Anti-Semitic Crimes On The Rise In Mass.

BEVERLY (CBS) - Rabbi Alison Adler of Temple B'Nai Abraham still remembers the pain, the shock of seeing anti-Semitic graffiti scrawled on the back wall of the synagogue last month.

She has a message for the culprit:

"I would hope that this person would understand the meaning of when you write a dollar sign that that evokes age old ancient stereotypes about Jews that were used to persecute Jews so it resonates very deeply for us and is very hurtful," she said.

Anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise according to a new report just released by the Anti-Defamation League and one of the most striking increases occurs here in Massachusetts.

In all of 2015 there were 50 reported anti-Semitic incidents in the Bay State. In the first five months of 2016, there are already 47 reported incidents.

"The vast majority of the incidents that we've seen this year occur on a campus whether it's a middle school, high school or a college university campus," says ADL Regional Director Robert Trestan.

"It speaks to the need for increased anti-bias education… increased awareness and focus in the classroom on these issues."

Despite the pain there is hope that increased discussion can lead to change. Community leaders gathered Thursday night at Temple B'Nai Abraham to plan a response. The rabbi says community leaders want to move forward together and that includes Trestan.

"We have an opportunity to stem the tide," he said. "If we act, and if we do it collectively."