WASHINGTON — The Anti-Defamation League has released their latest Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which found what they call an alarming level of incidents reported across D.C., Maryland and Virginia with a notable increase from just one year ago.
In 2021, the most recent data in D.C. showed 53 incidents, which determined a 179% increase; 55 in Maryland showed a 175% increase and 46 in Virginia showed a 64% increase, all when compared with one year before in 2020.
“We are deeply concerned by the volume of antisemitic incidents reported across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia in 2021,” Meredith Weisel, the Regional Director at the ADL in D.C., said. “It is particularly troubling that Maryland and D.C. saw such pronounced increases in reported incidents this year, and that levels of antisemitic activity in Virginia remain alarmingly high.”
Weisel went on to emphasize that, with D.C., Maryland and Virginia all ranking in the top 15 jurisdictions with the most reported antisemitic incidents in the country, ADL’s work in the region is more important than ever.
“We must work together to combat the spread of bigotry and hate in our communities,” she said.
Already, WUSA9 has reported on several antisemitic incidents in 2022.
In early January, a man was arrested in connection to several drawings of swastikas found outside of Washington Union Station on the morning of Jan. 28, one day after Holocaust Remembrance Day.
On Feb. 20, the City of Bowie Police Department began investigating anti-semitic flyers that were left in residential driveways along Crosswick Turn. Police found cards with antisemitic and political propaganda placed in plastic bags, weighted down with corn, throughout many driveways.
Just a day later, Fairfax County Police investigated after an antisemitic incident unfolded that closely mimicked the situation in Bowie.
In July of 2021, dozens of Jewish groups and allies united in D.C. to bring awareness to the recent rise in antisemitism that was clear at the time. A week before the rally, several cars were vandalized with swastikas in a Woodbridge, Virginia neighborhood.