Global Antisemitism News Roundup, April 2022
ADL REPORTS HIGHEST LEVEL OF ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS EVER IN 2021
Antisemitic incidents tracked in the 2021 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents by the Anti-Defamation League reached an all-time high of 2,717 in the United States last year – an average of more than seven incidents per day and a 34 percent increase year over year, including assaults, harassment and vandalism. This is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.
UKRAINIAN HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS LAND IN ISRAEL ON THE EVE OF YOM HASHOAH
Survivors of the greatest antisemitic attack in history flee to Israel for safety in 2022. 300 to 500 Holocaust survivors have taken refuge in Israel since the start of the war in Ukraine on Feb. 24.
“I never thought that this is what would happen again — that at my age I would have to again flee a war and again hear the sounds of bombs going off around me,” said Ninel Zhilinska, an 88-year-old survivor on the flight, according to The Times of Israel. “I was a refugee in 1941 and now I’ve become a refugee again.”
ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKS UP FOUR HUNDRED PERCENT IN PARTS OF NEW YORK
Agudath Israel of America, Jewish Community Relations Council-New York, and other organizations expressed alarm at an increase of 400% over last year in antisemitic hate crimes in Brooklyn and Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including heavily Jewish neighborhoods such as Williamsburg. This is in the wake of two incidents during the first weekend in April.
SEE ALSO:
NYPD report on hate crimes comparing March 2021 and March 2022, which reveals that over one-third of all hate crimes reported in New York City are directed against Jews—the largest number against any group this year.
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TRAM DEATH IN FRANCE AN ACCIDENT?
Jeremy Cohen’s family claim that the 31-year-old French Jew’s death near Paris from being hit by a tram was due to antisemitic violence rather than being a mere accident. A recently released video shows Cohen under attack by a large group from whom he fled prior to being struck by the tram. Cohen’s relatives claim that he was attacked by the gang due to the fact that he wore a kipah. Cohen died after being taken to a local hospital. The video of Cohen being assaulted and chased by a gang of about ten people has spread widely on social media in France and elsewhere.
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NY GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES OVER $15 MILLION TO COMBAT HATE
New York Governor Kathy Hochul attended an anti-hate crime rally at Queens College where she announced nearly $16 million in grants to strengthen safety and security measures for institutions run by nonprofit organizations at risk of hate crimes or attacks including religious schools and synagogues.
“New York State’s diversity is our strength, yet too many New Yorkers continue to live in fear and today we say enough is enough…Hate, racism, and xenophobia have no place in our State, and this critical funding sends a clear message that New York stands united against individuals who seek to sow hatred and divide us.”
Throughout January, 15 different antisemitic incidents were reported, according to NYPD crime statistics. Black, Asian and LGBT groups have also been commonly targeted.
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BREAKING NEWS: PUTIN APOLOGIZES FOR ENVOY’S ANTISEMITIC REMARKS
In a phone call Thursday, May 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for incendiary comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week, the prime minister’s office said. Lavrov’s claim that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood,” and that “some of the worst antisemites are Jews” led to the worst flare-up between the countries since Russia invaded Ukraine. “The prime minister accepted the apology of President Putin for comments by Lavrov and thanked him for clarifying the president’s view of the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” Bennett’s office said.