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    Antisemitic Incidents Reach New High in the U.S., Report Finds

    The Anti-Defamation League has found that cases of antisemitism have surged in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel last year.The number of antisemitic episodes in the United States surged to the highest recorded in a one-year period in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel last year, the Anti-Defamation League said on Sunday.The new figures — covering Oct. 7, 2023, to Sept. 24 — were about triple the number of cases reported to the organization during the same period a year before, the A.D.L., a civil rights organization, said in a statement.The group identified more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents, which were split into categories such as verbal or written harassment, vandalism and physical assault. The largest number of cases — 8,015 — fell under verbal or written harassment, according to the figures.Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the A.D.L., said Oct. 7 would be “one year since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.”“From that day on, Jewish Americans haven’t had a single moment of respite,” he said, adding that instead “we’ve faced a shocking number of antisemitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere.”The organization has been tracking cases of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the United States since 1979 and publishes its research in an annual report.The group said it recorded “an unprecedented total number” of 8,873 antisemitic incidents in 2022, a 140 percent increase from the previous year.Its latest report is the fourth time in six years that the A.D.L. has said it inventoried a record-high count of antisemitic episodes.The states with the highest number of recorded cases in the most recent report were California (1,266), New York (1,218), New Jersey (830), Florida (463) and Massachusetts (440).The antisemitic incidents have increased since Hamas attacked Israel last year and the war became a heated issue on American college campuses, where numerous protests have taken place.The report noted that at least 922 episodes had taken place on college and university campuses. During the same period a year earlier, the organization had recorded nearly 200 cases on campuses.The A.D.L. also said that the number of bomb threats made to Jewish institutions such as synagogues had soared from its previous report to 1,000, from 81.In addition, the group said, its preliminary research found that more than 3,000 of the antisemitic incidents had occurred during anti-Israel rallies in public spaces, such as parks and streets.The A.D.L., which was founded in 1913, said it used the research to create and improve programs to counter and prevent the spread of antisemitism and bigotry.The organization said that it expected its preliminary figures to increase as it received more reports. Final data for 2024 will be published in the spring of 2025. More

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    A Strike in Central Beirut Damages a Building

    If the explosion is confirmed to be an Israeli attack, it would be the first Israeli strike within the Lebanese capital since the 2006 war with Hezbollah.Footage showed emergency personnel responding to the strike on the Cola neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon.Fadel Itani/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesEmergency crews in Beirut were working early Monday in an area of the city where an apparent Israeli airstrike damaged a residential building, The Associated Press reported.If Israel is confirmed to be behind the attack, it would be the first known Israeli strike within Beirut since Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah, a militia backed by Iran. Israel has been stepping up its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon over the past two weeks, killing its leader and striking targets nearly daily.The A.P. released videos from the Lebanese capital on Monday that showed people and emergency workers gathering below a damaged multistory building in the largely Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Cola. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.A militant group based in Lebanon and Gaza, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that three of its members had been killed in the strike in Cola. That claim by the group, which is mostly known for a string of airline hijackings and bombings decades ago, could not be independently verified.The intensifying cadence of Israeli strikes has stretched deep into Lebanon. Israel has said that most have been directed at Hezbollah, whose leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed late Friday by Israeli bombs. But the military has also hit other groups, including a strike against Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.Euan Ward More