‘Appalling’: FBI antisemitism report excludes US cities with the most Jews

Critics noted that had the report included pertinent statistics from New York, Los Angeles and Miami, it likely would have indicated that antisemitic incidents in 2021 reached an all-time high.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

A newly released FBI report on antisemitic hate crimes in the U.S. has angered major American Jewish organizations, as the report failed to include statistics from New York City, Los Angeles and Miami – the three cities with the largest Jewish populations in the U.S.

Despite the exclusion of major metropolitan areas that have seen a surge in attacks on Jews and targeted vandalism of synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses, the report still found that antisemitic incidents had reached the third-highest level on record in 2021.

Critics noted that had the report included pertinent statistics from New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, it likely would have indicated that antisemitic incidents in 2021 reached an all-time high.

“At a time of record antisemitic hate crimes, it is appalling that the FBI’s data-gathering has been so badly botched,” said Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth Marcus in a media statement.

“The 2021 hate crimes data is essentially useless. The problem is so bad that record-high levels of antisemitism appear in the official data as actual declines because major jurisdictions didn’t formally report it.

“This massive failure has undermined the purposes of hate crimes data precisely when we most need the data. If the FBI doesn’t quickly correct this problem, congressional committees will need to ask some serious questions,” he added.

In a press statement, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) noted that the number of agencies reporting statistics regarding antisemitic crimes to the FBI had plunged by 22 percent. No cities in the states of California and Florida provided data to the FBI for the report.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) said in a statement that 4,000 law enforcement agencies refused to adjust their data collection systems to the FBI’s new requirements, resulting in 35 large U.S. cities “simply reporting zero hate crimes.”

“The failure by major states and cities across the country to report hate crime data essentially – and inexcusably – erases the lived experience of marginalized communities across the country,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement to the media.

“Especially at a time when our communities are feeling particularly vulnerable to hate crimes and extremist-fueled attacks, it is egregious that major cities and states across the country have failed to report comprehensive data for 2021.”

He added that the ADL “urges Congress to make it mandatory for state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding to participate in the FBI’s hate crime data collection efforts.”

“The FBI report on hate crimes is among the most anticipated federal government documents. But its shortcomings undermine the gravity of the problem of hate in the United States,” said American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch in a press statement.

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