Antisemitic incidents in the United States rose by about 400% in slightly over two weeks since war broke out in the Middle East after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, advocacy group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said Wednesday.

THE TAKE

The advocacy group’s data – which showed a 388% rise in antisemitic incidents in the US between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23 over the prior year – comes amid monitoring by American authorities of domestic threats due to the conflict.

THE NUMBERS

The ADL Center on Extremism said preliminary data showed 312 reported US antisemitic incidents from Oct. 7 to Oct. 23, including harassment, vandalism and assault.

About 190 of those were directly linked to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Among examples cited by ADL were alleged physical assault; violent online messages, especially on messaging platform Telegram; and rallies where “ADL found explicit or strong implicit support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel.”

In the same period of 2022, ADL recorded 64 US antisemitic incidents, of which four were linked to Israel.

Antisemitism was already rising in the US before the war. Nearly 3,700 antisemitic incidents were recorded in 2022, more than in any year since ADL began tracking the issue in 1979.

KEY QUOTE

“When conflict erupts in Israel, antisemitic incidents soon follow in the US and globally,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, urging authorities to provide security and support to Jewish communities.

CONTEXT

The US Justice Department has said it is monitoring rising threats against Jews and Muslims amid the conflict. President Joe Biden has condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack killed over 1,400 people and Israel’s air strikes on Gaza have since killed over 5,700 Palestinians as of Tuesday, according to Gaza officials.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Wednesday showed a purported note from one of the members of the Hamas which has the message for the terror group to “sharpen the blades” for their enemies who are “incurable disease”.

“You must sharpen the blades of your swords and be pure in your intentions before Allah. Know that the enemy is a disease that has no cure, except beheading and tearing out their hearts and livers,” the purported note of Hamas read.

IDF shared the note on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and said that terror group Hamas is “very clear” about its intentions.

“Know that this enemy of yours is a disease that has no cure, other than beheading and extracting the hearts and livers!”

This note was found on a Hamas terrorist from the October 7 massacre. It was handed to him by Hamas commanders in Gaza as encouragement to behead their… pic.twitter.com/B2Kx2znuGj

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 25, 2023

“This note was found on a Hamas terrorist from the October 7 massacre. It was handed to him by Hamas commanders in Gaza as an encouragement to behead their victims and tear out their hearts and livers. Hamas is very clear about its intentions,” IDF posted on X.

Earlier in the day, Israel announced that it would deny visas to the UN officials after remarks by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that questioned Israeli actions in Gaza stating that the October 7 attacks “didn’t happen in a vacuum”, The Times of Israel reported.

“Due to his remarks, we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives,” Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan told Army Radio.

“We have already refused a visa for Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths,” Erdan said. “The time has come to teach them a lesson.”

Erdan had also called on Guterres to resign “immediately” calling him “unfit” to lead the UN.

Earlier on Tuesday, during a Security Council meeting, the UN chief said “It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” claiming that “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”

He added, “They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced; and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.”

Lambasting the UN chief after his remarks, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen stated, “Mr. Secretary-General, in what world do you live?” He rebutted as he addressed the Security Council. “Definitely, this is not our world.”

Following this, Cohen also cancelled a private meeting with Guterres, saying that there is “no place” for a “balanced approach”.

The October 7 attacks by Hamas killed at least 1,400 Israelis and wounded more than 4,500. The major offensive included the firing of thousands of rockets at Israel and the infiltration of the Jewish state by terrorist forces.

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