New York, NY, March 21, 2001 ... The resort to violence in the Middle East following the breakdown of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process may have contributed to a slight increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in the United States during the year 2000.

The Anti-Defamation League’s(ADL) annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, issued today, reflects a 4 percent increase in the number of attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions in the U.S.

The 2000 ADL Audit recorded 1,606 anti-Semitic incidents in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing a slight increase over the 1,547 incidents reported in 1999.

Vandalism, harassment and other expressions of hatred against Jewish individuals and property climbed with the renewal of tensions in the Middle East,

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reaching a high point in October as the events there spilled over into nations with large Jewish communities. According to the ADL Audit, there were 259 anti-Semitic incidents reported in October across the United States, more than in any other month of the 2000 calendar year.

"When the crisis in the Middle East reached a fever pitch, Jews around the world and in the United States became targets for random acts of aggression and violence," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "While we historically expect an increase in anti-Semitic incidents during the Jewish High Holy Days period, the statistics this year illustrate a spillover impact from the escalation of violence and vandalism as the Palestinians renewed their campaign of violence against Israel. Many random acts of violence or harassment were acted out by sympathizers of the Palestinian cause. Fortunately this phenomenon was apparently a unique, one-time occurrence."

The incidents reported in the ADL Audit are gathered using combined data from the League’s 30 regional offices and law enforcement. As in the past, harassment and assaults directed at individuals and institutions made up more than half of all the incidents reported. The Audit categorizes the incidents as follows:

A total of 69 anti-Jewish incidents were reported on college campuses nationwide, a 15 percent increase from 1999 and the reversal of a five-year decline.

"In the 22 years that ADL has been conducting the Audit, we have seen ups and downs," Mr. Foxman said. "While 2000 saw a slight increase, we still believe that through education and the diligent work of law enforcement, these kinds of incidents can decrease in the future."

The targeting of individuals continued to be a concern. Among the Anti-Semitic incidents reported during the year 2000 were several life-threatening criminal acts.

In the most violent incident, Richard Baumhammers allegedly killed a Jewish neighbor in his suburban Pittsburgh neighborhood and set her house on fire as part of a two-county shooting rampage on April 29. It was the first murder with an anti-Semitic underpinning since 1994, when Ari Halberstam, a Hasidic youth, was murdered on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Baumhammers, 35, who had allegedly created an anti-immigrant party and who appeared to target religious and ethnic minorities in his shooting spree, is accused of killing five people and firing shots into two synagogues during the violent episode. He allegedly painted a swastika on one of the synagogues targeted during the rampage.

In the West Rogers Park section of suburban Chicago, a rabbi was targeted by gunfire on October 12. He escaped injury, although police were unable to identify the assailant. That same night in the same predominantly Jewish neighborhood, two men were attacked by a group of Palestinian-Americans in separate incidents that police say were tied to the Mideast conflict.

The Internet continued to play a substantial role in the dissemination of anti-Semitic hate literature through hundreds of sites on the World Wide Web and through bulletin boards, chat rooms and e-mail messages. Attacks against several Web sites operated by major American Jewish organizations were also reported – these, too, apparently stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.

The Numbers By Region

Ranked by region, the East experienced the most anti-Jewish incidents (60 percent) followed by the West, Midwest and South.

• Among the 11 states of the East region and the District of Columbia reporting, there were 952 incidents. New York had the most (481, up from 365 in 1999), followed by New Jersey (213, down from 226), Massachusetts (128, up from 111), Pennsylvania (72, down from 82), Connecticut (32, down from 79), Maryland (6, down from 17), the District of Columbia (6, down from 17), New Hampshire (5, down from 6), Vermont (4, up from 1), Rhode Island (3, up from 2), Maine (2, down from 3), and Delaware (0, down from 3).
  
  
• Among the 13 Western states, 293 incidents were reported. California ranked first, with 257 (down from 275 in 1999), followed by Colorado (13, same as last year), New Mexico (8, down from 12), Arizona (5, same as last year), Nevada (3, down from 12), Washington (3, down from 6), Utah (1, down from 6), Hawaii (1, same as last year), Wyoming (1, up from 0), Montana (1, up from 0), and Idaho (0, down from 2). No incidents were reported in Alaska or Oregon in 2000 or 1999.
  
  
• Among the 14 states of the Midwest region, 179 incidents were reported. Ohio had the most, with 44 (up from 22 in 1999), followed by Illinois (41, up from 31), Minnesota (32, up from 14), Michigan (22, down from 32), Wisconsin (16, up from 8), Missouri (9, down from 11), Kansas (4, up from 0), Nebraska (3, up from 2), Indiana (3, down from 4), Iowa (3, up from 1), Kentucky (1, up from 0), North Dakota (1, up from 0), West Virginia (0, down from 1). No incidents were reported in South Dakota in 2000 or 1999.
  
  
• Among the 12 Southern states, 182 incidents were reported. Florida reported the most 81 (down from 88 in 1999), followed by Texas (40, up from 28), North Carolina (19, same as last year), Virginia (15, down from 18), Georgia (14, down from 25), Louisiana (6, down from 7), Tennessee (2, same as last year), Arkansas (1, down from 3), Oklahoma (1, up from 0), South Carolina (1, up from 0), and Alabama (1, up from 0), Mississippi (1, same as last year).
  
  

About the ADL Audit

The Audit identifies both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment and intimidation, including distribution of hate propaganda, threats and slurs. Compiled using official crime statistics, as well as information provided to ADL’s 30 regional offices by victims, law enforcement officers and community leaders, the Audit aims to provide an annual snapshot of a nationwide problem while identifying possible trends or changes in the types of activity reported. Prepared annually since 1979 by the Research Department of ADL’s Civil Rights Division, the Audit includes charts, graphs, photographs and other pertinent materials.

EDITORS NOTE: To arrange interviews with ADL experts, contact the ADL Media Relations Department via e-mail or call (212) 885-7749 .

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.