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A new report from the Anti-Defamation League found that the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States hit a new record in 2021. The ADL said there were 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism, the highest number since the group began tracking them in 1979.
That marks a 34% increase from 2020 and continues a disturbing trend in the rise of antisemitism.
The ADL said that 58% of the incidents occurred in six states. New York and New Jersey had the most in the country, with 416 and 370, respectively. California ranked third with 367. The other three states were Florida, Michigan, and Texas.
Most incidents of antisemitism involved harassment, which the ADL defined as Jewish people being "harassed with antisemitic slurs, stereotypes, or conspiracy theories." There were a total of 1,776 incidents throughout the country, an increase of 43% from 2020.
There were also 853 cases of vandalism. Of those cases, two-thirds involved images of swastikas.
The ADL said there were 88 cases of physical assault, including 11 that used deadly weapons. There were no reported fatalities due to the attacks.
The ADL said that the number of incidents increased following an outbreak of hostilities between Israeli forces and Hamas in May 2021.
"While we have always seen a rise in antisemitic activity during periods of increased hostilities between Israel and terrorist groups, the violence we witnessed in America during the conflict last May was shocking," Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL's CEO, said in a statement. "Jews were being attacked in the streets for no other reason than the fact that they were Jewish, and it seemed as if the working assumption was that if you were Jewish, you were blameworthy for what was happening half a world away."