White extremism is on the rise in New England. Here's what's happening in Rhode Island.

From protesters displaying a swastika in Providence to anti-Semitic messages dropped on the lawns of Warwick homes, hate has made its way into Rhode Island.

In a call with The Providence Journal on Tuesday, Peggy Shukur, interim regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, described "an uptick particularly in extremist activity – which is often a mix of anti-Semitic, racist, anti-LGBTQ" sentiments – connected to hate groups such as Patriot Front, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and the Nationalist Socialist Club, otherwise known as NSC-131, which waved a Nazi flag at a reading of "The Communist Manifesto" at Providence's Red Ink Community Library. Shukur said those groups are attempting to gain a foothold in New England.

Adam Greenman, president and CEO of the Greater Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island, called it "alarming and concerning," adding that anti-Semitic incidents are becoming more common in the state.

Uptick in extremist activity

According to ADL data, 17 incidents were reported in 2021, an increase of 11 over 2020. However, Greenman said the alliance has already tracked 25 incidents since June 2022 – meaning this year is on track to outpace the previous year. While the alliance tracks nearby Massachusetts towns including Seekonk and Rehoboth, only one or two of those incidents may have occurred in those areas, Greenman said.

Shukur attributes the rise in hate partly to rapper Kanye West's anti-Semitic messaging and feels the situation only worsened when former President Donald Trump recently had dinner with West and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

"The story just doesn’t go away, and the more you repeat these narratives, the more they take hold, the more they embolden people to act on their hate," Shukur said. "And that’s what we’re seeing."

Combating anti-Semitism

On Wednesday night, Shukur will take part in a talk at the Jewish Community Center on Elmgrove Avenue to help attendees better understand how to identify anti-Semitism and combat it. The discussion, called "The State of Hate: Antisemitism & Your Role in the Good Fight," will be hosted by the ADL, the Bristol Community College Holocaust Center, and the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, where Wendy Joering serves as executive director.

"The need for education is so important," Joering said, citing an incident in a Rhode Island middle school in which she said a child said "'Kanye was right,' not knowing there was a Jewish child in the classroom."

"And he probably didn’t even really know what he was saying," Joering added, emphasizing "the importance of educating from a young age at the elementary school level about kindness and empathy" and, at an older age, the Holocaust.

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Alice Eichenbaum, 94, who survived the Holocaust while living in Bulgaria, said education is critical. She said her husband, Raymond, "barely" survived life in the Auschwitz concentration camp and went on to help organize the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center at the Jewish Community Center.

To this day, Alice remembers a moment Raymond reflected on from his past.

"They didn’t kill us all," Raymond said. "They didn’t, and they left me. There must be a reason why they left me."

The reason, as Raymond put it, was to tell his story.

Wednesday's event starts at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center located at 401 Elmgrove Ave. in Providence. Joering emphasized that the program is for anyone to attend, and the skills that will be shared for fighting anti-Semitism are useful in combating other forms of hate, too.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Extremist activity connected to hate groups is increasing in RI