The ADL’s annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents invariably provokes one of two results: concern with rising numbers, or moderate relief at lower numbers coupled with a desire to see them drop further.
Unfortunately, the 2004 audit falls into the former category.
The survey recorded 1,821 anti-Semitic incidents in the United States last year, up from the 1,557 reported in 2003. In Northern California, 72 incidents were reported in 2004, nine more than the previous year.
Of course, points out Rose Gabaeff, the Anti-Defamation League’s assistant regional director, not all anti-Semitic acts are created equally.
“I think we’ve generally seen a decrease in any kind of violent crime. There’s more property damage and less violence. We’re heartened by that,” she said.
“In 2002, we were seeing significantly more serious and face-to-face incidents. In ’03 and ’04 we saw less of that. There was more vandalism and, certainly, disturbing messages targeting the Jewish community. But that’s not the same as assaults.”
Among two of the most glaring acts of property damage were the vandalism of a South Lake Tahoe synagogue just prior to Chanukah, and the penning of swastikas on dozens of campaign posters for San Francisco Board of Supervisors candidate David Heller in late July.
The ADL began charting anti-Semitic incidents in 1983. To put the current totals in context, 113 incidents were reported in Northern California in 2002, up from 13 in ’01. The worst year nationally was 1994, with 2,066 reported incidents.
“The number of incidents is always of concern. However, we don’t feel the differential between this year and last year shows terribly increasing anti-Semitism,” said Gabaeff.
“We would love to have numbers like 20. We’d love to see those numbers go down.”
The annual audit — which showed a slight rise in anti-Semitic incidents overall — came on the heels of an ADL poll showing a slight decrease in anti-Semitic attitudes in America.
According to the poll, 14 percent of Americans — roughly 35 million people — hold “unquestionably” anti-Semitic views, down from 17 percent in 2002.
The poll showed that 33 percent of Americans feel American Jews are more loyal to Israel than this country, a static figure from the 2002 survey. Three out of every 10 Americans blame Jews for the death of Jesus, up from 25 percent three years ago.
As in 2002, the poll revealed that anti-Semitism is less prevalent among educated Americans and young Americans, and more prevalent in minority communities.
Hispanics and African Americans had particularly high numbers: The poll claims 35 percent of foreign-born Hispanics hold “hard-core” anti-Semitic beliefs, down slightly from 44 percent in 2002. Among American-born Hispanics, 19 percent hold such beliefs, down infinitesimally from 20 percent in ’02. Anti-Semitism is still high in the African American community as well, with 36 percent espousing strongly anti-Semitic attitudes. In 2002, that figure was at 35 percent.
“What concerns us is that many of the gains we had seen in building a more tolerant and accepting America seem not to have taken hold as firmly as we had hoped,” said Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s national director.
“While there are many factors at play, the findings suggest that anti-Semitic beliefs endure and resonate with a substantial segment of the population, nearly 35 million people.”