Lies, damned lies and statistics
Lies, damned lies and statistics
... contrived to justify sweeping legislative changes - when in fact FBI official data proves Islamophobia is the biggest issue.
Article updated: Tue 30th April 2024 (Sleekit Scotsman ☮️🏴 articles are updated periodically to add latest information on the subject of the article for relevance)
Synopsis
We hear about the huge increase in antisemitism in the US which is the argument used by the ADL over many years to pressure Congress for exceptional measures to protect the Jewish population.
However the statistics behind the justification are rarely questioned.
It turns out that these statistics are opaque, proprietary to the ADL and vastly overinflated compared to the only official data provided by the FBI. The FBI are careful to only reference this data themselves when discussing hate crime with minorities indicating the veracity of the data.
It also in fact reveals Islamophobia and Anti-Arab hate to be a greater issue in the US that antisemitism from these statistics.
This article shows the true picture based on official data and examines the issues with the ADL data.
It is urgent the ADL is held accountable for the skewed data since the statistics are being used to try to justify legislation that is being rushed through Congress right now (April 2024) to create a permanent Government Department for Antisemitism - as defined by the ADL.
Effectively institutionalising a pro-Israeli position in the Government permanently by law.
Video Synopsis
Contents
OFFICIAL FBI HATE CRIME STATISTICS
Statistics: Must be comparable: proportionally as % of minority population
How much Islamophobic and Anti-Arab Hate Crime is actually reported?
ADL OWN ANTISEMITISM STATISTICS
PERSPECTIVE: OTHER CATEGORIES OF CRIME
APPENDIX A: Summary Middle East Conflict Events
APPENDIX B: Description of ADL Antisemitism Data Methodology
FOREWORD
This article looks at the bespoke presentation of ADL hate crime data despite there being a common source of truth dataset available from the FBI.
All hate crime is reprehensible and regardless using the FBI Data antisemitism is still indisputably the largest category of religious hate crime in the US by reported incidents.
However this article looks at the data in some more detail revealing a different picture.
INTRODUCTION
We hear about the huge increase in antisemitism in the US which is the argument used by the ADL over many years to pressure Congress for exceptional measures to protect the Jewish population.
The justification is often given in statistics - which are often not reviewed.
There is only one source of truth of hate crime statistics from the FBI which the ADL do not use - for good reason.
The ADL publish their own “2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents” summary report on data they gather themselves which is at best opaque, non-comparable and on review of what methodology description is provided - completely subjective and inaccurate.
The ADL have specifically since October 7th gone into overdrive to accelerate the collection of statistics on antisemitism already skewed through a self-serving methodology prior to that date.
On October 7th the ADL quietly CHANGED their own definition and methodology used to record the data which greatly inflates the already disingenuously overstated numbers.
Also since October 7th a flurry of legislation and motions pro-Israel have been passed through Congress the majority of whom are heavily funded by pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC.
On 9th April 2024 a new Bill “The Countering Antisemitism Act” was introduced to Congress. It would have hugely far-reaching and permanent consequences, summarised by the ADL themselves:
“the most comprehensive antisemitism initiative ever to be introduced in Congress and… ensure its policies and infrastructure are made permanent”
“create lasting executive structures to prioritize and fight antisemitism, including a National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism and a dedicated Task Force that meets regularly to coordinate efforts to fight antisemitism across federal agencies”
“address the scourge of antisemitism on college and university campuses across the country”
Basically an INSTITUTIONAL pro-Israeli Government Department, permanent and legislated as part of Federal Government across multiple agencies. That is not an exaggeration (an article describing this legislation in addition to other pro-Israel legislation in Congress is in the RELATED ARTICLES section at the bottom of this one).
Attached to this far-reaching legislation to justify its introduction - despite multiple safeguards and specific legislation already existing for the Jewish community - are these bogus statistics for one. Again in the ADL’s own words:
The 2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents documents historic levels of antisemitism in the United States which require a concerted whole-of- government, whole-of-society response.
This is blatantly untrue.
