Anti-Semitic incidents were on the rise in America in 2015, compared to the previous year, according to the latest figures by the Anti-Defamation League.
In a presentation to the Knesset's Immigration and Absorption Committee on Tuesday, the ADL lists a total of 941 cases of reported anti-Semitic attacks in the United States for 2015, compared to 912 in 2014. These included physical assaults, vandalism, harassment, and threats. Specific attacks included Hassidic Jews being fired at with paintballs and air rifles while on their way to synagogue, and statements like "Jews should go back to Auschwitz. Hitler was right."
At colleges and universities, anti-Semitism nearly doubled in 2015, compared to the previous year. A total of 90 incidents were reported on 60 college campuses in 2015, compared with 47 incidents on 43 campuses in 2014. Campus incidents accounted for 10 percent of the total incidents reported in the United States in 2015.
ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said: "We know that for every incident reported, there's likely another that goes unreported. So even as the total incidents have remained statistically steady from year to year, the trend toward anti-Semitic violence is very concerning."
The ADL also pointed to an "explosion of hate online," with increasing levels of anti-Semitic sentiment expressed on social media. "Online hate is particularly disturbing because of the ubiquity of social media and its deep penetration into our daily lives, plus the anonymity offered by certain platforms which facilitates this phenomenon," Greenblatt said.
Despite the recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks, such incidents in the US are still at a historic low, the ADL said, and there was a longer-term decline of anti-Semitism since the mid-2000s.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening, protesters at the Democratic Party Convention in Philadelphia set an Israeli flag on fire and chanted "Long live the intifada!" just outside the convention site.
