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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Since Oct. 7, perpetrators of antisemitic attacks in US increasingly cite Israel's war in Gaza
In 2024, 58 percent of antisemitic incidents 'contained elements related to Israel or Zionism,' according to the Anti-Defamation League's annual antisemitism report released this year. That has risen since the group began tracking the data with a new definition two years ago. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'For antisemites, the Israel issue has been a convenient tactic to pile onto the Jewish community,' said Oren Segal, ADL's senior vice president of counterextremism and intelligence. Some people intentionally conflate being Jewish with support for the Israeli government, he said. Advertisement The overlap is complicating life for many US Jews and Jewish organizations living with increasing antisemitism and the deep divisions sparked by the war in Gaza. 'People like me made arguments for years about how you should be able to criticize Israel and not be seen as antisemitic. Now that's collapsed, and attacks on Zionism now target Jews. They see no difference, and so here we are,' said Joel Rubin, a deputy assistant secretary of state under former president Barack Obama who also served as Jewish outreach adviser to the 2020 presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent. Advertisement Since Israel's post-Oct. 7 war in Gaza began, polls have shown that more Americans have negative views about Israel, and support for the Palestinian solidarity movement has grown stronger. With antisemitic incidents at historic levels, some American Jews say they feel like a political football, and that it can be agonizing at times to tell the difference between prejudice and criticism of the Israeli government. Jews in the United States 'have a real psychological challenge in this moment,' said Dove Kent, US senior director of the Diaspora Alliance, a progressive group that works to fight the weaponization of antisemitism. 'Whenever there is an increase in Israeli lethal action, there is an increase in antisemitism directed at Jews. But Jews don't cause antisemitism,' she said. 'Conversations about if and when these attacks [in the United States] are antisemitic are only useful to the degree they help us understand how to stop them,' she said. 'Otherwise it's almost just an exercise -- a thing that has the potential to grab people's attention and cause fractures among people who are otherwise completely aligned that we need to stop these attacks.' This trend has become more apparent after a recent series of antisemitic events. In April, the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, was set on fire by a man who allegedly blamed him for Middle East violence against Palestinians. A month later, two Israeli Embassy employees were fatally shot as they left a reception at a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., by a man who yelled 'Free, free Palestine.' And Sunday, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, allegedly used a flamethrower to attack a Jewish event in Colorado. Advertisement All three incidents reflect rising antisemitism, but they also have a common feature: The alleged perpetrators cited their objections to Israel's war in Gaza as part of their motives, say hate crime experts. Soliman 'said this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific [to] the Zionist group,' according to Boulder police. While the war in Gaza has fueled criticism of Israel from some on the left, even among some politically left-leaning Jews, many US Jews have also said the administration of President Trump shares some blame for a more hostile climate. During his last presidential campaign, Trump said Jewish voters would be to blame if he lost -- despite being only 2 percent of the population. Multiple Jewish leaders have been critical of Trump and some administration officials for using antisemitism as a rationale for deporting immigrants and eliminating some diversity initiatives, stoking backlash. 'Since Trump came in they are weaponizing Jewish fear to advance a very specific agenda,' said Kevin Rachlin, Washington director of the Nexus Project, which advocates against antisemitism and for free speech. 'What will you do to protect us?' he said. 'Shutting down and defunding schools, deporting people? That doesn't protect Jews.' Harrison Fields, principal deputy press secretary at the White House, wrote that the president 'received unprecedented support from the Jewish community in his historic reelection, and this support continues to grow as he combats the left's rampant anti-Semitism is exposed daily. The Trump administration is the most pro-Israel and pro-Jewish in our nation's history, and the President's record stands as a testament to this commitment.' Advertisement US Jews are wary equally of both conservatives and liberals, according to a 2024 survey by the American Jewish Committee. Asked 'how much of an antisemitic threat' the 'extreme political right' and the 'extreme political left' represents, the numbers were almost the same: 55 percent said the far right is a very serious or moderate threat, and 57 percent said that of the far left. Jews outside of Israel have long been attacked by people trying to change Mideast policy, Rachlin said. But those attacks have taken on a new dimension in recent years, he said. What's changed is the very high death toll in Israel and Gaza, the growth among young Americans -- compared with older ones -- in sympathy for the Palestinian cause, and, Rachlin said, the internet. 'We see everything that's happening. Nothing is hidden, and no amount of spin can turn away video. You can see bad actors in both camps.'
