Antisemitic incidents in Colorado have spiked 40%, ADL says
Sunday's attack on demonstrators in Boulder advocating for Israeli hostages is part of an alarming trend of violence targeting Jewish individuals and pro-Israel advocates — incidents that some experts link to a rise in antisemitism.
The big picture: Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have soared almost 900% in the last 10 years, and last year reached their highest level recorded in nearly half a century, Axios' Russell Contreras writes per a recent Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report.
By the numbers: Colorado recorded 279 such incidents in 2024 compared with 198 in 2023 — a 40% spike.
The rise comes as at least 33 extremist groups — including white nationalists, anti-LGBTQ+ organizations and anti-government militias — are currently active in Colorado, per the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The latest: A pattern of violence has emerged nationwide in recent weeks, affecting both Jewish communities and individuals and groups publicly supporting Israel. The trend is raising concerns about the intersection of antisemitism and political tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
Zoom in: Two Israeli Embassy employees were fatally shot May 21 outside a Jewish museum reception in Washington, D.C.
In mid-April, an arsonist torched the Pennsylvania governor's mansion on the first night of Passover as Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, and his family slept inside.
What they're saying: While criticism of Israeli policies is not inherently antisemitic, some Jewish leaders warn that increasingly hostile rhetoric can draw on or reinforce antisemitic tropes.
"What we've seen these last few months is a shocking pattern of anti-Israel sentiment manifesting itself in antisemitic violence," Halie Soifer, chief executive of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told the New York Times. "With each incident there's a further shattering of our sense of security."
What's next: Boulder will host its 30th annual Jewish Festival this Sunday — at the same Pearl Street Mall where the fiery attack occurred.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pressure mounts on Netanyahu as opposition moves to dissolve parliament
By Alexander Cornwell TEL AVIV (Reuters) -A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu's coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza prompted by the attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel in October 2023. United Torah Judaism, one of two ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, said it would withdraw from the government unless it secured last-minute concessions formalising an exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military service. The opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former prime minister Yair Lapid, put forward a parliamentary vote for next week to topple the government, even as the Israeli army continues battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It would require the support of 61 out of the 120 members of the parliament to succeed. "This Knesset (parliament) is finished. It has nowhere to go," Lapid said. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has remained silent on the looming crisis. A spokesperson for United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told Reuters the party would vote in favour of dissolving parliament unless exemption legislation was passed. With a week until the vote, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to negotiate over an issue that has dogged the coalition for months. A source close to the government said, on condition of anonymity, that negotiations within the coalition were continuing. Netanyahu's coalition of secular right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties holds an 8-seat majority in parliament. United Torah Judaism has 7 seats while its ally, Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party, has 11. BETTING ON A BLUFF The coalition is sharply divided over whether young ultra-Orthodox men who are studying in religious seminaries should be exempt from mandatory military service. Failing to pass an exemption risks a walkout by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, while approving it could trigger a protest exit by secular parties. Coalition member Ohad Tal of Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party criticized Goldknopf for threatening to trigger elections and called on the ultra-Orthodox lawmaker to resign. He urged others to negotiate a new arrangement but that a blanket exemption from military service could no longer stand. Former Knesset member Ofer Shelah said Netanyahu was likely betting the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were bluffing, given the polls suggested they faced defeat in any early election. In March, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers threatened to bring down the government over the same issue, but time passed without any action. Resentment over the informal exemption given to religious seminary students is growing and lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition ranks say it is no longer tenable. Netanyahu won election in 2022 and does not have to return to the polls until 2026. Historically, few Israeli governments serve a full term. He has faced widespread criticism for failing to prevent the surprise October 2023 Hamas attack that killed roughly 1,200 people, and is facing growing calls from protesters and families of hostages still held in Gaza to end the war to secure their release. But some in his coalition say the war must continue until Hamas is eradicated. Political analysts say that the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers could simply quit the government to protest their failure to secure concessions, without toppling the ruling coalition.
USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
Boulder attack suspect's family detained by ICE
On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: The wife and five children of the 45-year-old suspect in the assault on pro-Jewish demonstrators in Colorado are facing deportation. President Trump is moving forward with tariff hikes on aluminum and steel. USA TODAY Education Reporter Zach Schermele tells us what Harvard alumni are doing to support the university after recent federal funding cuts. What an Instagram video could tell authorities about an escaped New Orleans inmate. USA TODAY Youth Mental Health Reporting Fellow Rachel Hale talks about the possible impact OnlyFans content creators could have on young girls.
CNN
32 minutes ago
- CNN
Controversial Gaza aid operation pauses for 24 hours after days of deadly shootings
The distribution of aid from a controversial new US- and Israel-backed organization into Gaza was paused for 24 hours on Wednesday after Palestinians en route to a distribution site came under fire for three straight days, with fatal consequences. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said that its hubs would be closed due to logistical work to better handle the massive number of people arriving in the hope of collecting food, and so the Israeli military could make 'preparations on the access routes to the centers.' Distribution at the sites is expected to resume Thursday. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned Palestinians, who endured an 11-week blockade on aid into the strip followed by a meager trickle of food and supplies in the past couple of weeks, to stay away from the GHF sites. 'Movement tomorrow on the roads leading to the distribution centers is strictly prohibited, as these are considered combat zones,' the military's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a post on X on Tuesday. A spokesperson for GHF said the organization was 'actively engaged' in talks with the Israeli military to improve security beyond the perimeter of the humanitarian zone. GHF asked the IDF to introduce measures to guide foot traffic away from military positions, develop clearer guidance to allow the population to move safely to the aid sites, and to 'enhance IDF force training and refine internal IDF procedures to support safety,' the spokesperson said. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli agency coordinating the passage of aid into Gaza, said 157 trucks with food and flour entered the enclave on Tuesday. These truckloads of humanitarian aid have supplied both GHF and the United Nations, which has continued to deliver aid after GHF began operating. But it remains a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that entered Gaza before the war, according to the UN. GHF got off to a rocky start when its first executive director resigned the day before operations began last Monday, citing concerns over impartiality and urging Israel to allow more aid into the blockaded enclave. US military veteran Jake Wood quit as GHF's head after just a matter of weeks at the organization, publicly launched by the United States in early May. The foundation appointed evangelical Christian leader Rev. Johnnie Moore as its new director on Tuesday, who promised to expand the distribution effort in Gaza. 'GHF is demonstrating that it is possible to move vast quantities of food to people who need it most – safely, efficiently, and effectively,' Moore said in a statement Tuesday. The organization has repeatedly said there has been no violence at their sites but acknowledged on Tuesday that there have been incidents along the approach routes to the centers. 'This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site,' GHF said. Dozens of Palestinians have died after coming under Israeli fire in recent days, Palestinian authorities say. On Tuesday, nearly 30 people were killed, and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian health officials. The IDF said its forces opened fire multiple times after identifying 'several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes.' A day earlier, three Palestinians were shot dead and dozens wounded as they were on their way to access aid, Palestinian and hospital authorities said. The Israeli military said that its forces fired warning shots approximately a kilometer (about 1,100 yards) from the GHF site. On Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry, hospital officials and a half-dozen eyewitnesses said the Israeli military was responsible for gunfire that killed 31 people. At the time, the IDF said its forces 'did not fire at civilians while they were near or within' the aid site, but an Israeli military source acknowledged that Israeli forces fired toward individuals about a kilometer away, before the aid site opened. Most established aid organizations and the UN have refused to work with GHF saying it fails to meet core humanitarian principles and citing concerns that its limited distribution points in the south of the strip would further the military goals of Israel to remove Gaza's population from the north. The UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, was scathing in his assessment of the foundation during a UN Security Council meeting earlier this month. 'It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip. It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement,' Fletcher said. But GHF has doubled down on its distribution mechanism. The organization said Tuesday: 'We remain focused on one thing: getting food to the people who need it most. And right now, we are the only organization doing that at scale, with consistency and safety.' CNN's Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