This article explains why - the intention being that anyone in discussion with US Government or the ADL has the information to hand to refute their bogus statistics and encourage the data to be scrutinised exposing the deception.
This would ALSO show that in fact - using official data recorded using legislated methodology and maintained by the FBI - that Islamophobia is in fact a greater issue than antisemitism.
A fact the ADL do not want you to see.
The Bottom Line
The remainder of this article is unashamedly statistical and scrutinising of the ADLs statistics and methodology to conclude their deceptive representation of the data on antisemitism. This prevents review against Islamophobia and other categories of hate crime in what would be a fair comparison.
The headline is:
The ADL makes up its own data which is inflated and this is quoted by the ADL, politicians and media - and more worryingly used to justify new legislation
OFFICIAL DATA that is consistent, verifiable and can be compared to other hate crime - is the only fair way to determine the impact of hate crime informing such crucial legislative decisions
Using the OFFICIAL data - Muslim and anti-Arab hate crime is in fact a greater issue than antisemitism
Why is this? The statistical norm of comparison.
In religious hate crime statistics it is true that antisemitism is the largest absolute figure of reported incidents.
However the Muslim and Arab American population of the US is just 0.66% and yet is the second largest category of religious hate crime behind antisemitism (with a much larger Jewish population of 2.4%).
This is why the only meaningful comparison is not individual incident numbers but incident numbers relative to population size to see how much of an issue hate crime is for the community.
This comparison is the standard method of determining the statistical significance of data - and hence why important standard comparable data sets must be used.
Using this we can see Muslim & Arab American hate has been a larger issue than Antisemitism over a 10 year period.
The rest of this article is fairly dry stats (but important to verify and for people to quote in case pro-Israeli lobbyists try to call BS) and a rant! ✊
To avoid the stats - jump to the CONCLUSION section of this article for the impact which is the key point !
Let that sink in….
The official Government data provided by the FBI shows that statistically Islamophobia is a bigger issue than antisemitism
ADLs proprietary data which it produces itself grossly inflates the antisemitism figures and cannot be cross referenced with other populations to validate statistical significance (even assuming those populations used exactly the same convoluted capture methodology which they would not)
Other minority groups likely do not have the resources or time to run proprietary surveys and data capture as the ADL do even if they wanted to.
Regardless a central source of truth using consistent data needs to be used for comparison and that must be the FBI store designed specifically for this purpose through Government legislation.
Which leads to some key questions:
How can a case be made for exceptional treatment of a minority population when justification for this are based off statistics that cannot be compared with other populations to validate the exceptional measures?
Who actually challenges these stats? Clearly not the media or politicians.
Why is this not happening ahead of the introduction of the most sweeping legislation on “antisemitism” to effectively institutionalise a pro-Israeli Department in the Federal Government?
Are they going to introduce this legislation? With a bipartisan AIPAC-funded stacked House and a President desperate to appease Israel ahead of the election - you bet.
See Biden’s ominous comment at the end of his 21st April 2024 very long pacifying Passover Statement1:
OFFICIAL FBI HATE CRIME STATISTICS
This section looks at the source-of-truth for hate crime statistics and how to meaningfully compare that data to gain insights into the impact of hate crime for one population relative to another.
FBI Official Source of Truth for Hate Crime Data
The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 mandated recording crimes by category of bias. The FBI Unified Crime Reporting (UFC) Program records these crimes across the categories of hate crime bias specified in the Act and any subsequent revisions.2
The FBI publishes this data on their FBI Crime Data Explorer Website up to 2022 and it remains the only official source of reported hate crime data in the US.
The Director of the FBI Christopher Wray spoke at an ADL Conference in 20223 and was careful to quote these official statistics when discussing antisemitic hate crime indicating their role as the source-of-truth saying:
“63% of religious hate crimes are motivated by antisemitism—targeting a group that makes up just 2.4% of our population”
This sounds like a worrying statistic but using absolute values does not give an accurate picture here.
To Director Wray’s point on the Jewish population size being “just 2.4% of our population” indicates the statistical significance of population size.
