Two groups that track religious discrimination have released reports showing record-setting increases this past year against Jewish and Muslim people nationwide.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released separate reports this week detailing upticks in harassment, discrimination, assault and structural and systemic biases in 2021.
The ADL, a New York-based anti-hate organization, recorded 2021 as the highest year for antisemitic incidents in Ohio since it began keeping track in 1979. That’s after 2020 numbers reached a 40-year high.
There were 50 antisemitic incidents in Ohio in 2021, compared to 43 in 2020.
Nationwide, there were 2,717 incidents reported. This number represents an average of more than seven incidents a day and a 34% increase from 2020, which had 2,026 incidents, according to the ADL.
CAIR, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., reported 6,720 instances of discrimination against Muslim people nationwide in 2021, with 365 reports to the office covering Columbus and Cincinnati. Nationwide, that is the highest number the group has seen in 27 years and a 9% uptick from 2020.
Experts from the organizations say it is unclear as to why there has been a recent rise in hate.
“When it comes to antisemitic activity in America, you cannot point to any single ideology or belief system, and in many cases, we simply don’t know the motivation,” Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL, said in a statement. “But we do know that Jews are experiencing more antisemitic incidents than we have in this country in at least 40 years, and that’s a deeply troubling indicator of larger societal fissures.”
