FBI: Violence Against Jews in Decline Jews Aren’t Buying It.
A watchdog group is calling for Congress to investigate whether the FBI is inflating hate crime statistics
Getty Images Adam Kredo • January 3, 2023 5:00 am
The FBI’s latest annual report shows a decline in violence against Jews, findings that are at odds with Jewish watchdog groups who say anti-Semitic hate crimes have hit their highest levels in history during the past two years.
The FBI’s 2021 findingsThe statistics were published at the end last year and have led to accusations that the federal government is distorting them at a moment when the American Jewish Community is dealing with an unprecedented wave in anti-Semitism. One watchdog group has called on Congress to investigate why the FBI failed to report anti-Jewish hate crime reports.
“At a time of record anti-Semitic hate crimes, it is appalling that the FBI’s data-gathering has been so badly botched,” said Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a watchdog group that combats Jew hatred. “This massive failure has undermined the purposes of hate crimes data precisely when we most need the data. If the FBI doesn’t quickly correct this problem, congressional committees will need to ask some serious questions.”
Marcus said the FBI’s 2021 statistics on hate crimes against Jews are “essentially useless” due to new reporting procedures that omitted statistics from organizations typically included in the federal agency’s yearly assessment. While the FBI claims that violence against Jews declined last year, groups like the Anti-Defamation League disagree. reported 2021 was the year with the highest level of anti-Semitic aggression. Last year’s report by the AMCHA Initiative (a Jewish advocacy group). found In the 2021-2022 academic year, there were more attacks on Jewish students than ever before.
Marcus, an attorney and former staff director of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, said the FBI’s inaccurate reporting is likely to prompt congressional oversight.
“In my experience overseeing federal civil rights data collections, congressional committees have historically taken a keen interest in the completeness and accuracy of governmental information provided to the public,” Marcus spoke to the Washington Free Beacon. “It is hard to imagine that a failure of this scope would escape the notice of congressional oversight staff.”
“I am hopeful that the Department of Justice and FBI will clean up this mess on their own,” Marcus said. “If DOJ and the FBI do not fix this problem, however, by providing corrected and complete data to the public, we should not be surprised if Congress should get involved.”
A spokeswoman for the FBI
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