The Anti-Defamation League says the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States reached a record high last year and notes that 58% of the 9,354 incidents related to Israel, notably chants, speeches and signs at rallies protesting Israeli policies.In a report released Tuesday, the ADL, which has produced annual tallies for 46 years, said it's the first time Israel-related incidents 맥스카지노� 5,422 of them in 2024 맥스카지노� comprised more than half the total. A key reason is the widespread opposition to Israel맥스카지노�s military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.Video above: Federal task force to combat antisemitism to visit leaders in BostonThe ADL맥스카지노�s findings add grist to an intense, divisive debate among American Jews 맥스카지노� and others 맥스카지노� over the extent to which vehement criticism of Israeli policies and of Zionism should be considered antisemitic.Political backdropThe debate has broadened as President Donald Trump맥스카지노�s administration makes punitive moves against universities it considers too lax in combating antisemitism and seeks to deport some pro-Palestinian campus activists.The upshot, for numerous Jewish leaders, is a balancing act: Decrying flagrant acts of antisemitism as well as what they consider to be the administration맥스카지노�s exploitation of the issue to target individuals and institutions it dislikes.맥스카지노�The fears of antisemitism are legitimate and real 맥스카지노� and we don맥스카지노�t want to see those real fears exploited to undermine democracy,맥스카지노� said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. "I feel that a majority of American Jews can believe that two things are true at the same time.맥스카지노�The ADL said in its new report it is "careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism.맥스카지노� But there are gray areas. For example, the ADL contends that vilification of Zionism 맥스카지노� the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel 맥스카지노� is a form of antisemitism, yet some Jews are among the critics of Zionism and of the ADL itself.Video below: Holocaust survivors share stories with studentsIncidents at anti-Israel rallies that counted as antisemitism in the new ADL tally include 맥스카지노�justification or glorification of antisemitic violence, promotion of classic antisemitic tropes ... and signage equating Judaism or Zionism with Nazism.맥스카지노� Also counted were celebrations of the Hamas attack on Israel and 맥스카지노�unapologetic support for terrorism.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�In 2024, hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the U.S.,맥스카지노� said Oren Segal, who leads the ADL맥스카지노�s efforts to combat extremism and terrorism.Keeping Jewish students safeThe report depicted university campuses as common venues for antisemitic incidents, saying many Jewish students 맥스카지노�face hostility, exclusion and sometimes physical danger because of their identity or their beliefs.맥스카지노�The experience of those students was evoked by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism 맥스카지노� an umbrella group for more than 800 Reform congregations in North America 맥스카지노� as he discussed the complexities arising from current antisemitism-related developments.맥스카지노�We have an obligation to our students on campus,맥스카지노� Jacobs said. 맥스카지노�Can they go to Seder? Can they feel safe wearing a yarmulke?맥스카지노�맥스카지노�At the same time, this current administration has weaponized the fight against antisemitism by weakening core democratic institutions,맥스카지노� Jacobs added.He referred to the detention and threatened deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old graduate student who served as a negotiator and spokesperson for pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia University. Khalil has been detained since March 8 despite facing no criminal charges.맥스카지노�There has to be a legal case 맥스카지노� not just you don맥스카지노�t like what he says,맥스카지노� Jacobs said. 맥스카지노�What has kept Jewish people safe is the rule of law, due process. If it is undermined for Palestinians, it will be undermined for all of us.맥스카지노�Criticism of ADLThe ADL dismayed some progressive Jewish leaders by welcoming Columbia's acquiescence in March to Trump administration demands and by initially commending the campaign targeting pro-Palestinian activists such as Khalil.Recent critics of the ADL include Michael Roth, the first Jewish president of Wesleyan University; political commentator Peter Beinart; and Columbia professor James Schamus, who has been urging his fellow Jews on the faculty to oppose the university맥스카지노�s compliance with administration demands.Video below: Anti-Defamation League finds increase in antisemitic hate crimes in New EnglandWashington Post columnist Matt Bai wrote a scathing column about the ADL on April 1.맥스카지노�You can맥스카지노�t call yourself a civil rights organization in the United States right now 맥스카지노� let alone a civil rights organization for a minority that has been brutally evicted all over the world 맥스카지노� and not loudly oppose the cruel and unlawful removal of foreigners whose views happen to be out of fashion,맥스카지노� Bai wrote.Two days later, the ADL's CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, wrote an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy seeking to distance the ADL from aspects of the Trump administration맥스카지노�s crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.맥스카지노�As an organization that has fought for a minority community for more than 100 years, ADL is incredibly sensitive to the importance of allowing all views to be expressed 맥스카지노� even those that we or the majority of Americans disagree with,맥스카지노� Greenblatt wrote. 맥스카지노�We should be holding people accountable for actual crimes, not Orwellian thoughtcrimes.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�We can protect the civil liberties of Jewish students even as we preserve the civil liberties of those who protest, harass or attack them because they are innocent until proven guilty,맥스카지노� he added. 맥스카지노�If we sacrifice our constitutional freedoms in the pursuit of security, we undermine the very foundation of the diverse, pluralistic society we seek to defend.맥스카지노�Beyond the Israel-related incidents, these were among the other findings in the new ADL report:맥스카지노� The total number of antisemitic incidents in 2024 was up by 344% from five years ago.맥스카지노� 196 incidents, targeting more than 250 people, were categorized as assault; none of these assaults were fatal.맥스카지노� 2,606 incidents were categorized as vandalism. Swastikas were present in 37% of these cases.맥스카지노� There were 647 bomb threats, most of them targeting synagogues.맥스카지노� Antisemitic incidents occurred in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 10% of the incidents occurred in New York City.맥스카지노� There were 962 맥스카지노�antisemitic propaganda incidents맥스카지노� linked to white supremacist groups. Three groups 맥스카지노� Patriot Front, Goyim Defense League, and the White Lives Matter network 맥스카지노� were responsible for 94% of this activity.The ADL says its annual report tallies criminal and noncriminal acts of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to the ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations, and then evaluated by ADL experts.