Though I would imagine these numbers don't include incidents of antisemitism in schools (I still remember pennies regularly being tossed by punks at one particularly identifiable, religious Jewish student in one of the public elementary schools I attended in New Jersey in the mid-1980s), and though they certainly don't include the rise of online Jew-hatred at websites like Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Tikkun Daily, Mondoweiss and Stormfront... the ADL's 2012 Audit of Antisemitism does bring us some good news, in the form of a slight overall drop in antisemitic incidents over the past year...
The number of anti-Semitic incidents dropped 14 percent nationwide last year, though the instances of vandalism rose, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents....along with some bad news, in that incidents of antisemitism unfortunately seem to be up in New Jersey and New York.
Also, New York and New Jersey saw increases in anti-Semitic incidents, according to the audit released Monday. Nationwide, the audit counted 927 anti-Semitic incidents reported during the 2012 calendar year, a 14 percent decline from the 1,080 incidents in 2011.
The 2012 figures included 17 physical assaults, 470 cases of harassment, threats and events, and 440 instances of vandalism.Here in Pennsylvania, we've dropped from 38 identified incidents in their 2011 survey, to 37 identified incidents in their 2012 count, though in recent weeks we here in Philadelphia have experienced what feels like an uptick, with swastikas and Nazi slogans found painted on walls right here in Kensington, as well as next door in Port Richmond, a heavily Polish and Lithuanian neighborhood, neither of which have ever had any significant Jewish populations.
Along with another high-profile incident of antisemitic vandalism targeting a Jewish restaurant just below us in Northern Liberties.
I remember regularly being told, on certain blogs at which I used to participate, that antisemitism is a thing of the past, and that these days we're only imagining 'mere criticism of Israel' to be much more than it is.
Perhaps it's just me, but I tend to miss the incisive critiques of Israeli policy contained within swastikas being painted on walls, in Jewish stores and institutions having their windows smashed, in mezuzot being stolen or damaged, in Jews still being violently assaulted for being Jewish, in blood libels and ZOG conspiracy theories being spread, and in dual / disloyalty accusations often being made online against Jews who stand up for Israel.
As Mr. Foxman says, it is certainly still very disturbing that there are so many of these incidents in the US today. It is even more disturbing when Jews, seemingly alone amongst all minorities, are told to shut up about it by certain 'progressives,' and are, once again seemingly alone amongst all minorities, often told that those who spread hatred of the Jewish people should have the right to define what is, or what is not, in fact, hatred of the Jewish people.
