ADL says antisemitic cases have surged since Oct. 7 Hamas attack

The big picture: The report comes as experts warn the U.S. could see a rise in antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes as more images emerge from the Israel-Hamas war.

• Three decades of data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism reviewed by Axios show that conflicts in the Middle East involving Israel frequently lead to big jumps in hate crimes in the U.S. — particularly antisemitic attacks.

Details: The ADL recorded 312 antisemitic incidents between Oct. 7-23, 2023, 190 of which were directly linked to the war in Israel and Gaza, a report released Wednesday said.

• During the same period last year, the ADL received preliminary reports of 64 cases, including four that were Israel-related.
• The ADL also tracked anti-Israel rallies since Oct. 7, 109 of which the group found explicit or strong implicit support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel.

Yes, but: The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, on Tuesday said it has received 774 complaints, including reported bias incidents, since Oct. 7.

• CAIR-Philadelphia called for a hate crime investigation into an alleged vandalism incident that targeted United Muslim Islamic Center, a South Philadelphia Islamic center.
• CAIR-Chicago announced that hate crime charges were brought against a man who reportedly threatened to shoot two Muslim men after allegedly shouting anti-Muslim statements.
• The national group also had to move its annual event to a private location last weekend after threats against the original venue, the Crystal Gateway Marriott, led the hotel to cancel the event.

What they're saying: "When conflict erupts in Israel, antisemitic incidents soon follow in the U.S. and globally," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

• "It is incumbent on all leaders, from political leaders to CEOs to university presidents, to forcefully and unequivocally condemn antisemitism and terrorism."
• "The American Muslim community's determination remains unshaken and, God willing, we will continue to speak up for the human rights of all people, including Palestinians," CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said.

State of play: Anti-Jewish and anti-LGBTQ bias crimes jumped in 2022 amid an overall increase in hate crimes, according to an Axios review of new FBI data.

• An analysis by Axios of FBI data released Monday found that the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes jumped 36% in 2022 from the previous year.
• Anti-LGBTQ bias crimes rose 19% in a year, and anti-gay hate crimes involving just gay men increased 13%.

Of note: The Justice Department has warned that fewer police departments are submitting crime data annually, which experts say makes it harder to analyze and address crime trends such as hate crimes.

• Police departments also don't uniformly track victims' race, ethnicity or religion, complicating how data is collected on hate crimes against Muslims and Latinos, for example.