On Jan. 20, Voice of America reported that hate crimes increased across most major American cities over the year of 2022. While the FBI releases annual reports on hate crimes, it is noteworthy that their report for 2021 excluded New York City, Chicago and large parts of California.
“Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at the University of California San Bernardino, said while national hate crime trends generally mirror those of big cities, his data show a more modest uptick of 1.2% for the 20 cities surveyed,” VoA reported.
The report showed that African Americans remained the dominant target of hate crimes, though both hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community and Jewish people showed sharp increases. Antisemitic hate crimes in particular climbed 31% from 2021.
“We are living in a period of unease and unrest, whenever you live through these types of crises, people look for very simple solutions to complex problems. Antisemitism serves as an explanation for these problems and has been one for centuries” said Avinoam Patt, director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Connecticut in an online interview.
Dr. Patt remarked how comments made by celebrities have contributed to a situation where antisemitism has become increasingly mainstreamed in public discourse. He referenced both Kyrie Irving and Ye West, who in fall 2022 used their influence and position to promote conspiracy theories or threaten Jews and praise Adolf Hitler, according to the New York Times and Vox.
Both Irving and West referenced the Black Hebrew Israelite Movement in their statements, a conspiracy theory which claims African-Americans are the lost tribes of Israel, while Jewish people are impostors or active antagonists of the “real Jews,” according to the Southern Poverty Law…
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