88% of 2020 Religious Hate Crimes in LA Were Antisemitic, Report Says

Eighty-eight percent of religious hate crimes that occurred in Los Angeles County in 2020 were antisemitic, according to a new report from the county.

The report, released on November 10, found that hate crimes increased by 20% overall in the county from 2019 to 2020. This included a 76% increase in hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community, 56% increase against Latinos and 35% increase against Blacks. Religious hate crimes declined by 18% from 2019 to 2020, the majority of which were perpetuated by white supremacists. Additionally, violent hate crimes increased from 65% to 68%; the majority of the victims were transgender women.

The report also found that the parts of the county with the highest per capita hate crimes were “West Hollywood to Boyle Heights, followed by a western region that includes parts of West L.A., Santa Monica and Beverly Hills,” LAist reported.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), examples of antisemitic incidents in the county in 2020 included graffiti stating “Jews control the world” on a Chatsworth synagogue and a female spitting at a Jewish woman and her son in the Beverly Grove area and saying, “You Hassidic Jews always break the law.”

“While Jews make up only 2% of the U.S. population, they are consistently the most-targeted group of religious-based hate crimes,” ADL Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we saw a severe spike in antisemitic hate incidents and hate crimes during the height of the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas, a U.S.- designated foreign terrorist organization, along the Gaza Strip in May 2021. In Los Angeles, ADL worked closely with law enforcement to ensure that antisemitic assaults were appropriately enhanced as hate crimes.”

He added that the ADL has also found “a scourge of anti-AAPI hate” scapegoating the community for the COVID-19 pandemic and praised President Joe Biden for signing a hate crime bill into law for addressing the matter. “The best way to combat hate is to stand together as one community against racism and bigotry of all kinds. We are grateful to continue to have LA County as a key partner in our work to reduce hate crimes and increase public awareness of the impact these kinds of crimes have on our communities.”

American Jewish Committee Los Angeles Regional Director Richard S. Hirschhaut said in a statement to the Journal, “The 2020 Hate Crimes Report is deeply troubling, though hardly surprising. Our friends in the AAPI community were subjected to unrelenting scapegoating and bigotry amid the worst days of the pandemic. We saw in stark terms the power of words to cause unspeakable harm. For the Jewish community, the rise in antisemitic acts was consistent with a coarsening of our culture on both the right and left, with rank hostility toward Israel and vitriolic rhetoric too often left unchallenged. Hate is indivisible and we must continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies to push back.”