CLEVELAND — One year after the terrorist organization Hamas led a coordinated attack on Israel, resulting in the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust, antisemitism has reached new extremes in the United States, including here in Northeast Ohio.
Adam Saar is a junior at Case Western Reserve University. The son of Israeli parents who raised him in New York state, he's the founder and president of the school's Jewish Student Union. He's poured so much of himself into life at school, but walking around campus, his heart is somewhere else.
"Israel is my home," Saar told 3News Investigative Reporter Peter Fleischer in a recent interview. “I wouldn't be here without it."
For the last year since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Saar says he's felt like his home, and his people, are under attack.
"I've certainly felt like there's a target on my back at times," he admits.
Amid the ongoing protests and encampments — many centered on college campuses — Saar says the level of hatred and violence is shocking in a way that he has never seen before. Within the last month alone, Jewish students at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh have reportedly been targets of physical violence.
"Jewish students on every campus feel under attack," Saar said. "They feel like they have to defend their community, defend themselves, prioritize their safety."
Kelly Fishman, Cleveland regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, says data from across the country can put Saar's fears into real, tangible numbers.
"It's impacting people across our communities," Fishman explained. "So when we see this rise in antisemitism, it doesn't just affect the Jewish community; it affects everyone."
According to the FBI, hate crimes against Jewish Americans increased by more than 63% in 2023, and the region in and around Northeast Ohio saw an even larger increase.
"We saw a 250% increase in antisemitic incidents," Fisher said, "which is even higher than the national increase."
The ADL also keeps its own count of antisemitic incidents. By their numbers, there were more than 8,800 incidents of assault, harassment, and vandalism — the most since they started tracking data in 1979.
Jason Wuliger, chair of the Government Relations Committee for the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, sees firsthand the impact on families across the Northeast Ohio area.
"People feel emboldened not just to say mean things, but to do awful things to members of our community," Wuliger lamented. "There's fear — fear about what the future is going to look like. We see it in every aspect of Jewish life."
Less than a week before the anniversary of Oct. 7, fighting in the Middle East only escalated when Iran launched nearly 200 missiles into Israel. It's the latest in a conflict that has resulted in much pain and devastation on both sides, and thousands of lives lost.
For many, it's difficult to see a path to peace in Israel’s short-term future. Yet, during the time of the High Holy Days, local Jewish leaders remain resilient.
"We will overcome what's going on right now," Wuliger reassured. "We will come out the other side stronger than ever before."
Saar is the youngest of the area leaders who spoke with 3News, and yet he approaches the issue with measured perspective.
"No side is perfect," Saar admitted. "There isn't a good or an evil, simply a lot of humans who are stuck in a cycle of vitriol and hate and fear."
One year after the tragic attack on Oct. 7, he hopes the days ahead will build bridges rather than burn them.
"The only outcome that really benefits us all is to seek to understand each other," he said.
The ADL says the organization is alarmed by both extremist far-right hate groups growing emboldened in the Northeast Ohio area, as well as what it calls younger generational support for terrorist organizations.