NJ #1 i hate crimes

PARAMUS – More anti-Semitic hate crimes were reported in New Jersey in 2008 than in any state in the country, according to an Anti-Defamation League report released Monday.

New Jersey’s jump on the list occurred in spite of a slight decline in the total number of incidents reported — there were 238 reports in 2008 compared to 247 in 2007, a decrease of 3.64 percent. But other states saw their numbers decrease more drastically, Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Etzion Neuer said.

“It’s a disturbing trend,” he said. “When you see the number of incidents go down throughout the country, you would like to see a similar downward trend in New Jersey. We did see a decline. That’s encouraging. But we would like to see an even bigger decline.”

Bergen County was the third on the list, tying with Ocean County with 28 of the state’s 238 reported incidents. Passaic County had 4.

At a panel on combating terrorism in Paramus Monday, a number of Jewish community leaders said they feel particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks because such attacks have historically targeted Jewish groups.

The May arrests of four men in a plot to bomb two Bronx synagogues brought that message home, many of them said.

“Particularly in the midst of an economic crisis, we know anti-Semitism intends to increase,” said Kerith Spencer-Shapiro, a cantor of the Adas Emuno congregation in Leonia. “Even a little place that’s off the beaten path like ours needs to be vigilant, unfortunately.”

Joy Kurland, Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council and an organizer of the panel, said the plot in the Bronx is an example of why Jewish organizations need to make security part of their day-to-day activities.

“In my mind, we have become complacent,” she said. “We get in our comfort zones, everything seems OK, and then there’s a wake-up call.”

More than 25 Jewish community leaders and local law enforcement officials attended the panel discussion, hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Panelists from the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office and the Paramus police department briefed attendees on basic security requirements for institutions and urged them to use a state anti-terrorism tips hotline to report any suspicious activities they witness.

Calls to that hotline have declined as the memory of 9-11 has become more distant, said Douglass Farrell, an investigator with the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness.

“The further we get from 9-11, the more people are becoming more comfortable, more complacent,” he said.

Neuer, who attended the panel, said his organization’s survey shows that anti-Semitic events are more common than most people know.

“When terrorists are seeking targets, tragically, the Jewish community is often one of those targets,” he said.

The annual Anti-Defamation League audit compiles reports of vandalism, physical assault, and harassment—including leaflets and verbal slurs—from across the country. It recorded a total of 1,352 reports in the country, a seven percent decline from the 1,460 reported in 2007.

The number of reports in New Jersey could be inflated compared to other states because of the state’s high Jewish population, Etzion said.

People are also more likely to report bias crimes in New Jersey than in other states, he said.

“That’s a good sign,” he said. “The community has a trust in law enforcement and the confidence that when they report incidents that law enforcement should be able to do something about it.” But the survey also shows what Etzion said called a “stubborn persistence” of bigotry in the state.

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