U.S. Anti-Semitism on Rise Since Sept. 11
ADL says it reverses decade-long decline in anti-Jewish sentiment

June 12, 2002

Anti-Semitic sentiment in the United States has risen after the Sept 11. attacks and the upsurge in Palestinian-Israeli violence, reversing a decade-long decline in anti-Jewish sentiment, a prominent Jewish organization said on Tuesday.

The Anti-Defamation League said a survey of 1,000 Americans aged 18 or older conducted in early 2002 showed 17 percent of Americans were strongly anti-Semitic, up from the 12 percent seen in the previous survey four years earlier.

The survey said 48 percent of Americans hold no prejudices against Jews, down from 53 percent in 1998. It had a margin of error of 3 percent.

"We believe that September 11 and the Mideast conflict have clearly had an impact. As these life-altering events have transformed us as a nation, they have also triggered the anti-Semitism that was already there, but buried beneath the surface," said Abraham Foxman, ADL national director.

Incidents of anti-Jewish attacks, mostly harassment and intimidation, rose in 2002, the ADL said. Between January and May 2002, the ADL reported 626 incidents, compared to 564 in the same period last year.

The survey showed a slight increase in anti-Jewish sentiment to 12 percent among white Americans from the 9 percent seen in 1998. The number of African-Americans with strong anti-Semitic beliefs remained steady at 35 percent.

Foxman said the survey showed what he called a distressing increase in anti-Semitism from America's fastest-growing ethnic group, Hispanics.

The survey showed that 44 percent of foreign-born Hispanics hold strongly anti-Semitic views, while 20 percent of Hispanics born in the United States were strongly anti-Jewish.

The ADL was founded in 1913 to fight anti-Semitism and other forms of religious, ethnic and racial discrimination.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=175338&contrassID=
1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0