WASHINGTON - The Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) 2022 audit of antisemitic incidents recorded the highest levels of incidents since it started its reporting in 1979.
The newly released report found a 36 percent increase compared to the 2021 levels, with a total of 3,697 incidents reported - ten daily incidents, on average.
"This is the third time in the past five years that the year-end total has been the highest number ever recorded," ADL noted in a press release.
The group recorded incidents in all 50 states, and the District of Columbia. That included 111 assaults and one fatality - a 26% increase compared to 2021.
A record year for harassment
A total of 2,298 harassment cases recorded in 2022 - a 29 percent increase from the previous year. There was also a 51 percent spike in vandalism incidents year over year, from 853 in 2021 to 1,288 in 2022. Out of the reported vandalism cases, 792 were of swastika.
“We’re deeply disturbed by this dramatic and completely unacceptable surge in antisemitic incidents," said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL.
"While we can’t point to any single factor or ideology driving this increase, the surges in organized white supremacist propaganda activity, brazen attacks on Orthodox Jews, a rapid escalation of bomb threats toward Jewish institutions and significant increases of incidents in schools and on college campuses all contributed to the unusually high number,” he said.
“This data confirms what Jewish communities across the country have felt and seen firsthand – and corresponds with the rise in antisemitic attitudes. From white nationalists to religious fanatics to radical anti-Zionists, Jewish people see a range of very real threats. It’s time to stop the surge of hate once and for all,” said Greenblatt.
New York, California, New Jersey, Florida and Texas
According to the ADL, the states with the highest number of incidents were New York (580), California (518), New Jersey (408), Florida (269) and Texas (211). "Combined, these five states accounted for 54 percent of the total incidents," the group said.
The report also found 589 incidents targeting Jewish institutions such as synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish schools, an increase of 12 percent from 525 in 2021.
US Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey), said in response to the report: “The continued, despicable surge in antisemitism across New Jersey and our country should sound an alarm for every single American."
"The magnitude of the crisis we are facing calls for concerted action, at every level, to ensure that there truly is no place for hate in our state, in our local communities, or anywhere in our nation," he said in a statement. "As we’ve seen in incident after incident, the very safety and security of our communities hangs in the balance. However, here in the greatest country in the world, I believe religious freedom will win and antisemitism and hate will lose.
The Orthodox Union Advocacy Executive Director Nathan Diament released a statement as well. “The report of the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents is, sadly, not surprising – it confirms the lived reality of too many American Jews today," he said. "Of course, the Orthodox Jewish community who outwardly display their Judaism were targeted at higher rates. We want to ensure this factor is not overlooked as we fight for our community’s right to freely and safely practice their faith.”