ADL audit: Jew-hate rises

The 3,697 US antisemitic incidents the Anti-Defamation League recorded in 2022 represent a 36% increase over the 2,717 it tracked in 2021 and “the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.”

“This is the third time in the past five years that the year-end total has been the highest number ever recorded,” the ADL said in a summary of its newly released “Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2022.”

The “dramatic increase” of antisemitism in 2022 is not attributable to any single ideology or cause, ADL said as it reported increases across all categories: antisemitic harassment (up 29%), antisemitic vandalism (up 51%) and antisemitic assaults (up 26%). Just four of the 111 assaults involved a deadly weapon, with one fatality.

“Notably, visibly Orthodox Jews were targeted in 53% of the assault incidents nationally,” the ADL recorded. “This year, no assaults perpetrated against the Jewish community resulted in mass casualties.”

Agudath Israel of America tweeted that it is “deeply concerned by the ADL’s report of a sharp increase in antisemitic attacks in 2022. Particularly noteworthy is the ADL’s finding that the majority of antisemitic attacks targeted visibly Orthodox Jews.”

OU Advocacy Center Executive Director Nathan Diament called the report “sadly, not surprising.”

“It confirms the lived reality of too many American Jews today,” he stated. “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.”