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7th October massacre game banned in Britain

British counter-terrorism police have banned a video game in which users play as terrorists invading Israel and are encouraged to murder “Zionists”.

The game, ‘Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque’, was removed from the gaming platform Steam, following a request from the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit.

The trailer for the game shows characters, dressed in Hamas-style clothing, including green headbands, entering an Israeli army base using paragliders. Images of Hamas terrorists using paragliders have become synonymous with its barbaric 7th October terrorist attacks in Israel last year, in which some 1,200 Israelis were murdered and over 250 people were taken hostage.

At the beginning of the trailer, text on the screen reads: “Where are those who carry the explosive belts? Come here, I want an explosive belt to blow up myself over the Zionists!” It continues, “It is a jihad, a jihad of victory or martyrdom!”

The trailer also contains a graphic scene where players line up Israeli soldiers and execute them.

The game’s Brazilian-Palestinian creator, Nidal Nijm, said his creation “allows you to relive the iconic day on which the brave Palestinian resistance humiliated Israeli military forces”.

An earlier version of the game reportedly included a scene of a terrorist beheading an Israeli soldier, before kicking their head into the air.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This game is repulsive. To reenact the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust for gameplay is sadistic. Such explicit depictions of real-life terrorist attacks against Jews also so obviously run the risk of further radicalising young people that you start to wonder if that’s the point. It’s absolutely right that this game is banned in the UK, given the alarming rates of extremism right now. Young people are already statistically more likely to have a favourable view of Hamas, the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group that carried out the barbaric attacks, according to our polling. We must make every effort to counteract these trends.”

Almost one in ten – 9% – of 18-24 year olds have a favourable view of Hamas, according to our representative polling.

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Britain’s ‘anti-racists’ may be coming to a neighbourhood near you

This past Saturday, Stand Up to Racism and other ‘anti-racist’ groups gathered in London, ostensibly to protest a march organised by Tommy Robinson.

But there was plenty of racism on display among the so-called ‘anti-racists’, including signs and flyers demanding that “Zionism must be destroyed” and calling for an “End to Zionism”, claiming that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson are all “Israeli puppets”, and explaining “genocide maths” as “racism plus colonialism equals Zionism.”

Labour MPs and National Education Union leaders were among those in attendance. For those who like far-left ‘anti-racism’ maths, this seems like a more accurate equation: all anti-racisms are equal, but some are more equal than others.

The next day, the ‘anti-racists’ came to JW3, the Jewish cultural centre in North London, where a conference on Israel was taking place amid other regular programming. As members of the Jewish community entered the venue in order to attend that day’s events, they were forced to bypass an angry mob, who were screaming and chanting intimidatory slogans.

We have offered support to Jewish counter-demonstrators who were reportedly arrested by police, who otherwise allowed the anti-Israel protest to take place directly outside the entrance to the centre.

We are writing to the Metropolitan Police. Of course, this is the same Metropolitan Police whose officers do not seem to know that Hizballah is a terrorist organisation, even at a time when we know that Iran and its proxies pose a threat to Britain and the Jewish community.

After we publicised a video exposing ignorance among police officers, the Met rightly acknowledged the need for improved briefings for its officers. However, it feels like twelve months of excuses now while terror is being glorified on our streets, and British Jews are paying the price with unprecedented levels of antisemitism.

If you want to remind Hizballah supporters and forgetful police officers about the law of the land, our T-shirts and hoodies – with the caption “Hizballah Are Terrorists – It’s not an opinion. It’s the law.” – are available for purchase!

Show us the legal advice on UNRWA funding!

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has refused to reveal to us whether legal advice was sought or obtained in relation to the restoration of funding to the highly controversial United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), so we are now calling on Foreign Secretary David Lammy to publish the legal advice in the interests of transparency and consistency.

Last month, “in the interests of transparency” Mr Lammy published a summary of the legal advice in relation to the decision to suspend some 30 licences for arms exports to Israel following legal advice from the Attorney General, due to a supposed “clear risk” that they may be used in ways that breach international law.

We called on the FCDO to confirm whether legal advice had been sought or obtained in relation to the decision to resume UNRWA funding, but the Ministry has refused to tell us. We have therefore now written to Mr Lammy calling on him to do so, and to publish a summary of the advice.

It is time that, in the interests of transparency and consistency, Mr Lammy reassures the British public that legal advice identified no such risks in relation to taxpayer funding of UNRWA.

Watermelons on Big Brother

Last week, a Big Brother ‘housemate’ was seen wearing a t-shirt depicting the map of Israel as a watermelon – a symbol widely associated with anti-Israel sentiment. Many British Jews regard this symbol as a genocidal message similar to the slogan ‘From the River to the Sea’ which calls for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state.

We therefore submitted a complaint to Ofcom in relation to its appearance on the programme.

After we did so – and others complained as well – the episode was removed from ITVX and re-uploaded, having been edited to remove the offending image.

A spokesman for Big Brother said that the show did not “allow any personal items into the house that could be deemed harmful,” adding: “We regret that the implications of this particular item of clothing were not fully understood in our bag checks or prior to broadcast of last night’s show. We apologise to any viewers who have been offended by the broadcast and assure viewers that Big Brother was unaware of the implications of the image.”

We are grateful to ITV for acting swiftly to ensure that this sort of programming is free from unnecessary political or threatening messaging.

How the British media sees Israel’s conflict with Iran and its terror proxies and supporters

In explaining Israel’s targeting of military infrastructure in Iran over the weekend, BBC News offered a backgrounder, with the anchor saying: “Let us just remind you now of exactly how we got here.”

What followed was several minutes in which Israel was portrayed as the solitary actor engaging in entirely unprovoked military action against Hizballah – which was not described as a terrorist organisation or explained in any way – and Iran, whose firing of the largest barrage of ballistic missiles in history against Israel was played down.

You can watch the full clip and read our analysis here.

Once again, the BBC’s failure to describe Hizballah as a terrorist organisation was not impartial but inaccurate. We will be writing to the BBC.

When the Jewish state is falsely portrayed, as in this BBC report, as needlessly aggressive and the methods and motivations of its enemies are whitewashed, it invites viewers to view Jews negatively and gives licence to antisemites to attack them. In this surge of antisemitism in Britain, the BBC is not innocent.

Please sign our petition calling on all broadcasters to call Hizballah what they are: terrorists.

The BBC is not alone in its dubious portrayal of what is happening in the Middle East or right here in Britain. Last weekend, Sky News gave national airtime to a ‘peaceful’ protester who claimed that Israel is “systematically targeting civilians” in Gaza.

Yet, we interviewed this same individual earlier this year, and he openly described Hamas as a “legitimate resistance organisation”. In fact, he even admitted that if he were a Gazan, he would probably join Hamas himself. In 2015, he also ran as an Independent Parliamentary candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, one of the most heavily-Jewish constituencies in the UK.

When people show you who they truly are, believe them. These are not peace marches. It’s time they stopped happening on our streets.

Meanwhile, The Guardian recently removed its appalling review of ‘One Day in October’, a documentary about the Hamas massacre on 7th October. In the review, the author lamented that, watching the documentary, “All our sympathies are with relatable Israelis…By contrast, Hamas terrorists are a generalised menace on CCTV, their motives beyond One Day in October’s remit.”

The review did not meet its editorial guidelines, according to the newspaper, but we’re wondering why. After all, we put together a selection of other articles which are still up on the newspaper’s website that apparently do meet The Guardian’s editorial standards.

Clearly, The Guardian’s editorial standards are deficient. Perhaps at long last, it is time that The Guardian acquired some moral standards.

Sukkot and Simchat Torah, which we celebrated over the past two weeks, were joyous occasions. But they were tinged with the memory of what took place at this time last year.

We remembered those murdered on these days twelve months ago, and mourned their absence. We also marked the absence of the over 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity.

Thanks to a contribution from a generous supporter, we were able to build and dedicate a sukkah to the hostages, and in particular recreated what the Bibas family sukkah may have looked like if Yarden (35), Shiri (33) and their beautiful children Ariel (5) and baby Kfir (1) were free to celebrate this wonderful festival with the rest of their people.

We continue to hope, advocate and pray for their safe return.

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The wheels of justice turn slowly. CAA is here to give them a push.

We would like to update you on a number of cases that we have working on.

You may recall this video that was posted back in March and circulated on TikTok. It threatened violence against a named individual, saying that he was being hunted to “dish out the justice” and that once found, they would “drag him away from his family in front of his family”.

We reported the individual to counterterrorism police and commenced a private prosecution. We can now confirm that the CPS has taken up the case and the individual in the video has been charged with communications and terrorism offences and is awaiting trial.

In another case, last October, a social media user published these posts in the wake of a terrorist rocket that fell short and killed people in a Gaza hospital. The explosion was blamed by the BBC and other media outlets on Israel, fuelling antisemitic rhetoric like this. Apologies from the media, even after the damage was done, were few and far between.

One of the posts showed images of long knives. The posts threatened that “There won’t be a f***ing Jew walking the streets of London if this carries on!”

We argued that there is a direct link between inflammatory, unverified, incorrect reporting on Israel and this kind of reaction. We reported the case to the police and, after a considerable period of inaction by the police, we can now confirm that the individual has been charged.

The LGBTQ+ nightclub Adonis announced in its Instagram bio that “definitely no f***ing Zionists” were welcome at its club nights. The promoters also claimed that “Zionism has no place in queer spaces”. After an outcry, the bio was amended to read “no genocidal maniacs plz xx.”

We consider that Adonis’ ban on “Zionists” entering its events may breach criminal, equality, and licensing laws. We wrote to the co-Directors of DL Food and Drink Limited, the company that holds the licence for the premises, The Cause, that hosts Adonis at Silver Building in the Docklands. The company has now announced that Adonis’ event on 7th September will not take place on its premises.

Whilst Adonis sought to backtrack on its inflammatory online comments, the harm has already been done and our lawyers are examining various potential courses of action closely.

There have been several instances of Jewish people being actively or implicitly excluded from LGBTQ+ spaces and parades, and we will always act to ensure that all spaces — especially those that pride themselves on their “inclusivity” — understand that ostracising Jews carries consequences.

In addition, we continue to write to venues alerting them to Reginald D. Hunter’s recent conduct at the Edinburgh Fringe and his social media activity since then, and we are pleased to report that several have already cancelled his bookings. We are continuing to work with the victims and our lawyers are examining legal options.

These are only a selection of the cases that we are working on, and they represent only a fraction of the matters that we have reported to the police. These prosecutions are likely to take months, if not years, but we will see them through to the end.

Doing our part to help the hostages

We were delighted by the news today that one of the hostages, Qaid Farhan Al-Kadi, has been rescued from Gaza.

In just over a week’s time, 7th September 2024 will mark eleven months since Hamas abducted 251 Israelis and other nationals from Israel and took them into captivity in Gaza.

Of those 251 hostages, 117 have been returned alive, and 30 bodies have been repatriated. Over 100 still remain, including four who have been held by Hamas since before October 2023.

In a month’s time, on 7th October 2024, we will be marking the one-year anniversary of the massacre perpetrated by Hamas. We must do whatever we can to ensure that no hostage is still in captivity by that date.

That is why we are launching a campaign encouraging everyone to write to their MP to educate our Parliamentarians — including the hundreds of new MPs — about this issue and put the hostages back on the agenda.

You can write in two easy steps.

First, download this Word document, which contains a draft letter that you are welcome to use or amend as you please before sending either as a hard-copy letter, or as an e-mail attachment, or simply as text in the body of an e-mail. Remember to add your MP’s name and your name and postcode so that they know that you are a constituent and that they should respond.

Second, find out who your MP is and how to contact them, by clicking here.

If you get particularly supportive or hostile responses, you are welcome to share them with us by forwarding them to [email protected].

For those interested, we recently interviewed Eylon Keshet, a relative of the Bibas family, for our podcast. It has been over ten months since Hamas terrorists kidnapped Yarden and Shiri Bibas and their children, baby Kfir and Ariel. You can listen here.

Book now to hear Stories from Students

Since 7th October, Jewish student life on campus has been turned on its head.

CAA has therefore brought together current students and recent graduates from universities across the country to share their stories and answer questions from prospective students and their parents, as well as current students and other interested members of the Jewish community.

This event, taking place at 18:30 on Thursday 5th September in North London, is an important opportunity to hear directly from Jewish students.

It is also a chance for us to come together to show our support and solidarity with those who faced this new generation of hate head-on.

Booking is essential.

British Jews, how are you?

Do want to say your piece on antisemitism in Britain for one of our videos? If British Jews do not speak out about how we are feeling right now, we are less likely to get the action from the authorities that we need.

If you want to speak to camera or would like more information, please e-mail us now at [email protected] with the subject: “British Jews”.

Are you a medical professional, or a recent patient?

We are collecting testimonies on antisemitism in the medical field.

We are interested to hear from doctors and other medical practitioners, staff, patients and anyone else who has encountered antisemitism in medicine over the past year.

If you have been affected, please e-mail us confidentially at [email protected] with the subject: “Medical”.

Become a CAA Student Ambassador!

Are you a student at university in 2024-2025, or do you know somebody who is? CAA’s Student Ambassador programme is an exciting opportunity to work with us in a prestigious year-long initiative.

Student Ambassadors will work closely with our Education Officer and wider team to help us to expose and challenge the rising tide of antisemitism overwhelming UK university campuses.

The contributions of our students is more important now than ever before to the fight against antisemitism.

For further information and details about the programme please visit antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

We are grateful to all of you who have answered our invitation to speak on camera about antisemitism or our call for evidence of antisemitism in the medical profession, or applied to become a Student Ambassador or have RSVPed to our Stories from Students event. It is only with the active help of the Jewish community and our allies that we can continue to raise awareness of antisemitism, confront it and deliver justice.

All of the legal cases that we are working on are likely to take months, if not years, before they reach an outcome. But, no matter how slowly the wheels of justice turn, CAA will be there to give them a push.

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Is this summer of riots just the beginning?

The recent riots and counterdemonstrations have come to define this summer. But as they appear to cool off and the country finally gets a break, it remains to be seen whether the Jewish community will get any respite.

As we head into the new academic year and new Jewish year, we are ready for the fight ahead.

Riots, racism and “anti-racism”

Over the last few weeks, the criminal justice system has been woken from its slumber to confront the riots and hooliganism that have been plaguing the cities of Britain.

The rioters

We wrote about how far-right forums, which were being used to organise the riots, were targeting Jews, with messages in one far-right Telegram channel, for example, saying that they “support neither brown nor Jew”, and that Hitler was “the only politician since Roman times to truly care for his people”.

“The Jewish people fabricated the Holocaust – ensuring they would never again be questioned by Europeans while they destroyed their homelands… Today Jewish media, NGOs, finance, business, entertainment and a huge overrepresentation in government, are doing the same all over Europe,” said another.

The counter-demonstrators

While we applauded the strong response by the authorities to the riots, there were two things that we could not help but notice.

The first was that many of the so called “anti-racist” counter-demonstrators exhibited their own flavour of extremism, for which they have not suffered any consequences. The disgraced former academic David Miller, asserted that “the riots have been instigated by the Zionist asset, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon,” in reference to far-right activist Tommy Robinson, while a former Parliamentary candidate for George Galloway’s Workers Party also reportedly shared content claiming that “Tommy Robinson is on Israel’s payroll”.

A video circulated online in which a man claimed that the rioters and Muslims should not be at odds with one another as the rioters are only targeting Muslims because of their “Zionist-backers”. The LBC presenter James O’Brien signposted this video, only to quickly apologise, claiming that he had not watched it in full. A user on X wrote in a post that received over three million views: “What’s happening in England is the perfect example of how Zionists manipulate the media to pin [sic] Christians and Muslims Against each other.” The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) charity also blamed “Zionist financiers” for the riots in a letter to the Home Secretary, and we have submitted a complaint to the Charity Commission.

Perhaps the best example was the “Finchley Against Fascism” WhatsApp messages that we exposed, in which so-called “anti-racist” activists not only referred to Zionism as “fascism” and “racism”, but, astoundingly, the activists were so blinded by their hatred of ‘Zionists’ that they would refuse their help in opposing the rioters.

Opposition to the far-right does not whitewash the racism of the far-left.

We supported the urgent action against the violent riots on our streets, but we have remained vigilant against some of the extremists amongst those counterprotestors who have also themselves been marching on our streets for months and are now trying to portray themselves as anti-fascist moderates.

The criminal justice system

The second thing that we could not but notice over the past few weeks was how, whereas nine months of one type of extremism on our streets was apparently not enough to wake up the criminal justice system, a few days of another type of extremism was. Accordingly, we have called for the resources mobilised to combat the riots now to be trained on the other extremists too.

Those espousing any extremist ideology must be made to face the full force of the law. If we are selective, our society will suffer.

To the authorities, we say that if you believe there to be no double standard in the policing, prosecution and sentencing of the current rioters over the past three weeks versus the violent or antisemitic anti-Israel demonstrators over the past year, at the very least you still need to reckon with why that perception has arisen.

That perception is not limited to the hooligans and thugs who have rightly been bearing the full consequences of their actions: it is widely shared by many law-abiding Britons across the country and by many in the Jewish community, who have suffered the most from failures in policing over the past year.

