Antisemitic incidents increased to “near-historic levels” in 2018, the Anti-Defamation League wrote in its annual Audit of Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States.
The levels were the third highest on record since the ADL began collecting data in the 1970s, with 1,879 attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions, according to a news release summarizing the report.
“We’ve worked hard to push back against antisemitism, and succeeded in improving hate crime laws, and yet we continue to experience an alarmingly high number of antisemitic acts,” ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said.
The incidents were divided into three categories — assaults, harassment and vandalism. Assaults especially have become more pervasive, more than doubling since 2017. Among those counted in the assault tally were the casualties of the shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018. During the shooting, 11 were killed and two were wounded.
The ADL pledged a renewed commitment to its work, and recommended solutions to the rise in antisemitic, including more training for law enforcement on hate crime responses.
“We will continue to advocate for … remedies to ensure that there is no place for antisemitism in our society,” George Selim, the ADL’s vice president of programs, asserted.
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