Therefore in comparing this hate crime category with others the population size and proportional impact on that population must be taken into account as is the norm in statistical analysis.
For example in the category of Gender, Sexual Orientation and Identity bias, the actual number of incidents in the Trans Community might look small. But when compared with actual small population of that community it may be proportionally much higher than other groups in this same category and statistically significant.
It is the same for comprising Antisemitism and Anti Muslim/Arab Bias. The Jewish population is much greater than the Muslim and Arab American population so the numbers need to be reviewed proportionally.
Statistics: Must be comparable: proportionally as % of minority population
Muslims are the second largest minority group affected by religious hate crime well ahead of others (Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Hindus, Sikhs etc).
The population of Jewish people (2.4%) is much larger than the Muslim community (0.6%) so a relative comparison is required proportionally expressing hate crime as a % of the overall minority population.
The Charts above show:
Chart 1 (Red): ADL Figures - Incorrect: Cannot Compare - absolute values of religious hate crime incidents do not take into account the much larger Jewish population vs. Muslims
Chart 2 (Green): Correct: Able to Compare - comparison of religious hate crimes proportionally expressed as a % of the overall minority population
This shows that the impact of Islamophobic hate crime incidents relative to the population are VIRTUALLY THE SAME as that of antisemitic incidents.
But you must add in a second category of hate crime for accuracy.
Accurate Comparison: Include Arab American Hate Crime
The most accurate comparison would be to include Arab American Ethnic Hate Crimes in the statistics.
It is in fact more likely that in the face of aggression in the Middle East over the last decade a hate crime would be committed against an Arab - the majority of whom are Muslims - without any knowledge of whether the person was Iranian, Jordanian or from some other neutral or allied Middle Eastern country never mind their religion.
This combined scenario is shown below in Chart 3 (Blue):
Chart 3 (Blue): Accurate Comparison: Combining Muslim & Arab American statistics. Comparison of hate crime incidents proportionally expressed as a % of a larger combined minority population.4
This shows that the impact of Islamophobic & Arab American hate crime incidents relative to the population are GREATER than that of antisemitic incidents.
How much Islamophobic and Anti-Arab Hate Crime is actually reported?
Remember these statistics are just REPORTED crime.
As noted over many years the US has been fighting wars in the Middle East. Middle East conflict in particular involving American troops would naturally result in tensions in the community on a visibly different ethnic group associated with Middle Eastern conflict instantly recognisable through skin tone never mind clothing.
In the face of US soldier deaths or injury in Middle East conflicts and the salacious demonisation of Arabs by the US media is is very likely that Islamophobic crime would be committed against randomly against an Arab.
In terms of policing - it is likely that many officers would be ex-military or at least very sympathetic to a fellow uniformed US service.
It would be only natural that Arab Americans would feel nervous reporting hate crime incidents to a uniformed police service in America where embedded racism already exists for many other ethnic groups, exacerbated by the news.
Therefore is it not unreasonable to assume that these statistics - still greater relative to a small population than antisemitism as they stand - are in fact understated.
What is particularly ironic is that many Arab Americans from overseas countries choose to come to America to specifically escape repression in their own countries, Iran as a case in point. This is either voluntarily pre-emptive migration before conflict starts, due to political repression on individuals seeking political asylum or as a the small number of humanitarian refugees let into America.
The racist treatment of the three Muslim politicians in the House is the most readily visible example of blatant Islamophobia from politicians never mind their demonisation in the media - which must contribute towards fomenting Islamophobia in broader American society.
APPENDIX A provides a summary list of Middle East conflict events during the 2012-2022 10 year reporting period in the FBI hate crime data for illustration, with a summary of even more conflicting events in the previous decade.
Many will recall the tensions with the Arab American community during these two decades with shocking images of atrocities against captured westerners by ISIS and Al Queda. This fomented aggression from racist right-wing groups in America who faced a rise and tolerance during the Trump years.
