The definition of hatred is the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling so strong that it demands action. Unfortunately, James Von Brunn's intense hatred of Jews and other minorities led him to kill. Von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist and Holocaust denier, shot and killed security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

It was an act that led President Barack Obama to speak about the Holocaust and the dangers of Holocaust denial for the second time in one week, mere days after returning from a visit to the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The president called Holocaust denial "baseless, ignorant and hateful." Von Brunn's views could certainly be characterized that way, but they also were anti-Semitic. How else could Von Brunn and other Holocaust deniers dismiss mountains of evidence, the first-hand testimony of survivors, the documentaries, records, and countless photos of atrocities? Because they believe in the anti-Semitic theory that Jews, through their supposed influence and control over governments, the media and academia, have created and maintained an elaborate, self-serving hoax in order to get sympathy, money and support for the state of Israel. Unfortunately, the Internet has facilitated an increase in Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been a number of plots, conspiracies and attacks against Jews or Jewish institutions and against others by avowed extremists with anti-Semitic views. The violent crimes involve a certain amount of cross-fertilization. Anti-Semitism is a common thread that runs through the extremism of many of these perpetrators, who then combine it with other toxic ideologies. The wave of hate includes:

• The plot by extremists to bomb two synagogues in Riverdale, New York.

• The shooting of American soldiers at a military recruiting center in Arkansas by a man who reportedly searched for Jewish institutions on the Internet.

• The shooting deaths of two persons and sexual assault on a third as part of a crime spree directed against Jews and nonwhites in Brockton, Mass.

• The shooting deaths of three Pittsburgh police officers by a man with virulently racist and anti-Semitic beliefs.

While not all of the crimes and plots outlined by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) specifically targeted Jews directly, they all share certain key characteristics:

• Many of the perpetrators do not belong to a specific extremist group or organization, but seem to be motivated to commit violence by their own radical ideologies.

• Their ideologies often include a hatred of Jews, and they are willing to act on their hate.

• Many of the extremists are influenced by current events and conditions, including the economic crisis, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the immigration debate and the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president.

The shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the crimes above show us in the starkest ways where the spread of hatred can lead. President Obama pulled no punches when he spoke of the perils of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, and he is to be commended for calling for the rejection of this type of hatred.

You also can fight hatred, racism and anti-Semitism by denouncing hateful language, by reporting bias-related incidents and crimes, and by helping ADL and others to educate the world about the dangers of hate. The shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum reminds us the need is urgent to fight Holocaust denial and hatred before it turns into violence again.

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Atlas is the Regional Board Chair and Cominsky is the Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League's Southwest Region.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.