CLEVELAND — Hate against Jewish people reached an all-time high here in the United States in 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
A new report shows 3,697 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism against Jewish people in the U.S. were reported last year.
This is the highest number of incidents ever recorded since the ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents back in 1979.
It also means the nation averaged 10 incidents of antisemitism per day in 2022.
“It’s heartbreaking to see that in 2023 we’re still seeing an increase in antisemitism,” said Kelly Fishman, Interim Regional Director of ADL Cleveland.
According to the ADL, the region covered by ADL Cleveland, including Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania, saw 107 reported antisemitic incidents in 2022, a 37% increase from 2021. Nearly a quarter of the incidents, 26 of them, were tied to activity organized by right-wing extremist and white supremacist groups.
“In our region… when you’re above the national average, that’s not something you want,” said Fishman.
According to the ADL, there were 61 reported antisemitic incidents in Ohio in 2022, including a Jewish student who was harassed by a classmate in Monroe, threats made to a synagogue in Cleveland, and a fired Ohio Guardsman who was convicted of making antisemitic threats against a Jewish school in Columbus.
“It is so key that regardless of our political party or identities that we are working together, because until we can all stay together as allies for everyone else’s identities, we’re going to see these incidents of hate and antisemitism,” said Fishman.