Trump in fact made very many directly Islamophobic comments adding fuel to the fire and in 2017 passed Executive Order 13769 - the “Muslim Ban” titled “Protecting the nation from foreign terrorists entry into the USA”. This basically mandated blanket bans on migration from Muslim countries. Although blocked in the Courts this indicated the height of Islamophobia during this time5.
So Islamophobia would have been terrifyingly rife during those decades and with the skewed American media stirred to turmoil. It is quite frankly surprising reported Isalmophobic and anti-Arab hate crime is so low, for those that do have the courage to speak up.
ADL OWN ANTISEMITISM STATISTICS
Official 2023 reported hate crime data has not yet been published by the FBI but the ADL has published “audit data” from 2023 on its website noting “an exponential increase in hate crime for 2023”.
The report is on the ADL website at this link where there is a page of summary highlights and catchy infographics and link to the report which you can have emailed to you. The report itself doesn’t actually give more insight other than provide soundbytes of shocking antisemitic incidents and a description of the methodology which is not convincing (reproduced in APPENDIX B).
Furthermore there is ZERO option to interrogate the data to review unlike the FBI Statistics.
The Infographics can be sent via forms direct to Representatives or Governors to lobby for changing antisemitism laws referencing these stats.
The stats have been touted in the media and attached to legislation recently introduced into Government - so a multi-channel approach to normalise and sanction their use.
But the data is contrived, self-serving and vastly overstated.
It is amazing it has not been torn apart by any media to date.
ADL Proprietary Antisemitism Statistics
The report reveals this is using ADLs own methodology to produce these.
APPENDIX B contains the methodology description in the report but the difference between the official FBI Data and the ADL Data is summarised in the table below:
The ADL Data is:
recorded internally and opaquely
uses VASTLY OVERFLATED NUMBERS compared to official FBI data. For example in 2022 the FBI figure for antisemitic hate crime was 1,411 yet the figure quoted by the ADL is 3,698 - some 62% HIGHER than the actual recorded figure.
the reason for the over-inflation is the definitions of data the ADL has chosen to use and channels collected:
takes in non-criminal data vs. criminal (official - assume this is reported which is the official FBI Data - unless there is some other definition here too with a larger dataset)
takes a broader definition of “antisemitism” to include anti-Israel and/or anti-Zionist in the categorisation used to capture the statistics - THIS IS CLEARLY INCORRECT
channels: includes ONLINE incidents - which MUST be a particularly large percentage of incidents from cowardly keyboard warriors - easy to do. This must be the most blatant, incomparable skew against serious physical crimes reported by the FBI.
since proprietary - cannot be compared with any other community for statistical analysis to take informed action
since the data is unavailable - you cannot query the different categories of data the ADL has collected and from what sources unlike the FBI Data
The data is all lumped together and presented as Gospel and used in PR exercises, media releases, TV interviews and lobbying - parroted by politicians and others.
ADL Methodology: Changed after October 7th to explicitly include criticism of Israel
As above, the report goes on to claim that there have been 8,873 incidents in 2023 with the vast majority occurring after October 7th
In terms of any spike in antisemitism data for 2023 mentioned by the ADL - all things equal the rise would unlikely to be related to October 7th since:
This was last quarter of the year
Hamas was the aggressor of atrocities on Oct 7th - any hate crime spike likely to be perpetrated on Islamic or Arab American groups
The magnitude of Israel’s perpetration of civilian deaths only became globally apparent in the final month or so of 2023 - unlikely to be a spike in conflict-related antisemitic reactionary hate crime
However - examination of the methodology used by the ADL notes that they specifically changed their methodology used after October 7th. Essentially the figures now explicitly include criticism of Israel’s war effort. Quoting the Methdology:
“Since October 7, 2023, ADL began to include in the Audit certain expressions of opposition to Zionism, as well as support for resistance against Israel or Zionists that could be perceived as supporting terrorism or attacks on Jews, Israelis or Zionists.
When they occur during public activism (such as at protests), in confrontations between individuals or in the form of vandalism (such as graeti), these expressions constitute an implicit attack on the great majority of American Jews who view a relationship with Israel to be an important part of their religious, cultural and/or social identities.”
