The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. rose sharply by 57 percent in 2017, according to an annual report by the the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that was released Feb 27.
The ADL reported record-levels of 1,986 incidents of anti-Semitism last year, accounting for the largest single-year increase on record and the second highest number since the organization first began collecting data in 1979.
“It had been trending in the right direction for a long time,” Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of ADL, said. “And then something changed.”
Greenblatt attributed the spike in numbers to President Donald Trump failure to denounce events such as the Charlottesville white supremacist rally and various incidences of bomb threats, cemetery vandalism, and school bullying.
“Some of [Trump's] tweets and rhetoric have emboldened and given encouragement to the worst segments of society, anti-Semites and bigots,” Greenblatt said. “The president’s comments on the rally, saying there were good people on both sides, was a low point under his leadership and during his presidency.”
The "Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents" reports:
For the first time since at least 2010, an incident occurred in every US state. The states with the highest numbers of incidents were New York (380 incidents), California (268 incidents), New Jersey (208 incidents), Massachusetts (177), Florida (98), and Pennsylvania (96). These states combined made up more than half (62%)of the total number of incidents.
Read the full report here.
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