SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents issued today found that in 2022, the Jewish community of San Diego experienced 36 recorded incidents (slightly down from 38 incidents in 2021), including 26 incidents of harassment (up from 23 in 2021) and 10 incidents of vandalism of businesses (down from 14 in 2021), places of worship, and schools.
“It’s important to remember that these startling numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, as not everyone reports an incident of antisemitism when it takes place,” Regional Director of ADL San Diego Fabienne Perlov says. “There are many more incidents that go unreported or are not reported directly to the ADL. Additionally, this report does not include online incidents of antisemitism, which as we saw last year, skyrocketed following the incendiary rhetoric of notable celebrities and athletes.”
In fact, the hip-hop artist Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) was directly referenced in 59 incidents, an example of how his highly publicized antisemitic statements last year resonated with or motivated perpetrators. Extremist Black Hebrew Israelite groups were responsible for eight incidents, most notably surrounding the controversy involving basketball player Kyrie Irving.
Notably in San Diego and Imperial Counties, almost a third of the incidents of harassment and vandalism occurred on school and university campuses. The trend spans across the United States, as antisemitic activity reported on college and university campuses increased by 41 percent in 2022, with 219 incidents reported at more than 130 campuses across the country. In non-Jewish K-12 schools, 494 incidents were reported, an increase of 49 percent.
“It’s disturbing that places of learning, understanding and community are so frequently faced with antisemitic hate,” Fabienne continues. “The use of the swastika, evokes chilling memories of the Holocaust and of what can happen when hate and antisemitism go unchecked. Campuses of all places should be places for free discussion, open forums, and wide acceptance.”
For this reason, ADL San Diego is prioritizing it education programs which focus on anti-bias education and Holocaust education, as ADL believes the best antidote to bias is education.
Examples of incidents from 2022 in San Diego County:
- Various incidents of antisemitic propaganda distribution in Jewish neighborhoods.
- A white supremacist and antisemitic group covered a moving truck with antisemitic messages and drove around San Diego spouting their hateful messages.
- A swastika was drawn on a Jewish professor’s door at San Diego State University
- Swastikas and other symbols of antisemitic hate drawn on middle school and high school campuses in the area.
California and Beyond
Unfortunately, these incidents are not isolated in San Diego. California had the second highest number of recorded incidents (518) just after New York with 580 incidents. California saw 327 incidents of harassment (up 51% from 217 incidents in 2021), 178 incidents of vandalism and a shocking 13 assaults.
Nationally, antisemitic incidents surged to historic levels in 2022, with a total of 3,697 incidents reported across the United States, an increase of 36 percent compared to 2021 – also a record-setting year. ADL’s Audit of Antisemitic Incidents found, on average, 10 incidents for each day in 2022 – the highest level of antisemitic activity since ADL started tracking incidents in 1979 – this is consistent with the steady increase of hate and vitriol directed against the American Jewish community that we have seen in recent years. This is the third time in the past five years that the year-end total has been the highest number ever recorded.
Methodology
The ADL Audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs, as well as vandalism and assault. Compiled using information provided by victims, law enforcement and community leaders, and evaluated by ADL’s professional staff, the Audit provides a regular snapshot of one specific aspect of a nationwide problem while identifying possible trends or changes in the types of activity reported. This information assists ADL in developing and enhancing its programs to counter and prevent the spread of antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.
The complete dataset for antisemitic incidents for 2016-2022 is available on ADL’s H.E.A.T. Map, an interactive online tool that allows users to geographically chart antisemitic incidents and extremist activity.
The Audit offers a snapshot of one of the ways American Jews encounter antisemitism, but a full understanding of antisemitism in the U.S. requires other forms of analysis as well, including public opinion polling, assessments of online antisemitism and examinations of extremist activity, all of which ADL offers in other reports, such as the ADL Survey of American Attitudes Toward Jews, Survey on Jewish Americans’ Experiences with Antisemitism, ADL Global 100, Online Hate and Harassment: The American Experience, Murder and Extremism and White Supremacist Propaganda.
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Preceding provided by ADL San Diego