Simsbury Among Sites of Anti-Semitic Incidents Recorded by ADL

Incidents of reported anti-Semitism decreased in 2012, according to an Anti-Defamation League audit but the organization says it’s doubtful the numbers match the reality.

According to a release from the ADL, 17 incidents were reported in Connecticut in 2012 – 13 cases of harassment and four incidents of vandalism. That’s down from 43 in 2011 and 39 in 2010.

But the organization relies on law enforcement and the public to report anti-Semetic incidents, said Gary Jones, Regional Director of ADL's Connecticut office.

"While we're pleased to see a decrease in reported anti-Semitic incidents throughout the state, we're not convinced that the drop off is as substantial as the numbers indicate," Jones said.

The organization noted that hate speech has found a new forum that is more difficult to track and often more appealing to perpetrators: the Internet.

"This explosion of viral hate is impossible to quantify, but it may have led to a migration of sorts where the haters and bigots are more likely to take to the Internet to express themselves anonymously, rather than acting out in a public setting," said Barry Curtiss-Lusher, national chairman of the ADL. "The danger, of course, is that these online expressions can inspire and fuel real-world violence."

One of the recorded incidents took place in West Hartford, where one kindergartener reportedly told another kindergartner on a school bus that "Jews don't care about God."

In Hartford 95 gravestones in a Jewish cemetery were vandalized, causing $20,000 worth of damage. 

And in Simsbury, the release says “An international hacking group hacked the website of a synagogue, replacing the website's content with information that denied the Holocaust and demonized Israel.”

And while the ADL says it hopes the dip in incidents becomes a trend, “17 anti-Semitic incidents in Connecticut is 17 too many."