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Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024 | 2 a.m.
Antisemitic incidents in Nevada have increased since the Hamas massacre in Israel last October, according to a reported released last week by the American Jewish Committee.
The group’s State of Antisemitism report is conducted yearly to gauge national education and concern about antisemitism and other issues. The national report was conducted after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, and the AJC notes it is “important to consider this context when reviewing the survey data.”
Nearly two-thirds of Jewish Americans feel less secure than they did a year ago, the survey showed. Additionally, 25% said they were the target of antisemitism in the past year, and half of the respondents changed their behavior to avoid antisemitism.
The Oct. 7 attacks were a “game changer” in the frequency of antisemtic expression in the United States, said AJC Los Angeles Director Richard Hirschhaut, who oversees the committee’s coverage of the Southwest U.S. including Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. Hirschhaut also said Las Vegas has been “steady” in reports of antisemitism compared with other “hotbeds” of activity in the Southwest.
“I’m pleased to say that local law enforcement in Clark County and surrounding counties have been receptive and sensitive to this particularly delicate time and vulnerable time for the Jewish community,” Hirschhaut said.
There were 45 reports of antisemitism in Nevada in 2023, an increase from 30 in 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League. While there was an increase at the state level, antisemitic incidents nationally decreased slightly for the first time in a decade, from almost 3,700 in 2022 to a little over 3,300 in 2023.
The report asked several questions to two main groups: the general American populace and American Jews. About 1,500 American Jews participated in the survey; the companion survey had about 1,200 respondents.
The questions ranged from specific questions about news events to more broad questions about social responsibilities and interpretations of certain statements.
Some sentiments between the general public and American Jews were shared, according to the report. Two questions shared the closest percentage of responses in both groups: that antisemitism affects society “as a whole” and everyone is responsible for combating antisemitism, and that the phrase “Israel has no right to exis” is antisemitic.
Synagogues in Southern Nevada increased security immediately following the Oct. 7 attacks, and most have hired guards since, said Rabbi Sanford Akselrad, president of the Clark County Board of Rabbis. Over 79,000 Jews live in Nevada, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.
Online antisemitism has also been on the rise and is some of the most frequent kind of antisemitism most people encounter, Akselrad and Hirschhaut both said, as well as antisemitic comments toward younger Jewish residents still in school.
“A lot of people express their thoughts keenly on social media,” Akselrad said. “So when they do that, sometimes they echo sentiments that are antisemitic, anti-Zionist, rather than just thoughts that truly they believe, and they don’t realize how hurtful they can be to the Jewish community.”
There were several high-profile cases of antisemitism in Las Vegas in 2023, including a man who left antisemitic and threatening voicemails at the office of U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and a nonverbal teen who allegedly had a swastika carved into their back at school.
The Las Vegas City Council passed a resolution Feb. 7 to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism as an educational tool for local protection agencies. The IHRA defines antisemitism as “certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.”
The IHRA also defines “the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity,” as antisemitic, but clarifies that criticism similarly levied against other states is not.
Some Las Vegas residents expressed concern during the Feb. 7 city council meeting that adopting the definition could discourage nonviolent protest of the war.
As of late last week, more than 28,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, according to The Associated Press.
The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
“It’s OK to have those conflicting feelings,” Hirschhaut said. “This war has brought unspeakable suffering, as war does. It is ugly, and it is hellish. But nothing about the war should justify expressions of verbal or physical antisemitism in America.”
