The New York Police Department released statistics on crime in the city showing that during the month of March Jews were targeted more than any other minority group.
Antisemitic incidents rose by 92% last month compared to the same period in 2021, with a total of 23 instances reported; this, in contrast to 42 apparent hate crimes perpetrated against all other minority groups combined.
Overall, there were 86 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the city during the first three months of this year alone.
February 2022 saw a jump of 400% in antisemitic events compared to the same month in 2021, and 300% in March 2022 versus the same month in 2021.
On April 2nd at 7:25 pm, near West 86 Street and West End Avenue in Manhattan, three unidentified males approached the Jewish victims, made anti-Jewish statements, and menaced the victims with a sword. If you have info, contact @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/1IILP8wxIE
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) April 6, 2022
Despite these startling figures, not a single mainstream US news outlet has printed a word of coverage.
Indeed, as HonestReporting highlighted in a comprehensive study on this subject, Jews are the victims of more hate crimes per capita than all other minority groups in the United States, according to data collated by the FBI.
However, anti-Jewish incidents receive disproportionately low media coverage, by a worrying margin.
In our report, we drew attention to how hate crimes perpetrated against Muslims receive the most news attention even as such offenses have declined in recent years, which suggests a correlation between adequate reportage and the increased safety of minority groups.
This week, HonestReporting’s CEO Daniel Pomerantz was invited to discuss the contents of our report with representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), at the body’s Paris headquarters.
It marked an opportunity to build ties with an influential organization that has an authoritative voice in the mainstream media.
Critically, it gave HonestReporting the opportunity to counter the potential pressure that anti-Israel groups may attempt to exert on such global bodies.
The recent work we have done examining how news outlets pay less attention to rising antisemitism on the streets builds on extensive efforts over the years examining how such bigotry is frequently downplayed or ignored altogether by some of the largest media organizations in the world.
For example, last year we drew attention to CNN’s woeful analysis of the FBI’s 2020 Hate Crime Statistics Report, which despite running to more than 1,000 words included not a single reference to how American Jews are disproportionately on the receiving end of hate incidents.
We noted that it was a particularly glaring oversight considering they comprise a mere 2 percent of the US population but were the targets of nearly 60 percent of all religiously motivated offenses.
In July 2021, we ran a story that detailed how last year’s Hamas-initiated conflict against Israel led to a disturbing rise in anti-Jewish hate incidents in the United States, which were documented in alarming figures compiled by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other Jewish groups.
Following pro-Palestinian rallies and marches that were held during the fighting, numerous videos and reports emerged of Jews being verbally and physically assaulted. There were also countless antisemitic attacks in public that did not target a specific individual, but Jewish people in general.
Moreover, HonestReporting pointed out that widely-read news outlets such as NBC News and The New York Times would insert references to Islamophobia in articles that were ostensibly about Jews being abused, harassed and assaulted in broad daylight.
Amid this tide of rising antisemitism, our work holding media outlets to account has never been more vital: we must ensure such bigotry is called out whenever it occurs.
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