Reports of anti-Semitic incidents increasing in North Carolina, group says

Reports of anti-Semitic incidents are increasing in North Carolina, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, compared with 2016.

The Anti-Defamation League compiles an “Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents” report annually.

From January through Sept. 30, 2017, the ADL found that there were 15 reported incidents of harassment or vandalism in North Carolina. There were 23 in Maryland, 22 in D.C. and 22 in Virginia during the same period, for a total of 82 across the region. In that period of 2016, there were 22 total reported incidents in all four areas.

The ADL found that there was a “significant bump in (reported incidents) in the first quarter of this year” and there was “an increase after the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville in August.”

“The increase in anti-Semitic incidents in our region is concerning,” said Doron Ezickson, ADL’s Washington, D.C., regional director. “The violence in Charlottesville and the increasingly aggressive efforts by white supremacists to recruit on college campuses demonstrate that these groups not only feel empowered, but also are no longer limiting their activities to the Internet.”

Nationally, ADL reported that from January to Sept. 30, 2017, there were 1,299 reported anti-Semitic incidents across the United States, including physical assaults, vandalism and attacks on Jewish institutions – a 67 percent increase over the same period in 2016 and already more than the 1,266 incidents reported in all of 2016.

The ADL audit includes criminal and non-criminal reported acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of “hate propaganda, threats and slurs,” according to the organization. The ADL compiled the data using information provided by victims, law enforcement and community leaders, evaluated by ADL staff.

The ADL was founded in 1913 to “stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all,” according to the organization. Today, the ADL is a leading organization combating anti-Semitism, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes, developing anti-bias curricula for students, countering cyber hate and more.

For more information, go to www.adl.org.

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Reports of anti-Semitic incidents increasing in North Carolina, group says."