For ten months, they have been frustrated and let down by a lethargic criminal justice system that was apathetic and at times even hostile to the challenges that they faced; now they see how quickly the system can be mobilised when there is the institutional and political will to do so. Why has that been lacking for so long?

We cannot tackle extremism through double standards. Every type of extremism must be confronted by the full force of the law, no matter the perpetrators.

Reginald D. Hunter at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

A Jewish Israeli couple was reportedly hounded out of comedian Reginald D. Hunter’s show two Sundays ago at the Edinburgh Fringe, whilst audience members shouted insults at them.

The show was described by a reporter for The Telegraph reviewing the performance as “the ugliest Fringe moment [he] had ever witnessed”.

The alleged incident was triggered when Mr Hunter apparently made a joke in which he compared the State of Israel to an abusive wife, who, in a Channel 5 documentary, had accused her husband of being abusive. He is reported to have remarked: “My God, it’s like being married to Israel.”

The Jewish couple, who were in the front row of the audience and said that they were Israeli, responded by shouting “not funny” at the comedian. Audience members reportedly responded by shouting “genocidal maniac”, “you’re not welcome,” “baby-killers”, “f* off” and “free Palestine” at the couple. It is understood that Mr Hunter responded to the couple, saying: “I’ve been waiting for you all summer, where the f* you been? You can say it’s not funny to you, but if you say it to a room full of people who laughed, you look foolish…Look at you making everyone love Israel even more.” After the couple left the show, Mr Hunter reportedly quipped: “That tells me that I still got voltage.”

This is not the first time that the comedian has courted controversy in relation to the Jewish community. In 2006, also during the Edinburgh Fringe, he received backlash after making a joke about Holocaust-denial. At the recent performance, it is understood that he compared the moment to his 2006 controversy and made reference to being unable to access an article in a Jewish newspaper about the incident. He is alleged to have said: “Typical f***ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe.” He reportedly then added: “It’s just a joke.”

We have spoken with the Jewish couple, as well as additional witnesses. The couple, noting that nobody in the audience came to their aid, told us that they were left in fear of violence. We are writing to venues currently scheduled to host Mr Hunter to ensure that they are fully aware of his conduct at the Edinburgh Fringe. We are encouraged to see that the first venue has decided to cancel his planned appearance. Our lawyers are exploring legal options and we urge anyone present at the show to contact us in confidence at [email protected].

We are also contacting Police Scotland, which opened and then closed an investigation, with additional evidence for them to review.

While Mr Hunter has released a statement in which he stated that he “regrets any stress caused”, the word “sorry” and a fulsome apology were noticeably missing. His social media activity since the incident does not indicate remorse. The victims reject this non-apology from Mr Hunter. The venue’s statement portraying the incident simply as audience members “choosing to leave” is appalling and wilfully overlooks the facts. Their claims that staff supported the couple during their exit do not chime with the victims’ accounts whatsoever. Our lawyers are also considering legal action in relation to the venue.

We will continue to support the victims and ensure that Mr Hunter faces the consequences of his actions.

This incident may remind some of another incident earlier this year, involving comedian Paul Currie. Incidentally, Mr Currie was also performing at the Fringe, having been booted by numerous other venues following our letters. We are aware of reports that he “banned Zionists” from his Fringe show. Our lawyers are also looking into that.

Are you a medical professional, or a recent patient?

We are collecting testimonies on antisemitism in the medical field.

We are interested to hear from doctors and other medical practitioners, staff, patients and anyone else who has encountered antisemitism in medicine over the past year.

If you have been affected, please e-mail us confidentially at [email protected] with the subject: “Medical”.

Meanwhile, Dr Wahid Shaida, who referred to the 7th October Hamas terrorist attacks as “resistance” and then denied that they even occurred, has had his suspension lifted by NHS England.

While working as a GP, Dr Shaida also chaired meetings for the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has since been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the British Government. We have written to NHS England and to the GMC about this shocking decision.

We also wrote to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) regarding the scheduling of its annual conference over Rosh Hashanah. Although unable to change the date at this late stage, the RCGP did at least apologise and regret the clash.

University encampments

For months, we have seen hideous anti-Israel encampments erected on campuses across Britain, physical embodiments of the exponential rise of Jew-hatred in our universities, which were already hotbeds of antisemitism.

We have been closely monitoring what different universities have done to address (or not address) the encampments. The full report can be read here, or the specific responses of universities can be read below:

These encampments have had a grossly detrimental effect on the Jewish campus experience, and it is shameful that, exceptions notwithstanding, universities did not quickly act to remove them and sanction participants in line with their codes of conduct and legal duties.

In addition to the impact on Jewish students, several wider student activities are also known to have been disrupted by the encampments, hampering learning and student life on campus.

Some universities moved faster than others to address the encampments, some capitulated to the anti-Israel protesters while others held firm. In all cases, precedents have been set.

Some universities have had regard to the effect on Jewish students and staff; some seem not to care. Several seem more concerned with the commercial impact of the encampments – removing them as summer open days approached – than they did with the welfare of current students, which is particularly galling.

We will continue to expose antisemitic activity on university campuses, hold universities to account and support Jewish students.

While we are on the subject of encampments, Minouche Shafik has had to resign as President of Columbia University after becoming one of the symbols of the Ivy League’s abysmal treatment of Jewish students and its failure, if not refusal, to tackle antisemitism.

The prospect of her now coming to work for David Lammy in the Foreign Office is, at best, tone deaf. At worst, it is a slap in the face to Jews on both sides of the Atlantic, who are hearing the message that failing to tackle antisemitism and abuse of Jews has no impact on your career advancement, and apparently qualifies you to craft foreign policy, including in relation to the Jewish state.

Become a Campaign Against Antisemitism Student Ambassador!

Are you a student at university in 2024-2025, or do you know somebody who is? Our Student Ambassador programme is an exciting opportunity to work with us in a prestigious year-long initiative.

Student Ambassadors will work closely with our Education Officer and wider team to help us expose and challenge the rising tide of antisemitism overwhelming UK university campuses. The contributions of our students is more important now than ever before to the fight against antisemitism.

For further information and details about the programme please visit antisemitism.org/become-a-student-ambassador.

Book now to hear Stories from Students

Since 7th October, Jewish student life on campus has been turned on its head.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has therefore brought together current students and recent graduates from universities across the country to share their stories and answer questions from prospective students and their parents, as well as current students and other interested members of the Jewish community.

This event, taking place at 18:30 on Thursday 5th September in North London, is an important opportunity to hear directly from Jewish students.

It is also a chance for us to come together to show our support and solidarity with those who faced this new generation of hate head-on. Booking is essential.

Media bias and the BBC

Two recent incidents — one in Gaza that reportedly killed Gazans and one in the Golan Heights that killed Israeli children — illustrated media bias at the BBC more clearly than ever. The screenshots below speak for themselves, and you can read our full analysis here.

Notwithstanding the struggle to get the BBC to report fairly – with more than 200 people from across the television and film industry writing to the Corporation demanding that it open an urgent investigation into alleged “systemic problems of antisemitism and bias” – there are occasionally admissions and reversals.

For example, you will recall that, a few weeks ago, BBC Newsnight allowed a panelist – the climate activist Mikaela Loach – to say: “The Lancet yesterday, in one of their reports, said that the death toll [in Gaza] is probably more likely to be more than 186,000 people.” The host did not challenge this assertion – which was false on multiple levels – but we did. Following our complaint, the BBC has acknowledged that the widely-propagated “186,000” is “not a statement of fact”.

We also complained about a recent BBC Four Front Row radio segment in which the actress and provocateur Miriam Margolyes referenced “vile Jews”. The BBC did not apologise but agreed to “remove it from the programme”.

This summer will be remembered as one of riots being confronted by a determined criminal justice system, in stark contrast to the policing that we have seen over the past year. But it remains to be seen whether the extremists will now call it a day or be back in force on our streets and campuses, online and in our workplaces, as the country returns from the summer break.

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Jewish couple reportedly hounded out of comedy show whilst audience members allegedly shout “genocidal maniac” at them

A Jewish Israeli couple was reportedly hounded out of comedian Reginald D. Hunter’s show on Sunday, whilst audience members were said to have shouted “genocidal maniac”, among other insults, at them. 

The show, which was part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, was described by a reporter for The Telegraph reviewing the performance as “the ugliest Fringe moment [he] had ever witnessed”. 

The alleged incident was sparked when Mr Hunter apparently made a joke in which he compared the State of Israel to an abusive wife, who, in a Channel 5 documentary, had accused her husband of being abusive. He is reported to have remarked: “My God, it’s like being married to Israel.”

The Jewish couple, who were in the front row of the audience and said that they were Israeli, responded by shouting “not funny” at the comedian. Audience members reportedly responded by shouting “genocidal maniac”, “you’re not welcome,” “f*** off” and “free Palestine” at the couple. 

It is understood that Mr Hunter responded to the couple, saying: “I’ve been waiting for you all summer, where the f*** you been? You can say it’s not funny to you, but if you say it to a room full of people who laughed, you look foolish…Look at you making everyone love Israel even more.”

After the couple left the show, Mr Hunter reportedly quipped: “That tells me that I still got voltage.”

This is not the first time that the comedian has courted controversy in relation to the Jewish community. In 2006, also during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he received backlash after making a joke about Holocaust-denial. 

At Sunday’s performance, it is understood that he compared the moment to his 2006 controversy and made reference to being unable to access an article in a Jewish newspaper about the incident 

He is alleged to have said: “Typical f***ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe.” 

He reportedly then added: “It’s just a joke.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The events described at the Edinburgh Fringe are extremely concerning. Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but they also have a responsibility to their audience. Reginald D. Hunter has laughed off his Holocaust jokes and another supposed joke about ‘typical f***ing Jews’ in the past, but watching on and cracking jokes as Jews are hounded out of your show is a sickening low that cannot be disguised as comedy.

“We have seen this before in recent months, and venues must stand extremely firm against this kind of behaviour. Our lawyers are examining this incident and we urge anyone who was present at the show to contact us in confidence at [email protected].”

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What is happening to our democracy?

On Wednesday, as MPs gathered in Parliament to vote, antisemitic genocidal language was projected onto Big Ben, the symbol of our democracy and often of our nation. Inside Parliament, the Speaker of the House of Commons broke with convention over a ceasefire vote, apparently due to threats against MPs.

Today, the Prime Minister described the intimidation as “toxic for our society and our politics”.

Ben Jamal, Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, encouraged thousands of protestors to “ramp up pressure on MPs” and flood into Parliament “so that they would have to lock the doors of Parliament itself”.

Then, on Saturday, they shut down Tower Bridge.

When will this count as sufficient “disruption to the life of the community” for Sir Mark Rowley to invoke his powers to ban this?

These scenes come just after Mike Freer, an MP for one of the most heavily-Jewish constituencies, decided to quit politics due, in no small part, to antisemitism and violence directed at him and his office.

We are offering free legal representation to MPs who have been subjected to antisemitic threats or intimidation, including obtaining court orders to unmask the authors of anonymous comments made online.

If our laws are now being made through the medium of threat and violence, our democracy itself is under attack, and those responsible for safeguarding it are in dereliction of their duty.

We have been raising the issue on television, radio, newspapers and social media, making clear our views on this important national debate. The events of this week must serve as a wake-up call.

Wiley Stripped of MBE

The Honours Forfeiture Committee has announced that is that it has stripped the antisemitic grime rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, known as Wiley, of his MBE, following calls to do so by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

In 2020, we wrote to the Honours Forfeiture Committee, which confirmed that, on our recommendation, it had opened a case against the artist, with a view to stripping Wiley of his honour, which he received in 2018. The case was opened following his antisemitic tirade in 2020.

It has taken nearly four years of perserverance and we have worked tirelessly to ensure that Wiley faces the full consequences of his unhinged antisemitic tirade.

Antisemitism has no place in the arts, and antisemites should not hold honours. We commend the Honours Forfeiture Committee for using its powers to hold Wiley to account. In doing so, it is declaring that anti-Jewish racists cannot be role models in our society.

This decision sets a precedent, which we hope will encourage more stringent scrutiny of individuals who are awarded our nation’s highest honours.

We continue to pursue legal action in relation to Wiley.

Home office contractor defaces Jewish birth certificate

A father received a copy of his six-month-old baby girl’s birth certificate back from the Home Office with his place of birth scribbled out and the paper torn. His place of birth was Israel, the world’s only Jewish state.

James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, swiftly responded to our call for an investigation, confirming that he has directed the Home Office to investigate and apologising on behalf of the Department.

It is understood that a major Home Office contractor, Sopra Steria, has suspended a number of staff members and is conducting an investigation.

This incident represents gross misconduct, and the company must remove the individuals responsible.

Throughout this ordeal, we have been supporting the family. The last thing any parent should have to worry about is their child’s birth certificate being vandalised just because their parent’s place of birth is the Jewish state.

Solicitor struck off and doctor who appeared on The Apprentice suspended

Farrukh Najeeb Husain, an immigration and employment solicitor, has been struck off.

A number of Mr Husain’s tweets were found to be antisemitic and offensive by a tribunal, following a case brought by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA).

The SRA claimed that Mr Husain’s conduct online was “offensive” and, in some cases, antisemitic. Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, gave expert witness testimony to assist the SRA in its case.

Meanwhile, Asif Munaf, a doctor who appeared on the current series of “The Apprentice” on the BBC has been suspended by the General Medical Council, following a complaint by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

His online rhetoric has included “slimy Zionist PR machine”, “odiously ogre-like Zionists”, “weaponising the Holocaust” and more.

These days, it seems that some people need reminding that supporting terrorist groups is a crime

Many of our supporters will be familiar with our digital vans, which we have previously used to raise awareness of the plight of the hostages held by Hamas.

This week, we decided to remind those who needed reminding that expressing support for Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which are proscribed terrorist organisations, is illegal under UK law.

After months of seeing expressions of support for these groups at weekly anti-Israel protests, we thought that we should make the message as plain and simple as possible. When we drove past one of these protests outside the Houses of Parliament, our van was attacked. It seems that not everyone was happy to be reminded.

Extreme advice

This week, there have been red faces at both the Met and the Ministry of Justice over taking advice from people with extreme views.

The Met has had to cut ties with Mohammed Kozbar, a member of an advisory body which helps to “shape police policy” over a year after an official extremism report found that he had described the founder of Hamas as “the master of the martyrs of resistance”.

We are enquiring quite how it took the Met so long to act, and what input the individual had on police policy, especially since the surge in antisemitic crime in the UK since 7th October.

Over at the Ministry of Justice, it turns out that for “World Hijab Day”, they invited Shreen Mahmood to speak. Her social media posts included saying that “Jews need to get in the queue behind Muslims” when a Jewish man complained about antisemitism, and reposting another account which had said n the wake of 7th October that Palestinians had “every right to defend” themselves, well before Israel had responded militarily to the mass rapes, murders and hostage-taking.

When exposed, she explained that Palestinians have the right to “struggle…by all available means” and that she would not want to “upset my valued brothers and sisters from the Jewish community”.

The Ministry of Justice plays an integral part of ensuring that the rule of law is maintained in our democracy, so why is it hosting someone who posted such views? We are writing to the Ministry to demand an investigation into how this was allowed to happen.

The events of this week have been extremely concerning for the health of our democracy. They must be a wake up call for us all. We will continue to do everything we can to draw attention to the threats that the Jewish community – and our country – is facing.

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Wiley stripped of Honours following CAA action

The Honours Forfeiture Committee has announced today that it is stripping the antisemitic grime rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, known as Wiley, of his MBE, following calls to do so by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

In July 2020, Wiley went on an antisemitic tirade on social media, in which he compared Jews to the Ku Klux Klan; called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews; and claimed that Jews had him and were “snakes”.

Consequently, Wiley was banned from X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube after using the platforms to incite racial hatred against Jews, following tireless pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, which included projecting antisemitic tweets on X’s London headquarters and joining a 48-hour walkout on the platform. 

Despite our efforts, Wiley evaded immediate legal consequences by being out of the UK. Nonetheless, CAA initiated legal proceedings, filing a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands, where Wiley was residing.

Campaign Against Antisemitism also wrote to the Ivors Academy calling for Wiley’s 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award to be rescinded.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s advocacy extended to venues scheduled to host Wiley, leading to multiple cancellations of his performances, including Village Underground, which swiftly dropped him from their event.

Following sustained pressure, the Honours Forfeiture Committee, acting on Campaign Against Antisemitism’s recommendation, commenced an investigation into Wiley’s conduct, with a view to stripping Wiley of his honour, which he received in 2018. The case was opened following his antisemitic tirade in 2020.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Today’s decision marks the culmination of nearly four years of dogged perseverance. We have worked tirelessly to ensure that Wiley faces ruinous consequences for his unhinged antisemitic tirade, for which he has shown no remorse.

“Antisemitism has no place in the arts, and is unbecoming of anyone holding an honour. We commend the Honours Forfeiture Committee for using its powers to hold Wiley to account. In doing so, it is declaring that anti-Jewish racists cannot be role models in our society.

