HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – A dramatic increase in reports of hate and attacks on people in the Jewish Community across the nation and here in Virginia, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
News 3 has reported about hateful flyers showing up in Hampton Roads neighborhoods.
Governor Youngkin’s Office reports that hateful flyers have popped up in 100 towns and cities across the state along with a spike in antisemitic reports of assaults, vandalism and harassment.
Rabbi Gershon Litt is the Executive Director of the Hillel at the William and Mary campus, the Jewish student organization.
“This is nothing new. This is something that we have been dealing with forever,” said Litt.
He said he takes students on trips to Jerusalem and asks them if they have personally experienced antisemitism. He said in years past about 10% to 20% would raise their hands, but recently he said almost all the students raised their hands.
The Anti-Defamation League says in 2022 there were almost 3,700 incidents reported to them which is a 36% increase compared to the year prior.
“That is quite alarming because it's also the third time in the past 5 years that the yearend total has been the highest number ever recorded,” said Meredith Weisel, the Anti-Defamation League Regional Director in the D.C. Office.
She said Virginia ranks 13th for the number of incidents with 69 in total for 2022 which is a 50 percent increase over last year.
“It totally corresponds to the rise of antisemitic attitudes that we've also seen,” said Weisel. She said the attitudes have come from certain celebrities and high-profile people like Kanye West along with people in the day to day communities.
Weisel said the negative, hateful speech is too acceptable.
“When individuals like Kanye West, who make anti-Semitic statements on social media, that resonates with some people, and it motivates perpetrators to act out,” said Weisel.
She said crimes against Jewish people are under reported and there is no one exact reason for the increase but attribute some of it to organized white supremacist propaganda activity.
Due to the number of problems – the Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares created a statewide task force to investigate.
“It’s ignorance, it’s scapegoating. It’s the same thing we’ve seen forever and the more polarized our society gets in the more that blame shows it’s ugly face,” said Litt.
To break down those barriers, Litt says education is key.
“As much as the people that hate want to put out their lies, it’s our job to counter that with the truth and the only way we can countered is to increase awareness, talk about the reality and what is the history of the Jewish people,” said Litt.
