DENVER (KDVR) — A new audit from the Anti-Defamation League in the Mountain States Region shows that antisemitic incidents surged in 2021, with Colorado ranked eighth in the United States for the number of anti-Jewish incidents.
In Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming the number of reported antisemitic incidents spiked by 49%. But Colorado overwhelmingly holds the majority of incidents with 92 reports in 2021 compared to 60 in 2020, the report showed.
Across the country, here are the top 10 incidents by state:
- New York – 416
- New Jersey – 370
- California – 367
- Florida – 190
- Texas – 112
- Michigan – 112
- Massachusetts – 108
- Colorado- 92
- Minnesota – 75
- Pennsylvania – 69
View a map of incidents here.
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, there have been two reported Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes so far in 2022. In 2021 there were 21 total, in 2020 there were 24 total, in 2019 there were 21 total and in 2018 15 crimes total.
The audit states that a total of 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism were reported nationwide in 2021, which represents the highest number of incidents on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.
Here are some of the reports the ADL Mountain States Region received in 2021:
Colorado
- A Jewish family was harassed at a cemetery during the burial service for a family member by a man who drove by and yelled, “Heil Hitler.”
- A Jewish resident’s mezuzah on her apartment door was vandalized.
- A synagogue’s virtual Purim service, live-streamed to Facebook and YouTube via Zoom, was met with anti-Semitic and threatening messages in the live chat section on YouTube.
- A Jewish individual received a harassing voicemail at their place of business from a caller who blamed Jews for the pandemic-related shutdowns and called Jews “f***ing losers.”
New Mexico
A Jewish and Israeli student at the University of New Mexico was jumped and assaulted by individuals who made antisemitic and anti-Israel remarks to him. A parking structure for the plaza that houses multiple Jewish institutions in Albuquerque was vandalized with a swastika and the “SS” symbol.
Wyoming
A staff member at the University of Wyoming received a threatening antisemitic email.
The 2021 ADL Audit identified:
▪ One case of assault in Colorado and one in New Mexico
▪ 66 cases of harassment in Colorado, three in New Mexico and two in Wyoming
▪ 25 cases of vandalism in Colorado and two in New Mexico
For more details on the audit, click here.
