Antisemitic Incidents in LA Increased 30% in 2022, ADL Report Says

Antisemitic incidents in the Greater Los Angeles Area increased by 30% in 2022, according to a new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report.

The ADL’s Annual of Audit Antisemitic Incidents, released on March 23, found that were 237 antisemitic incidents in the county in 2023 compared to 182 the year prior. These included 143 instances of harassment, 86 cases of vandalism and eight assaults; in 2022, these numbers were 104, 64 and eight, respectively.

Some examples listed in the report included a homeless man being assaulted by someone who told him to take off his kippah and asked him how he felt about rapper Kanye West; others included a person pushing their Jewish neighbors and saying, “You Jewish f—s should have been burned a long time ago” and a synagogue window being broken and the perpetrator making an antisemitic comment to a witness.

Statewide, the report found that there were 518 instances of antisemitism, the second highest in any state after New York at 580. Across the country, 3,697 antisemitic incidents occurred, a 36% increase from the year before and the highest ever recorded by the ADL.

“These record-setting figures make clear that there has not just been a surge of antisemitism, there is an unfortunate and unmistakable trendline that antisemitism is deeply embedded and growing in every part of society,” ADL Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey I. Abrams said in a statement. “This normalization of antisemitism is directly connected to the recent shootings of two orthodox Jewish men in Pico-Robertson in February of this year, which sent shockwaves through the community. This further demonstrates the critical need for the work of ADL, and all its partners, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to rally and speak out, share facts and show strength in the face of antisemitism.”