The New-York based Anti-Defamation League’s annual ‘Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents,’ counted a total of 1,357 incidents of vandalism, harassment and other acts of hate against Jewish individuals, property and community institutions in 2007, representing a 13 percent decline from the 1,554 incidents reported in 2006.

 

The ADL report said the swastika, the Nazi symbol, was predominant in a large number of incidents and remained the symbol of choice for anti-Semites. 

 

The symbol, one of the most powerful and enduring emblems of religious and ethnic hatred, was present in hundreds of attacks against buildings, synagogues, cemeteries and private homes. 

 

In one of the most noteworthy instances, a massive swastika the size of a football field was carved into a New Jersey cornfield.

 

“We are certainly encouraged that the total number of anti-Semitic incidents has declined for three years in a row,” Abraham Foxman, ADL national director, said.

 

“Yet we are still troubled that there are so many incidents reported, and that these incidents often involve expressions of anti-Jewish animus that are ugly and deeply hurtful to their victims and the communities where they occur.”

 

“Just as the noose became a common calling card for racists in 2007, the swastika was the emblem of choice for anti-Semites,” he said. “It is a symbol that is instantly recognizable and whose meaning and intent is explicitly clear.  For Jews, especially survivors of the Holocaust and their families, the swastika is a terrifying reminder of the consequences of unchecked hate and the resilience of anti-Semitism in its most lethal forms.”

  

Anti-Semitic acts last crested in the US in 2004, when 1,821 incidents were reported, according to the ADL audit.  In 2005, the total number of incidents decreased to 1,757 incidents.

  

Other incidents detailed in the report included anti-Semitic graffiti being spray-painted on cars and mailboxes near a New York synagogue and at least 70 headstones being overturned at a Jewish cemetery in Chicago.

 

  

The report found that while physical attacks were declining, hate groups were increasingly using the Internet to spread their message. Groups such as the National Socialist Movement and Ku Klux Klan actively contributed to the continued Internet circulation of anti-Jewish conspiracy charges and theories of Jewish control of government, finance and the media.

 

ADL said that while it was difficult to quantify anti-Semitic incidents on the web, the number of hate sites had multiplied in 2007.

           

There are literally thousands of hate sites found on the Internet, and these continued to multiply in 2007, it said. Many of these sites include Internet radio shows and downloadable music and games with anti-Semitic themes and propaganda. 

 

The audit stresses that extremists also continued to exploit social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, and You Tube and blogs, using text messages and videos to propagate anti-Semitism.

 

"While the downward trend in numbers of incidents is clearly welcome, and may reflect some degree of success of security programs and preventive countermeasures, it does not mean that we should become complacent," Glen S. Lewy, ADL's national chairman, said. 

 

"We continue to work diligently with communities and law enforcement, so that the message that this kind of behavior is unacceptable is clearly understood by anti-Semites."

           

The 2007 Audit comprises data from 40 states and the District of Columbia, including official crime statistics as well as information provided to ADL’s regional offices by victims, law enforcement officers and community leaders.