So shifting the goal posts to count criticism of Israel (war) or Zionism (apartheid policies) is now included in the statistics hence the huge spike to “justify” the Bill.
Only The Guardian seems to have picked up on this so far - but has not made the connection between the data and the Bill. They note that even in the ADL there is internal dissatisfaction with the way the campaign is being run.6
ADL staff have been resigning complaining against he “dishonest campaign against criticism of Israel”
The Guardian goes on to note:
[The ADL’s antisemitism data] is “difficult to understand due to the questionable way The ADL defines antisemitism”
In view of the fact that Islamophobia would likely have a spike in hate crime during 2023 and the fact that hat crime is as much of an issue for the Muslim community as antisemitism is for the Jewish community - the 2010-2012 sample should still be considered an accurate representation for analysis whilst we wait for 2023 FBI Data.
ADL Data Sources: Multiple Channels of Reporting
Noting that it is clearly in the group’s interest to get the reported numbers as high as possible (whilst being unverifiable or reviewable) there is an incredible amount of channels for reporting. Going off those listed in the report:
Public reported ADL-Defined Antisemitism incidents to ADL direct (online form, email, phone)
Partner institution reported ADL-Defined Antisemitism incidents reported to those institutions and passed on to ADL:
BBYO
Community Security Initiative (CSI)
Community Security Service (CSS)
Chabad
Hillel International, Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) - monitoring campus protests
Jewish Federations of North America
Secure Community Network (SCN)
Union of Reform Judaism
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Israeli American Council (IAC)
ADLs own creation of ADL-Defined Antisemitism incidents from other channels not in any of the above (bear with me):
ADL monitoring media outlets and recording ADL-Defined Antisemitism
ADL online monitoring and recording ADL-Defined Antisemitism
This is quite staggering when you think about it. And wouldn’t it be useful to see where the spikes in data come from as you can with the FBI Data - but the ADL don’t publish.
And remember all this data is reported using the ADLs own pro-Israeli definition of antisemitism so already skewed.
Recall using these methodologies:
In 2022 the ADL reported data was 62% higher than the FBI official reported data
In 2023 the ADL changed the methodology from October 7th from the already inflated capture method - which exponentially increased their numbers for the last quarter of that year
And it is the 2023 data stating “a huge spike in antisemitism” that is directly being quoted to justify new permanent federally embedded Government departments by legislation….
No relative comparison with other populations
Noting that other communities would not have the funding or resources that the ADL does to produce similar data. But also noting it is very bespoke tot he community and skewed towards shutting down criticism of Israel.
Since there is no “standard” for recording religious hate crimes over and above the reliable FBI Statistics and Government legislative recording methdology - there can be no cross-comparison of the ADL Data with other communities.
This does not make for informed and reliable decision making in particular relative to the second largest category of religious hate crime, Islamophobia, on a much smaller community.
PERSPECTIVE: OTHER CATEGORIES OF CRIME
Whilst not diminishing the impact of religious hate crime, it is worth considering the perspective of this category of crime against others.
This indicates where investment and legislation would have the most impact.
To see the reasons why Congress moves quickly on antisemitism legislation but slowly on gun crime for example you only need to look at political funding (AIPAC, NRA) and the voting population support base in the case of gun crime - e.g. skews in the Republic Deep South.
The attitude to passing antisemitism related legislation does not typically reflect the views of the population - in particular when presented statistics cannot be relied on - AIPAC funding and difficult to understand stats overrides the will of the people.
Hate Crime: Race Hate Crime remains much greater problem
Reviewing the relativity between category of hate crime. Looking at the last 10 years Race Hate Crime forms the majority of hate crime at 58.21%. Religious bias hate crime is just 18.37% of the total followed by Sexual Orientation hate crime of the same order at 16.52%.
Race hate crime remains by far the greatest hate crime group to tackle.
How does hate crime stack up against gun crime?
Finally for relative perspective on hate crime vs others - in the same 10 year period, 14 times as many people died from gun murders than hate crime at 109,350.
