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8 MAY 5, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
ADL Report
Reveals Nature
of Antisemitism
in Area
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
A ntisemitic incidents declined
in Pennsylvania and South
Jersey in 2021, according to
the Anti-Defamation League.

On April 26, the ADL released its
annual report on antisemitic incidents
in the United States. Th e national num-
bers were grim, with 2,717 off enses,
the highest total since the ADL started
keeping track in 1979. It was also a 34%
increase from 2020.

But the local numbers were less grim.

Pennsylvania saw 69 incidents in 2021
compared to 101 the year before. South
Jersey, despite a statewide increase in
New Jersey, experienced 26 off enses
last year versus 34 in 2020. (Th e ADL
defi ned South Jersey as any county
from Burlington south.)
A drop is good, said ADL Philadelphia
Director Andrew Goretsky, but 65 and
26 instances of antisemitism, respec-
tively, are still more than zero.

“I oft en think about medicine, when
they say the risk factor, 98% of people
have no problems, but 2% of people
die,” he added.

In the Keystone State, Goretsky was
most concerned about two fi ndings.

Assaults, the most serious cate-
gory tracked by the ADL, increased
from two in 2020 to four in 2021. And
in May of 2021 during the confl ict
between Israel and Hamas, the number
of overall off enses doubled, from four
to eight, from the same period the pre-
vious year.

Th e director couldn’t say why assaults
increased. But he could identify a rea-
son for the May jump.

“Th e May confl ict was a reminder
that Jews are routinely blamed for
Israel’s actions,” Goretsky said.

In addition to assaults, Pennsylvania
experienced 49 incidents of harass-
ment, defi ned by the ADL as cases
ADL Philadelphia Director Andrew
Goretsky Photo by Lafayette Hill Studios
when Jews “were harassed with antise-
mitic slurs, stereotypes or conspiracy
theories.” It also witnessed 16 vandal-
ism off enses, or “cases where property
was damaged along with evidence of
antisemitic intent.”
South Jersey saw four vandalism acts
and 17 harassment off enses.

Some of the more high-profi le inci-
dents in Pennsylvania and South Jersey
occurred in the Philadelphia area.

Pennsbury School District board
members received a series of antise-
mitic emails and threats while working
on policies relating to the pandemic,
like masking for students. Th e ADL
mentioned that case specifi cally in its
Pennsylvania report.

And in December, a South Jersey syn-
agogue, Congregation Adath Emanu-El
in Mount Laurel, and school, Marlton
Middle, saw antisemitic messages dis-
played in the parking lot and bath-
room, respectively. Both had swastikas
and chilling statements like “Hitler was
right” and “We are everywhere.”
Th ose incidents and others revealed
not just the prevalence of antisemitism
today but the multifaceted nature of it,
according to Goretsky.

Attacks on Jewish property are an
issue, as evidenced by the rise of secu-



Marlton Middle School in Burlington County, New Jersey, experienced an antisemitic incident in December 2021.

Courtesy of Evesham Township School District Superintendent Justin Smith
rity as a priority for Jewish federations
and synagogues across the country. But
it’s also an issue with a clear and pretty
reliable response strategy, as evidenced
by the rise of security as a priority.

Virtual attacks like Zoom bombs
and threatening emails are prevalent
today but present a diff erent issue. How
do you combat an anonymous emailer
or Zoom bomber other than with
defensive methods in the moment, like
blocking the address or restarting the
chat? It’s a question with no easy answer.

But according to Linda Palsky, one
of the Pennsbury board members who
received threatening messages, the
ADL report is at least a place to start.

“It’s our only weapon to bring light to
it,” she said. “To try and make people
aware that it’s not acceptable behavior
and language.”
Th e multifaceted nature of antisem-
itism today underscores a scary reality
for modern Jews: Th ere might not be
any safe spaces anymore.

According to Goretsky, the ADL’s
national study showed that attacks
increased by 106% at K-12 schools, 61%
at synagogues and 21% on campuses.

To a large degree, too, those incidents
did not come from white supremacists
on the far right or Israel despisers on
the far left . Only 14% came from far-
right individuals or groups, and only
12% came from the far left , while 65%
emerged from people in the middle.

Rabbi Benjamin David of Adath
Emanu-El believes that Jews today
need to be prepared for antisemitism
from all angles.

“You can be attacked while sitting in
the comfort of your own home staring
at your laptop,” he said.

Even in this increasingly compli-
cated environment, though, the post-
World War II ethos should not change
for Jews, David explained. Jews can’t
take these off enses lying down.

“If those who hate are going to be
loud, then we simply have to be louder,”
David said.

“To be a Jew in the real world today
means to be an advocate for peace, an
ally of other people, to be a defender
of religion itself, its expression,” he
concluded. “Th e game has changed.” JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
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