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Reports of antisemitic incidents in U.S. up 68% since start of Mideast conflict, ADL says

Reports of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have increased by 68 percent since the latest military conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted earlier this month, according to preliminary data from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.

The most recent data shows that verifiable reports of antisemitic incidents received by the ADL have been steadily climbing each week since May 10, when brewing tensions erupted with rockets and air strikes launched between Gaza and Israel. During the week of May 3 through May 9, the ADL received 67 verifiable reports of antisemitic incidents in the U.S., compared to 92 the following week and 113 during the week of May 17.

“Right now we’re getting new reports by the hour and our team at the Center on Extremism is working around the clock to verify these incidents,” a spokesperson for the ADL told Yahoo News. “It’s clear from preliminary data that something nefarious is going on.”

Last week, the ADL joined other prominent Jewish American organizations in calling on President Biden to take action to combat rising antisemitism following a string of verbal and physical attacks targeting Jews in different parts of the country amid fighting in the Middle East. Recent incidents include a violent fight that broke out in front of a restaurant in Los Angeles where a group of men yelled antisemitic slurs at Jewish diners, vandalism at synagogues in Arizona and suburban Chicago, as well as a number of reported attacks against Jews in New York City.

Pro-Israel demonstrators
Pro-Israel demonstrators attend a recent rally in lower Manhattan denouncing antisemitism. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

In a tweet Monday, Biden condemned the “despicable” attacks on the Jewish community, writing that “it’s up to all of us to give hate no safe harbor.” The ADL has also been tracking a recent spike in antisemitic language on Twitter, finding more than 17,000 tweets had been posted between May 7 and May 14 using variations on the phrase “Hitler was right.”

Last week, before the Biden administration helped negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said “a dangerous and drastic surge in anti-Jewish hate” was being witnessed in the U.S.

“We are tracking acts of harassment, vandalism and violence as well as a torrent of online abuse. It’s happening around the world — from London to Los Angeles, from France to Florida, in big cities like New York and in small towns, and across every social media platform,” Greenblatt said in the statement.

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