figure of 6 million deaths, these ads claim that typhus was the principal cause of death among camp inmates, and that gas chambers were "life-saving" fumigation chambers used to delouse clothing and prevent disease. Many campus newspapers, including those at Harvard, Brown, Yale, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania, and the off-campus conservative Dartmouth Review, have refused to print the ad. Others however, including those at Duke, the University of Michigan, and the Ohio State University - have felt constrained to publish it in the interests of free speech. The Duke history department issued a statement urg- ing recognition of the difference between interpreting history and denying it altogeth- er. In fact, the constitutional right of extrem- ists to express offensive propaganda places college newspapers under no obligation to accept such ads. As one editor who rejected the Smith ad, Steven M. Markowitz of the University of California at Berkeley, told The New York Times, his paper's editorial policy prohibits "racist, sexist or violence-inciting advertisements." Moreover, advertisements which dispute historically documented facts undermine the journalistic obligation to the truth - one of the values free speech is sup- posed to protect. Will ads be published which deny the internment of Japanese Americans, the enslavement of Blacks, or the Stalinist gulag? For now, it is only the face of the Jews' mass murder that is being placed in the deceptive context of "open debate." The ads continued into 1992. More recently, Bradley Smith left the campus arena; howev- er, the lesson to other hatemongers was clear - the colleges and universities of the United States could be breached. As a consequence, there have been several copycat attempts at getting Holocaust denial material circulated on campus, such as that by a Greg Clemmer of Boring, Oregon, who sent a letter denying the Holocaust to the University of Rochester (NY) paper, Campus Times, along with a col- lection of pamphlets from the Institute for Historical Review. The letter included the offer of a reward of $50,000 to one who can prove or arrange any of the following. There followed a list, the first item of which is "Prove there was one gas chamber in Nazi- occupied territory for the purposes of geno- cide during World War II." Taking Holocaust-denial onto college cam- puses is consistent with other efforts to mainstream the hate movement. Having failed to influence American society through violence and intimidation, right-wing extremists now advance their agendas by distorting legitimate concerns into vehicles for bigotry, and masking their anti-Semitism through the code words "revisionism" and "historical review." Given the horrifying legacy of bigotry, there is an additional irony in the Holocaust "revi- sionism" being expressed by some radical fig- ures on campus. Typically, these activists have masked Holocaust-denial rhetoric as part of a critique of Zionism, as one member of the Islamic Movement of North America demonstrated: "The triangle of power finds the Americans at the top, but they're con- trolled by the Zionists below. The Americans do not control their own society. There is no bigger terrorist nation in the world than the United States of America. They make Nazi Germany's terror look like nothing." Perhaps even more outrageous is the accusation offered by the anti-Semitic Pan-African revo- lutionary Kwame Ture (who has told campus audiences that "the only good Zionist is a dead Zionist") in a 1990 speech at the University of Minnesota: "...the Zionists joined with the Nazis in murdering Jews, so they would flee to Palestine." In March, 1992, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Ture said of Israel, "We must struggle until we destroy it." anti-Semitic incidents nationally, several of the traditionally most-active states experi- enced increases in these episodes. New Jersey was second in the nation (after New York) with 155 vandalism incidents, an increase of 53 (up more than 50%). It may be noted that more than half of these New Jersey incidents (88) took place at public locations rather than against specifically Jewish institutional or private property tar- gets. In contrast, New York State - despite the disturbing increase within New York City, saw a substantial 38% decline in such incidents (157, down 97 from 1991), but more than two-thirds of these incidents were directed at Jewish institutions and other Jewish property CAMPUS ANTI-SEMITISM ANTI-ZIONISM: "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS" California experienced a small but hopeful decline for the second straight year. Maryland, too, showed its second