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