Boston Globe
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Pro-Palestinian movement faces an uncertain path after D.C. attack
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The killings also risked painting all pro-Palestinian activists, the vast majority of whom do not engage in violence, with the same brush, which could lead to further repression of their movement. The tragedy occurred just as the movement has been trying to sustain attention in the United States on a blockade by Israel that has put Gaza residents at risk of widespread starvation. Advertisement Oren Segal, senior vice president of counterextremism and intelligence at the Anti-Defamation League, said that while attending a rally or being a member of pro-Palestinian groups does not predict violence, the broader ecosystem being created, particularly online, by groups strongly opposed to Israel, 'created an environment that made the tragedy last night more likely.' Advertisement 'What people are hearing is a regular drumbeat: Israel is evil, supporters of Israel are evil, and we need to do anything by any means to fight back,' he said. 'And many of them are conflating Jews with the policies of Israel, too.' But the pro-Palestinian movement has asserted that it can criticize Israel and the war in Gaza without being antisemitic, and multiple organizations rushed to condemn the killings Thursday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, called the violence 'completely unacceptable,' and said that it does not represent the millions of Americans peacefully supporting an end to US support for Israel's war in Gaza. 'Such violence only undermines the pursuit of justice,' the organization said in a statement. 'Peaceful protest, civil disobedience, and political engagement are the only appropriate and acceptable tools' to achieve that change. Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist group that regularly protests against the war in Gaza, also condemned the killings. 'We are grounded first and foremost in the belief that all human life is precious, which is precisely why we are struggling for a world in which all people can live in safety and dignity,' it wrote in a statement. The pro-Palestinian movement that burst into the public consciousness after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has deep roots and has gone through multiple transformations. But it has long included a wide spectrum of activists, with a variety of views on the role violent resistance should play in achieving a Palestinian state. Advertisement In the United States, protesters who chant 'Free, free Palestine' are almost always using tactics of nonviolent resistance. But the groups that organize behind Free Palestine banners also vary in their philosophies. Some advocate complete nonviolence in their broader approach, akin to anti-war protesters. Others back the right of Palestinians to engage in armed resistance against Israel, which they consider a right under international law, because they consider Israel the occupier of Palestinian lands. Such groups frequently quote a 1990 UN resolution that recognizes the right of occupied people to fight against 'colonial domination, apartheid, and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.' Even among groups that back the right of Palestinians to resist with force, however, there are variations. Some chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, for example, the most organized pro-Palestinian group on many college campuses, have embraced the Thawabit, a set of principles written by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1977, that is considered central to the Palestinian national cause. Among them is the right of resistance, including through armed struggle. But Students for Justice in Palestine does not support of the use of violence in the United States, and instead focuses on civil disobedience and nonviolent tactics, like the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, to pressure Israel. Other groups push the line further, openly glorifying armed resistance by organizations that the United States considers terrorist organizations. As repression of protests on college campuses grew last year, a smaller group of students adopted some of the rhetoric of the hard-line groups, while more moderate students peeled away. Among at least some of those hard-line groups, there was a hint of acceptance about the killing of the embassy workers Thursday, even as Rodriguez was being charged with first-degree murder and other crimes. Advertisement Charlotte Kates, the international coordinator of the Samidoun Network, which the US Treasury Department last year designated a sham charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization, wrote on Telegram that in the face of the stifling of nonviolent protest, it is only to be expected that some people will escalate in an attempt to stop the deaths in Gaza. This article originally appeared in
