Hate-crimes committed 23 more times against Jews than against Muslims; How can we convey the severity of anti-Semitism vs Islamophobia?

A report released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services concluded that hate crimes increased 14 percent in 2009, led by an increase in attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions. 683 hate crimes were reported to authorities across New York State in 2009, compared with 599 in 2008. Anti-Semitic incidents rose from 219 in 2008 to 251 in 2009, comprising 37 percent of reported incidents.

Just-released New York 2009 report: Hate crimes against Jews: 251. Hate crimes against Muslims: 11. (JihadWatch)

And yet we endlessly hear about "Islamophobia," as if Muslims were huddled in their homes, cowering in the darkness as roving bands of Islamophobes marauded outside, throttling any hapless Believers who dared to stray outside.  In reality, Jews are far more likely to be victimized in hate attacks -- and yet there is no hand-wringing, there are no official statements of outrage and solidarity, there are no seminars or webinars or earnest talking-head discussions about the rise in anti-Semitism.

Yet more evidence that the "rise in Islamophobia" theme that the mainstream media keeps returning to is just a shell game to divert attention from Islamic jihad violence and supremacism.

Despite all the progress made since the hatred of Jews started thousands of years ago, the last month of 2010 showed us just how far we still have to go.

Jeremy Ruden, an independent media consultant & an adjunct lecturer at IDC Herzliya’s School of Communications, is published in the Jerusalem Post Op/Ed pages.

Sites that perpetuate the old falsehoods of Jews controlling the banks and media should be overrun by statistics of how much Arab money has been invested in financial and communication institutions. The numbers are staggering. Even a virtual tour of the posh areas in London should show the skeptics just who’s trying to “take over.”

Israel must invest a considerable amount of resources on this front. It’s a lot of work, but we are the only government whose sacred duty it is to combat anti-Semitism on the Web.

The satirical LatmaTV troupe produces "Saturday Night Live" parodies of Israeli news affairs, such as this piece with the "Egyptian Minister of Conspiracy Theories."

Sometimes the best way to tackle hate is through laughter, but in most cases Israel must be more serious in making the fight against anti-Semitism – in all these arenas – a national priority. There will be plenty more slander and lies and we must be ready to fight and let the world know that we are doing so.