A cemetery caretaker inspects the damage to Jewish gravestones. Photo by Graeme Robertson / Getty Images A newly released report found that nearly 60% of all hate crimes that targeted religion in 2020 were against Jews.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the report found that the number of antisemitic hate crimes decreased from 953 in 2019 to 676 in 2020; the 676 figure consisted of 58% of all hate crimes targeting religion. However, the ADL noted that 452 fewer law enforcement agencies reported hate crimes to the FBI in 2020 than in 2019, bringing the number down to 15,136.
“When just one individual is targeted by a hate crime, it negatively impacts the entire community, resulting in marginalized groups rightfully feeling vulnerable and under siege,” ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said in a statement. “While these numbers are disturbing on their own, the fact that so many law enforcement agencies did not participate is inexcusable, and the fact that over 60 jurisdictions with populations over 100,000 affirmatively reported zero hate crimes is simply not credible. Data drives policy and without having a complete picture of the problem, we cannot even begin to resolve the issues driving this surge in hate and violence.”
Other Jewish groups weighed in.
“Jew-hatred isn’t a Jewish problem; it’s an American problem,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted. “And it must be fought.”
The FBI has released its 2020 hate crime stats.
While the total no. of incidents was down during the year of the pandemic, anti-Jewish crimes made up a stunning 58% of all religious bias crimes.
Jew-hatred isn't a Jewish problem; it's an American problem. And it must be fought.
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) August 30, 2021
The Simon Wiesenthal Center also tweeted that it’s “not enough to define” antisemitism. “Jews: demand social media giants purge platforms supercharging #Antisemitism. Universities stop turning blind eye. @SpeakerPelosi-shut it down, faith leaders, @benandjerrys stop wokeness isolating us + Jews stop bickering while children feel unsafe on campus.”
Not enough to define it. Jews: demand social media giants purge platforms supercharging #Antisemitism. Universities stop turning blind eye. @SpeakerPelosi-shut it down, faith leaders, @benandjerrys stop wokeness isolating us+Jews stop bickering while children feel unsafe oncampus https://t.co/qgUAE3fJmB
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) August 31, 2021
Hate crimes as a whole increased by 6.1% from 2019 to 2020, according to the FBI report, including a spike in hate crimes against Blacks (1,930 to 2,755) and Asians (158 to 274).
“These numbers confirm what we have already seen and heard from communities, advocates and law enforcement agencies around the country,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “And these numbers do not account for the many hate crimes that go unreported.”
He added: “These hate crimes and other bias-related incidents instill fear across entire communities and undermine the principles upon which our democracy stands. All people in this country should be able to live without fear of being attacked or harassed because of where they are from, what they look like, whom they love or how they worship.”
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