This figure is just homicides - it EXCLUDES other huge numbers of gun-related deaths and injury:
gun crime resulting in injuries only (no matter how serious)
death by accidental shooting
injury (no matter how serious) by accidental shooting
death by suicide
injury (no matter how serious) by attempted suicide
Action here clearly isn’t a vote winner nor an NRA-funding winner proven historically which like the AIPAC funding is another scandal in itself as we know.
So again whilst not diminishing hate crime, it is worth considering the relativity in terms of actual number of incidents and impact on victims of particular categories of crime.
CONCLUSION
Right now (April 2024) when students are demonstrating on college campuses globally against Israel’s brutality in Gaza and the exposure of the brutality of the regime for decades agains the Palestinian people.
For self-serving political purposes - by a Congress stacked with AIPAC-funded politicians - their protest is being demonised by the catch-all antisemitic accusation and that it is pro-Hamas, pro-Rape and “hate marches” etc.
In reality it is a humanitarian position on the slaughter also criticising long-implemented Israeli Government policy as the perpetrators. Attitudes on Hamas are not monolithic across the population just as attitudes to Israel are not monolithic across the Jewish population.
Even the ADL’s own staff have been resigning from the organisation in complaint at underhand obfuscating tactics from the management noting they are uncomfortable campaigning against fellow Jewish people criticising Israel.
The students protest echoes the outrage felt globally. If the politicians won't do it, it needs done grassroots. Street protests, BDS and student encampments. Read the room.
The impacts of false demonisation are:
Devaluing true antisemitism for the benefit of a political situation in Israel - which is reprehensible in itself
Attempting to delegitimise freedom of speech and criticism of Israel - the true purpose of humanitarian protest
Cynically trying to justify continued foreign influence in the US Government
The presentation of the protests as antisemitic - together with the contrived and quite frankly dangerous statistics exposed in this article - are somehow presented as evidence for additional legislative changes to protect one minority. When of course the true purpose is to institutionalise the protection of Israel.
And the biggest irony is that the FBI Data proves Islamophobia to be the bigger issue.
The ADL has vast resources, funding an influence to be able to produce such polished statistics and data and PR gurus to spruik.
Other minority groups are less well funded and would not have the time or resources to do this.
The ADLs single community “audit” of hate crime using a bespoke methodology that cannot be compared to other groups is not a reliable source for taking policy decision relative to other groups who need it.
The “Countering Antisemitism Bill” should concern everyone - in particular when the ADL provides a note with its bogus statistics accompanying the Bill purports to speak for everyone:
The 2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents documents historic levels of antisemitism in the United States which require a concerted whole-of- government, whole-of-society response.
Apart from the skewed statistics - Congress is stacked with AIPAC-funded politicians too scared to go against the pro-Israel lobby. They are not accountable to national sentiment and are pushing legislation on behalf of Israel via AIPAC/ADL on the floor.
This is unconscionable.
It is no wonder FBI figures are never quoted by the ADL despite Director Wray quoting these in his address to them.
Lies, damned lies and statistics. But with more impact than Twain’s rant.
APPENDIX A: Summary Middle East Conflict Events
The time period of the FBI Data is 2012-2022. The data for 2023 has not been released yet as it is still being prepared but you would have to assume hate crime post October 7th would be much greater perpetrated against Arab Americans and Muslims - from the official statistics unlike the ADLs contrived view.
The below illustrated Middle East conflict over the last two decades. For the amount of conflict you may recall salacious media coverage and rage fomented against Arab Americans which would undoubtedtly fuel Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate crime.
Middle East Conflict 2012-2022
ISIS/Al Qaeda: continued graphic atrocities from these groups in the first part of the decade in particular
Osama Bin-Laden death: 2 May 2011
Arab Spring Revolts: 2010-2012
Muammar Gadaffi death: 20 October 2011 killed by revolt
Syria 2014: US Coalition intervening in the Syrian Civil War (2011-2018 primary conflict period)
Saudi Arabia 2018: Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in the Turkish Embassy
Afghanistan withdrawal 2021: US disastrous 20 year occupation ended in 2021. Many US troops killed over this period with Taliban moving in almost instantly and taking over again as the US evacuated.