“Due to technical reasons, including legal action that we are pursuing against Wiley, the forfeiture was delayed. We are grateful to the Honours Forfeiture Committee for its work on this matter.”

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Discrimination against Jews is no laughing matter

Since last weekend, we have been assisting Jewish guests who were reportedly hounded out of the Soho Theatre in London after comedian Paul Currie allegedly led his audience in targeted chanting.

According to a statement provided to us by one Jewish attendee, who wished to remain anonymous, the incident occurred last Saturday during the one-hour “Shtoom” show, attended by over 100 people.

Towards the end of the performance, Mr Currie introduced two props – a Ukrainian flag and a Palestinian Authority flag – and urged everyone to stand and applaud, apparently in support of the causes with which those flags have become associated, creating discomfort among some attendees in relation to the Palestinian Authority flag.

“When we all sat down again, [Mr Currie] looked towards a young man sitting in the second row and said ‘You didn’t stand, why? Didn’t you enjoy my show?’,” recounted the attendee. “The young man, who we discovered soon after was Israeli, replied ‘I enjoyed your show until you brought out the Palestinian Authority flag.’”

According to the attendee, the comedian then yelled at the young man: “Get out of my show. Get the f*** out of here. F*** off, get the f*** out of here.” This instantaneously escalated into the audience shouting “Get out” and “Free Palestine” until the young man left.

We publicised the story and worked with the victims to secure national media coverage of the incident. We are also dealing with the theatre, which has engaged with us positively and swiftly and issued an apology. It has banned Mr Currie, who has also reportedly been dropped by two Australian venues so far as well.

Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but hounding Jews out of theatres is reminiscent of humanity’s darkest days, and must have no place in central London in 2024. We are working with the victims and our lawyers to ensure that those who instigated and enabled it are held to account.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any further information is asked to contact us in confidence on +44 (0)330 822 0321 (option 2) or at [email protected].

In Rochdale, Labour gets it wrong before getting it right

The Labour Party’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election, Azhar Ali, was revealed to have suggested that Israel may have enabled the 7th October Hamas massacre in order to justify an incursion into Gaza. He was recorded making the remarks in a meeting in late October 2023.

But even as it became clear that this man, who had effectively propagated a blood libel, does not belong in a major political party, let alone in Parliament, the Labour Party, incredibly, continued to back his candidacy after a quick apology, wheeling out numerous figures to defend him.

It was then revealed that, at the same meeting, he blamed Labour’s suspension of Andy McDonald MP on “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters”. Labour then dropped its support for him.

It then emerged that Graham Jones, a former Labour MP who is also seeking a return to the Commons, was also recorded at the same meeting apparently making reference to “f***ing Israel” and saying (wrongly) that it is illegal for British Jews to join fighting against Hamas terrorists and that those who do so “should be locked up”. Labour immediately suspended him.

Sir Keir Starmer blotted an otherwise fairly admirable copy book by delaying the withdrawal of support from Mr Ali. Rather than appearing as a principled decision, it ended up looking as expedient as the failed attempt to defend him in the first place. However, in the case of Mr Jones, Labour did the right thing, and did it swiftly.

Now, Labour must reveal which other MPs, candidates and councillors were at that same October meeting and why they said nothing about the remarks that were made, and indeed if more such remarks were made. Labour must continue to put a line in the sand and declare that it will not tolerate extremist views. It is the least that we should be able to expect from all our political parties.

Throughout the week, as more and more revelations emerged, we led the media commentary, appearing in every major newspaper and on all the major radio and television broadcasters.

The Conservatives this week expelled the Mayor of Salisbury following reportedly “offensive and inappropriate comments” about Jewish people.

It is disappointing to see so many of these cases in our politics, but we commend parties for acting swiftly when they arise.

Police ask man hide Jewishness in Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, we are working with a Jewish man who was urged by police to hide his Star of David due to the proximity of an anti-Israel protest, to avoid “triggering” the protesters. The police officer was clearly worried that he and his colleagues were heavily outnumbered and that these protesters could pose a threat to Jews, but his response was effectively to stop a passing Jewish man and ask him to hide his identity before continuing on his way.

Watch the video, and ask yourself whose rights are actually being protected here, those of law-abiding people or those of mobs of extremists who might be “triggered” by people being Jewish in public?

The police have apologised to the individual, but an apology somewhat misses the point. If the officer believed that there was a potential threat to this Jewish individual, he should have focused on the threat.

What if arrests are made, but the courts fail us?

Our Demonstration and Events Monitoring Unit collected evidence from a protest outside Downing Street this week, in which antisemitic signs were on display.

The police acted in response to one of the pictures that we posted, announcing that they had arrested a woman on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

However, an arrest is only the first stage in the criminal justice system. There must also be prosecutions and then trials in court, with appropriate sentences for those who are convicted.

On that score, the system has failed us this week.

You may recall that, in one of the first major anti-Israel protests in the wake of 7th October, three women were seen displaying images of a paraglider, a symbol that had come to be associated with the Hamas attack. They were identified and arrested, and have been convicted of terrorism offences.

However, Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram “decided not to punish” the trio. The court thereby sent the worst possible signal to the Jewish community at a time of surging antisemitism.

We then shared fresh evidence with the media that may suggest possible bias on the Judge’s part. We shared this with the media, and have written to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. A full and proper investigation must follow. The Jewish community deserves to be able to trust our legal system to act impartially and with zero-tolerance enforcement of the law.

This weekend’s anti-Israel march

We are continuing to monitor the weekly anti-Israel protests. This week, we publicised concerns from local Jewish community leaders in central London about the route and persistence of these marches. The Met Police tried to ensure that the marches would start at 13:30 on Saturday after synagogue services had finished, but the protesters gathered at midday anyway. The police bolstered security outside synagogues in the area and we have heard from parents who were afraid to walk home with their children.

Not only are the organisers of these marches refusing to respect local communities and the police, but neither are the protesters. Met Police officers who, rightly, were arresting a woman holding a sign that read “Long Live the Intifada” were confronted by angry demonstrators chanting “Shame on you”. The reason that these protests are so hard to police is because it is not just the overt criminals who cause disruption, but it is the criminals who walk alongside them and attack the police when they move in. This means dozens of police — who are considerably outnumbered to begin with — are required to effect one arrest.

Sir Mark Rowley has accepted that there is a threat to synagogues and Jewish people but has still not banned the marches or placed meaningful restrictions on them. He has sent 1,500 officers to police tens of thousands of people and they are getting beaten up doing their jobs.

For shame.

The above is just a sample of our work over the past week. We have also written to the University of Leeds over a spate of incidents in and around its campus; we have called out the BBC over a contestant on “The Apprentice” with a history of inflammatory rhetoric about Jews and offered assistance to BBC employees who are reportedly frightened at work; we are referring the General Medical Council to the Professional Standards Authority over a pitiful sanction for a doctor who has been found to be “quite comfortable with using discriminatory language” about Jews; we are assisting a Jewish nightclub owner in East London who has been forced to step down as a director following threats against him and his family; and more.

We are fighting antisemitism on every front – on the streets and on campuses, on television and in politics, in business and online, in our regulated professions and in our cultural institutions – and we are fighting it nationwide. We are only able to do so with your continued support.

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Jewish guests hounded out of Soho Theatre as comedian Paul Currie allegedly leads audience in discriminatory chanting

Campaign Against Antisemitism is assisting Jewish guests who were reportedly hounded out of the Soho Theatre in London. 

We are reviewing legal options after comedian Paul Currie allegedly led his audience in discriminatory chanting.

According to a statement provided to Campaign Against Antisemitism by one Jewish attendee, who wished to remain anonymous, the incident occurred on Saturday during the one-hour “Shtoom” show, attended by approximately 200 people.

Towards the end of the performance, Mr Currie introduced two props – a Ukrainian flag and a Palestinian Authority flag – and urged everyone to stand and applaud, apparently in support of the causes with which those flags have become associated, creating discomfort among some attendees in relation to the Palestinian Authority flag.

The Palestinian Authority pays salaries to terrorists and the families of terrorists who succeed in killing Jews, distributes antisemitic teaching materials, and was widely involved in celebration of the 7th October atrocity, which was the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust.

“When we all sat down again, [Mr Currie] looked towards a young man sitting in the second row and said ‘You didn’t stand, why? Didn’t you enjoy my show?’,” recounted the attendee.

“The young man, who we discovered soon after was Israeli, replied ‘I enjoyed your show until you brought out the Palestinian Authority flag’’,” they continued.

According to the attendee, the comedian then yelled at the young man: “Get out of my show. Get the f*** out of here. F*** off, get the f*** out of here.” 

This instantaneously escalated into the audience shouting “Get out” and “Free Palestine” until the young man left.

The attendee described feeling a sense of considerable discomfort as the situation unfolded, particularly as Mr Currie’s interactions with the Israeli audience member became increasingly confrontational. The attendee decided to leave the theatre too, along with their friends.

Shaken, they approached a front-of-house manager to report what had happened. However, the staff member was said to be unhelpful and distracted with her other tasks. She allegedly told them to “back off and stand further away from her” and that they “support free speech at Soho Theatre” and urged them to send the theatre an e-mail.

As they exited the theatre, they encountered a tense atmosphere among some audience members, further reinforcing their sense of marginalisation and ostracisation.

“Our friends later received a message from someone they knew who had also been at the show, saying that after we left, the situation became even more inflamed,” they reported. “The chanting carried on for quite some time. Currie turned to the audience and said: ‘I may get into trouble for this. Can you ensure you write some positive stuff about me on social media?’”

The attendee told us: “Leaving the theatre, I felt threatened. I didn’t know if I was going to get physically assaulted. We were all shaken. We were extremely upset and anxious.” 

He also said that his initial reaction after the alleged incident was: “I don’t want to go into central London anymore.

“It felt like we were welcome in the theatre as long as our identities of Jews weren’t known, and the minute our identities were known, we felt threatened.”

The Soho Theatre released a statement today on Twitter in which they said: “We are sorry and saddened by an incident that took place at our venue at the end of a performance of Paul Currie: Shtoom on Saturday 10 February which has caused upset and hurt to members of audience attending and others.

“We take this very seriously and are looking into the detail of what happened as thoroughly, as sensitively, and as quickly as we can. It is important to us that Soho Theatre is a welcoming and inclusive place for all.”

We have contacted Paul Currie for comment.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “What the Jewish audience-members have recounted is atrocious, and we are working with them and our lawyers to ensure that those who instigated and enabled it are held to account. These allegations are of deeply disturbing discriminatory abuse against Jews. Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but hounding Jews out of theatres is reminiscent of humanity’s darkest days, and must have no place in central London in 2024.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any further information is asked to contact us in confidence on +44 (0)330 822 0321 (option 2) or at [email protected].

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Music label BMG drops Roger Waters following CAA exposé and controversial comments

Germany-based music rights company BMG has reportedly ended its relationship with the former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters. The move comes shortly after an exposé published by Campaign Against Antisemitism went viral in the autumn.

It is understood that the contract between BMG and Mr Waters was originally signed in 2016. The musician was due to re-record and release a newer version of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon in 2023. The contract, however, was cancelled and Mr Waters subsequently released the album with Cooking Vinyl, a UK-based label.

According to Mr Waters, the contract was cancelled due to alleged ‘pro-Israel pressures’ on BMG’s parent company, Bertelsmann. 

In September last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism published The Dark Side of Roger Waters, a documentary which reveals disturbing e-mails that were gathered during an investigation into allegations of antisemitism against the rockstar, as well as interviews with his former associates. 

Mr Waters’ views on Jews have long been of concern to the Jewish community, with a number of well-documented controversies.

Mr Waters has always insisted that he is not an antisemite, but our investigation revealed e-mails from Mr Waters in which he proposed writing “Dirty k***” on the inflatable pig habitually floated above his concerts and suggested “bombing” audiences with confetti in the shape of swastikas, Stars of David, dollar signs and other symbols.

The documentary also includes interviews with Norbert Statchel, Mr Waters’ former saxophonist, and legendary music producer Bob Ezrin, who produced The Wall, as well as hits for talent from U2 to Kiss to Taylor Swift.

Among various incidents, Mr Stachel says that Mr Waters lost his temper over vegetarian food at a restaurant and demanded that waiters “Take away the Jew food”, that Mr Waters mocked Mr Stachel’s grandmother who was murdered in the Holocaust, and that a colleague warned him not to react if he wanted to keep his job.

Mr Ezrin recounts an incident in which Mr Waters sung him an impromptu ditty about then agent Bryan Morrison, the last couplet of which ended with words to the effect of “Cos Morri is a f***ing Jew”.

Following the initial release of the documentary, we heard from Marc Brickman, a lighting director and former associate of Mr Waters. 

We interviewed Mr Brickman, in which explained the conversations around the “dirty k*ke” e-mail and how he demanded to know why, if the purpose was to confront hateful phrases, it was only a racist epithet that targets Jews that was due to be included on the pig and no other offensive terms.

In the interview, he also reveals that the reason that the swastika confetti idea never materialised was only because nobody would make it, and that he was called out by Mr Waters for expressing his reservations.

These incidents and others that he recounts – including the proposed inclusion of an image of “a menacing Hasidic Jewish boy” alongside “an angelic Palestinian girl” – drew Mr Brickman to the conclusion that Mr Waters’ “definition of antisemitism is totally different than anyone else’s”.

Mr Waters was due to perform at the London Palladium on 8th and 9th October last year. Leading up to the performances, we orchestrated a number of activities to protest these performances, including delivering thousands of letters from members of the public to the theatre, parking an advertisement outside the theatre to raise awareness of Mr Waters’ record, driving a van around London drawing attention to the controversy, and picketing the venue.

The documentary’s investigation was led by John Ware, the BBC Panorama veteran and one of the UK’s foremost television investigative journalists, who has worked on exposés whose focus has ranged from IRA terrorism to antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

The full documentary, and the follow-up film, can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

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New year, same old hate – and where is the Mayor of London?

It may be a new year, but sadly what we are seeing on our streets is still the same old hate.

Last week, there was an illegal anti-Israel protest, which our Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit captured on film, and during the week there were genocidal calls outside the Houses of Parliament. Yesterday, there was another large protest, which our volunteers also monitored.

But even as these demonstrations take place week after week, the Mayor of London has failed to speak out and take action. Perhaps Sadiq Khan did not want to provoke the ire of antisemites, as the Mayor of Bristol did when he expressed solidarity with the victims of Hamas terror.

But Mr Khan is also London’s equivalent of a police and crime commissioner. He is the elected official in charge of policing in our capital city at a time when 90% of British Jews say that they are feeling intimidated and bullied into staying out of city centres, according to our representative polling of the Jewish community.

This weekend, Campaign Against Antisemitism called on the Mayor finally to speak out against the marches on our streets that regularly feature antisemitism, glorification of terrorism and incitement to intifada.

The Mayor is not above criticism. After all, why is it that it is okay to criticise the Mayor over, say, knife crime but not okay to criticise him over antisemitic hate crime? Why do some people seem to think Jewish Londoners do not have a right to expect solidarity and action from their city’s mayor at a time of record antisemitism?

There seems to be a cynical double standard, which we do not accept. We will continue to hold politicians and police chiefs to account, without fear or favour.

100 days in captivity

Today, British Jews have gathered at Trafalgar Square to mark 100 days since the brutal Hamas terror attack.

Contrary to the claims of antisemites, Zionism and a strong connection to Israel are core to the identity of most British Jews. Over the winter break, we published polling that shows that a near-unanimous 97% of British Jews feel personally connected to events happening in Israel, and eight in ten British Jews consider themselves to be a Zionist. Only six percent do not. That is why so many turned out today.

For 100 days, the hostages taken by Hamas have been held in captivity by the terrorist organisation, in unimaginable conditions.

Among them is Kfir Bibas, who turns one year old this month.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is proud to join the call of the Jewish community and its allies to Bring Them Home!

Parliament acts

This week has seen a variety of welcome developments in the House of Commons:

  • The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill passed its third reading. Once it becomes law, it will ban public bodies from imposing their boycotts, divestment, or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries. Year after year, our polling has shown that an overwhelming majority of British Jews consider the tactics of the BDS campaign to be intimidatory.
  • MPs debated a proposal by Nickie Aiken MP relating to the contribution of British Jews to our country. Campaign Against Antisemitism provided a submission to all MPs in advance of the debate.
  • Andrew Percy MP raised the critical issue of antisemitism in schools. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed that “there is no place for antisemitism or the glorification of terrorism in Britain, especially not in our classrooms.”

Our volunteers also met with MPs this week, and our Policy Unit continues to engage with parliamentarians and the Government on a regular basis as part of our policy advocacy.

Wiley performance cancelled

You may recall that, in 2020, the rapper Richard Cowie, known as Wiley, published antisemitic and potentially criminal posts on social media. Numerous platforms suspended his accounts in response to the scandal.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to seek criminal prosecution against Mr Cowie in relation to these posts, which he published from abroad.

In the meantime, we have made every effort to prevent his hate from being normalised. This week, for example, we wrote to a venue that was due to feature him in a gig. Following our correspondence, he has been dropped from the lineup.

