California Jews Are Most Targeted Religious Group, New Government Report Says

Members of California’s Jewish community are the group for most targeted for hate crimes motivated by religion, according to a new report by state’s Attorney General office, which has tracked data on religious-bias crimes since 1995.

According to the report, antisemitic hate crimes increased by 24 percent in 2022, with 189 counted — 37 more than occurred in 2021.

Notable incidents from the year include one from May 2022 in which a white supremacist group calling itself the Goyim Defense League (GDL) drove through West Hollywood and Beverly Hills in a truck exhibiting disturbing antisemitic messages. In Santa Monica, fliers blaming Jews for covid-19 vaccines were posted at several elementary and middle schools. Containing a red and green Star of David with “anti-vaxxer” written in white block letters, they were also tacked on the walls, and in one instance, a crate of books. Another was posted to an electrical unit.

Additionally, in Oct., the GDL in Oct. hung an antisemitic banner over the 405 freeway, an act inspired by Kanye West’s manic outbursts about antisemitic conspiracies of Jewish power and control around that time. Both incidents prompted Governor Gavin Newsom (D) to address the issue in a statement condemning antisemitism and noting the state legislature’s efforts to support Jewish life and promote tolerance.

The GLD has been active across the US and the world. On Friday, its leader, Jon Minadeo, 40, was arrested during an antisemitic demonstration staged outside a synagogue in Bibb County, Georgia. In February, GDL crashed the Daytona 500 speedway race, holding up signs that said, “Henry Ford was right about the Jews” and “Communism is Jewish.” That same month, one of its members, 41 year old Canadian citizen Robert Wilson flashed on the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam an offensive message alluding to a conspiracy which claims that the pen Anne Frank used to write diary entries was not invented during World War II.

“This report is a stark reminder that there is still much work to be done to combat hate in our state. I urge local partners and law enforcement to review these findings and recommit to taking action,” California attorney general Rob Bonta said last Tuesday in a statement. “The alarming increases in crimes committed against Black, LGBTQ+, and Jewish people for the second year in a row illustrates the need for our communities to join together unified against hate.”

Hate crimes of all kinds against Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Whites, Muslims, and Gay men in California have increased immensely since 2013, the report noted, showing 100 percent increases for each category.

Antisemitic incidents in the United States increased 36 percent in 2022, according to an annual audit issued by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in March. The ADL recorded 3,697 incidents — ten per day — across the US, the highest ever since the group began track them in 1979.

Incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault all spiked by double digits and occurred most frequently in New York, California, New Jersey, Florida, and Texas, which accounted for 54 percent of the ADL’s data. New York had the most, with 580 incidents. California came in second, with 518.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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