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Report: Anti-Semitic incidents rise in Massachusetts – Metro US

Report: Anti-Semitic incidents rise in Massachusetts

An elderly man cleans the paint poured by vandals on a Holocaust monument in Lida, a town in the west of the former Soviet republic of Belarus, 14 October 2003. Credit: Getty Images An elderly man cleans the paint poured by vandals on a Holocaust monument in Lida, a town in the west of the former Soviet republic of Belarus, 14 October 2003. Credit: Getty Images

The number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in Massachusetts last year rose compared to the year before, according to a report released on Tuesday.

A report by the Anti-Defamation League said that 46 incidents were reported in the state in 2013, compared to 38 in 2012.

The report cited one example in Massachusetts. The incident took place in January 2013 when a man in Stoneham had his shoulder injured by a co-worker who had made disparaging remarks toward him for being Jewish.

While the number of incidents in the state rose, the national numbers fell. There were 751 reported incidents last year compared to 927 in 2012.

“In the last decade we have witnessed a significant and encouraging decline in the number and intensity of anti-Semitic acts in America,” Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, said in a statement. “The falling number of incidents targeting Jews is another indication of just how far we have come in finding full acceptance in society, and it is a reflection of how much progress our country has made in shunning bigotry and hatred.”

New York led the list with 203 incidents, down from 245 in 2012.

The report said that the states with the highest totals were also those with large Jewish populations.

Follow Michael Naughton on Twitter @metrobosmike.