A new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents in 2024 revealed a high number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents in Connecticut. Connecticut ranks ninth in the country in incidents per capita. There were 159 reported incidents, an increase since 2022, but slightly down from the 184 reported incidents in 2023. The cities with the highest number of reported incidents included New Haven, with 30; West Hartford, 15; Hartford, 13; and Greenwich, 12.
The audit showed 104 incidents were harassment, 53 were vandalism and two were assaults. Also reported in the audit, of the 159 anti-Semitic incidents recorded in Connecticut, twenty-one had an extremist nexus, and the majority of incidents involved the distribution of white supremacist propaganda.
Further disturbing statistics show: 23 included bomb threats; 31 were at a gathering, parade, picketing, meeting; eight were offensive literature distribution; 53 were vandalism; 42 were verbal/written harassment or threat; two were physical assault with no weapon; 73 were Israel/Zionism related; 33 had a swastika present; 21 were extremist related; 20 had anti-Semitic white supremacist propaganda, and three impacted the orthodox community.
In a communication with Connecticut’s ADL Regional Director Stacey Sobel, she noted that, “The data makes clear that there has not just been a surge of antisemitism over the past four years, there is an unfortunate trend line that antisemitism has become embedded in our society. Of particular concern are the rise in incidents on college campuses and the proliferation of incidents in Jewish institutions and schools. ADL Connecticut is committed to focusing on confronting antisemitism through educational programs and resources, community outreach and law enforcement engagement.” Sobel urges people to speak out and report any incidents they witness or are victims of, and to act as allies to those who are targeted by hate.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) profiled and detailed 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups across the United States in their study, The Year in Hate and Extremism, 2024.
Some of the self-described hate and/or antigovernment extremist groups active in Connecticut include:
Moms for Liberty – Fairfield County is dedicated to the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government. Moms for Liberty campaigns against the inclusion of certain topics in school curricula, including LGBTQ issues and race, and its chapters have advocated to remove many books about sexuality and gender from school libraries.
The Nationalist Social Club, or NSC-131, is a neo-Nazi group based in New England whose activities consist of staging protests and distributing hate literature.
The People’s Initiative of New England (PINE) is a white supremacist group formed in April, 2023
For a complete list of hate groups that are active in Connecticut go to:
https://whww.splcenter.org/resources/reports/year-hate-extremism-2024
Connecticut Hate Crime Laws:
Connecticut has hate crime laws that enhance penalties for crimes motivated by bias, based on actual or perceived issues of race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression.
The State Police maintain a system to track reported incidents. If you believe you have been a victim or witness to a hate crime, call 911 immediately if you feel unsafe.
Report the incident to your local police department. Follow up quickly by reporting the crime to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov. You can also contact the Connecticut Hate Crimes Investigative Unit via email at hate.crimes@ct.gov. Also report the incident to the Hate Crimes Advisory Council through the Reporthate.ct.gov website.
If you are in need of additional resources, here is a list of more options.
- CAIR-CT, Inc., the state chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR);
- Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC);
- Anti-Defamation League (ADL);
- reporthate.ct.gov
What we know is that there are organizations out there to help victims of hate crimes, and these resources are available to all who need them.
