Anti-Semitic Incidents Up Last Year in L.A., State

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Los Angeles County rose slightly last year, an increase attributed to more accurate reporting and the publicity triggered by the Granada Hills preschool shooting, according to a report Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

The national civil rights group in its annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents showed that increases in Los Angeles County and California run counter to a national decline in the number of bigoted acts reported against Jews.

The increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in California may not be the result of increased hatred of Jews, officials said.

ADL Regional Director David Lehrer said the rise is likely the result of publicity from Aryan Nations member Buford O. Furrow Jr.’s alleged shooting rampage at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in August, as well as alleged arson attacks on three Sacramento area synagogues by white supremacists.

Furrow, who awaits trial on federal charges, is accused of shooting and injuring five people at the center, including three children. He also is charged with fatally shooting postal worker Joseph Ileto before he was arrested.

After those attacks, Lehrer said, police and victims probably became more conscientious in reporting crimes. The high-profile attacks may also have inspired other anti-Semitic incidents, Lehrer said.

In Los Angeles County, there were 12 more anti-Semitic incidents in 1999 than in 1998, for a total of 113. California tallied 275 such incidents in 1999, up from 223 reported in 1998.

Nationally, the number of incidents dropped to 1,547 in 1999 from 1,661 in 1998. Anti-Semitic incidents peaked in 1994, with a total of 2,066, according to the ADL.

The ADL compiled its numbers from police reports and data provided by the group’s 30 field offices.

Lehrer said Jewish groups in California should not be alarmed by the increase, but should be mindful of reasonable security measures.

He said attacks like the Granada Hills shooting can prompt groups to initially overreact, then put aside safety precautions later. “We should not be afraid and say that the sky is falling,” he said. “We need to take a reasonable, rational approach. We should not be whipsawed by an event then forget about it two weeks later.”

Lehrer said that shortly after the Granada Hills attack, some Jewish groups considered posting armed guards. Two months later, he said, a Los Angeles Jewish group canceled a planned security seminar for lack of interest. He said that the number of anti-Semitic incidents has been falling for several years but that there may be an increase in the most violent attacks.