straight decrease in 1992. Other states with large Jewish populations experiencing welcome declines in vandalism incidents included Massachusetts, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Today, in addition to traditional bigotry, Jewish students bear the brunt of highly-organized anti-Zionist campaigns, reflecting a discomforting reality: being pro- Israel, it seems,is not politically correct. Jewish students face a double challenge not encountered by most other campus minori- ties. First, as this Audit illustrates, they experience traditional anti-Semitism. But the combination of domestic anti-Semitism and international anti-Zionism can result in unrelenting tension for Jewish students, fac- ulty members, and administrators. At some campuses, absurd and offensive distortions of the concepts of "diversity" and "multi-culturalism" have left Jewish stu- dents feeling vulnerable and isolated. Jews have excelled in academe and are fully accepted as students, faculty members, and administrators. At the same time, the misuse of "political correctness" by some campus groups often delegitimizes Jewish values and concerns. 'Anti-Zionist sentiment in the form of extreme and uninformed hostility to Israel and its supporters has caused consternation for Jewish students on many campuses. During the Persian Gulf War, anti-war senti- ment was often mixed with anti-Zionists rhetoric. ANTI-SEMITISM OF EXTREMISTS AND DEMAGOGUES ON COLT.EGE CAMPUSES Stridently anti-Semitic speakers including Louis Farrakhan, Kwame Ture, and Professional Leonard Jeffries, and rap music figures "Professor" Griff and Sister Souljah, have become popular with Black student unions around the country. Openly anti-Semitic representatives of the Nation of Islam are also accorded warm cam- pus receptions, including Conrad Muhammad and Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad, who has referred to Columbia as "Columbia Jewniversity" in "Jew York City." The case of Prof. Leonard Jeffries, former chairman of the Black Studies Department of the City College of New York, presents another kind of campus concern: anti- Semitism and racism by a faculty member, rather than from student groups. In addition to his infamous off-campus speech in July 1991, which was laced with anti-Semitic con- spiracy accusations, Jeffries has promoted in his classes a bizarre theory of Blacks' racial superiority based on their higher level of the skin pigment melanin. Thus, Jeffries and his supporters carry Afro-centrism to perverse extreme. These anti-Semitic developments illustrate the disturbing fact that many Black student leaders and representatives repeatedly and enthusiastically support speakers who are well-known for their Jew baiting. These stu- dent leaders offer a respectable platform for anti-Semitic prejudice and ignorance - while generating tension among Jewish students who feel that they are "under siege." VANDALISM INCIDENTS VANDALISM: MOST ACTIVE STATES Despite the moderate decline in the level of On the other hand, Florida reported a sub- stantial increase in vandalism episodes (67, up by 36%). Other states showing sharp increases (although their overall totals were relatively small) included Virginia, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Nebraska The most active states were as follows (see chart for complete figures): • In 1992 New York led all states with 157 (down 97 from 1991) reported vandalism incidents, followed by New Jersey with 155 (up 53) and California with 116 (down 8). • Next were Florida with 69 (up 26); Massachusetts with 52 (down 16); Pennsylvania with 43 (down 6); Illinois with 23 (down 4); Ohio with 22 (up 5); Virginia with 22 (up 13); and two states with 20 incidents each: Colorado (up 3); and Connecticut (down 1). • Other states reporting vandalism incidents in double figures were: Texas, with 19 (down 5), Michigan, with 18 (down 2); Maryland, with 15 (down 26); New Mexico, with 13 (up 2); Minnesota, with 12 (up 4); and Rhode Island, with 10 (up 8). • Twenty other states reported between 1 and 8 incidents. 