In 2019, Pennsylvania experienced the secondhighest level of antisemitic activity ever recorded in the Commonwealth since tracking began in 1979, according to new data from ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).

The 2019 ADL Audit of Antisemitic Incidents recorded 109 antisemitic incidents statewide in Pennsylvania, a 22 percent increase over the previous yearThe number of incidents is 70 percent higher than Pennsylvania’s historic average of 64 incidents a year. The 2019 total capped an extraordinary 150 percent surge in antisemitic incidents in the Commonwealth over the past five years, making Pennsylvania thstate with the fifth-highest number of antisemitic incidents in the nation; only New York (430), New Jersey (345), California (330) and Massachusetts (114) had more last year. Incident Breakdown 

The ADL Audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs. The Audit classifies incidents into three categories: harassment, vandalism and assault. Of the total incidents reported in Pennsylvania in 2019: 

  • Harassment: There were 68 harassment incidents, a 36 percent increase over the previous year. ADL defines harassment as cases in which one or more Jews reported feeling harassed or threatened by antisemitic language or acts.  
  • Vandalism: There were 40 vandalism incidents, an 8 percent increase over the previous year. Swastikas, which are generally interpreted as symbols of antisemitic hatred, were present in 80 percent of these incidents. ADL defines vandalism as cases in which property was damaged in a manner that harmed or intimidated Jews.  
  • Assault: There was 1 assault incident, a decrease from 2 in 2018. Nationally, ADL tabulated 61 antisemitic assaults in 2019, a 56 percent increase from the previous year and the most ever recorded. ADL defines assaults as cases in which individuals were physically targeted with violence accompanied by evidence of antisemitic animus. 

Of the 109 antisemitic incidents across the state, 96% took place in 19 counties in eastern Pennsylvania, with the largest number of incidents occurring in Philadelphia County (52), Montgomery County (17) and Delaware County (8). ADL’s Philadelphia Regional Office saw increased antisemitic activity throughout its entire area of service, which includes 37 counties in eastern Pennsylvania, 7 counties in southern New Jersey and the entire state of Delaware. In 2019, ADL recorded 150 incidents in this region, marking a 159% increase over the past five years. Select Pennsylvania Incidents 

Below is a small sampling of antisemitic incidents in eastern Pennsylvania recorded by ADL in 2019. The full list of incidents can be accessed on ADL’s interactive H.E.A.T. (Hate, Extremism, Antisemitism, Terrorism) Map, found at www.adl.org/heat-map. 

  • JanuaryThe Loyal White Knights, a Klan group, distributed antisemitic and anti-immigrant fliers entitled, “The Cost of the Jew’s Open Border Policy.” (Montgomery County) 
  • January: Three university students compiled a “to-do list” that included shooting a Jewish student. (Philadelphia County) 
  • FebruaryA Jewish student at a middle school was harassed by another student who did the Sieg Heil Nazi salute in front of him. (Delaware County) 
  • February: A swastika was spray-painted on a sign in George Park in Harrisburg. (Dauphin County) 
  • March: A Jewish boy was verbally harassed by his coach and teammates with antisemitic comments. (Luzerne County) 
  • MarchA man on the street outside a public library shouted, “Jews and commies out of America” to passersby. (Bucks County) 
  • March: A white supremacist vandalized a public trash can with antisemitic graffiti. (Carbon County) 
  • March: A Jewish family’s new home was vandalized with four swastika carvings. (Adams County) 
  • April: A building was defaced with swastikas and upside-down crosses. (Lancaster County) 
  • AprilAt the Muslim American Society Islamic Center’s “Ummah Day” celebration in Philadelphia, young children made speeches, danced and lip-synced to songs that glorified violence against Jews and the State of Israel. (Philadelphia County) 
  • April: Various homes and cars were vandalized with spray-painted swastikas. (Northumberland County) 
  • MayThe Fallon Hotel was broken into and vandalized with antisemitic graffiti that included swastikas and the messages “kill all jewz,” “Jew bad… Nazi good.” (Clinton County) 
  • May: An antisemitic ad was published in two local newspapers, promoting an event entitled, “The Hoax of Dispensationalism: Why Christians Betray Jesus When They Defend Judaism, Zionism, and the State of Israel.” (Union County) 
  • JuneA man shouted antisemitic slurs at two employees of a Jewish community center in the center’s parking lot. (Lehigh County) 
  • June: A man carved “SS” bolts and a swastika into pillars at the Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial. (Philadelphia County) 
  • JulyA swastika, “88” and other symbols were drawn on a parking lot in Mount Pocono. (Monroe County) 
  • July: A furniture store was vandalized with swastika graffiti and the word “Jew,” though the owners of the store were not Jewish. (Bradford County) 
  • AugustJewish woman found a letter on her door calling her a thief, a crook, and a “Jew Rat.” (Philadelphia County) 
  • SeptemberJewish woman was targeted directly on Twitter with an antisemitic caricature. (Montgomery County) 
  • OctoberThe Iron Cross symbol was spray-painted on a synagogue in Northeast Philadelphia. (Philadelphia County) 
  • NovemberDuring Shabbat services, an agitator shouted antisemitic, anti-LGBT, and other hateful slurs at a synagogue. (Philadelphia County) 
  • DecemberA Jewish man received an anonymous text message that read, “See you soon, kike.” (Delaware County) 

