Growing Concerns Over Rise of Anti-Semitism

September 15, 2004

Source: Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0915/p03s01-ussc.htm

On September 15, 2004 Christian Science Monitor reported, "when a cable TV program in Manchester, N.H., included offensive Jewish stereotypes this summer, some in the area weren't surprised when, a few days later, a local synagogue was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti. Or when, around the same time, extremist groups distributed hate literature in several other New Hampshire communities. Anecdotal evidence indicates that such incidents are on the rise across the country. In Westchester County, N.Y., for example, there were 26 anti-Semitic incidents last year, up from seven in 2002. Members of the West Virginia-based National Alliance have become active in the Pacific Northwest, leafleting in many communities and showing up at antiwar rallies with signs saying 'No More Wars for Israel.' Later this month, the National Socialist Movement (which traces its roots to the American Nazi Party) is holding a rally at the Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania. But anti-Semitic rhetoric these days is showing up on the left as well as the right, says Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino."