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Preliminary data shows America is on track in 2019 for yet another year of historically high anti-Semitic incidents
Los Angeles, CA, October 20, 2019 … According to data released by ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today and first reported on tonight’s edition of CBS News 60 Minutes, at least 12 white supremacists have been arrested for their alleged roles in terrorist plots, attacks or threats against the Jewish community in the year since the attack on Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue.
Also, the latest data from ADL’s Center on Extremism shows that the United States continues to experience record-high numbers of anti-Semitic incidents nationwide; preliminary reporting shows a total of 780 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in the first six months of 2019, compared to 785 incidents reported during the same period in 2018.
“It is horrifying that in the year since the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, at least a dozen white supremacists were arrested after threatening to target Jewish houses of worship,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “We are tremendously grateful to local, state and federal law enforcement for taking these cases seriously and preventing further bloodshed against the Jewish community.”
In at least three of these cases – in Monroe, Washington; Lehighton, Pennsylvania; and Las Vegas, Nevada – ADL’s Center on Extremism provided critical intelligence to law enforcement, leading directly to investigations and arrests.
“This is why we do what we do,” said Greenblatt. “We cannot and will not rest easy knowing the threat posed by white supremacists and other extremists against the Jewish community is clear and present. We are proud of our collaborative efforts with law enforcement to prevent such tragedies from taking place and ensuring would-be perpetrators of these heinous crimes are brought to justice.”
Since the Pittsburgh shooting on October 27, 2018, which affected three congregations in a shared worship space at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, white supremacists have targeted Jewish institutional property on at least 50 occasions. This includes:
- 12 instances of vandalism using white supremacist symbols;
- 35 distributions of white supremacist propaganda;
- At least 30 additional incidents in which individuals of unknown ideology committed arson, vandalism or distributed propaganda that was not explicitly white supremacist in nature at Jewish institutions.
In addition to the 12 white supremacist arrests, there were three additional individuals arrested for targeting Jews in 2019, including two motivated by Islamist extremist ideology, one of whom referred to Tree of Life shooter Robert Bowers as his inspiration.