Violence plagued Jewish community

Audit by Anti-Defamation League reported 70 antisemitic incidents in Northern California in 2021

Acts of violence and hate against the Jewish community rose to an all-time high in 2021, and the problem continued to plague the Bay Area as well, according to an Audit of Antisemitic Incidents released Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

California saw a 27% increase in total incidents from the previous year, rising to 367 in 2021. The number of assaults in the state also increased from four to 15, the audit said.

Northern California recorded 70 antisemitic incidents during the year, according to the audit, with more than half of those being targeted online and in-person harassment.

Those statistics mirrored the national trend, with a record 2,717 total incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported nationally. The ADL said it has been tracking antisemitic incidents since 1979, and that the 2021 figure was a 34% increase from 2020, when the ADL counted 2,026 incidents.

“It's the highest mark we've ever seen,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said during a Zoom call Tuesday morning. “It marked a new high, or one could say a new low.”

According to the audit, attacks against Jewish institutions — including community centers and synagogues — went up 61% and incidents at K-12 schools went up 106% from the 161 in 2020. Still, the 2021 figure remained even with the five-year average.

The ADL also logged 331 incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools and another 155 at college and universities.

Assaults nationally also jumped from 33 incidents nationally in 2020 to 88 last year. Many of the assaults happened during the Israel-Hamas conflict in May 2021, according to the ADL. Eleven of the 88 involved the use of a deadly weapon.

The ADL's audit also revealed 484 antisemitic incidents that were attributed to known rightwing extremist groups, or 18% of all incidents. White supremacist groups were responsible for 422 instances of distributing antisemitic propaganda, a 52% increase from the 277 in 2020.

According to Oren Segal, the ADL's vice president of the Center on Extremism, the ADL made concerted efforts to connect with more Jewish organizations this year as part of its audit and that there was greater reporting as a result.

“However, even when you remove the number reported by the extra partnerships — 18% — there still would be a marked increase overall,” he said.

Greenblatt said it's the significance of the trend as much as what the numbers found that stood out to him.

“None of this is normal,” he said. “None of it is acceptable.”