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Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties saw the greatest number of a nation-high 238 anti-Semitic incidents in New Jersey during 2008, according to new statistics released on Monday by the Anti-Defamation League.

New Jersey led the country in anti-Semitic incidents for the first time. Eight percent of the country's total anti-Semitic incidents took place in Monmouth, Middlesex, and Ocean counties. The ADL has been conducting its annual audit for "at least 25 years," Etzion Neuer, regional director of the ADL's New Jersey Region, said.

Monmouth County led the state with 43 anti-Semitic incidents, followed by Middlesex County with 38 and Ocean County (tied with Bergen County) at 28. New Jersey has regularly ranked second in the nation for anti-Semitic incidents, and the state's total is actually slightly down from the 247 incidents reported in 2007. By comparison, however, New York's total decreased dramatically from 351 to 207 over the same period.

"We have to avoid the tendency to despair over this, and avoid the attitude of 'oh well, it's always going to be around'," Neuer said of anti-Semitism in New Jersey. "Jewish institutions must ensure that they are doing their best to keep their constituents safe and secure."

The audit counted a total of 1,352 incidents of vandalism, harassment, and physical assaults against Jewish individuals, property, and community institutions across the United States, down from 1,460 incidents reported in 2007. The ADL uses official crime statistics for its calculations, but also includes information provided to its regional offices by victims, law enforcement officers, and community leaders.

Jewish communities more visible

In Middlesex and Ocean counties, officials speculated that the high incidence of anti-Semitism could have resulted from significant and fast-growing religious Jewish communities. State Sen. Robert Singer (R-30), who is also the mayor of Lakewood and represents other parts of Ocean and Monmouth counties, noted that Lakewood was the 20th largest city in New Jersey 10 years ago, but is now the eighth largest, a population boom that can be attributed to the continuous growth of the Orthodox Jewish community.

"When a community is growing by leaps and bounds as we are, there is a certain amount of displacement of certain people," Singer said. "People tend to misguide their anger."

Singer added that students at Lakewood's Beth Medrash Govoha, one of the world's largest talmudic academies, might be more susceptible to crime and anti-Semitism because they are often walking the streets late at night after Torah study ends. Religious Jews are also easy targets to identify because of the way they dress, he said.

"It means we have a lot of work to do and we can never rest," Larry Mandel, chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council for the Jewish Federation of Ocean County, said. "It's cause for educational programs and being vigilant at all times."

"Hate and anti-Semitism will not be tolerated in New Jersey," U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-3), who serves part of Ocean County, said in an email to The Jewish State. "Perpetrators of these terrible acts should be tracked down and held accountable for their actions."

Lee Livingston, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, said that the Orthodox community is more visible than ever in places like East Brunswick, Highland Park, and Edison. According to the federation's demographic study from last year, 8 percent of respondents in Middlesex County reported that they encountered anti-Semitism in 2008, a number that rose to 19 percent for respondents who identified themselves as Orthodox.

"I would think that we have a growing Orthodox community across our state and in our county, and it may or may not be something that a segment of the population is comfortable with," Livingston said.

In January of 2008, four teenage boys desecrated nearly 500 gravestones at Poile Zedek cemetery in New Brunswick. The cemetery is used by Congregation Poile Zedek of New Brunswick, and Congregation Etz Ahaim of Highland Park. The incident was labeled as "alcohol-fueled vandalism" and not a bias crime by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, but was still included in the ADL's 2008 list of anti-Semitic incidents because the vandals destroyed a sacred space in the Jewish community.

More vigilant reporting

Although the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County does not get regular complaints about anti-Semitism, the county may have led New Jersey in anti-Semitic incidents for 2008 because residents have become very responsible about reporting them, Howard Gases, the federation's executive director, said.

"In Monmouth County, we have a good history of reporting anti-Semitic acts," Gases said. "The prosecutor's office, the town, and the federation have all encouraged it."

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4), who serves parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties, agreed that thorough reporting of incidents could have resulted in the high numbers, but stressed that local, state, and federal organizations can't ignore New Jersey's staggering statistics.

"It could reflect a sense of reporting, New Jersey is very sensitized to this. But it also is highly disturbing that any of this is happening," Smith said. "It underscores our need to increase both our educational efforts and also to ensure that law enforcement is as robust and effective as it can possibly be."

For 12 years, Smith chaired the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, an independent U.S. government agency consisting of nine congress members and nine senators, as well as one member each from the departments of State, Defense, and Commerce, who monitor democratic, economic, and human rights developments.

Problems at school

Smith told The Jewish State that he is working with U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland), the CSCE's current chairman, as well as professors at Montclair State University to organize a congressional hearing either this month or in July that will address anti-Semitism on college campuses. While the ADL's 2008 statistics haven't yet been broken down by site, the 2007 audit recorded that 94 anti-Semitic incidents nationwide took place on campuses.

The 2007 numbers also revealed that 227 anti-Semitic incidents occurred at public schools. New Jersey possibly led the country in 2008 incidents due to a lack of interaction between students from schools that contain high white populations and students from mostly minority schools, Neuer said. Youths often do not understand the harm in using racial epithets and are more likely to "experiment" with them, he said.

"There are ingrained stereotypes that children are acting out on," Neuer said.

To combat this problem, Neuer said that schools need to increase their emphasis on diversity and anti-bias programs, while parents must reinforce those values at home. Law enforcement investigators in New Jersey should regularly follow up on hate crimes, and the state's Office of Bias Crime and Community Relations needs to increase its activity, Neuer added.

Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg, of Congregation Beth El in Edison, attributed New Jersey's high number of anti-Semitic incidents to state's suffering from the ongoing recession.

"When people lose jobs, there is a tendency to blame Jews for the economic crisis," Rosenberg said.

A police chaplain in Edison for the last 14 years, Rosenberg said he always urges law enforcement officers to look out for synagogues and Jewish institutions around the time of religious holidays, when anti-Semitism is ramped up.

N.J. leapfrogs more populous states

After New Jersey, the states with the highest totals of anti-Semitic incidents in the ADL's 2008 audit were California (226), New York (207), Florida (122), and Pennsylvania (97). New Jersey is the 11th-most populous state in the country, with the fourth-largest number of Jews, but is also the nation's most densely populated state. Livingston said that factor might explain frequent anti-Semitism, but could have the opposite effect with proper dialogue and programming between different segments of local communities.

"[Population density] can either increase antagonism or lead to a greater understanding," Livingston said.

The ADL's 238 anti-Semitic incidents for New Jersey in 2008 included 177 occurrences of vandalism, 59 of harassment, and two physical assaults on Jewish individuals. The audit includes hate propaganda, leafleting, and verbal slurs within the definition of harassment.

Based on the ADL audit, anti-Semitism was down nationwide in 2008 for the fourth straight year. New Jersey has an average of 227.5 anti-Semitic incidents over the past 12 years, with a high of 297 in 2004 and a low of 171 in 2002.

Neuer stressed that the audit is by no means a definitive and final statement on anti-Semitism in America. Individuals often call the ADL about an incident instead of calling the police, or vice versa, and the list does not record interactions of anti-Semitic nature that take place over the internet, Neuer said.

"The audit is just a snapshot [of anti-Semitism in the U.S.]," he said.