Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 25, 2023

Geoff Bennett:

A new report by the Anti-Defamation League reveals antisemitic incidents increased 36 percent in 2022, reaching the highest level recorded in history since 1979.

The report comes as the FBI and human rights groups warn about the growing number of hate crimes in the U.S.

Jonathan Greenblatt is the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, and joins us now.

Thank you for being with us.

And, Jonathan, the ADL found in this report an increase in three categories. Assaults went up by 26 percent. Incidents of harassment increased 29 percent. Acts of vandalism rose by 52 percent.

What accounts for it? And who is responsible for it?

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director, Anti-Defamation League: Well, first of all, I would just say, I'm glad we're covering this issue, but I wish we didn't have to.

But the reality is, antisemitism is a clear and present danger right here, right now in America. And, as you pointed out, not only was '22 the highest year that we have ever seen and we have done this for almost 45 years this was the third time in the past four years that we broke a new record, that, literally, the number of incidents has climbed almost 500 percent over the past decade.

So, what's behind this? I think, number one, antisemitism has been normalized and almost weaponized in the political conversation and in sort of public debates. It's now just common course to use antisemitic tropes about Great Replacement Theory, about who controls Congress, or who controls Wall Street, who is responsible for COVID, and on and on.

In a world in which conspiracy theories are sort of the coin of the realm, antisemitism, the oldest conspiracy theory, has new life. So I think that's number one.

I think, number two, we have to acknowledge that extremists feel emboldened. When the former president of the United States feels free to use the kind of language we wouldn't want our children to use or, to be honest, when we see hardened anti-Zionist activists on college campuses openly, aggressively and almost gleefully intimidating Jewish students, something is broken in our society.

And, truthfully, if you look at the numbers and drill down a bit, the numbers increased dramatically, a 40-plus percent increase on college campuses, almost a 50 percent increase in antisemitic incidents at K-12 schools. Again, I think it's an indication that there's something really sick with our society.

Originally posted here:
Anti-Defamation League reports dramatic rise in antisemitism ...

Category: Anti-Defamation League
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