To the Editor:

William Kristol is simply incorrect when he writes that "as Sept. 11 did not result in a . . . wave of popular Islamophobia or xenophobia, so the market crash has resulted in remarkably little popular hysteria or scapegoating" ("Here the People Rule," Oct. 20).

After 9/11, increased acts of anti-Muslim violence and employment discrimination were well documented.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that employment discrimination against Muslims more than doubled, while FBI statistics demonstrated a 1,600 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims from 2000 to 2001.  Post-9/11 bigotry wasn't only confined to Muslims - a number of conspiracy theorists blamed Jews, Israeli intelligence and the Israeli government for the attacks.    

Also, in the wake of the world financial meltdown, Jews were a convenient scapegoat, evidenced by a dramatic upsurge in the number of anti-Semitic statements posted to Internet discussion boards devoted to finance and the economy.  The belief that Jews are responsible for global economic catastrophe plays directly into the worst anti-Semitic stereotypes.