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CAA and the Office of the Chief Rabbi present Jonny Turgel’s “Acheinu”

Campaign Against Antisemitism, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Rabbi Efraim Mirvis, is delighted to present Jonny Turgel’s “Acheinu”, an anthem for the National Solidarity March Against Antisemitism that took place in Central London on Sunday 26th November 2023.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We were thrilled to have the Chief Rabbi among the speakers at the National Solidarity March Against Antisemitism and to have such an accomplished chazan in Jonny Turgel to express the feelings of the crowd that day. We are honoured to have worked with him and the Office of the Chief Rabbi to create this music video to immortalise that most extraordinary day and to be able to present it to the Jewish community and our many friends.”

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Another former Roger Waters associate speaks to CAA, as we prepare for rally outside Palladium concert

Following the release of Campaign Against Antisemitism’s documentary last week showcasing disturbing e-mails and allegations relating to the musician Roger Waters, another former associate, appalled by the testimony in the documentary, has now come forward to cast further light on Mr Waters’ conduct.

The new interview can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

In this new interview, lighting director Marc Brickman, who has worked with music legends from Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to Carol King and Duke Ellington, speaks out.

He explains the conversations around the “dirty k*ke” e-mail and how he demanded to know why, if the purpose was to confront hateful phrases, it was only a racist epithet that targets Jews that was due to be included on the pig and no other offensive terms.

He also reveals that the reason that the swastika confetti idea never materialised was only because nobody would make it, and that he was called out by Mr Waters for expressing his reservations.

These incidents and others that he recounts – including the proposed inclusion of an image of “a menacing Hasidic Jewish boy” alongside “an angelic Palestinian girl” – drew Mr Brickman to the conclusion that Mr Waters’ “definition of antisemitism is totally different than anyone else’s”.

Regarding venues, such as the London Palladium, that host Mr Waters, Mr Brickman says: “They don’t care; all they care about is their bottom line.”

Mr Waters’ views on Jews have long been of concern to the Jewish community, with a number of well-documented controversies.

Mr Waters is playing at the London Palladium on Sunday 8th and Monday 9th October.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has orchestrated a number of activities to protest these performances, including delivering thousands of letters from members of the public to the theatre, parking an advertisement outside the theatre to raise awareness of Mr Waters’ record, driving a van around London drawing attention to the controversy, and picketing the venue.

We will be holding a demonstration outside the London palladium at 18:00 on Monday 9th October. Please register attendance at eventbrite.co.uk/e/protest-against-roger-waters-at-the-london-palladium-tickets.

Mr Waters has always insisted that he is not an antisemite, but our investigation has revealed e-mails from Mr Waters in which he proposed writing “Dirty k***” on the inflatable pig habitually floated above his concerts and suggested “bombing” audiences with confetti in the shape of swastikas, Stars of David, dollar signs and other symbols, among other incidents and revelations. The full documentary can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s investigation has been led by John Ware, the BBC Panorama veteran and one of the UK’s foremost television investigative journalists, who has worked on exposés whose focus has ranged from IRA terrorism to antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Following the release of The Dark Side of Roger Waters, this latest interview corroborates the account of Waters’s views given by the people who worked with him over many years.

“It took more than a decade for Marc Brickman to speak out, and now that he has, it is hard to look at Waters in the same light. Waters comes across as a cold-hearted bully who picks on Jews. You can’t help but flinch listening to a person as gentle as Brickman recount how he had to stand alone against Waters’ repulsive interventions in the artistry of the show.

“Taking this new interview together with the revelations in last week’s documentary, it is all the more astounding and disturbing that one of London’s most iconic venues will roll out the red carpet to Waters this weekend, having so far stayed resolutely deaf and silent in the face of thousands of letters of complaint. Brickman suggests it’s because the Palladium’s owner only cares about the bottom line, and so far it seems that might be true.”

If you wish to add your name to our petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, or learn about other ways to get involved in this campaign, please visit antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

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CAA releases Roger Waters’ “Dirty k***” e-mail and interviews with former associates in new exposé documentary

Campaign Against Antisemitism has today released a documentary which showcases disturbing e-mails that were gathered during an investigation into allegations of antisemitism by rockstar Roger Waters, as well as interviews with former associates of the Pink Floyd frontman.

Mr Waters’ views on Jews have long been of concern to the Jewish community, with a number of well-documented controversies.

Mr Waters has always insisted that he is not an antisemite, but our investigation has revealed e-mails from Mr Waters in which he proposed writing “Dirty k***” on the inflatable pig habitually floated above his concerts and suggested “bombing” audiences with confetti in the shape of swastikas, Stars of David, dollar signs and other symbols.

The documentary also includes interviews with Norbert Stachel, Mr Waters’ former saxophonist, and legendary music producer Bob Ezrin, who produced The Wall, as well as hits for talent from U2 to Kiss to Taylor Swift.

Among various incidents, Mr Stachel says that Mr Waters lost his temper over vegetarian food at a restaurant and demanded that waiters “Take away the Jew food”, that Mr Waters mocked Mr Stachel’s grandmother who was murdered in the Holocaust, and that a colleague warned him not to react if he wanted to keep his job.

Mr Ezrin recounts an incident in which Mr Waters sung him an impromptu ditty about then agent Bryan Morrison, the last couplet of which ended with words to the effect of “Cos Morri is a f***ing Jew”.

The full documentary can be viewed at antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Roger Waters has repeatedly used his enormous platform to bait Jews, but he always claims that he is not antisemitic. We believed that there was further evidence out there to the contrary, and the release of The Dark Side of Roger Waters now puts the evidence we obtained in the hands of the public.

“It is hard to imagine a rockstar emblazoning the N-word above their concerts, but Mr Waters demanded that his crew do exactly that with the K-word. Not only that, but he seems to have spent time humiliating and harassing his Jewish staff.

“One cannot help but watch this film and wonder what kind of person uses their power to this effect. Is Roger Waters an antisemite? Now people can make up their own minds.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s investigation has been led by John Ware, the BBC Panorama veteran and one of the UK’s foremost television investigative journalists, who has worked on exposés whose focus has ranged from IRA terrorism to antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party.

Mr Waters is due to play the London Palladium on 8th and 9th October. Campaign Against Antisemitism has contacted the Palladium’s owner, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Live Nation Events, the organiser.

If you wish to add your name to our petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, or learn about other ways to get involved in this campaign, please visit antisemitism.org/rogerwaters.

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BBC to work with expelled Labour member and controversial filmmaker Ken Loach

The BBC is reportedly set to work on a film with the expelled Labour member and controversial filmmaker Ken Loach.

The film, entitled, “Downtrodden”, is reportedly in partnership between the BBC and Mr Loach’s production company, Sixteen Films, according to The Telegraph. 

Mr Loach was expelled from the Labour Party in August 2021 without public explanation. Mr Loach had been a leading ally of other controversial figures in Labour’s antisemitism scandal, especially those who denied that there was such a scandal of antisemitism. He said at the time of his expulsion: “Labour HQ finally decided I’m not fit to be a member of their party, as I will not disown those already expelled,” adding that he was “proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch-hunt…Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity.”

Mr Loach’s voice was among the loudest of those who attempt to dismiss Labour’s antisemitism crisis as non-existent and a right-wing smear campaign. He claimed that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was subjected to a “torrent of abuse” that was “off the scale” and that regardless of what he did, the “campaign” of antisemitism accusations was “going to run and run”. He described the BBC’s Panorama investigation into Labour antisemitism as “disgusting because it raised the horror of racism against Jews in the most atrocious propagandistic way, with crude journalism…and it bought the propaganda from people who were intent on destroying Corbyn.”

He was also reportedly behind a motion passed by Bath Labour Party branding the Panorama programme a “dishonest hatchet job with potentially undemocratic consequences” and asserting that it “disgraced the name of Panorama and exposed the bias endemic within the BBC.” John Ware, the programme’s reporter, is apparently considering legal action against Mr Loach for his comments.

In 2017, Mr Loach caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust-denial. The International Definition of Antisemitism states that “denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” is a manifestation of antisemitism. Although Mr Loach later sought to clarify his remarks, he has continued to make inflammatory and provocative statements about Labour’s antisemitism scandal.

While speaking at a meeting of the Kingswood Constituency Labour Party, Mr Loach advocated the removal from the Party of those Labour MPs, some of whom are Jewish, who have taken a principled stand against antisemitism. Shortly after that incident, the Labour Party announced that it would no longer use Mr Loach as a producer of their election broadcasts.

The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is a terrible lapse in judgement which we will discuss with the BBC. Ken Loach has been just appalling in his antisemitism-denial, not only during the years of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, but long after the Equality and Human Rights Commission found evidence of illegal antisemitism and the Labour Party admitted it. Even the Labour Party has ditched him, so why would anyone think he’s still an acceptable partner for the BBC?”

Mr Loach has denied that he is involved in the production of “Downtrodden”, reportedly telling the PA news agency:  “This is unfounded abuse from a pressure group. I have answered such allegations many times. There are important questions to put to the CAA [Campaign Against Antisemitism] when it makes these unpleasant attacks. They have a political agenda and they clearly do not represent all Jewish people, maybe only a minority. They never challenge me directly, simply seek to cause professional damage and personal distress.”

Mr Loach reportedly described himself as a “target” for pressure groups such as Campaign Against Antisemitism, purportedly because he is “known to be of the left” and someone “who supports Palestinian rights”. He added: “In this instance, the CAA has its facts wrong. I am not a producer of the film Downtrodden, nor involved in its production. Sixteen Films is a production company that works with several directors.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Comedy agent reportedly screamed at Jewish comedian about how “Jews exaggerate antisemitism” at Edinburgh Fringe

A comedy agent reportedly berated a Jewish comedian about how “Jews exaggerate antisemitism”.

The alleged incident occurred in a bar on the last day of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, also known as the Edinburgh Fringe, the world’s largest annual performing arts festival.

Bennett Arron, a Welsh comedian and writer who in 2018 performed at a Campaign Against Antisemitism comedy fundraiser, wrote of his “upsetting” experience on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he said the incident had “really spoilt what had been a wonderful Festival”.

“Bit upsetting. The Agent of some well known comedians decided to scream at me in a bar, in front of my family who had come to celebrate my success at the Fringe, that Jews exaggerate antisemitism and that other minority groups have real justification for complaint but not Jews,” he said.

Continuing, he wrote: “He also went on to scream that Jews should never have been given Israel and that Jews smeared Jeremy Corbyn. When I asked if we could discuss this another time as he was upsetting my family, he shouted “See THEY always do this!” It really spoilt what had been a wonderful Festival.”

Mr Arron was met by support from other comedians.

Geoff Norcott posted that it was “Horrible to read of these kind of comments in 2023,” while Felicity Ward wrote: “This is so awful. The confidence of the abuse given the time and place is even more upsetting. To feel bold enough to do it publicly without fear of any real reprimand is disgusting. I’m really sorry you and your family had to endure this.”

Robert Popper, creator of the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, said: “Nasty. Sorry this had to happen to you. I wonder if his clients know. And what they’d think about it.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Jewish comedians should not have to live in fear about being harassed by antisemitism-deniers. It is utterly appalling to hear that Bennett Arron was subjected to such vile abuse, and it is even more concerning to learn that someone within his own industry might be responsible. Individuals working in comedy would do well to remember that racism against Jews is no joke. We have since been in touch with Mr Arron to offer our support.”

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Artist with inflammatory social media history exhibits art in London gallery

An artist with a history of inflammatory social media posts about Jews is once again exhibiting her work in London.

Anna Laurini is currently showing her art at the Fitzrovia Gallery, having also exhibited elsewhere in London in 2022.

The Italian painter has a history of sharing inflammatory conspiracy theories about Jews on social media.

In one Instagram post, for example, a figure, which appears to be Ms Laurini, poses on a rooftop with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City in the background. The caption reads “Imagine a world without #Israhell”, a reference to the conspiracy theory that Israel was responsible for the terrorist attacks on New York City on 11th September 2001.

In a Facebook post, Ms Laurini appears to have shared an article apparently from the publication, Palestine Voice, which seems to have featured Ms Laurini in a 2020 edition. Ms Laurini captioned the post with the words “From the river to the sea”, part of the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. This chant only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Another online post apparently shared by Ms Laurini features a black and white image of the gates to what looks like a Nazi concentration camp, but replaces the infamous words above the entrance gate, “Arbeit macht Frei” (“Work sets you free”), with the words “Green pass macht Frei”, which compares COVID-19 restrictions to Nazi ideology.

Ms Laurini appears to have repeated the sentiment in this post in another, which features a version of the flag of Nazi Germany. In this instance, the post shows the flag with a green background and the words “green pass”, again apparently comparing Nazism and anti-coronavirus measures put in place by European governments.

Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.

Additionally, Ms Laurini appears to have retweeted a post that features the image of Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, who is Jewish, with captions that seem to suggest that the Rothschild family are responsible for a conspiracy that involves the “geo-engineering” of the weather and its “rebranding” as climate change, which allegedly leads to the erosion of democratic freedoms around the world.

The Rothschilds appear in many anti-Jewish conspiracy theories as a sinister, controlling force.

In a further post, she also reportedly appeared to link the Rothschild family to the 9/11 attacks, alleging that the Israeli shipping company, Zim, “broke [a] lease it had held for 30 years and moved out of the World Trade Center.” She continued: “Zim is half owned by the Rothschilds.” The notion that the Jews had advance notice of the attack on the World Trade Centre, often purportedly because the Israeli foreign intelligence service, Mossad, was involved in orchestrating the attack, is a popular antisemitic conspiracy.

In another Instagram post, Ms Laurini reportedly shared photos of herself posing with the conspiracy theorist and antisemitic hate preacher, David Icke.

She has also reportedly shared material on Gab, a social-media platform that was founded in 2016 with a claim to “champion free speech,” and has become a haven for supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory and other far-right groups and individuals banned from mainstream platforms.

She reportedly shared a cartoon there that showed a man asking “how are they connected?” as he stands in front of a board on which topics including “pornography”, “banking” and “Hollywood” are connected by string in the shape of the Star of David. The post adds: “If you ignore the JQ you are politically illiterate.” “JQ” is a reference to the “Jewish Question”.

Another post reportedly shared by Ms Laurini described the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a “billionaire Jew pal of the rich and powerful,” and his convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell as a “rich Jew”.

Asked by the JC about some of these posts, Ms Laurini reportedly said: “I cannot now recall the content of the postings that you claimed I share on social media [sic].” She reportedly added that the account on which those posts appeared “closed down over two years ago” and that the comments “do not represent” her views.

In a statement, the Fitzrovia Gallery told the JC: “We simply hire the gallery space for artists and/or their agents to exhibit. We do not get involved with any of their artwork or selection of it. We are simply a space for hire. We have not ‘arranged’ her show.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Following CAA action, Newcastle music venue cancels screening of antisemitism-denial film

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a music venue in Newcastle has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown earlier this month at The Lubber Fiend, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Unite union, Basildon Council, North Ayrshire Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall, Yeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church, Ludlow Assembly Rooms and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also featured in the film is the disgraced academic and conspiracy theorist, David Miller, who was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry. More recently, he tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

Another contributor involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the venue for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Following CAA action, Ludlow Assembly Rooms cancel screening of antisemitism-denial film

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, Ludlow Assembly Rooms has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown earlier this month, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Unite union, Basildon Council, North Ayrshire Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall, Yeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also featured in the film is the disgraced academic and conspiracy theorist, David Miller, who was fired by the University of Bristol in 2021 over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution and amidst a Jewish communal outcry. More recently, he tweeted that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.”

Another contributor involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the venue for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in Leonard Bernstein biopic invokes questions of double standards in film

Questions surrounding double standards in the film industry have arisen following the news that actor Bradley Cooper has donned a prosthetic nose in the upcoming Leonard Bernstein biopic, Maestro.

Mr Cooper, who is not Jewish, has received criticism for the portrayal of the Jewish American conductor, with many questioning why the need to wear a fake nose was necessary. Others drew attention to the history of the stereotypical antisemitic trope of Jewish noses.

The caricature of a hooked-nose Jew is commonly used in antisemitic social media memes and was a key feature in antisemitic Nazi propaganda.

Tracy-Ann Oberman took to Instagram to tell her followers: “All actors should be able to play any part with their skill. However, we are living in times where there is huge sensitivity and debate over ethnic and minority representation.

“If Bradley Cooper green lights your film to play the Jewish composer Bernstein and you want him over a Jewish A-lister who can equally play that role – then let Bradley Cooper’s acting be so magnificent and truthful that the character of Bernstein shines through what he already looks like.”

However, others defended the decision by saying that Mr Cooper was merely intending to portray Mr Bernstein as accurately as possible, with the conductor’s children coming to Mr Cooper’s defence, stating that “our dad would have been fine with it.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We live in a world that is more sensitive to the racial portrayal of characters on the screen and which actors play them. Reasonable people can disagree on the extent to which that is a positive development for the acting industry. But it is the reality. Therefore it is astonishing that nobody thought twice about sticking a big nose on a non-Jewish actor playing a Jew. The filmmakers here need to show that they understand why this is a problem. A failure to do so would indicate that there is a double standard when it comes to the portrayal of Jews on screen.”