Middle East Conflict 2001 - 2011
9/11: Sep 11 2001
Afghanistan 2001: US war toppling Taliban. Subsequent disastrous 20 year occupation with multiple US troops killed over the years fueling the rise of fundamentalist groups.
ISIS/Al Qaeda: The rise of these terrorist groups with terrible graphic atrocities on the screen
Iraq: 2003 war (occupied to 2011)
Lebanon War 2006: Fought by US ally Israel
Execution of Saddam Hussein: Dec 30th 2006
With so much conflict and demonisation of Arabs in the salacious media during the period with graphic images of atrocities and war - this would only foment hate rage in the population.
In particular with the rise of extremist right-wing groups during the Trump years.
During which Trump himself actually made many Islamophobic comments adding fuel to the fire shutting the borders to “Muslim Immigration” at one point.
APPENDIX B: Description of ADL Antisemitism Data Methodology
The following section is taken directly from the ADL’s self-published 2023 ADL Antisemitism Audit report under “Methodology”:
The ADL Audit of Antisemitic Incidents is comprised of both criminal and non- criminal incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations. It is not a public opinion poll or an effort to catalog every expression of antisemitism.
Incidents are dehned as vandalism of property, or as harassment or assault on individuals or groups, where either 1) circumstances indicate anti-Jewish animus on the part of the perpetrator, or 2) a reasonable person or group of people could plausibly conclude that they have been victimized due to their Jewish identity. Vandalism of Jewish cultural, educational, or religious institutions, as well as cemeteries, is generally included. Cases of robbery or theft are generally not included unless evidence of specihc antisemitic animus is present.
Online Content: The Audit includes cases where individuals or groups were harassed online via antisemitic content in direct messages, on listservs or in social media settings where they would have the reasonable expectation of not being subjected to antisemitism. The Audit does not attempt to assess the total amount of antisemitism online.
Credibility and tabulation: ADL carefully examines the credibility of all reported incidents, including obtaining independent verihcation when possible. Each antisemitic action is counted only once, regardless of how many times it has been reported to ADL. ADL counts certain “sprees” of incidents only once. For example, if antisemitic liers from an extremist group are distributed to several homes in one city over the course of a weekend, this is considered one incident for the purpose of the Audit. Similarly, if multiple expressions of antisemitism took place at a single public event, those expressions are only counted as one incident.
Israel and Zionism: Following the October 7 attack by Hamas, ADL updated its methodology regarding anti-Zionism. (Our original methodology can be found in Audit reports from previous years.)
ADL is careful to not conlate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism. Legitimate political protest, support for Palestinian rights or expressions of opposition to Israeli policies is not included in the Audit. ADL’s approach to Israel-related expressions comports with the IHRA dehnition of antisemitism.
Since October 7, 2023, ADL began to include in the Audit certain expressions of opposition to Zionism, as well as support for resistance against Israel or Zionists that could be perceived as supporting terrorism or attacks on Jews, Israelis or Zionists.
When they occur during public activism (such as at protests), in confrontations between individuals or in the form of vandalism (such as graeti), these expressions constitute an implicit attack on the great majority of American Jews who view a relationship with Israel to be an important part of their religious, cultural and/or social identities. Such rhetoric can be traumatizing to many American Jews and has led to their exclusion from some spaces simply because of that element of how they dehne and express their Jewishness. Physical scu}es or verbal insults between pro- and anti-Israel protestors are generally not included in the Audit unless the context suggests an antisemitic or anti-Zionist motivation for the assaults.
The Audit includes all cases of picketing of Jewish religious or cultural institutions for their perceived or real support for Israel. It does not include protests outside pro-Israel political activist groups or Israeli embassies/consulates unless those protests incorporate anti-Zionism, support for terrorism, or classic antisemitic tropes.
Burning or desecrating Israeli lags is not included in the Audit.
