Experiencing antisemitism has become a “persistent reality” for American Jewish communities as the number of antisemitic incidents in the San Diego region nearly quadrupled over the last five years, a 2024 audit by the Anti-Defamation League found.
In the 46 years ADL has measured antisemitic behavior in the U.S., this is the first time harassment, vandalism and assault directly referencing Israel made up more than half the total of recorded antisemitic incidents.
A key reason is the widespread opposition to Israel’s military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Heidi Gantwerk, chief executive officer and president of the Jewish Federation, said the audit is a “wake-up call” for Jewish and non-Jewish communities in San Diego.
“It is legitimate to criticize the government of any country, but the extreme nature of the criticism and outright hatred directed at Israel is, without question, a form of antisemitism,” Gantwerk said.
Gantwerk visited the Majdanek concentration camp in Lubin, Poland, last week to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz as a part of the March of the Living mission.
Majdanek was one of the largest Nazi concentration camps during World War II, holding around 500,000 people in its four years of existence.
Gantwerk said the descriptions of Jewish treatment and perception in 1940s Europe echoed what she sees in some communities today.
The Jewish Federation CEO said the organization’s posts on social media regularly garner comments with references to “gas chambers, threats, and overtly antisemitic hate speech.”
Antisemitic incidents, according to the audit, are defined as a circumstance indicating anti-Jewish hostility by a perpetrator or victimization due to a person’s or group’s Jewish identity.
In the last five years, antisemitic incidents in the county rose from 29 in 2020 to 139 in 2024.
Antisemitic incidents recorded by ADL in San Diego last year include:
139 total incidents of antisemitism—up 28% from 108 in 2023 105 incidents of harassment—up 19% from 88 in 2023 30 incidents of vandalism—up 67% from 18 in 2023 4 incidents of assault—up 100% increase from 2 in 2023 27 incidents on college campuses—up 125% from 12 in 2023 15 incidents at K–12 schools—down 29% from 21 in 2023San Diego had the third highest number of antisemitic incidents in California in 2024, behind Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to ADL.
Fabienne Perlov, the regional director of ADL San Diego, said the numbers are “deeply disturbing.”
“We need to stay away from extremist ideologies and create space for better understanding of our conditions,” Perlov said.
Perlov pointed to the increasing amount antisemitic behavior on college campuses in the region as a component of the overall increase.
More than 5,000 anti-Israel rallies were reported to ADL in 2024, and Perlov said around half of them contained antisemitic behavior.
The ADL report said it is “careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism.”
The ADL also states on its website that the vilification and negation of Zionism—the movement for Jewish self-determination and statehood—is antisemitic.
“ADL believes that one can advocate for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination while also respecting the Jewish right to self-determination,” the website stated.
Perlov supported that distinction.
She said the chant commonly heard at rallies, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” was recorded as an antisemitic incident, whereas “Free Palestine” was not.
UC San Diego was one of 60 universities targeted by the Department of Education in an investigation for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
The investigation coincided with other disciplinary moves by President Donald Trump’s administration against universities it considered too lax in combating antisemitism, including the deportation of some pro-Palestinian campus activists.
Around 40 international students at UCSD and San Diego State University have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration in the last month, although around half of them were recently reinstated.
“Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem — it is a societal problem, and the time to act is now,” Perlov said.
There were a total of 9,354 antisemitic incidents nationwide last year, with 14% of incidents occurring in California.
Incidents targeting Jewish institutions decreased in the U.S. last year, while such incidents increased by 57% in California, including a surge in Orange County synagogue bomb threats in early 2024.
The majority of incidents included in the ADL audit were reported to the organization directly by Jewish victims, the audit stated.
Other incident data comes from law enforcement agencies and Jewish organizations that partner with ADL, including both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment, vandalism and assault.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Antisemitism becomes ‘persistent reality’ for Jewish Americans in San Diego, report finds )
Also on site :
- Ukraine doing West’s ‘dirty work’ in Africa – Sudanese official
- 'He knows where to find me,' Newsom responds to Trump administration arrest threat
- Two people killed by falling trees and thousands without power after storms sweep southern states