Spate of anti-Jewish attacks in the U.S. draws calls for more forceful response
A series of attacks on Jews in the United States in recent days, linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, has increased pressure on law enforcement officials, lawmakers and the Biden administration to take more steps to quell antisemitic violence.
Since May 10, at least 26 instances of antisemitism have been reported across the United States, from Los Angeles to New York, according to the Anti-Defamation League and news reports. The cases range from protest signs calling Zionists “Nazis” to several physical attacks. There have also been at least four reported instances of vandalism at synagogues and Jewish community centers.
Among those targeted in the attacks was Joseph Borgen, 29, who was on his way to a pro-Israel rally in New York on Thursday and wearing a yarmulke when he was assaulted by a violent mob, he said in an interview.
“They were calling me a filthy Jew, a dirty Jew,” he said, adding: “They said, ‘Hamas is going to kill all of you. Israel is going to burn.’ ”
Borgen said the men punched him, hit him with crutches and sprayed an irritant in his face, leaving him with bruises, a concussion and injuries to his skin and eyes. “I really thought I could have died,” he said.
Police arrested one man on several charges, including assault as a hate crime, and are searching for other suspects.
Experts said that conflict in the Middle East has often sparked violence in the United States, but they are worried that the recent attacks were evidence of a worrisome trend that has been accelerated by the fighting in Israel and Gaza.
“This does feel quite different,” Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said in an interview Sunday.
In 2019, he said, the group identified more than 2,100 antisemitic incidents, including assault, violence and harassment, which was more than in any year since the group began tracking such episodes in 1979. And 2020, a year when many Americans stayed home because of the coronavirus pandemic, still saw the third-highest number on record, Greenblatt noted. [Continue reading…]