Jewish ADL says anti-Semitism increased in Midwest

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Though the number of anti-Semitic incidents declined across America last year, the Anti-Defamation League said Wednesday it is troubled that the number of incidents in the upper Midwest is on the rise so far this year. The ADL documented 45 anti-Semitic incidents last year across a six-state region that includes Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, said Lonnie Nasatir, regional director for the ADL's Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest office. That number was down about 12 percent from 2004. But the ADL has recorded 26 incidents during the first three months of this year, with about 85 percent occurring in the Chicago area, said Adam Schupack, the Midwest office's associate director. One incident involved swastikas and anti-Semitic writings spray-painted on a synagogue on Chicago's North Side in February. The ADL said Wednesday it recorded 1,757 incidents across the country last year, a 3 percent decline from 2004's nine-year high of 1,821.