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Anti-religion-motivated crimes surpassed sexual orientation crimes to become the second greatest motivation, representing 20% of hate-motivated crimes.
By MICHAEL STARR DECEMBER 17, 2024 16:39
Police officers stand guard, on the day a pro-Palestinian activists' set up an encampment, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Los Angeles, California, US, May 23, 2024.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli motivated crimes increased by 90% and 450%, respectively, in Los Angeles in 2023, according to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations (LACCHR) annual hate crime analysis.
The Wednesday report detailed that anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hate crimes broke records in the report's history for the two categories. There were 242 anti-Jewish hate crimes in LA in 2023, compared to 127 the previous year. Anti-Israeli crimes spiked from 4 to 22. 41% of hate crimes against Jews and 50$ of anti-Israel crimes were violent, said the report.
Hate crimes, in general, rose by 45% in the city in 2023, from 930 crimes in 2022 to 1350 in 2024, according to the report. The commission again noted that this was a record in the history of the annual reports. The majority of hate crimes targeted African Americans, LGBT communities, Jews, and Hispanic groups, with antisemitic crimes representing 18% of all hate-motivated crimes in Los Angeles. At schools, Jews were the second most target group after African Americans, comprising 20% of hate-motivated crimes.
“Our county is facing what the rest of the nation is experiencing, the continuing increase in hate crimes, and we are ramping up our programs to meet the challenge,” Commission executive director Robin Toma said in a press release. “However, it’s critical to recognize that the growth in reported hate crimes is partly due to the success of our LA vs Hate system, which urges every victim of hate crime to report to us and gain free services and support. Connecting with more people and their communities who refuse to remain silent by reporting hate and building intergroup solidarity is an essential part of our strategy for ending hate.”
Race now the most attacked identity
Race, ethnicity, and national origin were the most common motivations, constituting 45% of hate crimes, according to the report, but anti-religion-motivated crimes surpassed sexual orientation crimes to become the second greatest motivation, representing 20% of hate-motivated crimes. The anti-religion motivation increased by 90% in 2023, and anti-Jewish crimes comprised 83% of all anti-religion-motivated crimes, said the commission.
In one example given by the report, in April 2023, a man was approached by a suspect and told, “F**k the Jewish community. You are all dirty.” When the victim fled into his car, the suspect stood in front of it waving a knife, yelling, "Come outside. I got something for you.”
Crimes with rhetoric and motivation connected to the conflict in the Middle East increased from two incidents in 2022 to 2023, and accounted for 5% of all hate crimes, said the commission. This was another record for the annual report and was the largest amount recorded since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Jews were the most targeted people in this category, representing 42% of the cases, followed by Israelis, 27%, Palestinians, 23%, and Muslims with 6%. Half of these Middle East conflict-related incidents were vandalism, 22% were simple assaults, and 17% were intimidation offenses. Almost half of these offenses occurred in public places, a sixth in businesses, and about a tenth at religious sites, electronic communication, or residences.
In November 2023, a Mediterranean restaurant in Encino received a phone call from someone seeking to make a reservation. When it was explained that the restaurant doesn't take reservations, the caller replied,, “I am from Hamas. I am gonna come shoot you all.”
In a November 2023 Hollywood incident, a Middle Eastern woman was asked by a Jewish person if they supported Palestinians, and when she said she did, she was told, “You’re all terrorists, you behead babies.” She then attempted and failed to throw a plastic cup at her.
The report also claimed that there were 209 hate crimes motivated by white supremacy, accounting for 15% of all the reports recorded crimes. 91% of these crimes targeted Jews, and 71% involved vandalism, usually through the spray painting of swastikas. However, the report fails to take into account that the use of Nazi iconography to attack Jews has not been unique to neo-Nazis and white supremacists and has been used by other groups because of the symbol's historical weight.
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The commission noted that documented hate-motivated crimes only represent a portion of the hate crimes committed, as almost half are estimated as not being reported to law enforcement.
The American Jewish Committee responded to the report on social media, remarking, "We must all work toward creating a more tolerant and just society that reflects American ideals."
English (US) ·