Last year was the worst year for antisemitic incidents in the United States and in Connecticut, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual audit of antisemitic incidents. The ADL began tracking these occurrences in 1979 and said while the data shows a 36% increase nationally, Connecticut saw a 100% increase.

“More and more we are witnessing antisemitism move into the mainstream in a way that was unimaginable even 10 years ago,” said ADL Connecticut Regional Director Stacey Sobel.

The ADL tracked 68 incidents in the state last year, up from 34 in 2021. The 68 incidents included 55 cases of harassment and 13 cases of vandalism, according to the report. Connecticut ranked 11th out of all the states for these occurrences. According to the ADL, 34 communities in Connecticut saw antisemitic incidents. That's one out of every five towns in the state.

“Very sadly, 30% of the antisemitic incidents in Connecticut took place in K-12 schools,” Sobel told News 12. “You can imagine how it feels for a young person in school to be targeted and called out because of their Jewish identity in their classroom, in a place that's supposed to be comfortable for them.”

Sobel said there was a surge in antisemitism in schools after the Kanye West remarks.

“We have middle school students who, when they walked into the lunchroom, other students started playing Kanye West music and saying, ‘Jews should die,” Sobel explained. She attributed the rise in antisemitism to a few things.

“One would be emboldening of extremists and hate groups in political discourse. Another would be the growing acceptance of antisemitism in pop culture. And another would be the growing hate online,” Sobel said.

The ADL’s report follows one released by them earlier this year showing a 115% increase in 2022 of white supremacy propaganda in Connecticut.

“We counted 207 incidents of white supremacist propaganda. Only three of those incidents are counted in the antisemitic audit. The rest were viewed as hate and not hate directed towards Jewish people. So, it just shows you how much is going on in Connecticut of all types,” Sobel told News 12.

Sobel said people should report all incidents to the ADL and local law enforcement. She also said the data is a reminder why Holocaust education and other anti-bias curriculum need to be taught in our schools.

“It's really a call to action that we cannot remain complacent during the onslaught of antisemitism, and we call on the community to take action,” Sobel said.