Illustrative People waving Nazi swastika flags in Tampa, Florida, U.S. July 23, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello

Hate crimes against American Jews increased by twenty percent and were the leading religiously motivated hate crime in 2021, according to a new, supplemental report issued by the FBI on Monday.

According to the new data, there were 817 antisemitic hate crimes in 2021 — up from 683 in 2020 — which included over 100 assaults, 175 incidents of intimidation, and one sexual assault. The bureau identified White and Black Americans as the offenders in 208 incidents while the identity of 339 offenders remains unknown. Of all identity groups covered in the FBI’s data, Jews, who represent only 2 percent of the US population, were targeted the fourth most.

The report updates previous statistics issued in December that had shown a decrease in antisemitic hate crimes and were criticized by several Jewish organizations for being “essentially useless” because the FBI had excluded antisemitic incidents from several states, including California, Florida, and New York, none of which reported their data to the bureau’s National Incident-Based Reporting System.

On Tuesday, Congresswoman Kathy Manning (D-N), co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, said the updated information will “help provide Congress and the public with a more accurate picture of the hate crime landscape across the United States, adding that “this data is critical to effectively address the rise in antisemitism and hate crimes experienced by our communities.”

The new report was praised by Jewish groups.

“We’re glad to see the Biden administration is finally cleaning up the mess from last year’s disastrous FBI hate crimes report,” Kenneth Marcus, former US Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights and current chairman of the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, told The Algemeiner. “That report demonstrated extraordinary ineptitude at the Department of Justice, as well as in many local jurisdictions.”

The Anti-Defamation League called the new data “a step forward,” with CEO Jonathan Greenblatt saying it confirmed ADL’s own data, which showed that more antisemitic incidents occurred in 2021 than any other year since the group began tracking them in 1979.

“Data drives policy,” Greenblatt continued. “Moving forward, law enforcement agencies must urgently commit to hate crime data collection and reporting, and Congress must make it mandatory for state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding to participate in the FBI’s hate crime data collection efforts each year. Absent comprehensive and inclusive data, policymakers will lack the critical information that is needed to address these concerning trends.”

Discrepancies in last year’s FBI data was caused by several states, including California, Florida, and New York, failing to report antisemitic hate crimes to the bureau’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, resulting in, for example, 198 incidents in New York from that year to go uncounted, The Brandeis Center said at the time, calling the omissions “colossal.”

According to the ADL, there were substantial increases in physical assaults, as well as over 1,500 incidents of harassment and vandalism. A “surge” of incidents occurred during the war between Israel and Hamas, with 387 being reported across the country.

Antisemitic incidents occurred in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia. Five states, New York (416), New Jersey (370), California (367), Florida (190), Michigan (112) and Texas (112), accounted for 58 percent of the total number counted.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.