PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Anti-Defamation League has released a report showing a dramatic rise in antisemitism nationwide on the heels of a study by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) showing an uptick in anti-Muslim actions.
The new ADL report chronicles nearly 9,000 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism last year nationwide. The number of incidents in Pennsylvania more than tripled.
“The numbers are the worst we’ve ever seen. We will continue to call out this form of hate, and we will continue to fight against it. We will be resilient as we move through this,” said Andrew Goretsky, the ADL’s regional director in Philadelphia.
“We’ve had individuals in the school settings who’ve been shoved. They’ve been called the Jewish racist term that starts with a ‘K.’ From a rhetoric perspective, we continue to see swastikas and a large number of swastikas placed on Jewish institutions.”
ADL REPORT
In fact, new reports show a spike in the number of anti-Muslim and antisemitic incidents, both after Oct. 7, when the Israel-Hamas war began.
CAIR released a national report this month showing a 56% increase in anti-Muslim actions, amounting to more than 8,000 incidents last year.
“It’s become even more difficult, because we are now seeing the people that we were standing together with at the airports, fighting against the ‘Muslim ban,’ are starting to look at our community with suspicion,” said Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR-Philadelphia.
CAIR REPORT
At the same time, he said, freedom of speech is being threatened. He said criticizing the political actions of the Israeli government should not be considered antisemitism.
According to the ADL report, the organization changed its methodology after Oct. 7 to count more incidents as antisemitic, which added 1,350 incidents to the total. Of the 8,873 incidents in 2023, 36% specifically contained elements referencing Israel or Zionism.
“The rhetoric used at these rallies included the promotion of classic antisemitic tropes, signage equating Judaism or Zionism with Nazism, unapologetic support for terrorism, glorification of terrorist groups and extreme anti-Zionism,” said the report.
Included in the count are Pro-Palestinian protest chants — such as, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — because the ADL sees such language as a direct threat to destroy the state of Israel.
Both groups agree hate has no place in the U.S., and that more conversations about this are needed on the local level.
“I think what we are seeing on the ground,” said Tekelioglu, “is this understanding among our community, broadly, that there should be no space and no place for hate in our society. People should not be hated for who they are. That’s clear.”