The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported Tuesday that the number of recoded antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in 2021, the first year of President Joe Biden’s administration, after he campaigned on stopping the rise of extremism.
According to the left-leaning ADL (original emphasis):
Antisemitic incidents tracked in the 2021 Audit of Antisemitic Incidentsreached an all-time high of 2,717 in the United States last year – an average of more than seven incidents per day and a 34 percent increase year over year, including assaults, harassment and vandalism. This is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.
Harassment: Of the total, 1,776 incidents were categorized as harassment, defined as cases where one or more Jewish people (or people who were perceived to be Jewish) were harassed verbally (or in writing) with antisemitic conspiracy theories, slurs or stereotypes. Acts of harassment increased 43%, up from 1,242 in 2020.
Vandalism: Another 853 incidents were categorized as vandalism, defined as cases where property was damaged in a manner that incorporated evidence of antisemitic intent or which had an antisemitic impact on Jews. Swastikas, which are generally interpreted by Jews to be symbols of antisemitic hatred, were present in 578 of these incidents. Acts of antisemitic vandalism increased 14% from 751 in 2020.
The ADL also reported a 167% increase in assaults against Jews, from 33 in 2020 to 88 in 2021, though there were no fatalities recorded in these attacks.
During the prior administration, Democrats, the media, and ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt himself often blamed President Donald Trump, or implied he was to blame, for rising antisemitism.
Biden launched his presidential campaign in 2019 by claiming he had been motivated to respond to neo-Nazi riots in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, falsely claiming that President Trump had referred to the neo-Nazis as “very fine people.”
Though the hoax has been debunked, both on the debate stage and during Trump’s second impeachment trial, Biden has persisted in using it, portraying himself as a crusader against antisemitism.
A poll released Tuesday by Rasmussen revealed that two-thirds, or 66%, of likely U.S. voters believe the country is more divided now than before the 2020 election.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new e-book, The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it). His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.