(The Federalist) — Anti-Semitism is a serious, albeit relatively small, problem in American life. Still, it’s a shame that the folks at the Anti-Defamation League, self-styled spokespeople of we Jews, are in the business of exaggerating threats when it serves their partisan interests and underplaying threats when they do not.
The ADL’s most recent study on rising anti-Semitism was, as always, carried by a number of media outlets. “Antisemitic incidents in US soar to highest level in two decades,” read one headline atop a picture of angry Tiki-torch Nazis in Charlottesville. “Largest year-on-year increase since 1979 comes as Trump administration is accused of failing to condemn bigotry.”
Anti-Semitism isn’t “soaring” in America, and the ADL knows it. Among 330 or-so million Americans, the ADL notes that there were 1,986 anti-Semitic reported incidents across the United States in 2017. That’s a 57 percent increase over the 1,267 reported incidents in 2016. Yet the ADL admits a part of the spike was driven by a surge in self-reporting rather than a surge in incidents.
