Boca Raton, Fla, April 24, 2017… … According to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents released today, there has been a massive increase in incidents targeting American Jews. The annual ADL Audit encompasses criminal and non-criminal incidents reported to the ADL Florida office, law enforcement, media, or other sources. These include incidents of vandalism, assault, and harassment targeting Jewish individuals and institutions.
Florida Jewish institutions received 17 bomb threats this year. As the arrests that have been made in these bomb threats reveal, many anti-Semitic incidents were not carried out by organized extremists.
“There is no doubt that anti-Semitism is still deeply embedded in our society. The increase in its manifestations is sobering, and should alarm us all,” said Yael Hershfield, ADL Florida Interim Regional Director. “This year’s audit is a painful reminder that anti-Semitism still poses a threat. Our work assisting victims of anti-Semitism and proactively working to create a society free of bigotry is needed now more than ever.”
Florida Regional Chair Scott Notowitz added, “ADL is the leader in the fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, in combatting extremism emanating from the all factions of society. Hate is a learned and can be unlearned. ADL’s educational programs are designed to transform attitudes and have had a significant impact. Throughout the State of Florida, ADL will stand up and speak out against anti-Semitism no matter the source.”
Florida continues to be in the top four states reporting incidents of anti-Semitism, with California, New York, and New Jersey reporting higher incidents. In Florida, there were 137 verified incidents of anti-Semitism in 2016, a 50% increase of incidents over the previous year’s 91. Florida’s increase mirrors the national increase in anti-Semitic incidents, which rose from 941 to 1,266. The largest increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Florida was in the category of anti-Semitic harassment. There were 61 incidents of harassment in Florida in 2015, nearly doubling to 119 in 2016.
There was a drop in 2016 of vandalism incidents in Florida, 15 in 2016 compared to 27 in 2015. The number of anti-Semitic assaults in 2016 remained unchanged from the previous year.
The counties with the highest number of reported incidents in 2016 were Palm Beach with 42, and Miami-Dade and Broward, each with 26. In total, incidents were reported in 26 of Florida’s 67 counties.
In the first quarter of 2017, ADL has already seen 41 incidents in Florida, including 7 incidents of vandalism and 34 incidents of harassment.
Nationally, ADL’s 2016 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents recorded a total of 1,266 incidents in the United States, an increase of approximately 74 percent from the 941 incidents recorded in 2015. The surge has continued during the first three months of 2017, with preliminary reports of another 541 incidents, putting this year on pace for more than 2,000 incidents.
In 2016, the 1,266 anti-Semitic incidents included:
- 720 harassment and threat incidents, an increase of 41 percent over 2015;
- 510 vandalism incidents, an increase of 35 percent; and
- 36 physical assault incidents, a decrease of 35 percent.
In the first quarter of 2017, preliminary reports of the 541 anti-Semitic incidents include:
- 380 harassment incidents, including 161 bomb threats, an increase of 127 percent over the same quarter in 2016;
- 155 vandalism incidents, including three cemetery desecrations, an increase of 36 percent; and
- Six physical assault incidents, a decrease of 40 percent.
Selected Florida incidents
Assaults:
St. Petersburg: In November a man was accosted by someone who told him “Trump is going to finish what Hitler started.” This incident reflects a pattern related to the heightened political atmosphere and rhetoric during the 2016 presidential election. There were 34 incidents nationwide linked to the election.
Harassment and threats:
Incidents included verbal attacks and slurs against Jewish individuals (or individuals perceived to be Jewish) and anti-Semitism conveyed in written or electronic communications.
Throughout 2016 and into 2017, numerous Jewish institutions in Florida and around the nation received anti-Semitic and harassing faxes. Some staff members and affiliated leaders received them at their home and office fax machines. Even college campuses received these faxes. Some of these faxes have been attributed by authorities to a hacker by the name of Andrew Auernheimer. He is an unabashed racist and anti-Semite, who claimed credit for exploiting network printers/fax machines to print racist and anti-Semitic flyers. More information on Auernheimer and his hateful flyers can be found in this ADL Blog. In a Twitter post in August 2016, Auernheimer claimed to have exploited 50,000 printers to print his latest flyer.
Clearwater: In March 2016, an office manager at a construction company had to terminate an employee after serious infractions. She reached out to the individual in order to arrange for him to sign his termination papers, and received text messages in response, including “fuckyou u stupid Jew bitch”.
Tallahassee: In December, students at SAIL high school formed a ‘human swastika’ on school grounds. According to media reports, parents indicated that there were prior incidents of anti-Semitic remarks among students.
Vandalism:
Vandalism incidents are individually evaluated by ADL and are categorized as anti-Semitic based on the presence of anti-Semitic symbols or language; the identity of the perpetrator(s), if known; and the target of the vandalism and the impact to the Jewish community. The Audit includes in its totals swastikas and hate symbols that targeted Jewish property or communal institutions. Notably, this year, a great deal of vandalisms – particularly in schools – incorporated Holocaust and Nazi-themed imagery.
Parkland: On the eve of Rosh HaShanah, the Chabad Jewish Center in Parkland and surrounding neighborhoods was vandalized with anti-Israel and anti-Semitic graffiti. ADL offered a match to the CrimeStoppers Reward for information leading to an arrest. Click here for the original press release on this incident.
Boca Raton: In December 2016, a woman in Boca Raton woke up to an anti-Semitic graphic depiction of a Jew taped to her front door. The picture denotes a stereotypical portrait of a Jewish man with a large nose and a scheming demeanor.
Clearwater: In January 2017, Temple B’nai Israel, Congregation Beth Shalom, and Chabad of Clearwater were vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti. One of the markings uses the numeric symbol 1488: the combination of two common white supremacist numeric symbols: 1) 14 (shorthand for the “14 Words” slogan: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”) and 2) 88 (standing for “Heil Hitler”). For more hate symbols, visit the ADL Hate Symbols Database.
Boca Raton: In February 2017, a car in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Boca Raton was vandalized with a swastika. ADL contributed to the CrimeStoppers reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator(s).
Naples: In December 2016, the front sign of Temple Shalom of Naples was hit with what appears to be a shotgun blast.
Altamonte Springs: In May 2016, three swastikas were spray-painted at Lake Brantley High School.
Boca Raton: In February 2017, parents became extremely concerned as images of swastikas etched into the door of a school bathroom stall at Omni Middle School went viral online. Immediately, ADL reached out to the school to avail them of our resources. The school district mandated that all students (1,400) participate in an ADL led conversation about identity-based bias and the anti-Semitic history of the swastika. This school will become a No Place For Hate® school this fall.
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About The ADL Audit
ADL has been tracking anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since 1979. The audit includes both criminal and non-criminal incidents acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs. Compiled using information provided by victims, law enforcement and community leaders and evaluated by ADL’s professional staff, the Audit provides an annual 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 anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
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