A group of girls wait for the start of a memorial vigil for the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, Oct. 27, 2018. (AP/Gene J. Puskar)

FBI reports Anti-Semitic crimes increased by 37 percent in 2017. Islamophobic incidents dropped by 11 percent.

By Joseph Wolkin, World Israel News

According to data released by the FBI on Tuesday, anti-Semitic incidents increased by 37 percent last year, totalling 938 reports of anti-Jewish crime, excluding non-reported events.

The data revealed also showed a drop in Islamophobic crimes by 11 percent in 2017. There were 273 such incidents throughout the year.

Overall, hate crimes were up by 17 percent in 2017, marking the third straight year the FBI reported an increase in such cases.

The FBI said the spike is partially due to more police departments sharing hate crime information with the organization.

“[The report] provides further evidence that more must be done to address the divisive climate of hate in America,” Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said. “That begins with leaders from all walks of life and from all sectors of society forcefully condemning anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hate whenever it occurs.”

The number of hate crimes in 2017 increased to a total of 7,175, including attacks based on race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation – up from 6,121 in 2016.

Anti-Semitic crimes last year totaled about 13 percent of all reported incidents.

“[It’s] a call to action — and we will heed that call,” Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker said. “The Department of Justice’s top priority is to reduce violent crime in America, and hate crimes are violent crimes. They are also despicable violations of our core values as Americans.”

The report comes less than a week after French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe revealed that anti-Semitic crimes increased by 69 percent throughout the first nine months of the year.

Anti-Semitic rhetoric took over the United States midterms last week as well, including anti-Semitic ads against candidates.