Anti-Defamation League says anger at Israel is now the driving force behind antisemitism in the US

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer NEW YORK AP The Anti-Defamation League says the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States reached a record high last year and notes that of the incidents related to Israel notably chants speeches and signs at rallies protesting Israeli policies In a overview published Tuesday the ADL which has produced annual tallies for years reported it s the first time Israel-related incidents of them in comprised more than half the total A key reason is the widespread opposition to Israel s military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States Canada and the European Union The ADL s findings add grist to an intense divisive debate among American Jews and others over the extent to which vehement criticism of Israeli policies and of Zionism should be considered antisemitic FILE Pro-Palestinian demonstrator Mahmoud Khalil second from left debates with a pro-Israel demonstrator during a protest at Columbia University Thursday Oct in New York AP Photo Yuki Iwamura File FILE Tents and pro-Palestinian protesters occupy a quad at Drexel University in Philadelphia Tuesday May AP Photo Matt Rourke file FILE A trainee protester against the war in Gaza walks past tents and banners in an encampment in Harvard Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge Mass on April AP Photo Ben Curtis file FILE A pupil protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard the first major benefactor of Harvard College draped in the Palestinian flag at an encampment of students protesting against the war in Gaza at Harvard University in Cambridge Mass on April AP Photo Ben Curtis FILE A pupil wrapped in an Israeli flag listens to Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on campus at the University of Texas at Austin on April in Austin Texas AP Photo Eric Gay File Show Caption of FILE Pro-Palestinian demonstrator Mahmoud Khalil second from left debates with a pro-Israel demonstrator during a protest at Columbia University Thursday Oct in New York AP Photo Yuki Iwamura File Expand Political backdrop The debate has broadened as President Donald Trump s administration makes punitive moves against universities it considers too lax in combating antisemitism and seeks to deport several pro-Palestinian campus activists The upshot for numerous Jewish leaders is a balancing act Decrying flagrant acts of antisemitism as well as what they consider to be the administration s exploitation of the issue to target individuals and institutions it dislikes The fears of antisemitism are legitimate and real and we don t want to see those real fears exploited to undermine democracy stated Amy Spitalnick CEO of the Jewish Council for Citizens Affairs I feel that a majority of American Jews can believe that two things are true at the same time The ADL commented in its new analysis it is careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism But there are gray areas For example the ADL contends that vilification of Zionism the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel is a form of antisemitism yet particular Jews are among the critics of Zionism and of the ADL itself Incidents at anti-Israel rallies that counted as antisemitism in the new ADL tally include justification or glorification of antisemitic violence promotion of classic antisemitic tropes and signage equating Judaism or Zionism with Nazism Also counted were celebrations of the Hamas attack on Israel and unapologetic endorsement for terrorism In hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the U S stated Oren Segal who leads the ADL s efforts to combat extremism and terrorism Keeping Jewish students safe The record depicted university campuses as common venues for antisemitic incidents saying plenty of Jewish students face hostility exclusion and sometimes physical danger because of their identity or their beliefs The experience of those students was evoked by Rabbi Rick Jacobs president of the Union for Revision Judaism an umbrella group for more than Transformation congregations in North America as he discussed the complexities arising from current antisemitism-related developments We have an obligation to our students on campus Jacobs commented Can they go to Seder Can they feel safe wearing a yarmulke At the same time this current administration has weaponized the fight against antisemitism by weakening core democratic institutions Jacobs added He referred to the detention and threatened deportation of Mahmoud Khalil a -year-old graduate candidate who served as a negotiator and spokesperson for pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia University Khalil has been detained since March despite facing no criminal charges There has to be a legal incident not just you don t like what he says Jacobs disclosed What has kept Jewish people safe is the rule of law due process If it is undermined for Palestinians it will be undermined for all of us Criticism of ADL The ADL dismayed certain progressive Jewish leaders by welcoming Columbia s acquiescence in March to Trump administration demands and by initially commending the campaign targeting pro-Palestinian activists such as Khalil Contemporary critics of the ADL include Michael Roth the first Jewish president of Wesleyan University political commentator Peter Beinart and Columbia professor James Schamus who has been urging his fellow Jews on the faculty to oppose the university s compliance with administration demands Washington Post columnist Matt Bai wrote a scathing column about the ADL on April Related Articles From conclave to white smoke a glossary of terms used in a papal transition Pope Francis funeral to be held Saturday with society viewing starting Wednesday Pope Francis was a source of disagreement and spiritual guidance in his Argentine homeland Which cardinals are seen as contenders to be the next pope Francis changed church initiative on the death penalty and nuclear weapons but upheld it on abortion You can t call yourself a civil rights organization in the United States right now let alone a civil rights organization for a minority that has been brutally evicted all over the world and not loudly oppose the cruel and unlawful removal of foreigners whose views happen to be out of fashion Bai wrote Two days later the ADL s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy seeking to distance the ADL from aspects of the Trump administration s crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists As an organization that has fought for a minority district for more than years ADL is incredibly sensitive to the importance of allowing all views to be expressed even those that we or the majority of Americans disagree with Greenblatt wrote We should be holding people accountable for actual crimes not Orwellian thoughtcrimes We can protect the civil liberties of Jewish students even as we preserve the civil liberties of those who protest harass or attack them because they are innocent until proven guilty he added If we sacrifice our constitutional freedoms in the pursuit of protection we undermine the very foundation of the diverse pluralistic society we seek to defend Beyond the Israel-related incidents these were among the other findings in the new ADL analysis The total number of antisemitic incidents in was up by from five years ago incidents targeting more than people were categorized as assault none of these assaults were fatal incidents were categorized as vandalism Swastikas were present in of these cases There were bomb threats largest part of them targeting synagogues Antisemitic incidents occurred in all states and the District of Columbia More than of the incidents occurred in New York City There were antisemitic propaganda incidents linked to white supremacist groups Three groups Patriot Front Goyim Defense League and the White Lives Matter system were responsible for of this activity The ADL says its annual account tallies criminal and noncriminal acts of harassment vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as revealed to the ADL by casualties law enforcement the media and partner organizations and then evaluated by ADL experts Associated Press religion coverage receives assistance through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content