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Opening of new virtual Holocaust museum delayed due to far-right threat

A new virtual Holocaust museum within the online game server Fortnite has been pushed back due to threats from online trolls.

The online video game Fortnite has over 400 million users. Video game designer Luc Bernard decided to utilise the scale of this online platform to create a Holocaust museum within the online world. He told Artnet News that “[he is] about making Holocaust education available to everyone, worldwide, free of cost”, and observed that one reason why most Americans have not visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC is due to the fact that it is not easily reachable for them. 

Mr Bernard’s self-funded virtual museum, named The Voices of the Forgotten, contains multiple exhibits, including the experience of Jews from multiple European countries such as Tunisia and Greece, life in the ghettos, Kristallnacht and a ‘Hall of Historical Figures’, which features many non-Jews who helped Jews to survive Nazi persecution.

Whilst Mr Bernard stated that the response to the museum “has been 99.99 percent positive”, online trolls have sought to disrupt the opening of the museum.

Nick Fuentes, a far-right leader and media personality, called upon his followers on Telegram to rally against the museum.

Mr Bernard has received a considerable volume of antisemitic messaging, including a photoshopped image of him on a train bound for Auschwitz. As a result, Mr Bernard has delayed the opening of the museum until the tirade of antisemitic messages dies down.

Although he has taken precautions to ensure that the museum itself is treated with respect by its online visitors, concern remains that neo-Nazis will desecrate it once it opens.

Mr Bernard has experience using his programming skills for Holocaust education. He also created the first video game about the Holocaust, called Light into the Darkness.

Luc Bernard is a past guest on Podcast Against Antisemitism, and his interview can be listened to here, or watched here.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Netflix comedian Judy Gold on how to properly joke about antisemitism

Judy Gold, a Jewish comedian, actor, writer, and podcaster whose comedy addresses antisemitism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke about fighting antisemitism through comedy.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

“You can joke about anything,” the Netflix and Comedy Central comedian said. “I have jokes about the Holocaust, but they’re good, well-thought-out, well-crafted jokes that make you think.” 

On the difference between comedians who joke about antisemitism in a considered way versus those who mock Jews and incidents of antisemitism in a cheap and tactless way, she said: “If you’re going to take the easy way out and just disparage just to disparage people and get a laugh, that’s not comedy to me.”

The comedian and actress addressed the idea that comedians should always “punch up” rather than “punch down”, meaning that a comedian’s jokes should be aimed at those in power carrying out harm rather than the victims of it.

“Punching up, to me, is real comedy…Jews have used comedy as a weapon, as a coping mechanism, as a way to disarm people. It’s a powerful weapon. Mark Twain said ‘Under the assault of laughter, nothing can stand,’ because you can have whatever weapon you want but humiliation is extremely powerful.

“I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but during the rise of the Third Reich, it was comedians who were getting on stage and telling the truth about what was really happening in Germany. They were speaking the truth to power, which is one of the things a comedian does, so Hitler passed the Treachery Act — those jokes weakened Nazi propaganda — Hitler passed the Treachery Act of 1934, which made telling or listening to an anti-Nazi joke an act of treason punishable by imprisonment or death.” 

“That is how powerful comedy is,” she added. “It’s a huge part of our culture.”

Ms Gold said: “It is a tool, and people who are full of hate don’t want to be disarmed, because their hate is their armour.”

However, Ms Gold is careful about how she intertwines antisemitism into her act.

Asked about her own craft, she told us: “When I’m doing material, especially about Jews and antisemitism, and I think [the audience] is laughing for the wrong reason, that’s my line. People are like ‘How can you tell?’ You can tell, believe me.

“There’s ways of talking about antisemitism in a way that is hilarious and enlighting.”

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Jamie Foxx apologises for cryptic post about “Jesus” and “fake friends”

Jamie Foxx has apologised for publishing a post on Instagram about “Jesus” and “fake friends”.

On Friday, the actor and singer wrote on Instagram: “They killed this dude name[d] Jesus…What do you think they’ll do to you???!” He added the hashtags #fakefriends and #fakelove.

Many reasonably interpreted “they” as a reference to Jews, concluding that the post drew on the antisemitic trope of deicide, whereby the Jews are accused of having betrayed and killed Jesus.

However, Mr Foxx removed the post and issued an apology on Saturday, insisting that “they” was a reference to a specific “fake friend” whom he felt had betrayed him. This reading would suggest that in his original post Mr Foxx was likening himself to Jesus.

His apology read: “I want to apologise to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offence and I’m sorry. That was never my intent. To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that’s what I meant with ‘they’ not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended.”

The actress Jennifor Aniston also apologised for liking Mr Foxx’s original post, writing on Instagram: “This really makes me sick. I did not ‘like’ this post on purpose or by accident. And more importantly, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds – I do NOT support any form of antisemitism. And I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind. PERIOD.”

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CAA produces video addressing television personality and YouTuber Pearl Davis

Campaign Against Antisemitism has produced a video addressing the television personality and YouTuber Pearl Davis, who recently posted and deleted a song to Twitter in which allusions to antisemitic conspiracy theories were expressed.

You can watch the video here.

Pearl Davis, a content creator with over one million YouTube subscribers who has been called the “female Andrew Tate” by TalkTV owing to her condemnatory views on feminism, posted a song in which she sang: “Why can’t we talk about them without getting kicked off of YouTube?”

She continued: “Now, I’m not saying Hitler was a good guy, but I kind of want to know why.

“Now, there’s all these conspiracy theories and the more they talk I think maybe they’re right. But I can’t even listen to the convo, I can’t even have the conversation, without getting cancelled by the left and the right.”

The YouTuber finishes the song by singing: “Now really, I’m not trying to be rude, but why can’t we talk about the J- I didn’t say it.”

The white supremacist and Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes, who has previously argued that Jews should not be allowed in politics, endorsed the song, claiming that Ms Davis “dropped a diss track on the Jews.”

Ms Davis then appeared on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ where, after being given the opportunity to apologise, she refused and joked about the situation, claiming that she simply wanted to have a discussion about “cancel culture”.

Following this, she took to Twitter where she doubled down on her excuse, this time going on to defend the antisemitic rapper Ye, who has said that Adolf Hitler was “a cool guy” who “didn’t kill six million Jews.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Pearl Davis barely attempts to hide her disdain for Jews in this song. The frequent allusions made to the age-old trope of Jewish control and power are disturbing in themselves, but even more so when sung with a smile. The endorsement of the song by Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes tells you all you need to know.”

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French rapper says “I’d rather be accused of antisemitism than rape” in new track

Freeze Corleone, a French rapper, has recently released a new track that includes the lyrics: “I’d rather be accused of antisemitism than rape.”

The line refers to Gerald Darmanin, the French Minister of the Interior, who was under investigation following allegations of rape. It is understood that the case against Mr Darmanin has since been dropped.  

The new track, entitled “Shavkat”, is the debut single for Mr Corleone’s new album, “Attack of the Clones”, which is due to be released on 11th September this year. 

It is not the first time that the rapper has received backlash for writing controversial lyrics about Jews. In 2020, he faced criminal prosecution after his debut album was criticised for antisemitic lyrics and Holocaust denial in several tracks.

The lyrics included lines such as, “f*** the Shoah!”, “I arrived determined like Adolf in the 30s” and, “Too many Cohens, Jews in finance, politics, plots, school books.”

Mr Corleone was dropped by Universal Music France for the inflammatory lyrics. 

According to a report published by the French Jewish Community Security Service, antisemitic incidents in France have skyrocketed. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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“I was so terrified all the time”: Australian artist fights internalised antisemitism through art

Avraham Vofsi, a Jewish artist based in Melbourne, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he described how his art had been influenced by his experiences of internal antisemitism.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

“I always knew I was Jewish,” he said, “but I think the way [internalised antisemitism] manifested for me was that I literally couldn’t be around other Jews. There was something about it where some part of it was too hard to face.”

He continued: “When it was just me, I could control it in a way, like, ‘This is what it means to be Jewish,’ and that’s how I’d present myself. But as soon as I’m around other Jews, or I’m doing Jewish programmes, or I’m going to synagogue, or whatever it is, all of a sudden…did I have these feelings of animosity? I don’t know.”

Mr Vofsi went on to describe how at his school, he was one of four Jewish students in his year, a source of great anxiety. Judaism as a subject was understood to be taboo among them. 

“We never talked about being Jewish with each other. Ever. And I don’t know if any of us were friends, because we all had to distance ourselves,” he said. 

Taking off his glasses to rub his eyes, he said: “Sorry, it just makes me a bit uncomfortable to think about. There was something really intense about it in this hard-to-articulate way…I was so terrified all the time.”

At one point, he considered whether his anxiety about being with other Jews stemmed from the idea that “the more Jews I was around, the more possible it was that [antisemitic incidents] would happen.”

In his most recent art exhibit, B’Aretz: Portrait of a Land, Mr Vofsi used his experiences to focus on Jewish identity and building a connection to Israel, where he spent five months honing a connection with the country for inspiration.

“The show is six portraits and four landscapes…I was like, ‘I need to explore my Jewish identity’,” he told us, adding that the process of creating his newest exhibition was what helped him work through much of his internalised antisemitism.

Mr Vofsi is one of those interviewed in the book Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride by author Ben M. Freeman, the second instalment of his seminal manifesto of the modern Jewish Pride movement.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism hosted a first-of-its-kind sold-out event, “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”, which attracted a room full of Jewish young professionals to an east London venue to watch a live interview with Mr Freeman, followed by a question and answers session.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

Image credit: Avraham Vofsi

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Following CAA action, North Ayrshire Council cancel screening of antisemitism-denial film at Irvine arts centre

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, North Ayrshire Council has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown tonight at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Unite union, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall, Yeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Council for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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New Bollywood film compares romantic relationship to the Holocaust 

“Bawaal”, a new Bollywood romantic comedy available on Amazon Prime, is under fire for making multiple comparisons between a romantic relationship and the Holocaust. 

According to the film’s synopsis, the film follows Ajay Dixit, a history teacher in India, navigating his “strained relationship with his newly-wed wife” while on a trip in Europe. 

Throughout the film, the Holocaust is used as a point of comparison for the couple’s relationship. 

At one point, the couple is told that “every relationship goes through its Auschwitz”. 

During another scene, Ajay says to his wife: “We’re all a little like Hitler, aren’t we?”

There are also scenes filmed at Auschwitz concentration camp. 

In one scene, the couple is trapped in a gas chamber, with what appears to be victims of the Holocaust, wearing striped clothing and being suffocated with pesticides. 

Varun Dhawan, who plays Ajay, said of his visit to the concentration camp that he “couldn’t bear to see the shoes and other belongings of the children there”.  

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Holocaust saw the systematic genocide of six million Jewish men, women and children. Its use as a cheap prop is sickening. This film has rightfully been criticised for its vapid imagery of the Auschwitz death camp. The writers, producers, funders and everyone responsible for bringing this to our screens should be utterly ashamed.”

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Following CAA action, Unite union cancels Bristol screening of antisemitism-denial film and launch of Asa Winstansley’s book ‘Weaponising Anti-Semitism’

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Unite union has cancelled the screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that was due to be shown alongside a book signing and talk from Asa Winstanley.

Mr Winstanley, a controversial activist and the author of the book Weaponising Anti-Semitism, is a former Labour member who quit the Party after being suspended pending an investigation. He has called accusations of antisemitism under the Party a “smear” and has referenced “Labour’s manufactured antisemitism crisis”. He has also tweeted repeatedly in promotion of the conspiracy theory that Israel is to blame for the racist killing of George Floyd. 

The event description stated that there would be a launch of the book which apparently “shows how Labour’s antisemitism crisis was manufactured by those who feared Jeremy Corbyn’s support for the Palestinian cause and a broad progressive agenda.” A book signing and talk from Mr Winstanley was then supposed to take place.

This was due to be followed by a screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie. However, following contact from Campaign Against Antisemitism in which we pointed out that the scheduling of the event appeared to be contradictory to the reports that the film has been banned in all of Unite’s buildings, it was cancelled.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall, Yeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues around the country, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Unite for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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UB40 band members reported to have a history of antisemitism online

According to a report, two members of the British reggae band, UB40, have been found to have a history of antisemitism online. 

Norman Hassan, the band’s Percussionist, appears to have made numerous comparisons of Israelis to Nazis on Twitter, according to journalist David Lange.

One tweet reads: “…the world turned a blind eye in 1930 Germany with the Nazi killing the Jews ..& now the oppressed as become the oppressors. [sic]”

Another post says: “Bullying!! Just like the Nazi !! Don’t forget your history!!! [sic]” 

Another band member, Jimmy Brown, reportedly compared Gaza to the Warsaw Ghetto in a comment on Facebook. 

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

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Roald Dahl Museum to add plaque apologising for author’s antisemitism

The Roald Dahl Museum is to add a plaque apologising for the author’s antisemitism.

The museum, which was founded in 2001 by the author’s widow, Liccy, said in a statement: “The Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologise for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by Roald Dahl’s antisemitic statements. Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl’s stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations. We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words.”

The apology will be displayed on a panel at the entrance to the museum in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire.

The famous children’s author made numerous inflammatory comments about Jews, such as: “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity… even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.” He also said of the Jews that nobody had ever “switched so rapidly from victims to barbarous murderers,” an apparent breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism, which considers “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” to be an example of antisemitism.

He also claimed that the Jews owned the media and that positive American relations toward Israel was because of excessive Jewish power.

In 2014, the Royal Mint declined to issue a commemorative coin to celebrate the centenary of Mr Dahl’s birth because of his antisemitism.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We commend the Roald Dahl Museum for installing this plaque. Mr Dahl’s stories entertain and delight millions of children and should continue to do so. At the same time, it is important that a museum and website dedicated to the author present the full story of his life and work, and that includes its darker side.”

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Ludlow pub cancels screening of antisemitism-denial film as a result of CAA action

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a pub in the Shropshire town of Ludlow has cancelled a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was due to be shown last week at the Blue Boar pub, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall, Yeovil Labour Club, a Nottinghamshire church and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Blue Boar for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Nottinghamshire church cancels screening of antisemitism-denial film following correspondence with CAA

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a church in the Nottinghamshire town of Hucknall has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown next week at the Church of St Peter and St Paul, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall, Yeovil Labour Club and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Church for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Following CAA action, Yeovil Labour Club cancels screening of antisemitism-denial film 

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, Yeovil Labour Club has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown this Saturday, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, Tolpuddle Village Hall and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration. However, Mr Murray has since sought to distance himself from the film.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Yeovil Labour Club for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church, the independent book retailer, October Books, and Leicester Students’ Union.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Tolpuddle Village Hall latest venue to cancel screening of antisemitism-denial film

Tolpuddle Village Hall has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown next month, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

According to the Tolpuddle Radical Film Festival, which were the organisers of the screening, they initially hoped to show the film at the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival, but withdrew due to “censorship by the secretary.” It then sought to screen the film independently at the Village Hall, which has now decided to cancel the booking.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, Basildon Council, the national pub retailer Greene King, and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Village Hall for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church and the independent book retailer, October Books.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Rapper and Wild ’N Out star Kosha Dillz on Kanye West, antisemitism, and people performing Nazi salutes during his shows

Kosha Dillz (real name Rami Matan), the rapper and star of the MTV reality television programme Wild ’N Out, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about using his music to tackle antisemitism.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

“I was always vocal about strong Jewish identity,” he said.

Mr Matan went viral last year with his song ‘Death Con 3’, a tongue-in-cheek reference to a threatening tweet made by the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, towards Jewish people when he wrote: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”

Ye went on to embark on a slew of antisemitic tirades, including engaging in Holocaust-denial. During an appearance on conspiracist Alex Jones’ show, he would say that Hitler was “a cool guy” who “didn’t kill six million Jews. That’s just factually incorrect.”

Mr Matan, describing his writing process behind the hit song aimed at Ye, said at the time he thought: “I’m gonna go berzerk, and we’re just gonna do it and see what happens…I got a lot of private messages when I released that song from people who will support me but are afraid to share…people are afraid to speak up and say things.”

The rapper revealed that at times, he draws on real-life instances of antisemitism.

“I’ve had tons of experiences [of antisemitism]…I remember being at a show and somebody doing a Hitler salute, people saying ‘Free Palestine’,” he said.

Mr Matan said that he remembers people claiming that the performing of the Nazi salute at his show was “just a joke”.

He said: “That’s the lack of awareness of what is funny and what is not. I’m all for a good joke, I really am, but I remember that, I was like ‘Hmm, noted’. When I get the opportunity, I have a conversation with people, but some people will just never learn, and then you look down the line at people that do that, they have all kinds of other issues.”

Asked how individuals can help tackle antisemitism, he said that people should “Amplify your Jewish friends’ voices. I think sharing Jewish content to your social media pages is a real easy thing.”

He added: “Pan to your strengths. If you have money but you’re socially awkward – which is fine, I’m not saying I’m not socially awkward, I am – donate some money, if that’s the easiest thing. Give money to a charity. There’s no right way or wrong way to help. We need allies, we always need friends.”

