Anti-Semitic Incidents in US Rose by 1/3 in 2016; Have Shot Up 86% in First Three Months of 2017

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said today (April 24, 2017) that anti-Semitic incidents in the United States rose by more than one-third in 2016 and shot up 86 percent in the first three months of 2017, according to the JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) website.


There has been a massive increase in harassment of American Jews -- largely since November -- and at least 34 incidents linked to the presidential election in November, the ADL said today in its annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents.


There were a total of 1,266 acts targeting Jews and Jewish institutions during 2016, a 34 percent increase of incidents of assaults, vandalism, and harassment over the previous year. Nearly 30 percent of those incidents -- or 369 of them -- occurred in November and December.


The acts included 720 harassment and threat incidents, an increase of 41 percent over 2015; 510 vandalism incidents, an increase of 35 percent; and 36 physical assault incidents, a decrease of 35 percent.