Hate in the Lone Star State: Extremism & Antisemitism in Texas” A Report by the ADL Center on Extremism, released September 2023. Courtesy: ADL

By Wendy Goodman

In September 2023, ADL Center on Extremism published a report on extremist and antisemitic activity in Texas. According to the report, in 2022 antisemitic incidents were the highest since reporting began in 1979; and, Texas had the fifth-highest number of reported antisemitic incidents in the U.S.

“In the year over year number, Texas was up 89%, which is stunning, from 112 incidents in 2021 to 212 in 2022,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of ADL, said when he spoke with The Jewish Outlook. “We saw 526 instances of white supremacist propaganda [in 2022] across the Lone Star State. That’s the highest we saw in any state in the union.”

He continued, “And what’s happening in Texas reflects the broader trend.”

When asked what actions the local community can take to help combat extremist and antisemitic acts, Greenblatt said, “Number one, we want folks to report incidents to us, in Texas and beyond.

“Number two, find ways to build bridges to not just fight hate, but to find hope. Work with ADL to partner with other [faith] communities.

“Number three, let’s keep coordinating on security so we can continue to provide you intelligence and information and other things that are useful to you.

“Number four, the best antidote, we believe, to ignorance is education. Our No Place for Hate program in Texas is the largest state for us in the country…Working together on that has tremendous opportunity.”

Since the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) has reported a 316 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. compared to the same time period in 2022. They also reported that, in a new survey, more than 70 percent of Americans agree that Jew-hatred is a serious problem.