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Following CAA action, Basildon Council cancel screening of antisemitism-denial film at over 50s activity centre

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, Basildon Council has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown on Friday at the George Hurd Activity Centre, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, which we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, YMCA, the national pub retailer Greene King, and independent venues, have cancelled screenings of the film.

The film claims that it “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the Council for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to its attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, was cancelled, as has one at Havant and Emsworth United Reformed Church.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Lewes pub latest in a string of venues to cancel screening of antisemitism-denial film on its premises following CAA action

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a pub in Lewes has agreed to cancel a screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie was scheduled to be shown next week at the ‘Elephant & Castle’ pub, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by the venue itself, who we understand was not made aware of the nature of the film.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival, Greene King and YMCA also cancelled screenings of the film.

The event’s ticket-booking page stated that the film “investigates the ‘secret war’ waged against Corbyn” and questions whether there was an “orchestrated campaign” against the former Party leader.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the ‘Elephant & Castle’ for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening as soon as we brought it to the venue’s attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, has now been cancelled.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Following CAA action, Greene King pub retailer follows Glastonbury and YMCA in cancelling screenings of antisemitism-denial film on its premises

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a leading pub retailer has agreed to cancel two screenings of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screenings of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie were scheduled to be shown tonight and tomorrow in Bournemouth, but the booking is understood to have been made by a third party, and not by Greene King itself.

The news comes shortly after, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Glastonbury Festival and YMCA also cancelled screenings of the film.

The event’s ticket-booking page stated: “We will show the acclaimed Ken Loach documentary revealing the campaign of disinformation against Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour.”

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends Greene King for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening, as soon as we brought it to the retailer’s attention.

Additionally, we received confirmation from the Widcombe Social Club that a planned screening of the film, at which Mr Loach was also due to speak, has now been cancelled.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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After action by CAA, YMCA follows Glastonbury in cancelling screening of antisemitism-denial film on its premises

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism, the YMCA has agreed to cancel the screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The screening of the film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie is understood to have been made through the charity’s online room-booking system by a third party, and not by the YMCA itself.

The news comes shortly after Glastonbury Festival agreed to cancel its screening of the film following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which led the public outcry.

The event’s ticket-booking page describes the screening as: “The film Labour Party doesn’t want you to see. This film looks at why and how in 2017 Jeremy Corbyn was stopped from being a PM.”

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

The event was due to have been chaired by Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, a co-founder of JVL.

Ms Wimborne-Idrissi was expelled from the Labour Party, apparently in relation to her involvement with the far-left “Resist Movement”, “Labour in Exile Network” and antisemitism-denial group “Labour Against the Witchhunt”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism commends the YMCA for its swift and decisive action to cancel the screening, as soon as we brought it to the charity’s attention.

It has also been reported that, following our correspondence with Glastonbury, the major trade union Unite has also banned screenings of the film on its premises.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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Nazi eagle bronze in Uruguay not to be melted down into dove after all

A bronze eagle discovered on a sunken Nazi-era battleship in Uruguay is not to be melted down, despite initial plans by the Government to remould it into a dove.

The bronze, which once adorned the Admiral Graf Spee, a Nazi-era battleship that was scuttled in 1939 to stop it falling into enemy hands, was raised in 2006.

President Lacalle Pou recently announced that the 2m high eagle, which clutches a swastika, would be remoulded into a dove. However he has now announced a reversal, saying: “In the few hours that have passed [since the announcement], an overwhelming majority of people has come forward who don’t share the decision. When you aim for peace, the first thing you need to do is create unity and this [idea] clearly didn’t.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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After CAA leads public outcry, Glastonbury Festival cancels screening of antisemitism-denial film

Glastonbury Festival has agreed to cancel the planned screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, after we wrote to the organisers and the event’s primary sponsor, leading a public outcry. 

The Festival’s website said of the film, titled Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie, that it “explores a dark and murky story of political deceit and outrageous antisemitic smears.” A trailer of the film showed one interviewee questioning whether Mr Corbyn was brought down by an “orchestrated campaign”.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation Jewish Voice for Labour; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Festival, and also to the Festival’s Official Connectivity Partner, Vodafone, with whom it announced a “multi-year partnership” earlier this year, explaining the genesis and purpose of the film and arguing that Festival-goers should be allowed to enjoy the live performances without fear of indoctrination from antisemitism-deniers, which would serve only to alienate Jewish ticket-holders.

A spokesperson for Glastonbury said: “It’s become clear that it is not appropriate for us to screen it [the film] at the Festival.Glastonbury is about unity and not division, and we stand against all forms of discrimination.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Following our letter to Glastonbury and the public outcry, we are pleased to see that the antisemitism-denial film ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie’ will no longer be screened at the Festival. The film should never have been considered for screening, as this kind of gaslighting of the Jewish community was at the heart of why the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that the Labour Party had illegally created a hostile environment for Jews. This is the right decision, and a win for music-lovers who want to enjoy performances free from propaganda.”

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CAA writes to Glastonbury Festival and its partners over planned screening of pro-Corbyn propaganda film

Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to Glastonbury Festival and its partners over the Festival’s planned screening of a propaganda film about the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The Festival’s Official Connectivity Partner is Vodafone, with whom it announced a “multi-year partnership” earlier this year, and its Official Media Partners are listed as the BBC and The Guardian. 

The Festival’s website links to a description of the film, titled Oh, Jeremy Corbyn! The Big Lie, which says that it “explores a dark and murky story of political deceit and outrageous antisemitic smears.”

Also linked is a trailer of the film, in which one interviewee questions whether Mr Corbyn was brought down by an “orchestrated campaign”.

The film’s contributors include a who’s who of controversial figures such as Jackie Walker, who has previously stated that Jews were “chief financiers” of the African slave trade; the filmmaker Ken Loach, who caused outrage when, during an interview with the BBC, he refused to denounce Holocaust denial. Both were expelled from the Labour Party; Graham Bash, the Political Officer of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation Jewish Voice for Labour; and Moshe Machover, a professor and Holocaust revisionist. All have been expelled from the Labour Party, although Mr Machover was readmitted.

Also involved is Andrew Murray, a close adviser to Mr Corbyn who, in 2005, authored an article in which he claimed that the roots of the 9/11 terror attacks lay in “Zionist colonialism” of the Balfour Declaration.

The film is narrated by comedian Alexei Sayle who claimed in 2014 that BBC presenter Emma Barnett, who is Jewish, supported the murder of children following an article and radio interview in which she had decried antisemitism amongst anti-Israel activists.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Festival-goers should be allowed to enjoy the live performances without fear of indoctrination from antisemitism-deniers. Screening a film which not only denies that antisemitism in the Labour Party was a serious problem but actively paints a picture of a nefarious campaign being orchestrated against someone who allowed antisemitism to run rampant, has no place at an arts festival, and only serves to alienate Jewish ticket-holders. Glastonbury Festival and its sponsors must ensure that such propaganda is not shown.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.

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Kandinsky painting seized by Nazis to be returned to Jewish owners

A painting by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky is set to be returned to its Jewish owners after being seized by Nazis during the Holocaust.

The 1927 painting entitled The Colourful Life was originally owned by a Jewish couple living in Amsterdam, Hedwig Lewenstein Weyermann and Irma Lewenstein Klein. 

A German commission investigating the matter concluded that “the painting was seized as a result of persecution,” and that the Jewish couple in Amsterdam “were persecuted as Jews” in 1940 when the Nazis occupied the Netherlands.

The painting is currently in the possession of the Bavarian state bank.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Jewish TOWIE star reveals antisemitic abuse

A Jewish cast member of the reality television programme The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) has revealed on a podcast that she has received antisemitic messages.

Courtney Green, 27, who was one of the stars of TOWIE’s seventeenth season, said that while she has enjoyed aspects of fame, she has also received unwanted attention from antisemites.

She said that the messages, which were sent through social media to her and her family, were “heartbreaking”.

She added: “I never thought it would happen to me.” 

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MPs condemn Roger Waters as his London concerts see further comparisons between Israelis to Nazis and unhinged rants 

As Roger Waters made further comparisons between Israelis to Nazis and embarked on unhinged rants during his London concerts this past Tuesday and Wednesday, Members of Parliament have expressed condemnation. 

The MPs’ criticism came as Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups have placed pressure on the venues hosting Mr Waters.

On Tuesday at London’s O2 Arena, the musician railed against Labour Party MP Christian Wakeford, who last month posted a letter to Twitter in which he said that Mr Waters’ upcoming Manchester performance should be called off.

Mr Waters, stopping during his performance to embark on a rant to the thousands of paying concert-goers, said that Mr Wakeford was “working for his “masters in the Foreign Office in Tel Aviv”, before calling him a “cripple”. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Manchester’s AO Arena over their hosting of Mr Waters next week.

Mr Waters went on to defend the antisemitic former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, shouting: “I’ve watched other people be cancelled. I watched Jeremy Corbyn be cancelled by the Israeli lobby. That was what happened in 2019 and if it hadn’t happened we might have had the first decent Labour prime minister for f***ing 50 years, because he cared about the working classes.” 

This echoed sentiments expressed by Mr Waters’ during a recent concert at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, when he claimed that “They’re trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange” and that the furore was “all coming from Tel Aviv, promise you”.

On Wednesday, members of Campaign Against Antisemitism captured evidence of the former Pink Floyd star comparing Anne Frank, one of the most famous child victims of the Holocaust, to Rachel Corrie, a person killed accidentally by the Israeli Defence Forces.

Under the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is antisemitic.

This is not the first instance of Mr Waters breaching the definition in this way. He recently drew criticism for brandishing the name of Frank next to Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was killed in crossfire between terrorists and Israeli security forces last year in the Palestinian Authority.

Towards the end of Wednesday’s performance, Mr Waters’ plunged into another unhinged rant, for which he seems to have become known, this time declaring that he loves all of his “brothers and sisters…irrespective of their ethnicity, or religion or nationality…well with one possible exception.” He then responded to former Pink Floyd lyricist Polly Samson’s charge that he is “antisemitic to [his] rotten core” in a tweet from February, telling his laughing fans: “All I have to say about Polly Samson is: imagine waking up to that every morning.” 

Outside of the O2 Arena, Campaign Against Antisemitism interviewed fans of Mr Waters to find out what they thought about his comments, resulting in accusations of antisemitism being “weaponised” and admiration expressed for Mr Corbyn. The interview can be watched here.

Amidst the news surrounding Mr Waters’ incendiary comments, he appears to have gained the support of known antisemites.

David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, took to the social media platform Gab where he appeared to defend Mr Waters. In a similar fashion, the antisemitic hate preacher and conspiracy theorist David Icke used his own platform to display empathy for Roger Waters.

However, MPs have expressed their condemnation of Mr Waters. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Stamer said that while “many people will think of Roger Waters as famous for being a member of one of the most important bands in history,” he is now “more synonymous with spreading deeply troubling antisemitism”.

Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said in regard to Mr Waters’ recent remarks that “antisemitic rhetoric like this is completely shameful and totally inappropriate.”

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, said that Mr Waters fell short of the “societal expectation placed on people with a significant public profile to behave responsibly and not abuse their platform.”

Barbara Keeley, the Labour Party MP for Worsley and Eccles South, also sharply criticised Mr Waters, stating that his “actions and comments are completely unacceptable and are antisemitic”. 

Recently a spokesperson for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that Mr Khan “fully understands the significant concerns from within the Jewish community and condemns the use of antisemitism imagery”.

Additionally, the US State Department  said that Mr Waters’ performance “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimised the Holocaust,” adding that “The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.”

Disgracefully, however, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, praised the musician on social media, tweeting that the criticism of Mr Waters, who she described as “an immense artist and true icon of our time, a champion of human rights and justice” is “absolutely shocking.”

Anti-Israel demonstrators congregating outside of Mr Waters’ Manchester concert were seen chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently launched a petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, which he has now taken to the next level. You can sign the petition here.

In 2022, in an October episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Waters denied being an antisemite, before going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David, alongside other various symbols, emblazoned on its side. He said: “Well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.”

He continued: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day. So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”

Mr Waters openly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, complaining that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”

Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

In 2021, Mr Waters claimed that antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at the behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, [was] specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”

In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed” and also said that American leaders are puppets of the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Mr Waters has also claimed that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for this latter remark.

In 2013, he reportedly claimed that there is a “Jewish lobby” in the music industry.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a ‘smear’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That record has now even attracted the positive attention of the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke and antisemitic hate preacher David Icke. That might have given any other celebrity some pause.

“That Mr Waters’ latest show includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

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“Jewish communities are not oppressed”: CAA interviews Roger Waters’ fans to disturbing results

Campaign Against Antisemitism has published an interview with fans of Roger Waters, the Jew-baiting musician and former Pink Floyd member, about their thoughts on Mr Waters’ recent comments, resulting in accusations of antisemitism being “weaponised” and admiration expressed for the antisemitic former Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn. 

The interview, filmed outside of London’s O2 Arena, can be watched here.

One interviewee said that “the weaponisation of antisemitism has gone too far…not just [with] Roger Waters. With everybody. Especially with Jeremy Corbyn as well.”

The man continued: “There was a problem with antisemitism in the Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn was not a part of that.”

Another person echoed those sentiments, claiming: “They’re trying to Corbynise Roger Waters.”

A woman who was asked if she felt Mr Waters had crossed a line in his comments or actions, which has included repeated comparisons between Israelis to Nazis, responded that he was not antisemitic as he was the “voice of the oppressed”.

Asked whether that included Jews, she said: “No, the voice of the people from the Jewish communities are not oppressed.” 

Another interviewee bizarrely blamed the outrage at Mr Waters on “Jerusalem’s power”.

“Because Jerusalem has lots of power,” she said, “no one tells anything because, unfortunately, those are like, kind of very political agreements and if you have enough power, no one will say anything if you are putting your power above another community.”

She confirmed that she felt that “because of Israeli power, people are afraid to speak out”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups have placed pressure on the venues hosting Mr Waters.

On Tuesday at London’s O2 Arena, the musician railed against Labour Party MP Christian Wakeford, who last month posted a letter to Twitter in which he said that Mr Waters’ upcoming Manchester performance should be called off. Mr Waters, stopping during his performance to embark on a rant to the thousands of paying concert-goers, said that Mr Wakeford was “working for his “masters in the Foreign Office in Tel Aviv”, before calling him a “cripple”. 

Mr Waters went on to defend Mr Corbyn, shouting: “I’ve watched other people be cancelled. I watched Jeremy Corbyn be cancelled by the Israeli lobby. That was what happened in 2019 and if it hadn’t happened we might have had the first decent Labour prime minister for f***ing 50 years, because he cared about the working classes.” 

This echoed sentiments expressed by Mr Waters’ during a recent concert at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena, when he claimed that “They’re trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange” and that the furore was “all coming from Tel Aviv, promise you”.

On Wednesday, members of Campaign Against Antisemitism captured evidence of the former Pink Floyd star comparing Anne Frank, one of the most famous child victims of the Holocaust, to Rachel Corrie, a person killed accidentally by the Israeli Defence Forces. Under the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is antisemitic.

This is not the first instance of Mr Waters breaching the definition in this way. He recently drew criticism for brandishing the name of Frank next to Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was killed in crossfire between terrorists and Israeli security forces last year in the Palestinian Authority.

Towards the end of Wednesday’s performance, Mr Waters’ plunged into another unhinged rant, for which he seems to have become known, this time declaring that he loves all of his “brothers and sisters…irrespective of their ethnicity, or religion or nationality…well with one possible exception.” He then responded to former Pink Floyd lyricist Polly Samson’s charge that he is “antisemitic to [his] rotten core” in a tweet from February, telling his laughing fans: “All I have to say about Polly Samson is: imagine waking up to that every morning.” 

In 2022, in an October episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Waters denied being an antisemite, before going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David, alongside other various symbols, emblazoned on its side. He said: “Well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.”

He continued: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day. So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.” Mr Waters openly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, complaining that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”

Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

In 2021, Mr Waters claimed that antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at the behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, [was] specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”

In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed” and also said that American leaders are puppets of the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Mr Waters has also claimed that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for this latter remark.

In 2013, he reportedly claimed that there is a “Jewish lobby” in the music industry.

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Mark Ruffalo backs absurd claim that International Definition of Antisemitism is “propaganda”

The actor Mark Ruffalo retweeted an article claiming that the International Definition of Antisemitism is “propaganda” that is used to censor anyone “that is critical of Israel.”

This is an example of the Livingstone Formulation. The “Livingstone Formulation”, named by sociologist David Hirsch after the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is used to describe how allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.

Despite these claims, the Definition in fact explicitly states that, “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”, and only “applying double standards by requiring of Israel a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation” would be deemed as such.

In 2021, Mr Ruffalo apologised for comments that he made about the Jewish state, admitting that they were “inflammatory, disrespectful & is being used to justify antisemitism here and abroad.”

In 2019, Mr Ruffalo endorsed a letter describing the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, as “a life-long committed anti-racist” who “is being smeared as an antisemite by people who should know better.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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Vienna municipality plans to tilt statue of antisemitic mayor by 3.5 degrees 

The Vienna municipality has resolved to tilt the statue of former antisemitic mayor by 3.5 degrees in an effort to take a stance against antisemitism.

