AUSTIN, Texas — Antisemitism has been on the rise in the U.S. in recent years. Decades after the Holocaust, hostility toward the Jewish community is at an all-time-high. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released new data from the Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which puts Texas at fifth in the nation for most recorded antisemitic incidents in 2022.
The ADL reported a record 211 antisemitic incidents within Texas’ Jewish community last year. This is an 88% increase from 2021. According to ADL, the number of antisemitic incidents in 2022 surpasses the last three years combined.
Data from the audit shows a small decline in antisemitic incidents (44 to 39) last year in the Austin region, which includes the San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas. However, the totals in 2022 is two times higher than 2017’s record number of 18.
Texas’ spike in antisemitic incidents reflects a national trend of hate the Jewish community has been subjected to, with 3,697 incidents of antisemitism recorded nationwide, according to ADL. This is the highest number of incidents since ADL began keeping records in 1979. Also, this is the third time in the past five years that the year-end total has been the highest number ever recorded.
The four states with the highest number of incidents are New York (580), California (518), New Jersey (408) and Florida (269). These states and Texas combined make up 54% of the total incidents.
“We are extremely concerned with the explosion of hate and antisemitism in our state,” said ADL Austin Regional Director Jackie Nirenberg. “We must work together as a community to address hate and bigotry in all forms, and we invite every Texan to join us.”
It was Jan. 15, 2022, when a gunman held four people captive at a Texas synagogue in a 10-hour standoff. Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, took hostages during morning services at Congregation Beth Israel in the Dallas-area suburb of Colleyville. The hostages were able to escape, while Akram was shot multiple times. His death “was a result of the deadly force used by the FBI.” Survivors are still healing from the year-old hostage standoff.
According to the ADL Center on Extremism, which collects data for the yearly audit, harassment increased 27%, acts of vandalism shot up 418% and the state documented two assault incidents. Nationally, incidents of harassment rose 29% compared to 2021; acts of vandalism surged 51%; and physical assaults jumped 26%. “Significantly, the report found a doubling in activity by organized white supremacist groups, who were responsible for 852 antisemitic propaganda distribution incidents last year — an increase from the 422 propaganda incidents attributed to white supremacist groups in 2021,” per ADL.
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