2023 saw highest number of antisemitic incidents recorded across the country, report says
USA Today
ADL Reports 140% Increase in Antisemitic Incidents in 2023
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The Facts
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that it counted 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2023, a 140% increase from 2022. The figures were released Tuesday as part of the group’s annual report on instances of antisemitism.
The advocacy group reportedly tracked incidents such as harassment, vandalism, and assault, while noting that it detected the highest number of anti-Jewish acts since it started tracking such data in 1979.
The Spin
Pro-Israel narrative
Antisemitism has always been a uniquely reprehensible form of hatred, and it is disheartening that levels of anti-Jewish attacks reached an all-time high in 2023. Since Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, the Jewish community across the world, but especially in the US, has been subjected to a horrific increase in antisemitic harassment, both in the form of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messaging. This unacceptable uptick must be addressed, especially given the turbulent global times.
Pro-Palestine narrative
The ADL has abandoned its core mission to fight against hatred and bigotry of marginalized groups, aligning itself instead with the geopolitical goals of Israel. Going against Israel's occupation of Palestine and its ongoing attack on Gaza is not antisemitic and should not be labeled as such. Showing solidarity with the Palestinian people — even by anti-war Jewish voices — is now off-limits by the ADL's new criteria, which is a dangerous misrepresentation.
Right narrative
For decades, the ADL has smeared anyone to the right of the Democratic Party as every form of "ist" in the book, and now it is turning its ire to those on the left who are supporting Palestine. The ADL has long engaged in rhetoric that is unfair and that fights against free speech, and finally, people across the political spectrum can now see that.
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