decrease the likelihood of similar incidents occurring.

With reports of incidents at an all-time high, here are three ways you can take action against antisemitism and Fight Hate for Good with ADL.

Report an Antisemitic, Bias or Discriminatory Incident

We can’t do this alone. Because of thousands of people like you who have reported incidents, we’re able to help communities across the country, and use the information to report on trends, educate lawmakers and law enforcement and advocate for stronger protections from incidents and crimes. If you have experienced or witnessed an incident of antisemitism, extremism, bias, bigotry or hate, please report it using our incident form. When you hear of an incident happening to a loved one, friend or community member, share with them that they can report the incident to ADL.

Learn more about fighting antisemitism

You can see the complete 2021 antisemitism Audit data, as well as data from the previous three years, on our H.E.A.T. Map, an interactive online tool that you can use to sort through antisemitic incidents and events both in your region and nationally. ADL has many more resources to help you understand the root causes of antisemitism and hate and to raise your voice. Sign up for our email newsletters so you can stay informed about world events and bring these updates to your community.

Join us for Never Is Now | November 10, 2022 | NYC

In the midst of increasing incidents of hate across the world, now is the time to unite and act. Join us in person this year at ADL’s Never Is Now, the world’s largest annual summit on antisemitism and hate. Tackle crucial conversations, engage with extraordinary experts, leaders and visionaries and be inspired to take immediate action that will create lasting change in your community and beyond. Add your voice to the conversation this November at Never Is Now at the Javits Center in New York City.