The statue of Karl Lueger, located in the heart of the Austrian capital on Ringstrasse Boulevard, was formerly protected by the Vienna municipality after protesters called for its removal in 2020.

Mr Lueger served as mayor of Vienna for thirteen years until his death in 1910 at the age of 65. He was known for antisemitic rhetoric that is claimed to have inspired the young Hitler, who lived in the Austrian capital and spoke in Mein Kampf of his “undisguised admiration” for the Viennese mayor.

For example, in one speech delivered to members of the Christian-Social Workers’ Association in Vienna in July 1899, Mr Leuger invoked the kind of antisemitic rhetoric that would later be employed by the Nazis, saying: “The influence on the masses is in the hands of the Jews…the largest part of the press is in their hands; the vast majority of capital and especially big business is in the hands of the Jews.” He added: “above all, this is about the liberation of the Christian people from the domination of Judaism.”

Although Mr Lueger’s name was previously erased from the street next to the University of Vienna, his bronze statue, which he commissioned himself, still stands in Dr Karl Lueger Platz, the square situated next to the capital’s arts and crafts museum.

The idea to tilt the 4.5m high statue was proposed in 2010 by Klemens Wihlidal, an art student. The intention is reportedly to give the observer a nagging sense of disorientation, since the angle of inclination is believed to be the point at which the human eye begins to notice that something is wrong.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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German Culture Minister heckled at Jewish music competition over previous endorsement of inflammatory art exhibit

Germany’s Culture Minister was met with heckles and boos at a Jewish music competition over her previous support of an art exhibit which displayed inflammatory images.

The crowd at the Jewrovision youth music competition, organised by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, expressed dismay at the presence of Claudia Roth, reportedly shouting: “You are not welcome here.”

The 2022 Documenta art exhibition in Kassel presented several inflammatory images, including one of an Orthodox Jew with blood-shot eyes, large sharp teeth, and an ‘SS’ hat on their head.

The controversy led the director of the art festival to resign.

Ms Roth, of the Green Party, reportedly has a history of fueling outrage amongst Germany’s Jewish community. For example, Ms Roth’s department funded Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, the artistic director of Berlin’s House of World Cultures, who has allegedly made numerous inflammatory statements regarding Israel and Jews.

Ms Roth’s spokesperson said: “She accepts such criticism and takes it seriously.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism in Germany, which have increased considerably.

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Former colleague of Kanye West allegedly told “you’re exactly like other Jews”

A new documentary produced by the BBC, titled “The Trouble With KanYe”, reveals further inflammatory comments allegedly made by Kanye West. 

In the documentary, Alex Klein, a former business partner of Mr West’s, recalled a conversation between the two, in which Mr West allegedly told Mr Klein that he was “exactly like other Jews”. When Mr Klein asked Mr West if he believed that Jews are “working together to hold [him] back”, the rapper purportedly said “yes”.

The documentary follows the recent activities and rhetoric of Mr West, who last year said that he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people” before he doubled down, reiterating: “I want all the Jewish children to look at they [sic] daddy and say ‘Why is Ye mad at us?’”

On his partnership with Adidas, he also said last year: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they can’t drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”

Campaign Against Antisemitism launched a petition demanding that Adidas drop Mr West in light of his antisemitic comments.

Adidas finally ended its partnership with him after the petition went viral and received over 180,000 signatures. 

Kim Kardashian, Mr West’s former wife, recently said on an episode of the show, The Kardashians: “I feel guilty that I posted something in support of the Jewish community, then people dropped him.” 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan meets with O2 Arena over Roger Waters’ concerts as Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups maintain pressure

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has intervened over the upcoming performances of the Jew-baiting musician Roger Waters.

The move comes as Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups have placed pressure on the venues hosting Mr Waters.

A spokesperson for the Mayor said: “The Mayor’s team have recently met with AEG Europe, the O2 arena venue operator, to express the concerns and issues raised by the Jewish community.”

They added that the Mayor “fully understands the significant concerns from within the Jewish community and condemns the use of antisemitism imagery”.

During a concert at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena earlier this week, Mr Waters reportedly claimed that “They’re trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange.”

“I will not be cancelled,” he reportedly added.

He reportedly added that the furore was “all coming from Tel Aviv, promise you”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Manchester’s AO Arena and London’s O2 Arena over their hosting of Mr Waters next week. Last week, we wrote to a leading cinema chain calling for it to cancel its screenings of Mr Waters’ film.

On Tuesday, we reported that David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, took to the social media platform Gab where he appeared to defend Mr Waters.

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently launched a petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, which he has now taken to the next level.

You can sign the petition here.

  • In the last week, Berlin police have confirmed an investigation after wide disgust at the costume worn by Mr Waters at a 17th May concert, where he compared Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was murdered during the Holocaust, to a journalist killed in crossfire between terrorists and Israeli security forces last year in the Palestinian Authority.
  • In 2022, in an October episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Waters denied being an antisemite, before going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David, alongside other various symbols, emblazoned on its side. He said: “Well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.”
  • He continued: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day. So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”
  • Mr Waters openly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, complaining that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”
  • Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

  • In 2021, Mr Waters claimed that antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at the behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, [was] specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”
  • In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed”.
  • He also said that American leaders are puppets of the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Mr Waters has also claimed that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for this latter remark.

Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom and South America, and regularly embarks on major tours across the United States and Europe.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a ‘smear’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That record has now even attracted the positive attention of the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke. That might have given any other celebrity some pause.

“That Mr Waters’ latest show includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for venues like London’s O2 arena to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

, , , ,

Antisemitism on Twitter flares up over Israeli Eurovision finalist 

Antisemitic content has reportedly increased dramatically after the Israeli Eurovision contestant finished in third place. 

Cyberwell, an NGO that uses artificial intelligence to track online antisemitism, released a report analysing Eurovision-related antisemitism, revealing that over ninety percent of anti-Jewish rhetoric was found on Twitter.

Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, founder and Executive Director of Cyberwell, said that its monitory technology “noticed a specific uptick in antisemitic narratives criticising the Eurovision as being rigged by the Jews or specifically picking on Noa Kirel.”

Ms Kirel, Israel’s contestant, also faced online backlash due to comments made regarding  Poland’s role in the Holocaust. Ms Kirel told Israeli media: “Receiving twelve points from Poland after what our people and my family have been through in the Holocaust, it’s a true victory.”

Pawel Jablonski, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister, denounced the comment and denied the implication of Poles’ complicity in the Holocaust, an accusation that was made a criminal offence in Poland in 2018.

While Poles fought the Nazis and many helped to save Jews, much of the population either actively collaborated with the genocide of the Jewish people or stood by as it took place predominantly on Polish soil during the Nazi occupation.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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Filmmaker Amanda Kinsey on how European antisemitism pushed Jews to the American Wild West

Amanda Kinsey, a five-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and the Director and Producer of the new documentary ‘Jews of the Wild West’, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke about how antisemitism in Eastern Europe caused Jews to flee and start a new life in the American West.

Ms Kinsey spoke of how European Jews were largely forced to move due to “legalised oppression”.  

She said: “People are coming from Europe where there is systematic, legalised, anti-Jewish hate, violence, oppression, extreme limitations in terms of occupation of what you could do, owning land wasn’t possible, carrying a firearm wasn’t possible.

“We talk about it in the film, there was a period in Prussia that marriage wasn’t possible for many Jewish families, unless you had a certain income level, which because people were being kept poor, didn’t really exist…that was a big impetus for people moving to the United States…that sort of legalised oppression didn’t really exist in the United States, so in that sense, there was greater freedom.”

The filmmaker explained that while many Jewish immigrants fled to New York City, most were limited to living in crowded tenements in the City’s Lower East Side and were restricted to certain professions with not much opportunity.

Because of these conditions, in addition to concerns that the influx of Jewish immigrants could see a rise in antisemitism, many Jews left for the American West with the help of the Industrial Removal Office, an agency assisting with Jewish immigration.

The Office would place Jewish people in parts of the United States where jobs were needed, with many opportunities being located West, in places such as Texas or Colorado. 

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

, ,

Roger Waters: “They’re trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn”

Roger Waters reportedly claimed that “They’re trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange” during last night’s concert at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.

“I will not be cancelled,” he reportedly added.

He reportedly added that the furore was “all coming from Tel Aviv, promise you”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Manchester’s AO Arena and London’s O2 Arena over their hosting of Mr Waters next week. Last week, we wrote to a leading cinema chain calling for it to cancel its screenings of Mr Waters’ film.

On Tuesday, we reported that David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, took to the social media platform Gab where he appeared to defend Mr Waters.

Campaign Against Antisemitism recently launched a petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, which he has now taken to the next level.

You can sign the petition here.

  • In the last week, Berlin police have confirmed an investigation after wide disgust at the costume worn by Mr Waters at a 17th May concert, where he compared Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was murdered during the Holocaust, to a journalist killed in crossfire between terrorists and Israeli security forces last year in the Palestinian Authority.
  • In 2022, in an October episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Waters denied being an antisemite, before going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David, alongside other various symbols, emblazoned on its side. He said: “Well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.”
  • He continued: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day. So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”
  • Mr Waters openly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, complaining that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”
  • Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

  • In 2021, Mr Waters claimed that antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at the behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, [was] specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”
  • In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed”.
  • He also said that American leaders are puppets of the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Mr Waters has also claimed that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for this latter remark.

Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom and South America, and regularly embarks on major tours across the United States and Europe.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a ‘smear’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That record has now even attracted the positive attention of the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke. That might have given any other celebrity some pause.

“That Mr Waters’ latest show includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for venues like London’s O2 arena to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

, , ,

Man who gave talk on “Holocaust lies” and kept gun by his bed jailed for seven and a half years

A man who published videos of Adolf Hitler and kept a gun by his bed has been jailed for seven and a half years.

Alan Madden, 65 from Port Sunlight in Merseyside, was said to have kept the semi-automatic pistol in his bedroom in case of a “complete breakdown in society”.

During a raid of Mr Madden’s home in September, Counter Terror and Merseyside Police discovered a Czech-manufactured firearm in a box alongside 384 rounds of ammunition that included prohibited hollow-point bullets.

Mr Madden admitted to officers that he knew both the weapon and ammunition were illegal in the United Kingdom, and had smuggled them in from South Africa, where he purchased them legally. 

Mr Madden was found to have published videos of Hitler on through his account on Bitchute, an online video platform often favoured by members of the far-right, in which Jewish people were called “liars” and a “satanic power”. He also posted the manifesto of the Christchurch mosque shooter, Brenton Tarrant.

Additionally, Mr Madden was found to have copies of books by Hitler and Oswald Mosley, and a search of Mr Madden’s electronic devices uncovered that he had delivered a talk in Chester called “Adolf Hitler, the Jew and Holocaust Lies”.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how, in a 2017 e-mail, he referred to the neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action as “the real deal” and “commendable”. National Action was proscribed by the British Government following repeated calls by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others.

Mr Madden pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm, possessing prohibited ammunition, two counts of possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate, three counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place and possession of a flick knife. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of stirring up racial hatred.

Sentencing Mr Madden to seven and a half years in prison, Judge David Aubrey KC said: “[National Action] is a neo-Nazi group and you aligned yourself to its beliefs. Such propaganda disseminated by you via social media featured extremely violent imagery and language.”

Detective Superintendent Andrew Meeks, Head of Investigations for Counter Terror Policing North West, said: “Madden had in his possession a 9mm hand gun and significant quantities of ammunition which is a concern to law enforcement and the communities of Merseyside. He also admitted inciting racial hatred and holding extremist views which presented him as a threat to wider society. The gun and ammunition have now been taken out of circulation and will be destroyed.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing North West

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Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke defends Jew-baiting musician Roger Waters in post about “Jewish power”

David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, took to the social media platform Gab where he appeared to defend the Jew-baiting musician Roger Waters.

Gab is a social-media platform that was founded in 2016 with a claim to “champion free speech,” and has become a haven for supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory and other far-right groups and individuals banned from mainstream platforms.

Mr Duke, who has a long history of vile antisemitic views and is a prominent white supremacist, wrote: “​​The Jewish Global Deep State is at war with Roger Waters for daring to expose Israel’s crimes and the crimes of the Jewish controlled USA Gov’t and media. Waters also points out that Russian War in Ukraine was totally provoked (not unprovoked). He also dared to Show the Ukraine War is just one more NeoCon and NeoCommie War by the same usual suspects.”

The post was originally uncovered by Adam Ma’anit.

He continued: “The AP said Waters is accused of antisemitism but denies it. In truth Waters needs to go on the offensive. He should point out: Antisemitism today actually is nothing more of vile smear against anyone who dares to expose the UltraRacist Jewish Globalists behind both the Palestinian Nakba but also the insane Ukraine War. This proxy War caused by Jews is nothing more than Jewish power happy to sacrifice the lives and well-being of millions of Ukrainians, Russians and Europeans in an attempt to harm and destroy Christian Russia.”

Earlier this week, Campaign Against Antisemitism launched a petition calling on venues to stop hosting Mr Waters owing to his long history of baiting Jews, which he has now taken to the next level.

You can sign the petition here.

  • In the last week, Berlin police have confirmed an investigation after wide disgust at the costume worn by Mr Waters at a 17th May concert, where he compared Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was murdered during the Holocaust, to a journalist killed in crossfire between terrorists and Israeli security forces last year in the Palestinian Authority.
  • In 2022, in an October episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Waters denied being an antisemite, before going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David, alongside other various symbols, emblazoned on its side. He said: “Well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.”
  • He continued: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day. So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”
  • Mr Waters openly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, complaining that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”
  • Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

  • In 2021, Mr Waters claimed that antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at the behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, [was] specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”
  • In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed”.
  • He also said that American leaders are puppets of the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Mr Waters has also claimed that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for this latter remark.

Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom and South America, and regularly embarks on major tours across the United States and Europe.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a ‘smear’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That record has now even attracted the positive attention of the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke. That might have given any other celebrity some pause.

“That Mr Waters’ latest show includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for venues like London’s O2 arena to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

, , ,

CAA launches petition calling on venues to stop hosting Roger Waters

Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a petition calling on venues to stop hosting Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd musician.

Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd musician, has a long history of baiting Jews, which he has now taken to the next level.

Venues must not platform his hate. You can sign the petition here.

  • In the last week, Berlin police have confirmed an investigation after wide disgust at the costume worn by Mr Waters at a 17th May concert, where he compared Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was murdered during the Holocaust, to a journalist killed in crossfire between terrorists and Israeli security forces last year in the Palestinian Authority.
  • In 2022, in an October episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Waters denied being an antisemite, before going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David, alongside other various symbols, emblazoned on its side. He said: “Well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.”
  • He continued: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day. So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”
  • Mr Waters openly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, complaining that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”
  • Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

  • In 2021, Mr Waters claimed that antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at the behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, [was] specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”
  • In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed”.
  • He also said that American leaders are puppets of the Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Mr Waters has also claimed that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for this latter remark.

Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom and South America, and regularly embarks on major tours across the United States and Europe.

It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a “smear”, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That his latest show apparently includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for these venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.

, ,

CAA writes to cinema chain calling for the cancellation of Roger Waters film screenings

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to a leading cinema chain calling for it to cancel its screenings of Roger Waters’ new film.

Our letter to Everyman Cinemas, which is due to screen Roger Waters: This is Not A Drill, Live from Prague, comes in the wake of the former Pink Floyd musician reportedly beginning a recent concert in Berlin by announcing that he is not antisemitic, shortly before making comparisons between the Nazis to Israel.

At one point during the concert, various names are displayed on large screens. A journalist at the concert reported that Anne Frank’s name was prominently displayed, alongside the statement that her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Jewish” was “death”.

In an identical format, the name Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was shot last year, was displayed next to text that states her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Palestinian” was “death”.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

His announcement that he is not an antisemite arrived in the wake of a court ruling which stated that the city of Frankfurt, which made headlines after it labelled Mr Waters “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world,” was not able to cancel his concert.

This is not the first time that Mr Waters has felt the need to proclaim that he is not antisemitic.

Last year, we reported that Mr Waters repeatedly denied being an antisemite whilst also breaching the Definition on an episode of the podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

Throughout the podcast, Mr Waters, who has a long record of baiting Jews, claimed he has repeatedly been accused of being an antisemite due to his anti-Israel position. 

Joe Rogan, the podcast’s host, seemingly agreed with Mr Waters, saying: “By calling you an antisemite, they just stop the conversation dead in its tracks cause that’s an indefensible position.”

“Exactly. And you’re not allowed to say ‘I’m not’,” Mr Waters replied. 

Going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David emblazoned on its side, he said: “‘Oh, you once put the Star of David on the side of a pig in a show.’ Yeah but I also put the hammer and sickle, and the crescent, and whatever, and a dollar sign. 

“‘Yeah, but you put the…,’ well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.” 

In an apparent conflation between the Jewish people and the State of Israel, Mr Waters then stated: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day.

