Officials say hate crimes against Jews are growing in the aftermath of Gaza violence

May 26, 2021 ☼ anti-semitismhamasgazaisrael

Source: MPR News - Link

In Los Angeles, authorities say they are investigating an attack on Jewish diners outside of a sushi restaurant by passersby who were reportedly seen wearing Palestinian flags and heard on video shouting “F*** you” and “You guys should be ashamed of yourselves.” The shouting soon turned violent, devolving into kicking and punching. Salam Al-Marayat, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, condemned the incident, telling the Los Angeles Times the attackers “did not represent our community.”

“They did not represent any of our organizations, and they definitely do not represent the Palestinian cause that we feel is just,” said Al-Marayat.

The surge in anti-semitic incidents comes at a moment when such attacks were already elevated. In 2019, the Anti-Defamation League recorded more than 2,100 cases of assault, vandalism and harassment against Jews across the U.S., the most since tracking began in 1979. In 2020, the number was the third-highest on record, Greenblatt told The Washington Post, even as coronavirus shutdowns kept millions of Americans at home.

The latest uptick follows a familiar pattern of anti-semitic hate crimes in the aftermath of violent episodes between Israel and the Palestinians. Since data collection began in 1992, some of the worst months of the last three decades have come in response to conflict in the region, according to data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

Any violence is despicable and does not advance anyone’s so-called agenda.