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
ADL urges Americans to fight hate after deadly shooting in DC
As authorities investigate the deadly shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is urging Americans to confront hatred. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement that he felt the shooting was "inevitable" in a "climate of relentless antisemitism" in the U.S. This aligns with the ADL's findings in its annual audit, which showed that antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose for the fourth consecutive year in 2024. "I can't help but think this persistent level of demonization and harassment of Israelis and Jews, along with this rhetoric that celebrates terrorism and violence against Israelis and, you know, made for an environment that enabled this to happen," ADL Senior Vice President of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence, Oren Segal told Fox News Digital. The ADL recorded 151 antisemitic incidents in Washington, D.C., in 2024, a drop from the 171 incidents reported in 2023. However, both 2023 and 2024 represent large spikes compared to 2022, when just 37 incidents were recorded. Segal told Fox News Digital that the ADL has observed anti-Israel language becoming "more militant" and moving away from criticisms of the Israeli government and its policies, which he said are not antisemitic. He also added that after Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre "people were more willing to tolerate the types of activities targeting the Jewish community that, you know, would seem anathema to anybody else." "This was not just against the Jewish community of D.C., but an assault on all Jewish Americans and indeed all Americans," Greenblatt said in a statement about the shooting. "We know that words have consequences. When antisemitic rhetoric is normalized, tolerated, or even amplified in our public discourse, it creates an environment where violence against Jews becomes more likely." Elias Rodriguez, 30, who is suspected of fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy workers — Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim — reportedly yelled "Free, Free Palestine" as he was being taken into custody. Several Jewish commentators online have said that the shooting is emblematic of what "globalize the intifada" — a slogan used in anti-Israel protests — means. "The concern that many in the Jewish community have when they hear phrases like 'globalize the intifada' is that it reminds them of the intifadas that occurred, right, which were violent," Segal told Fox News Digital. "They featured suicide bombings, a lot of death and destruction. So, when you call for the globalization of an intifada, many people hear that as calling for the globalization for violence against Jews." He added that the fatal shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C., was a "pretty clear" case of antisemitism. Segal also said that since Oct. 7, the ADL has seen an increase in the marginalization of the Jewish community, including "these efforts to normalize that any Jewish person or anybody who supports Israel is a legitimate target." He recalled that just as after Oct. 7, there were those who justified the massacre, there are those who are trying to excuse the murders of Lischinsky and Milgrim. "I think what we need to remember is that when we have been calling out the most extreme rhetoric at protests and events around the country, we haven't focused on criticism of Israel. We have focused on the type of language and activity that we believe, that we have seen leads to violence," Segal told Fox News Digital. "And so, I hope that when people try to contextualize what happened in D.C., they look back at what we have been trying to say, what we have been warning about because I think if you understand how words lead to action, more people hopefully will be part of that solution in pushing back against these narratives."
