ADL: Antisemitism Stats Decline
Slightly in 2019, Still High
Jesse Bernstein | JE Staff
P ennsylvania experienced a slight decrease in antisemitic incidents in
2020 relative to 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2020
Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.

The annual audit, released on April 27, recorded 101 incidents — 70 harass-
ment incidents, 29 vandalism reports and two cases of assault. In 2019, there
were 109 incidents, with slightly fewer harassment cases, many more vandal-
isms and one fewer assault.

The audit included some specific incidents (the full list is publicly available
at adl.org/heat-map.) The list includes incidents like a youth hockey coach in
Northampton County who called 10-year-old Jewish players “dirty Jews” in
the handshake line, and a sign in front of a Philadelphia synagogue that was
defaced with a drawing of a swastika and the messages “Long live Hitler” and
“Jews are scum.”
While the 101 incidents in 2020 represents a slight decrease, it is still the
third-highest number of antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania reported to the
ADL since the organization began tracking them in 1979.

“The main takeaway is that the news is still not good,” said Shira Goodman,
regional director of ADL Philadelphia. “We still seem to have this climate
where hate is emboldened, where people who harbor antisemitic attitude seem
emboldened to take action.”
Antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania in 2020 broken down
by county
IMAGES COURTESY OF ADL
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