Hate crimes in the U.S. have risen by 4.7% in the first half of 2022, and anti-Jewish hate crimes increased by 59% in 2021, a new report by the California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism said.
According to data sampled from 15 major U.S. cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and more, hate crimes in the country have been steadily increasing since 2018, with most crimes targeting ethnic minorities such as African Americans, Asians, Jews and Arabs.
The report’s finding detail that during May 2021, anti-Jewish hate crimes surged following media coverage of Israel's war against Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire into Israel targeting civilian population.
The IDF's operations in Gaza also sparked riots among Israeli Arab residents as tensions boiled over.
According to the report, New York, which has one of the largest Jewish populations in the U.S., has experienced the highest rise in the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes, jumping from 121 cases in 2020 to 207 cases in 2021.
The total number of criminal and non-criminal anti-Jewish incidents rose by 34% between 2020 and 2021, going from 2,026 incidents in 2021 to 2,717 the next year.
According to FBI 2020 data detailed in the report, of 166 known offenders of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the U.S., 72% were white, 16% black and 6% Hispanic.
The report also looked into anti-Jewish hate crimes internationally, noting that conflicts in the Middle East correlated directly with increases in hate crimes throughout the world in 2020 and 2021, including countries such as the UK and Canada.
A survey by the American Jewish Committee cited in the report asked U.S. Jews if they believe antisemitism in the U.S. was an issue and whether or not they believed antisemitic incidents were on the rise. Of the respondents, 90% said they thought antisemitism is a problem and 82% said they believed the phenomenon is on the rise while 12% reported being targeted by antisemitic attacks online.