Anti-Semitism unchanged in 2015, ADL says, but cause for worry remains

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States stayed roughly stable in 2015, rising 3 percent, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Despite the modest increase from 912 to 941 occurrences between 2014 and 2015, however, there are reasons to believe the reality is bleaker.

For one, observers inside the ADL were expecting a decline from 2014, when Israel’s war with Hamas was responsible for an uptick in global anti-Semitism, said Amanda Susskind, ADL director for the Pacific Southwest Region.

But moreover, the organization’s annual audit listing episodes of harassment, vandalism and assaults aimed at Jews showed that anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses rose significantly — nearly doubling from 47 to 90.

Susskind warned that the survey was neither scientific nor exhaustive, as it is compiled from events reported to the ADL as well as collaboration with law enforcement agencies rather than through a precise survey.

But she said the uptick in campus incidents could reflect “a normalizing of anti-Semitism through the lens of acceptable political speech.” In particular, she pointed to a controversy that erupted at UCLA in February 2015 when student council officers suggested a student might be unfit for an undergraduate government position because her Jewish heritage could bias her judgment.

“It was like the shot heard around the world,” Susskind said. “People really reacted to that [incident].”

The student, Rachel Beyda, was eventually appointed to the position. But her vetting demonstrated how criticism of Israel’s policy on college campuses can veer into blatant anti-Semitism, Susskind said, calling the firestorm a “teachable moment.” Since then, the ADL has conducted five anti-bias training sessions for student, staff and faculty leaders at UCLA.

Elsewhere in the report, officially released June 22, a marked increase in assaults on Jews, from 36 in 2014 to 56 in 2015, prompted cause for worry. That number has risen every year since 2012, when it stood at 17.

“We are disturbed that violent anti-Semitic incidents are rising,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “And we know that for every incident reported, there’s likely another that goes unreported.”

The audit does not include online hate speech against Jews, a phenomenon many observers say is on the rise. For example, when the ADL tried to host a Twitter conversation using the hashtag #ADLChat, the conversation was quickly inundated by Jew-baiting comments.

“The issue [of online hate speech] has grown exponentially in recent years because the internet provides racists and bigots with an outlet to reach a potential audience of millions,” Greenblatt said in the statement. “We plan to adapt future versions of the audit to account for such online harassment.”

Even though online hate speech is currently excluded from the audit, Susskind said many incidents included in the report reflect a tone often seen on the internet that invokes what she called “traditional anti-Semitism” — epithets drawing on old historical canards or stereotypes, such as Jews controlling the media or banks.

Susskind said hearing about this type of remark no longer surprises her. But that doesn’t mean she’s accustomed to it.

“You would think I would be used to it by now, but I’m always just gobsmacked,” she said. “It hurts my heart.”