The Anti-Defamation League says Delaware joined the rest of the country in experiencing a rise of anti-Semitic harassment in 2017.
The ADL counted twelve incidents of anti-Semitic harassment in Delaware last year and one act of vandalism. That’s up from four harassment incidents in 2016.
Jeremy Bannett is an Associate Regional Director for the ADL. He believes part of the reason for the uptick is an increased awareness and level of community reporting, but he adds that’s not the only reason.
“The state of our national discourse is diminishing. Civility is being coarsened. People are willing to believe and express bias,” said Bannett.
The ADL report attributes the increase primarily to five bomb threats targeting the Siegel JCC in Wilmington early last year—which was part of a rash of threats worldwide at the time. But Bennet says that doesn’t account for other incidents in the state.
“Even without the bomb threats, this still would have been a record breaking year for Delaware. You would’ve had eight incidents in Delaware, which is two more than the previous high of six in 2010,” said Bannett.
In addition to the bomb threats, last year’s incidents locally included: a white supremacist group posting recruitment flyers at a University, a Jewish homeowner’s driveway vandalized with a swastika, and personal printer was hacked to print anti-Semitic and racist flyers.