1992 VANDALISM: GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN Ten Northeastern states plus the District of Columbia combined for a total of 463 inci- dents - 54% of the national total. In 1991, there were 549 incidents reported in that region, 59% of the national total. In the West, seven states reported a total of 162 incidents. This total, and the percentage of the national total reflected by it - 19 per- cent - is equivalent to that reflected for the region in 1991, when a total of 162 incidents was also reported, comprising 17 percent of the vandalism total nationally. In the South, nine states reported a total of 138 vandalism incidents, 16 percent of the national total. This compares with a total of 131 incidents for this region in 1991, 14 per- cent of the national total that year. It is note- worthy that vandalism incidents declined in most of the state of the South in 1992, but substantial increases in Florida, Virginia and Alabama more than made up for those lower figures. Eight Mid-Western states accounted for 93 incidents - 11 percent of the national total. This compares with 86 incidents, 9 percent of the national total in 1991. SERIOUS CRIMES OF VANDALISM In 1992 there were 7 incidents of arson, 4 of attempted arson, 1 bombing and 16 cemetery desecrations - a combined total of 28 particu- larly serious vandalism incidents, represent- ing the lowest total report in this sub-catego- ry since 1988, when an equal number occurred. The bombing incident was reported in Pennsylvania, where a stick of dynamite exploded at a Newtown synagogue in May. There were no injuries. No arrests have been made, but police are continuing to investi- gate. During 1992, the 16 cemetery desecrations took place in the following states: three in Georgia, two in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas and one in Connecticut, Minnesota and Virginia. HARASSMENTS, THREATS AND ASSAULTS In 1992, there were 874 incidents of harass. ment, threat and assault directed at Jewish individuals and their institutions, down from 950 in 1991. For the second consecutive time in the history of the annual Audit, the total c in this category surpasses that of the vandal- ism incidents. While all incident totals rose steadily between 1986 and 1991, harass- ment, threats, and assaults increased dra- matically in the five years prior to 1992. From 1987 to 1988 a 41% increase was reported, followed by a 28% increase in 1989, and then a 29% increase in 1990. The 1991 increase was 25%. Thus, in these 5 years such incidents nearly tripled (193%). The 8% decline in 1992 still represents the second- highest total of such acts ever reported. ADL has noted with deep concern the ero- sion of longstanding barriers against the expression of anti-Semitism in recent years. In the world of politics, culture, and educa- tion, Jew-baiting, anti-Semitic scapegoating, and conspiracy accusations have become not only more common, but more casually toler- ated and rationalized. The vastly increased level of harassment and assault incidents documented in recent Audits (notwithstanding this year's moderate decline) may signal a new willingness by those inclined toward anti-Semitism to engage in direct, provocative confrontations with Jews, reflecting that erosion of the taboo against open bigotry. Many observations have noted a decline in civility in American life, a coarsening of both public and private discourse, with a corre- sponding rise in many individuals willing- ness to employ and tolerate ethnic slurs, stereotyped insults, and other forms of hate- ful speech. It is difficult, if not impossible, to measure this perceived phenomenon, but nowhere is it reflected more clearly or dis- turbingly than in the proliferation of bigotry and violence in the lyrics of some of the best- selling popular music of the day. In combina- tion with the continuing growth in campus bias incidents - another area especially relat- ed to today's youth - this reality suggests the likely need for even greater concern and remedial action. ARRESTS During 1992, 86 individuals were arrested in connection with incidents in 19 states. This compares with 52 arrests in 1992 - an increase of 65%. The 1992 arrest total repre- sents a welcome upswing from the declining trend of the prior three years; arrests had gone from a high of 144 in 1989 to 110 in 1990, then to 1991's low mark of 52. Law enforcement agencies have been making intensive efforts and strides in refining their procedures for defining and investigating hate crimes, often with assistance from ADL. 1992 SKINHEAD INCIDENTS Neo-Nazi Skinhead gangs continued to per- petrate anti-Semitic and other racist and homophobic crimes in 1992. For the third consecutive year, however, the number of specifically anti-Semitic Skinhead-related incidents dropped significantly - another probable indicator of more effective law enforcement action by the FBI, which has a special task force on the subject, and by many local police departments. In the past year, 19 Skinhead incidents were reported to ADL. Since 1989 - the high- water mark for Skinhead incidents (116) - crimes in this category have plummeted by 84% in the U.S. This dramatic decline stands in stark contrast to the dismaying prolifera- tion of such crimes in Europe, particularly Germany, over the past year.