Boston Globe, April 2022
The number of antisemitic incidents in Massachusetts reached an all-time high in 2021, according to an annual report from the Anti-Defamation League. The stabbing of a rabbi in Brighton and the use of Holocaust-related terms by the Duxbury High School football team were among the examples that contributed to the 48 percent increase in incidents over the previous year.
Vandalism, harassment, and assaults all rose, with 108 occurrences recorded last year compared with 73 the year before, the report said. Nationally, 2021 saw the highest number of antisemitic incidents since the ADL started tracking such data in 1979 — 2,717 incidents for a rise of 34 percent. In 2020, the national number stood at 2,026.
“The alarming increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the region and across the country should be deeply concerning to all,” Robert Trestan, ADL New England regional director, said in a statement. “The numbers increased in nearly every category, including harassment and vandalism. The message that the data is sending is crystal clear: anti-Semitism remains a pervasive ill in our society that must be stemmed, or else we risk normalizing this hatred. ADL is steadfast in our commitment to disrupting and exposing antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head and urges all to join us in this fight.”
