Anti-Semitic incidents up 57 percent in 2017

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States increased by 57 percent in 2017, according to new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) findings.

In its annual report released on Tuesday, the organization reported that the 1,986 incidents last year far surpassed the 1,267 reported in 2016, marking the largest single-year increase since ADL’s first report in 1979. 

For the first time in more than 10 years, the league documented cases in all 50 states, the report shows. {mosads}

The anti-Semitic incidents were broken down into three categories: harassment, vandalism and assault, with 2017 seeing the largest increase in incidents of vandalism. According to the report, vandalism rose 86 percent, with more than 950 incidents reported.

ADL was initially founded to fight anti-Semitism and cites “Jewish values” as the basis of its work.

Neo-Nazi groups, the report shows, were more vocal in 2017 — including appearances at rallies such as the Charlottesville, Va., protest that turned violent and resulted in the death of one counterprotester. 

Certain neo-Nazi groups have praised some of President Trump’s remarks during his first year in office as befitting their worldview. Trump has also seen public support from white supremacists such as Richard Spencer, who organized the Charlottesville rally. 

According to the organization’s report, the sharp spike in anti-Semitic incidents in 2017 came after a slow decline in recent years. A majority of the events were seen in schools, with incidents on college campuses jumping 89 percent and incidents at K-12 schools nearly doubling from 235 to 457.