Hate crimes targeting individuals identified as Jewish or LGBTQ+ have seen a significant increase in 2022, according to an annual report released by the FBI. The report, which analyzed data from over 11 million reported criminal offenses across the United States, revealed a concerning rise in hate crimes against these communities. Civil rights organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), have expressed alarm at the data.
The report indicates that hate crimes motivated by race and ethnicity remained the largest category, accounting for 56 percent of all reported incidents. However, hate crimes based on religion and sexual orientation followed closely behind. The ADL highlighted that the number of reported anti-Jewish hate crimes reached a record high, with a 37 percent increase compared to the previous year. The ADL also noted that incidents targeting the LGBTQ+ community saw a sharp rise, with a nearly 14 percent increase based on sexual orientation and a shocking 33 percent spike based on gender identity.
The ADL emphasized that the reported incidents of anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2022 were the highest ever recorded since the FBI began tracking such data in 1991. The organization stated that over 1,100 antisemitic hate crimes were reported last year, marking the highest number in almost three decades. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt described the FBI data as sobering, particularly in the aftermath of the recent attack on Israel.
The HRC, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, also expressed concern over the rise in hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community. The organization noted a nearly 14 percent increase in incidents based on sexual orientation and a shocking 33 percent spike in reported hate crimes based on gender identity. The HRC highlighted that more than one in five hate crimes reported were motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias. The organization further mentioned the alarming wave of fatal violence against the transgender community, particularly Black trans women.
HRC President Kelley Robinson described the rise in hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community as heartbreaking. Robinson attributed the increase to hostile rhetoric from anti-equality figures and the passage of discriminatory bills targeting transgender individuals in state legislatures. The FBI’s data, according to Robinson, serves as another alarming indicator of the emergency faced by the LGBTQ+ community.
The FBI report revealed that reported single-bias, anti-Jewish hate crimes increased from 817 in 2021 to 1,122 in 2022, comprising more than half of all religion-based hate crimes reported last year. The ADL noted that this trend aligns with data reported in previous years. The report also highlighted the concerning rise in hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ+ community, with a significant increase in incidents based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The surge in hate crimes against Jewish and LGBTQ+ individuals, as revealed by the FBI’s 2022 hate-crime statistics, has raised concerns among civil rights organizations.