Axios
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
ADL: Antisemitic incidents hit record level in 2024
The number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. has surged almost 900% in 10 years, and last year reached its highest level recorded in nearly half a century, an annual Anti-Defamation League (ADL) survey released Tuesday found. Why it matters: Antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, which became a flashpoint on college campuses and a pretext for the Trump administration to later threaten college funding and revoke visas for students. The big picture: Some Jewish leaders have warned that President Trump 's invocation of antisemitism to justify slashing college funds and deporting student protesters risks making Jewish people scapegoats for his policies. Those policies come as conservatives have urged colleges to adopt rules to combat antisemitism on the left but have largely remained silent about antisemitism on the right. By the numbers: The annual ADL audit recorded 9,354 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism across the country in 2024. The total represents a 5% increase from 2023 (the last record-setting year) and an 893% jump over the past 10 years. It's the highest level recorded since ADL started tracking this data in 1979. The 12-month total for 2024 averaged more than 25 targeted anti-Jewish incidents in the U.S. per day, more than one an hour. Zoom in: A majority of all incidents (58%) were related to Israel, the survey found. More than 6,500 incidents involved harassment language that includes antisemitic slurs, stereotypes or tropes. More than 2,600 incidents involved vandalism, defined as cases where property was damaged, such as graffiti of Swastikas or arson. The ADL also recorded 1,694 antisemitic incidents on college campuses, which is 84 percent higher than in 2023. Caveat: The ADL said it did not count criticism of Israel as an antisemitic incident, but did count incidents as antisemitic if someone called for the destruction of Israel or used antisemitic tropes in discussing Israel. The ADL said it considers slogans like "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" as antisemitic. What they're saying: "This sustained elevation indicates the (post-Oct. 7) experience was no temporary spike," Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence, told reporters. "There has been a fundamental shift in the landscape. Antisemitism has become a persistent reality of the American Jewish community." Context: The data collected by the ADL's Center on Extremism not only includes hate crimes — defined as violence stemming from a victim's race, color, sexuality, religion or national origin — but also cases involving verbal harassment and speeches on college campuses. The ADL previously faced criticism for including campus protests against Israel's actions in Gaza as part of its tally, but the group says it only counts protests if it sees clear evidence of antisemitism, like stereotypes. Zoom out: The ADL report comes weeks after a Crime and Justice Research Alliance analysis shared with Axios showed a 12% increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2024, and an 18% increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in more than 40 major U.S. cities.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Antisemitic incidents, partly fueled by campus protests, reached record-breaking high in 2024, according to the ADL
Antisemitic incidents in the United States rose for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, hitting their highest level since the Anti-Defamation League started tracking them in 1979, according to the organization's annual audit released Tuesday. The audit identified 9,354 cases of assault, harassment, and vandalism in 2024, marking a 5% increase from 2023, when the ADL recorded 8,873 incidents, and a 344% surge over the past five years. The record-breaking number is based on incidents reported by victims, the media, law enforcement, and partner groups, according to the ADL. The majority of the incidents in 2024 — 6,552 — were classified as harassment, defined by the organization as cases where someone targets one or more Jewish people or people perceived to be Jewish with language that includes antisemitic slurs, stereotypes, or tropes. Vandalism was the second highest, with 2,606 incidents, marking a 20% increase from 2023. For the first time, a majority of antisemitic incidents — 58% — were related to Israel or Zionism, with many occurring at anti-Israel rallies. The ADL does not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism, the report says. 'Legitimate political protest, support for Palestinian rights or expressions of opposition to Israeli policies' are not included in the audit. 'Hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the U.S.,' Oren Segal, ADL's senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence, said in a statement. 'These incidents … serve as a clear reminder that silence is not an option,' Segal said. The audit details where antisemitic incidents most commonly occur, noting that this 'provides critical insight into how different environments contribute to — or fail to protect against — antisemitic activity.' Antisemitic incidents on college campuses increased by 84% between 2023 and 2024, accounting for 18% of all incidents, the report says. Many of these incidents occurred during protests on college campuses between mid-April and mid-May 2024 in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Trump administration has revoked student visas and cut federal funding to colleges and universities accused of tolerating antisemitism. Incidents in public areas and commercial spaces, including Jewish-owned businesses, also increased. However, non-Jewish K-12 schools experienced a decrease in antisemitism cases. The three states with the highest number of incidents were New York, California, and New Jersey, according to the audit. 'Good people must stand up, push back, and confront antisemitism wherever it appears. And that starts with understanding what fuels it and learning to recognize it in all its forms,' Segal said. The report noted the continued increase shows antisemitism 'has become a persistent reality for American Jewish communities rather than a temporary spike in the months immediately after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.' 'This horrifying level of antisemitism should never be accepted and yet, as our data shows, it has become a persistent and grim reality for American Jewish communities,' ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a news release. 'Jewish Americans continue to be harassed, assaulted and targeted for who they are on a daily basis and everywhere they go. But let's be clear: we will remain proud of our Jewish culture, religion and identities, and we will not be intimidated by bigots,' he said.
