US sees a 316% surge in antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7; ADL report notes 832 outrages, with over 70% of Americans now viewing antisemitism as a serious problem, up from 49% in 2022.
by Ben Cohen, Algemeiner
Awareness of antisemitism as a “serious problem” in the US has risen precipitously in tandem with a massive increase in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7, according to new data published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
A report published by the Jewish civil rights organization on Monday recorded 832 outrages targeting American Jews between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7 — an average of 28 incidents per day and a 316 percent increase on the same period in 2022.
A map of the incidents published by the ADL demonstrated a nationwide phenomenon, with the vast majority tied to protests over Israel’s military response to the Hamas atrocities that resulted in the murder of over 1,200 people, multiple rapes, and the seizure of more than 200 people as hostages.
Anti-Israel, pro-Hamas rallies have been staged in nearly every state, with many featuring support for terrorism. Multiple incidents of vandalism and harassment were reported, along with physical assaults.
At the same time, an ADL survey of awareness of antisemitism among the US public revealed that “Americans are growing increasingly concerned about antisemitism, with more than 70 percent agreeing … that Jew-hatred is a serious problem.” When the same question was asked during the same period in 2022, it elicited 49 percent agreement.
“As we have seen repeatedly, when conflict arises in the Middle East, particularly when Israel exercises its right to self-defense, antisemitic incidents increase here in the US and around the world,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL, said in a statement accompanying the report. “These include violent assaults on pro-Israeli students on college campuses, anti-Israel protests openly expressing support for terrorist organizations, as well as white supremacists distributing antisemitic fliers and banners blaming Jews for the war.”
The survey also discovered that while “a majority of Americans agreed that Jew-hatred is a serious problem and a growing problem regardless of their view on invading Gaza, there were higher rates of agreement that Jew-hatred is a serious and growing problem among those who believed Israel should invade Gaza.”
The report observed that “relative to those who agree that Israel should invade Gaza to destroy Hamas, those who oppose an invasion scored 16 percent lower in agreement that Jew-hatred is a serious problem. Respondents who were Jewish and respondents who were more liberal were more likely to agree that Jew-hatred is a serious and growing problem.”
Greenblatt said he was encouraged by the determination of more Americans to confront the antisemitism in their midst, with 47 percent of respondents saying they were personally motivated to address antisemitism today, up from 38 percent a year ago. “This crisis of antisemitism demands a fierce response, and it’s encouraging that nearly half of Americans feel personally motivated to address this challenge,” said Greenblatt. “To defeat this hatred, we need everyone to unequivocally call out this hatred for what it is — unacceptable — because we know antisemitic beliefs lead to antisemitic violence.”
The ADL survey was based on responses from a representative sample of 1,484 adults in the US.