Anti-Semitic incidents in US hit all-time high in 2019

WASHINGTON

The Jewish community in the US experienced all-time high levels of anti-Semitism in 2019, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported Tuesday.

The ADL counted 2,107 anti-Semitic incidents last year, a 12% increase from the 1,879 recorded in 2018.

The ADL Audit of Antisemitic Incidents found there were, on average, as many as six such incidents in the country for each day in the calendar year. Last year's number is the highest in over four decades.

The audit categorizes all incidents as harassment, vandalism and assault.

Jews faced 1,127 harassment incidents last year, up 6% from 1,066 in 2018, said the report.

There were 919 vandalism incidents in 2019.

"Swastikas, which are generally interpreted as symbols of anti-Semitic hatred, were present in 746 of these incidents," revealed the report.

Anti-Semitic acts of vandalism increased 19% from 774 in 2018.

A total of 61 physical assault cases, which were carried out using guns or knives, involved 95 victims and included five fatalities. Anti-Semitic assaults rose 56% from 39 in 2018.

"This was a year of unprecedented anti-Semitic activity, a time when many Jewish communities across the country had direct encounters with hate," said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

Greenblatt vowed to fight hatred against the Jewish community, saying the body "will double down on our work with elected leaders, schools, and communities to end the cycle of hatred."

New York was the state with the highest number of incidents, at 430, followed by New Jersey with 345, California with 330, Massachusetts with 114 and Pennsylvania with 109.

Alaska and Hawaii were the exceptions, where no incidents were reported, according to the ADL.