National Incidents 

In 2019, ADL counted a total of 2,107 antisemitic incidents across the U.S., a 12 percent increase from the 1,879 incidents recorded in 2018. There were incidents reported in every state except Alaska and Hawaii. The audit found there were, on average, as many as six antisemitic incidents in the U.S. for each day in the calendar year – the highest level of antisemitic activity ever recorded by ADL. 

The year included five fatalities directly linked to antisemitic violence and another 91 individuals targeted in physical assaults. More than half of the assaults nationwide took place in the five boroughs of New York City, including 25 in Brooklyn alone. 

The full national audit can be found at https://www.adl.org/audit2019. 

How ADL is Responding 

ADL pursues a comprehensive approach to addressing antisemitic incidents and behavior. ADL is the largest anti-bias educator in the United Statesannually teaching hundreds of thousands of youth and adults to challenge antisemitism and other forms of bias in themselves and others. ADL is the largest non-governmental trainer of law enforcement in the nation, assisting over 15,000 law enforcement officers each year to better understand hate crimes and extremism. ADL is a tireless champion of civil rights for all, advocating at the federal, state and local levels for better prevention and response to antisemitism and all forms of hate. 

In the Philadelphia region, ADL works diligently to combat antisemitism and other forms of bias through investigation, advocacy and education. That work continued as antisemitism surged in the region in 2019, including: 

  • ADL Philadelphia trained 1,000 law enforcement professionals and provided investigative assistance in 30 extremism-related cases.  
  • ADL impacted over 300,000 students in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware through its No Place for Hate® and A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE™ Institute bias and bullying prevention programs in 2019 
  • ADL Philadelphia supported victims of antisemitism and other forms of biasbuilt diverse coalitions and worked with dozens of schools, campuses, workplaces and other institutions while responding to 500 requests for assistance in 2019.  
  • Last year, ADL led the charge to strengthen Pennsylvania’s hate crimes laws, and filed three amicus briefs to protect religious liberty in the Commonwealth.  

More information about ADL’s important work to combat hate in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware in 2019 can bfound at http://anyflip.com/myoj/vnxv/. 

ADL Policy Recommendations 

In response to the historic rise in antisemitic incidents over the past few years, ADL has made the following policy recommendations: 

  • Public officials and civic leaders should use their bully pulpits to speak out against antisemitism and all forms of hate and extremism. 
  • The Pennsylvania Legislature should hold hearings on the increase in hate crimes, the rise of extremist groups and proliferation of their propaganda, and support legislation that improves responses to hate crimes and domestic terror 
  • Pennsylvania should increase funding for non-profit security grants for synagogues and other houses of worship, schools and community centers. 
  • School districts should promote bias and bullying prevention and Holocaust education programs in elementary and secondary schools. Elected officials in Pennsylvania should help incentivize and equip schools to adopt effective anti-bias policies and programs. 
  • University leadership should respond firmly and forcefully to antisemitic acts on campus, including incidents that target Jewish students because of their actual or perceived support of the state of Israel.  

ADL’s Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 

Compiled using information provided by victims, law enforcement and community leaders, and evaluated by ADL’s professional staff, the ADL Audit provides a regular snapshot of one specific aspect of a nationwide problem while identifying possible trends or changes in the types of activity reported. This information assists ADL in developing and enhancing its programs to counter and prevent the spread of antisemitism and other forms of bigotry. 

The Audit offers one method to examine how American Jews encounter antisemitism, but a full understanding of antisemitism in the U.S. requires other forms of analysis as well, including but not limited to public opinion polling, assessments of online antisemitism and examinations of extremist activity, all of which ADL offers in other reports, such as ADL Global 100Quantifying Hate: A Year of Antisemitism on TwitterOnline Hate and Harassment: The American ExperienceMurder and Extremism in the United States in 2019, and the ADL Survey of American Attitudes Toward Jews. For a broader examination of antisemitism, read ADL’s new resource, Antisemitism Uncovered.  

The Audit of Antisemitic Incidents is a project of ADL’s Center on Extremism, whose work is supported in part by the following generous donors as well as numerous others: Roman Abramovich, the David Berg Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation, The Marlene Nathan Meyerson Family Foundation, New England Revolution Foundation, Rowland & Sylvia Schaefer Family Foundation, Inc., Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation, The Nancy K. Silverman Foundation, Louis Sobelman, Zegar Family Foundation and The ADL Lewy Family Institute for Combating Antisemitism. 

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ADL is a leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of antisemitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. ADL is the first call when acts of antisemitism occur. A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education and fighting hate online, ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate. More at www.adl.org.