Dear John,

Ten antisemitic incidents a day.

During the decades ADL has been releasing our annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in the United States, we’ve never seen numbers like that. An average of ten times a day adds up to a 36 percent increase since the previous audit and it means that on average last year, someone was harassed every few hours. Or a synagogue was vandalized. Or someone faced physical violence fueled by anti-Jewish hate.

Ten antisemitic incidents a day. 3,697 incidents in all.

Across the Washington D.C. Region, we continue to see our communities targeted by antisemitism and hate. While incidents decreased in the District, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina continue to see increased reports of antisemitism. In fact, Maryland registers with the 10th highest number of antisemitic incidents in the country and Virginia registered as 13th.  

Ten antisemitic incidents a day.

That’s ten too many... Too many students intimidated. Too many Jewish schools receiving bomb threats. Too many communities attacked as they came together to worship or celebrate or mourn. In the face of this influx of hate, the ADL community will not waver. Together, we will be bold and innovative in tracking, challenging and disrupting antisemitism. With your help, we will not rest in Fighting Hate for Good.

P.S. Today (3/23) at Noon ET, ADL is hosting a special Fighting Hate from Home webinar and press briefing alongside experts from our ADL Center on Extremism to discuss these important findings. You can register here.

Antisemitic incidents surged to historic levels with a total of 3,697 incidents reported across the United States in 2022, an increase of 36 percent. This is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979. The audit classifies incidents into three categories:

“We are deeply troubled by this dramatic surge of antisemitic incidents reported, particularly in Maryland and Virginia in 2022,” said Meredith R. Weisel, Regional Director, ADL Washington, D.C. “These numbers are completely unacceptable. And while we can’t point to any single factor or ideology driving this increase, the surges in organized white supremacist propaganda activity, and significant increases in incidents in K-12 schools and on college campuses, all contributed to these unusually high numbers. It is particularly concerning that Maryland and Virginia saw such pronounced increases in reported incidents, as it shows there is a mainstreaming and normalization of antisemitic activity that is having a tremendous impact on our communities. We must work together to combat the spread of bigotry and hate in our communities,” said Weisel.

INCIDENT BREAKDOWN: MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA

Maryland registered with the 10th highest number of antisemitic incidents reported in the country with 109 incidents reported in 2022. This is a 98% increase from the previous year.
 

Virginia registered with the 13th highest number of antisemitic incidents reported in the country with 69 incidents reported in 2022. This is a 50% increase from the previous year.
 

Antisemitic incidents tied to opposition to Israel or Zionism remained at concerning levels. The 241 incidents that had Israel or Zionism connections accounted for 6.5 percent of the total in 2022.

This is a decline from the 345 reported in 2021, which was unusually high due to incidents linked to the Israel-Gaza war in May of that year, but is substantially higher than 2020’s 178 incidents. The largest number of incidents — 69 — were perpetrated by anti-Israel groups such as Witness for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine. This showed an increase of 19 percent from the previous year.

Although forms of anti-Israel political protest and expressions of opposition to Israeli policies are not included in the Audit, the Audit may include cases where Jewish individuals or identifiable entities, including Jewish religious or cultural institutions, are targeted for harassment, vandalism or assault by anti-Israel activists. Public statements of opposition to Zionism, which are often antisemitic, are included in the Audit when it can be determined that they had a negative impact on one or more Jewish individuals or identifiable, localized groups of Jews. This is most commonly the case on college campuses, where studies have shown that vociferous opposition to Israel and Zionism can have a chilling effect on Jewish student life.

There were 589 incidents targeting Jewish institutions such as synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish schools, which was an increase of 12 percent from 2021. Synagogues were the most frequently targeted, accounting for half of all incidents at Jewish institutions.

This includes the January hostage crisis at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, which ended without casualties and the hostage-taker dead. In total, there were assaults on Jewish institutions in four states (five in New York, two in New Jersey, one in Oregon and one in Texas).

Bomb threats towards Jewish institutions were categorized as harassment, and were unusually high this past year, with a total of 91 — the highest number of bomb threats recorded since 2017. Bomb threats often included hateful, antisemitic language. It is unknown if some of these threats originated from the same perpetrators.

The mainstreaming of antisemitism in popular culture reached worrisome levels last year, as ADL research found direct links from incidents to events in the news.

As Oren Segal, VP of the ADL Center on Extremism explained, “In a year when antisemitism found mainstream acceptance like never before, antisemites were emboldened to act on their animus. From the antisemitic ‘Great Replacement’ theory to Kanye’s claims about Jewish power, these conspiracies fuel real-world incidents of hate.”

For example, hip-hop artist Ye (Kanye West) was directly referenced in 59 incidents, an example of how his highly publicized antisemitic statements last year resonated with or motivated perpetrators. Extremist Black Hebrew Israelite groups were responsible for eight instances, most notably surrounding the controversy involving basketball player Kyrie Irving.

In 2022 alone, ADL investigated thousands of 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 ADL.

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 are here to ensure that people who encounter hate have a place to go for help, and we are here to keep Jewish communities safe. If you experience or witness such an incident, please report it to ADL using our incident reporting 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, covered in the media, or reported to 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.

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.