32 | APRIL 1 • 2021
T
he Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) has
recorded 283 incidents
of antisemitic language or
targeted Jewish institutions
in the U.S. in 2020 — a 68%
increase from 2019.
A new ADL report also
showed nearly double the
white supremacist propagan-
da efforts last year compared
to 2019. According to the
ADL, white supremacist pro-
paganda efforts consist of the
distribution of racist, antise-
mitic and/or anti-LGBTQ
fliers, stickers, banners and
posters.
The 2020 data from ADL’s
Center on Extremism shows
a total of 5,125 cases in 2020
compared to 2,724 in 2019.
Last year produced the high-
est number of white suprema-
cist propaganda incidents the
ADL has ever recorded.
At least 30 white suprem-
acist groups distributed pro-
paganda in 2020, but three
groups — Patriot Front, New
Jersey European Heritage
Association and Nationalist
Social Club — were responsi-
ble for 92% of the activity.
There were 303 incidents of
white supremacist propaganda
distribution on college cam-
puses, a considerable decline
from 630 in 2019, most likely
because of the pandemic and
lack of students on campus.
“They’ve moved to a lot of
digital platforms,” Carolyn
Normandin, ADL Michigan’s
regional director, said. “This
is the highest level we’ve ever
seen.”
ADL recorded 16
right-wing extrem-
ist-related terrorist
attacks or plots in
2020 (through November),
up from 13 recorded in 2019.
Two of the 16 recorded inci-
dents occurred in Michigan.
In Michigan, ADL record-
ed 57 incidents of white
supremacist propaganda, an
increase of 36% from 2019.
Five groups were responsible:
Patriot Front, Folks Front,
Nationalist Social Club, New
Order and the Loyal White
Knights, a Ku Klux Klan
group. Patriot Front was
responsible for 47 out of the
57 incidents.
Normandin believes white
supremacists took advantage
of the pandemic and the divi-
siveness of the election year to
further their cause.
While the numbers broke
records in 2020, the ADL
has been concerned about
the steady rise of
this propaganda for
years.
“This didn’t hap-
pen overnight and
it’s going to take a long time
to get rid of this,” Normandin
said. “We must have public
officials condemning this
kind of propaganda as hate.
“In general, extremists have
been emboldened in the last
several years,” she continued.
“It’s a charged political cli-
mate, and we must not let the
complexity of that paralyze
us.
“We must stand up and call
out hate for what it is.”
Hate Groups
Boost Ef
orts
point for the program:
“We could barely leave
the apartment besides for
groceries,” Katz said. “They
thought of a lot of online
activities for us to do.
“When things got better,
we couldn’t meet as a whole
group,” she continued.
“Before COVID, they really
encouraged us: ‘Get out of
the apartment, go do things,
make good use of your time.’
During the pandemic, I had
friends living in another
building, and I couldn’t see
them because it was more
than 100 yards away from
me.”
Despite all of that, Katz
does not regret the timing of
her experience.
“If I knew before, it
definitely would have
affected my decision, but
looking back, I’m happy I
was there when I was there,”
she said. “No matter what
happened, I learned a lot.
“It’s given me perspective,”
Katz added. “The world can
turn upside-down, and you
can still figure things out.”
An aspiring filmmaker,
Katz said that she was likely
to keep visiting Israel in the
future, but not for a whole
year at once. However, a big
part of her experience has
returned to North America
with her.
“I still talk to my friends
who I was in Israel with. We
still have Zoom meetings
at least every Sunday, even
though we are on different
time zones,” she said. “We are
trying to reunite somewhere
this summer.”
Katz said that regardless
of Israel, a gap year would
be the right choice for many
people after high school.
“Israel is obviously a really
cool place, but it doesn’t even
have to be Israel. You don’t
have to go right to college —
it’s not that important. You
can even work for a year, and
then go somewhere and meet
people that have different
perspectives. That’s really
beneficial — get out of your
comfort zone in any way.”
ERETZ continued from page 31
“... GO SOMEWHERE AND MEET
PEOPLE THAT HAVE DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES. THAT’S REALLY
BENEFICIAL — GET OUT OF YOUR
COMFORT ZONE IN ANY WAY.”
— MADDIE KATZ
COURTESY OF MADDIE KATZ
FOCUS
ADL reports large increase in white
supremacist activity.
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER