Anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli hate crimes surged dramatically in Los Angeles in 2023, rising by 90% and 450%, respectively, according to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations' (LACCHR) annual hate crime report released Wednesday.
The report revealed record-breaking numbers for both categories. Anti-Jewish hate crimes climbed to 242 incidents in 2023, up from 127 in the previous year. Meanwhile, anti-Israeli crimes spiked from just 4 incidents to 22. Alarmingly, 41% of anti-Jewish crimes and 50% of anti-Israeli crimes involved violence.
Overall, hate crimes in Los Angeles rose by 45%, increasing from 930 incidents in 2022 to 1,350 in 2023 — the highest total since the commission began reporting. African Americans, the LGBT community, Jews, and Hispanic groups were the most targeted, with antisemitic crimes accounting for 18% of all hate incidents. At schools, Jews were the second most targeted group after African Americans, representing 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,” said Commission Executive Director Robin Toma in a statement. He emphasized that improved reporting systems, like LA vs Hate, contribute to these figures by empowering victims to speak up and seek support. “Connecting with communities who refuse to remain silent is an essential part of our strategy for ending hate,” he added.
The report noted that race, ethnicity, and national origin remained the most common motivations, making up 45% of hate crimes. However, religion-based hate crimes surpassed sexual orientation-motivated incidents to become the second most common category, representing 20% of all hate crimes. The report highlighted a 90% rise in anti-religion-motivated hate crimes, with anti-Jewish incidents making up 83% of that total.
* The Jerusalem Post contributed to this article.