Swastikas: The appearance of swastikas, which are generally interpreted by Jews to be symbols of antisemitic hatred, are included in the Audit. However, swastikas are not included in circumstances when they appear to be targeting a different minority group. Swastikas used as a means of political protest on non-Israel- related issues are also not included. For example, in 2021, some Americans used swastikas, as well as references to Hitler and Nazi-era politics, in protests against COVID-19 public health measures and mask mandates; those incidents are not generally included in the Audit unless there is other evidence of antisemitic animus.
The Audit excludes the following types of incidents:
Antisemitic activities or statements which take place in private venues (e.g., at a private meeting) or in a manner that requires potential victims to “opt-in” in order to access them (e.g., by going to websites where unmoderated discussion occurs, looking at specihc individuals’ social media pages, etc.) Instances of discrimination (e.g., a Jewish employee not receiving an accommodation for Rosh Hashanah), unless the discrimination is accompanied by verbal harassment as described above.
General expressions of white supremacy or other hateful ideologies, unless those expressions include overt antisemitic elements.
Data Sources:
The majority of the incidents included in the Audit are reported to ADL directly by Jewish victims via our online form, email or phone message.
ADL Center on Extremism researchers also monitor media reports and other online spaces for credible reports of antisemitic incidents and extremist activity.
In 2021, the Audit began incorporating reports of antisemitic incidents from other Jewish organizations with whom ADL has established partnerships. In 2023 those organizations included BBYO, Community Security Initiative (CSI), Community Security Service (CSS), Chabad, Hillel International, Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), Jewish Federations of North America, Secure Community Network (SCN), Union of Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Israeli American Council (IAC). We thank these organizations for their ongoing efforts to help encourage reporting of antisemitic incidents. All incidents are assessed by ADL for credibility and are deduplicated before being included in the Audit. Incident totals reported in the ADL Audit may differ from totals announced by partner agencies due to methodological differences pertaining to how incidents are dehned and tabulated.
ADL appreciates the assistance of our many law enforcement partners who share information about antisemitic incidents and criminal activity with us. Many of those incidents are included in the Audit as well.
RELATED ARTICLES
Substack:
The Ultimate Bill: How AIPAC has a stranglehold on Congress and the concerning legislation bipartisan heavily-funded politicians are pushing through:
Iron Grip: Pro-Israeli Influence in US Politics
Pro-Israeli Influence in Hollywood - The Arts & Entertainment Industry:
The Kid's in the Picture... if you sign this Open Letter...
Pro-Israeli Influence in Academdia:
McCarthy Returns to the Campus
Statement on Antisemitism v Free Speech with review and examples of terminology and nuance.
Congress opportunistically redefining antisemitism (6 Dec):
Australia pro-Israeli Lobby:
Australian Pro-Israeli Lobby: Modus Operandi
White House Passover Statement 21 Apr 2024 - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/21/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-passover
FBI Website: About Hate Crime Statistics - https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/2010/resources/hate-crime-2010-about-hate-crime
FBI Website - 10 Nov 2022 - Directory Wray addresses Never Again Is Now ADL Conference - https://www.fbi.gov/news/speeches/director-wray-addresses-adl-never-is-now-summit-111022
A combined view of Islamophobic Hate Crime and Arab American Hate Crime would increase the number hate crimes for the combined group over 10 years from 1956 to 2613 (increase of 657 Arab American reported hate crimes over that period. The population compared against would be increased accordingly for accuracy - moving from 0.6% to 0.66% to represent the Arab American population for a more accurate figure.
Source of Arab American population data: US Census Raw Data Cube B04006: People Reporting Ancestry Census Data 2022 - Arab Americans - https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2022.B04006?q=B04006
Amnesty International UK Oct 6 2020 - “A LICENCE TO DISCRIMINATE: TRUMP'S MUSLIM & REFUGEE BAN“ - https://www.amnesty.org.uk/licence-discriminate-trumps-muslim-refugee-ban
The Guardian 5 Jan 2024 “Anti-Defamation League staff decry ‘dishonest’ campaign against Israel critics“ - https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024/jan/05/adl-pro-israel-advocacy-zionism-antisemitism