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Anti-Jewish incidents jumped nearly 20% in 2021, FBI finds
(JTA) — A new FBI report found that anti-Jewish incidents increased nearly 20% in 2021 relative to 2020, but decreased relative to prior years.
The updated FBI statistics released Monday counted 817 anti-Jewish criminal offenses reported by local law enforcement agencies in 2021, up from 683 in 2020 — a year when people largely stayed off the streets for a substantial period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 numbers, however, represent a 15% decline from 2019, when the FBI reported 963 hate crimes, as well as a slight decline from 2018, when FBI statistics show 847 hate crimes.
Overall, the report showed a total of more than 10,800 total hate crimes — the highest number in decades. As in previous years, anti-Jewish incidents comprised the majority of the 1,590 hate crimes based on religion.
This is the second report the FBI has released regarding hate crimes in 2021. An initial report in December did not include data from law enforcement agencies in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles. That report said there were only 324 anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2021, a number Jewish organizations said was a massive undercount. Other tallies of antisemitic incidents — such as the Anti-Defamation League’s annual audit — had shown an increase.
The two reports on 2021 demonstrate the pitfalls of the FBI data, which relies on reports of criminal offenses from local law enforcement agencies. An increasing number of cities are declining to share data outright. But the lack of data from major cities in the initial report, the FBI said, was due to a transition to a new reporting system. The transition, the FBI said in a statement on its website, “resulted in an inadequate representation of bias-motivated criminal incidents in the nation.”
The updated data released on Monday still has significant gaps. Data reported from Chicago, for example, represents only two quarters of 2021. The ADL called on Congress to mandate that state and local law enforcement agencies report hate crime data to the FBI in order to receive federal funding.
“Moving forward, law enforcement agencies must urgently commit to hate crime data collection and reporting,” read a statement from ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “Absent comprehensive and inclusive data, policymakers will lack the critical information that is needed to address these concerning trends.”
The data is based on criminal offenses reported to the FBI by law enforcement agencies. In some cases, an antisemitic incident can include multiple criminal offenses. Not all incidents initially considered hate crimes are ultimately prosecuted that way. For example, a San Francisco man charged with brandishing a gun inside a Jewish center there last month was initially charged with a hate crime, but a judge dropped the hate-crime portion during an early court hearing. It is not clear whether such an incident would be reflected in the FBI data.
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The post Anti-Jewish incidents jumped nearly 20% in 2021, FBI finds appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Threatens to Hit Iran Infrastructure on Tuesday if Strait Remains Blocked
US President Donald Trump arrives to award the medal of honor to Master Sgt. Roderick ‘Roddie’ W. Edmonds, Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2026.
US President Donald Trump said in an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday that the United States will target Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post, referencing the key shipping lane that Tehran has effectively closed since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran more than a month ago.
“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!,” Trump said, ending his Easter morning post with: “Praise be to Allah.”
The president separately said he would hold a news conference on Monday in the Oval Office, after the US military rescued two US pilots whose aircraft were downed in Iran.
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Zelensky in Syria to Discuss Security Cooperation with Sharaa
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to work for enhanced security in talks on Sunday with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa, as Kyiv seeks to promote its military expertise across the region following the outbreak of the Iran war.
Zelensky, continuing his tour of Middle East countries, also said Ukraine wants to contribute to food security in the region.
In recent weeks, Zelensky has visited several countries across the Middle East, offering Ukrainian expertise in countering drone and missile attacks, developed during its four-year war with Russia.
“We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “There is a great interest in exchanging military and security experience.”
Zelensky told the Syrian leader that Ukraine, as a major grain producer, was a reliable supplier of food and said the two leaders “discussed joint opportunities to strengthen food security across the region.”
In Turkey on Saturday, Zelensky said he had agreed on “new steps” in security cooperation with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and discussed opportunities in joint gas infrastructure projects and gas field development.
“Today in Damascus we continue our active Ukrainian diplomacy aimed at real security and economic cooperation,” Zelensky said on X after his arrival.
It was the Ukrainian leader’s first trip to Syria since diplomatic relations were re-established at the end of last year following the fall of Syria’s long-time strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Zelensky’s talks with Sharaa were linked to defense in light of the US-Israeli war in Iran, said one Syrian source, a government adviser. Syria is not known to have any air defenses capable of dealing with Iranian drones or missiles.
During Zelensky’s visits to Gulf states last weekend, Ukraine signed long-term military cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and he said that a similar agreement was close to completion with UAE.
Syria is home to two major Russian military bases, used by its navy and air force. Sharaa said on Tuesday at an event in Chatham House in London that work was under way to transform these into “centers to train the Syrian army.”
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China Ready to Cooperate with Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File Photo
China is willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the UN Security Council and make efforts to cool down the Middle East situation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Sunday.
Wang said the fundamental way to resolve navigation issues in the Strait of Hormuz is to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, adding that China has always advocated political settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation.
The foreign ministers’ call came ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
As permanent UNSC members, China and Russia should “adopt an objective and balanced approach and seek to win greater understanding and support from the international community,” Wang told Lavrov, according to a statement from his ministry.
China has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region and Middle East, urging an end to the fighting that has run for more than a month and largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping artery for oil and gas.