The FBI released a supplemental report on March 13 finding that antisemitic hate crimes rose 19.6% from 2020 to 2021.
The supplemental report found that the number of antisemitic hate crimes rose from 683 in 2020 to 817 in 2021; additionally, the report chronicled 109 antisemitic assaults in 2021, a 16% increase from the year before. The total number of antisemitic hate crimes consisted of “a little more than half of all religion-based hate crimes in 2021,” per the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The total number of hate crimes amounted to 10,840, “the highest level recorded in more than two decades,” according to the ADL.
“The supplemental hate crime data released today confirms what ADL predicted at the time of the initial release – reported hate crimes for 2021 reached record high levels,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “Data drives policy. Moving forward, law enforcement agencies must urgently commit to hate crime data collection and reporting, and Congress must make it mandatory for state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding to participate in the FBI’s hate crime data collection efforts each year. Absent comprehensive and inclusive data, policymakers will lack the critical information that is needed to address these concerning trends.”
He added: “With antisemitic incidents up across the board in nearly every category we track, and with the FBI data now reflecting a 19.6 percent increase in reported antisemitic hate crimes for 2021, a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach will be needed to address these extremely disturbing trends. Hate crimes are message crimes; they are uniquely harmful and deeply personal, both to the individual and to the group of people who share the individual’s characteristics. It is essential that, as we craft policy solutions and dig into the hard work of addressing hate crimes, we take a community- and victim-centered approach.”
The American Jewish Committee similarly said in a statement, “We welcome additional data in the 2021 Hate Crimes Statistics Report and thank the FBI for efforts to bridge the gap from the incomplete data in the report, which is the only official record on the state of hate in America. Supplemental hate crimes data was report from 96 reporting agencies in nine states and reflects hate crimes data from major Jewish population centers such as Los Angeles and New York City. We applaud the Biden administration for its efforts to tackle the rise in hate across the country, specifically antisemitism, with the rollout of its action plan, the [Department of Justice]’s United Against Hate initiative. The supplemental data was collected through the FBI’s outreach to agencies that were not able to meet the March 2022 deadline to submit data to the National Incident Based Reporting System. Underreporting of hate crimes is a problem for all targeted minority groups that regularly face incidents of hate.”
Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action Agenda Rabbi Abraham Cooper said in a statement, “Simon Wiesenthal Center reiterates its call to the FBI for the creation of a Special Taskforce on Anti-Semitism. We reiterate our call on social media giants to stop extremists – from terrorists to anti-Semites – from leveraging their powerful marketing platforms used to mainstream hate into our everyday lives.”
