In a new report released by the Anti-Defamation League, MK (Likud) Dr. Avraham Neguise, who is chairman of the Knesset Absorption & Diaspora Affairs Committee points out that, “New anti-Semitism disguises itself as criticism of Israel”

During a meeting on Monday, 14 Teves of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported a 67% increase in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States in the first nine months of 2017, compared with the same time period in 2016.

Carole Nuriel, Director of ADL`s Israel Office, presented the organization`s findings. According to the ADL 2017 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, from January 1 to September 30 there were 1,299 anti-Semitic incidents across the United States, including physical assaults, vandalism and attacks on Jewish institutions. That total represents a 67 percent increase over the same period in 2016 and already exceeds the 1,266 incidents reported all of last year. In addition to the significant bump in the first quarter of this year, there was also a distinct increase after August 11th.

On that day, ADL recorded a “meta-event” rarely seen in America: the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which featured shocking and violent expressions of anti-Semitism and racism, including the display of swastika flags, chants of “Jews will not replace us!” and other overt anti-Semitic acts. Anti-Semitic incidents spiked on and immediately following Charlottesville.

Of the 306 incidents reported in the third quarter, 221 took place on or after the August 11th rally, which was one of at least 33 public white supremacist events in the US so far this year. In addition, 188 incidents of white supremacists using fliers to spread their message to new audiences, especially on college campuses, were reported.

Of the incidents reported, there has been a disturbingly high number of anti-Semitic bullying and vandalism in K-12 schools and college campuses across the US. Consistent with prior reports, the states with the highest number of incidents tend to be those with the largest Jewish populations. Incidents recorded from January through September include 703 incidents of harassment, including 162 bomb threats against Jewish institutions; 584 incidents of vandalism, including 52 against Jewish institutions and 12 physical assaults.

MK Neguise said new anti-Semitism disguises itself as criticism of Israel, while MK (Machane Tzioni) Dr. Nachman Shai said the figures are “inconceivable,” adding that ”the demons are out of the bottle, and this demands a great effort on our part, in coordination with foreign governments.”

Ran Yaakobi, head of the Department for Combating anti-Semitism at the Foreign Ministry, said a conference is set to be held in Jerusalem in three months with the participation of some 1,000 people involved in the fight against anti-Semitism. The American delegation will include senators and Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the mayor of Charlottesville.

Yaakov Haguel, Acting Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, said a recent survey showed that some 70% of US Jews have experienced an anti-Semitic incident over the past year, and only 12% have never experienced any form of anti-Semitism during their lives.

Yigal Palmor, Director of Public Affairs and Communications at the Jewish Agency, discussed the increasing anti-Semitism among the left in Britain, mainly among senior Labour Party officials, as well as the rise in anti-Semitism in Germany and Sweden, primarily among the Muslim immigrant population.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)