Antisemitic incidents more than double in NH in 2023
Apr. 16—Middle school students in Swanzey said "Heil Hitler" and performed Nazi salutes in front of a Jewish classmate last October.
A middle school student in Sutton last year made an antisemitic comment to a Jewish classmate, stating: "I want Hitler back, so (student) can go to the gas chamber."
In November, a swastika and "NSC 131," the name of a neo-Nazi group, were drawn on a street sign in Manchester.
These were some of the 35 antisemitic incidents recorded in New Hampshire last year after 14 incidents the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League New England.
The Jewish advocacy group documented antisemitic incidents in 15 New Hampshire communities, including a state-high six in Manchester.
Nearly two dozen of the 35 New Hampshire incidents occurred after an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas into Israel that ended with 1,200 killed and 250 others taken hostage. Israel responded by trying to root out Hamas fighters from Gaza, resulting in more than 33,000 deaths.
Twenty of the New Hampshire cases involved harassment; 15 were classified as vandalism.
Allyson Guertin, executive director of the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire, said there are many reasons for the rise in such incidents.
"Social media plays a big factor — outside agitators have a strong social media campaign and it is so easy for people to share what they see, the world is difficult right now and Jews have historically been scapegoated, and lastly, the war between Israel and Gaza — Anti Zionism is Antisemitism," Guertin said in an email.
She expects an increase in incidents this year.
A more dangerous world has forced many to add security.
"Every NH synagogue has some sort of security measure in place," Guertin wrote. "All large Jewish gatherings outside of synagogues have hired security with them."
Three of the Manchester incidents involved separate rallies where people held signs with messages that said, "When people are occupied, resistance is justified" or similar messages.
Laconia, Durham and Hanover each had four antisemitic incidents.
In November, someone painted swastikas and a Jewish slur on a county building in Laconia.
The same month, a group wrote antisemitic, homophobic and racist messages on the walls and bulletin boards of a University of New Hampshire building in Durham.
In Claremont, a student in December said, "We are neo-Nazis" to a Jewish classmate who mentioned celebrating Hanukkah.
Number of incidents more than double
New Hampshire's antisemitic incidents increased 150% from 2022 to 2023.
"We've seen this similar growth in these horrific kinds of acts in every state," Rabbi Ron Fish, ADL New England interim region director, said in a phone interview.
He said many incidents are the result of "right-wing and left-wing extremism."
In New England, excluding Connecticut, 623 antisemitic incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism were recorded in 2023, a 205% increase from 2022 and the highest number ever recorded in the region, according to ADL.
New England outpaced the 140% increase nationwide. Nationally, ADL recorded 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2023, the highest total since ADL started tracking such data in 1979.
Massachusetts recorded 440 antisemitic incidents, a 189% increase from 2022 incidents.
New England numbers
Five states — Massachusetts, California (1,266), New York (1,218), New Jersey (830), and Florida (463) — accounted for 48% of all incidents in the nation.
More than half of the incidents nationally occurred in the year's final three months.
"The ADL audit of antisemitic incidents recorded a dramatic spike of 5,204 antisemitic acts post-Oct. 7, reflecting global trends as Jewish communities worldwide faced heightened tensions and hatred in response to the massacre and conflict — on campuses, in the public square and at anti-Israel demonstrations," the report said.
Maine had 53 incidents in 2023 compared with 13 the previous year. Vermont saw an even larger spike with 43 incidents versus six in 2022.
The most common type of incident in New England involved harassment, with 410 cases, representing a 327% increase.