“So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”

Mr Waters complained that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”

Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed” and that American leaders are puppets of a Jewish billionaire and that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for the latter remark.

In 2021, he claimed that antisemitism is “smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”

Concerningly, Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is ‘smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That his show apparently includes a visual equation of Israel to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for these venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

,

Video surfaces of Pokémon champion with swastika shaved into his head 

A video has recently surfaced online of the champion of the 2023 Pokémon Trading Card Game Hartford Regionals with a swastika shaved into the back of his head. 

Rowan Stavenow has since posted the following statement on his Twitter account: “To all the members of the Pokémon community who have been hurt by the video of me that has been circulating, I am sorry. I understand why you are hurt. The swastika is not a symbol to be thrown around lightly. This symbol represents the death of millions of Jewish people, a horrible genocide, and hate that persists to this day.”

The statement proceeds to explain that Mr Stavenow had given his friends consent to shave anything onto the back of his head on the condition it would be completely shaved after, and that he was unaware of which symbol they had chosen.

It has been reported that members of the Pokémon community have spoken out against the video online. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.

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Roger Waters begins concert by announcing he is not antisemitic before making comparison between Nazis to Israel

Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd musician, reportedly began a recent concert in Berlin by announcing that he is not antisemitic, shorty before making comparisons between the Nazis to Israel.

At one point during the concert, various names are displayed on large screens. A journalist at the concert reported that Anne Frank’s name was prominently displayed, alongside the statement that her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Jewish” was “death”.

In an identical format, the name Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was shot last year, was displayed next to text that states her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Palestinian” was “death”.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

His announcement that he is not an antisemite arrived in the wake of a court ruling which stated that the city of Frankfurt, which made headlines after it labelled Mr Waters “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world,” was not able to cancel his concert.

This is not the first time that Mr Waters has felt the need to proclaim that he is not antisemitic.

Last year, we reported that Mr Waters repeatedly denied being an antisemite whilst also breaching the Definition on an episode of the podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

Throughout the podcast, Mr Waters, who has a long record of baiting Jews, claimed he has repeatedly been accused of being an antisemite due to his anti-Israel position. 

Joe Rogan, the podcast’s host, seemingly agreed with Mr Waters, saying: “By calling you an antisemite, they just stop the conversation dead in its tracks cause that’s an indefensible position.”

“Exactly. And you’re not allowed to say ‘I’m not’,” Mr Waters replied. 

Going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David emblazoned on its side, he said: “‘Oh, you once put the Star of David on the side of a pig in a show.’ Yeah but I also put the hammer and sickle, and the crescent, and whatever, and a dollar sign. 

“‘Yeah, but you put the…,’ well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.” 

In an apparent conflation between the Jewish people and the State of Israel, Mr Waters then stated: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day.

“So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”

Mr Waters complained that “It’s not just me…they smear anyone, anyone, who dares to suggest there’s something bad about their policies. So that’s why the [Definition] is so bad, and so dangerous.”

Taking issue with one of the examples in the Definition, the musician went on to say that the Definition “can’t mean” that the State of Israel should not be criticised for behaving “like people in the past…towards Jews in Northern Europe.” 

According to the Definition, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.”

In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed” and that American leaders are puppets of a Jewish billionaire and that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for the latter remark.

In 2021, he claimed that antisemitism is “smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government”, stating: “The antisemitism smear sword that was wielded at the behest of the Israeli government, specifically aimed at Jeremy Corbyn because he was left wing and he might turn into a political leader on the left in the United Kingdom who would actually stand up for human rights in general but specifically the rights of working people to represent themselves and have unions.”

Concerningly, Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is ‘smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That his show apparently includes a visual equation of Israel to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for these venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

, ,

“Stop condemning antisemitism”: comedian who made inflammatory remarks about Israel and Jewish people books tour of Canada

A comedian who urged his supporters to “stop condemning antisemitism” and has made numerous inflammatory statements about Israel and Jewish people, has booked a tour of Canada. 

The Canadian Jewish community has expressed its outrage after Amer Zahr’s tour was announced.

Mr Zahr has voiced his support for Hamas and Hizballah, saying that “we stand with every resistance against Israel and against the occupation, whether it’s called…Hamas, Hizballah,” and has described Zionism as a “white supremacist movement from Europe.” He has also claimed that “Israel [is] based on Jewish supremacy,” and expressed admiration for terrorist hijacker Leila Khaled.

As a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ms Khaled took part in two terrorist hijackings in 1969 and 1970. The US Government has designated the PFLP as a terrorist organisation.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Canada, where incidents have recently increased dramatically.

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Switzerland agrees to erect monument to commemorate Nazi victims 

Switzerland has agreed to erect a monument to commemorate the victims of the Nazis.

The Swiss Federal Council has committed the equivalent of £2.2 billion to fund the memorial, which will be situated in Bern, its capital. 

The Swiss Federal Council stated: “The Federal Council considers it an important task to keep alive the memory of the consequences of National Socialism, namely the Holocaust and the fate of the six million Jews who were killed and all other victims of the National Socialist regime. 

“The country was not an island of the righteous fighting back against barbarism, so this monument must stand in the federal capital, where the political decisions were made. Switzerland left the borders permeable to trade and closed them to people. Taking responsibility for it means facing the past -— and remembering.” 

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout Europe.

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“People should know they can do incredible things”: ‘A Small Light’ Executive Producer and Director Susanna Fogel on creating the series

Susanna Fogel, an award-winning director, screenwriter, and one of the creators behind the biographical drama A Small Light, a National Geographic miniseries streaming on Disney+, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke on her experiences of creating the series.

A Small Light takes a look at the remarkable real-life heroism of Miep Gies, the woman responsible for hiding Anne Frank’s family, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer in the Secret Annex during the Holocaust.

Ms Fogel, the series’ Executive Producer and multi-episode Director, said that “a big point of the series is just to keep telling that story so that we can’t forget it.”

Expressing concerns over how many people remain unaware of the diarist’s story, Ms Fogel said: “I think if you’re Jewish, you can’t forget it anyway because it’s constantly part of your upbringing and your historical knowledge of yourself…The Diary of Anne Frank was something that we all read in school when I was growing up, but now I know that that’s not the case, and a lot of people don’t know. Or, a lot of people come to the Anne Frank House and don’t know who she was now. We were told by the people at the Anne Frank House that there are a lot of people who walk in and don’t know the story.

“We have this responsibility, and if the responsibility is an entertaining, immersive miniseries, that’s fine. It’s still just telling that story and making sure that people know that it happened so that they can’t deny that it happened.”

When asked what she hoped people would take away from the series, the director said she hopes that “people just become aware of what happened, whatever that means to them,” going on to say that anyone can make a difference in dire situations.

“I think people should know that they can do incredible things. Anyone can,” she said, echoing the sentiments of Ms Gies, the series’ protagonist.

Ms Fogel would also speak in detail on the personal process that the cast and crew of the series underwent.

She said: “The process of understanding what these people went through, the stakes of what they did, reading books about them, visiting the Terezin concentration camp – which was near where we were filming in Prague – all of these things that people did, retracing Miep’s steps, the things that Bel [Powley] did and the rest of the actors did…I think the actors really undertook those types of preparation in a solitary way. It’s a very personal, solitary thing that everybody kind of did in their independent study way.”

Ms Fogel added that preparation was also conducted as a group.

“When we were together, we really focussed on building those relationships. What is the human bond between these people? Developing the humanity and the warmth and the light and the humour, that’s the thing that we worked on as a group, because that’s the thing that we really wanted to make sure was coming through in the show.”

Speaking further on the relationship between those involved, she said: “The truth is that we all kind of became a family on the set. Everybody got along really well…there was a certain amount of just, living in this world is so dark, that we had to find the moments of levity in the day.”

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Event featuring author Bret Easton Ellis reportedly sees walk-outs after allegedly saying Kanye West is not an antisemite 

An event featuring the author Bret Easton Ellis reportedly saw walk-outs after he allegedly said that rapper Kanye West, who has publicly professed his adoration for Adolf Hitler, was not an antisemite. 

Mr Ellis is reported to have said: “Kanye now is no different from the Kanye I met in 2013. He is outrageous, he is provocative. I don’t believe he is an antisemite.

“He is a destroying artist. He wants to live in a world that is completely free. He just wants to say ‘f*** you’ to everybody.”

Members of the audience in attendance at the Westminster UnHerd Club’s event reportedly then walked out.

Mr West made headlines following a series of antisemitic comments last year, which resulted in Adidas cutting ties with the rapper after Campaign Against Antisemitism launched a petition garnering nearly 200,000 signatures in a matter of days. 

  • On 7th October 2022, he posted on Instagram: “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
  • Two days later he tweeted: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”

On an episode of the Drink Champs podcast, aired on 16th October 2022, Mr West:

  • Said: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they can’t drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
  • Demanded: “I want all the Jewish children to look at they daddy and say ‘Why is Ye mad at us?’”
  • Stated that was “Me Too-ing the Jewish culture. I’m saying y’all gotta stand up and admit to what y’all been doing, and y’all just got away with it for so long, that y’all ain’t even realise what y’all doing.”
  • Referred throughout the interview to “Jewish business secrets”, “Jewish Zionists”, and stated how Jewish people in the entertainment industry “will take one of us, the brightest of us, that can really feed a whole village, and they’ll take us and milk us until we die.”
  • Claimed that he had been “blocked out” by “the Jewish media”.
  • Said: “Jewish people have owned the Black voice, whether it’s through us wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt, or it’s all of us being signed to a record label, or having a Jewish manager, or being signed to a Jewish basketball team, or doing a movie on a Jewish platform like Disney.”
  • Doubled down on his tweet about “going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”, claiming that he “is Jewish also”, adding: “We’re not just Black. We are Jew [sic], just like the Jewish people…I can’t be an antisemite.”
  • Claimed that he responded to being invited to a Holocaust museum by saying: “I want you to visit Planned Parenthood. That’s our Holocaust museum.” 
  • Complained about being photographed in public, saying: “You get used to being screwed by the Jewish media.” 
  • Said: “A thing that a Jewish person will always say is they’ll say ‘This is mine’. Something that a Black person built, or any company built, they’ll be like ‘This is mine now’.”
  • Referencing fellow rapper Ice Cube, who was criticised for sharing an antisemitic image, said: “You really influenced me to get on this antisemite vibe, and I’m here to finish the job.” (Ice Cube has refuted this claim and distanced himself from Ye.)

In an interview on CUOMO on the NewsNation network, aired on 18th October 2022, Mr West:

  • Said: “I don’t like the term ‘antisemitic’. It’s been a term that’s allowed people, specifically in my industry, to get away with murder.”
  • Made comments referring to the “Jewish underground media mafia”. 
  • Claimed “Jewish people own the Black voice.”
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True-crime author Michael Benson speaks to CAA about Jewish mobsters and American Nazis

Michael Benson, the true-crime author of the book Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in WW2 Era America, in which he tells the incredible, real-life story of how Jewish gangsters disrupted Nazi gatherings in the United States during the late 1930s, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about his latest book.

Speaking on his decision to portray the Jewish gangsters in his book as heroes, Mr Benson said: “I feel no qualms whatsoever about the morality of my book. The gangsters are the good guys. The Nazis are the bad guys. There are very few shades of grey…I believe even really, really bad men can do great things.”

The author added that he learned throughout the course of writing his book that in 1930s America, “all racism, all bigotry was mainstream,” and that as long as a member from a particular minority group was not in the room at the time, discussing that group in racist fashion was widely accepted.

With the rise of Nazism and pro-Hitler groups, like the German American Bund and the Silver Legion of America, Jewish Americans began to worry. Antisemitic flyers had begun to pop-up, and antisemites started to feel emboldened, with violent attacks on Jews increasing. 

“The story takes place at a time when hate speech laws were not even thought of,” Mr Benson said. “What the Bundists were doing was they were committing cultural slander, and in their pamphlets cultural libel, but there were no laws against that.”

After one particular incident in which members of the Bund marched down the streets of New York carrying antisemitic banners, the Jewish judge, Nathan D. Perlman, decided to take matters into his own hands.

“[Judge Perlman] doesn’t call Mayor La Guardia, he doesn’t call his congressman, he doesn’t call the commissioner or police. He calls the number one Jewish gangster in the world, probably of all time, Meyer Lansky,” the author explained.

Lansky, along with his childhood friend and fellow gangster Bugsy Siegel, embarked on a mission to disrupt Nazi gatherings.

Similar events would transpire across the country in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles.

“In America, in 1938, the Jewish men win every single time,” said Mr Benson.  

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Matty Healy appears to perform Nazi salute on stage

The frontman of The 1975 band appeared to do a Nazi salute while marching on the spot on stage at a performance during the group’s current tour.

Matty Healy reportedly made the gesture during the song “Love it if we made it”, as he sang the lyrics: “Thank you, Kanye, very cool.”

The reference was to Kanye West, also known as Ye, who has recently been embroiled in a high-profile antisemitism scandal.

Some fans described the gesture as having been in poor taste, while others believed it was meant satirically as a criticism of Mr West.

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Sold-out crowd arrives for “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Campaign Against Antisemitism hosted a first-of-its-kind sold-out event this past Thursday evening which featured the Jewish author Ben M. Freeman.

The event, “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”, attracted a room full of Jewish young professionals to an east London venue to watch a live interview with Mr Freeman, followed by a question and answers session.

Mr Freeman is a Scottish, gay, Jewish author, activist and educator whose latest book, Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, is the second instalment of his seminal manifesto of the modern Jewish Pride movement that has taken the Jewish world by storm.

During the discussion, the educator spoke extensively on antisemitism and how it affects modern Jewish life.

“We cannot be defined by what is done to us,” he said. “We have to define ourselves via our experiences, our identity, our history, our story.

Addressing how antisemitic stereotypes and tropes have led to some Jews viewing their bodies in a negative light, Mr Freeman said: “Antisemitism is a racism…there are many groups that are racialised, and we are one of them…we have to understand that the way that we are treated, that way that we are perceived, the stories that are told about us, they impact us.

“People are told, ‘Oh, you don’t look Jewish,’ and we’re meant to take that as a compliment…the fact that we perceive it as a compliment is deeply, deeply worrying, and is a tragedy for our community.”

Last year, Mr Freeman appeared on an episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, where he spoke about the importance of having a basic understanding of history and why it is vital in tackling antisemitism. 

The podcast with Mr Freeman can be listened to here, or watched here.

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Award-winning French Jewish filmmaker Amanda Sthers reveals she left France due to antisemitism

Amanda Sthers, the award-winning French author, playwright, and filmmaker whose critically acclaimed work has earned her the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the Government of France, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she has revealed that she left her home country due to antisemitism.

Ms Sthers, herself a Jewish person in the public eye, is no stranger to experiences of antisemitism.

“I always feel that every time there is a very strong increase [in] antisemitic incidents, democracy’s in danger,” she said.

According to France’s Jewish Community Security Service, antisemitic incidents in France skyrocketed by 75% in 2021. 

Additionally, last year saw three reported murders of French Jews. Eyal Haddad, 34, from the town of Longperrier, north-east of Paris, was said to have been brutally murdered with an axe before the alleged perpetrator reportedly attempted to burn his face and bury the body, while Rene Hadjaj, 90, was allegedly defenestrated from an apartment block in Lyon.

Jeremy Cohen, 31, was fatally wounded after being hit by a tram. At first, Mr Cohen’s death was treated as a traffic accident, until video footage released by the family appeared to show a group of men attacking Mr Cohen, who is believed to have been wearing his kippah, or skullcap, prompting him to flee for safety without noticing the tram. He was then taken to the hospital but did not survive his injuries.

Our host asked Ms Sthers: “How concerned are you about antisemitism in France right now? Is it something you think about?”

“Yeah. I think about it so much that I left,” the filmmaker responded. “I left seven years ago. I live in LA now, and I have a hard time feeling at home in France anymore. And it’s very heartbreaking…it’s really hard for me because I can feel in the air that there’s something really hateful.”

While Ms Sthers acknowledges the ongoing threat of far-right groups, she believes that the recent spike in antisemitism is partly due to emerging conspiracy theories about Jews and Islamist ideology.

She continued: “France is not a safe place for Jewish people anymore, and I don’t understand how the government doesn’t want to say more about it…they are putting the entire nation in danger by not trying to keep Jews safe in their country. And I’m saying in ‘their country’, I still have a passport but I just don’t feel that it’s my country anymore.”

Commenting on how life is different for her in the United States, she noted how she felt as though her Judaism was not “a question that you had to avoid.”

“I remember the first time they [said] ‘Oh, you’re Jewish!’, it was not the same tone that was used in France.”

However, Ms Sthers was mindful to point out that, for Jewish people, “it’s not heaven in the States, either.”

“Lately, it’s changing. I think the pandemic increased [the amount of] antisemitic incidents, increased a lot of paranoia. Every time there’s a crisis, antisemitism is increasing,” she said.

Ms Sthers also pointed to the antisemitic statements made by rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. 

Despite the increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States, Ms Sthers’ experiences in France have led her to feel safer in her new home.

“I remember in Paris, I was always telling my sons, ‘Don’t mention your bar mitzvah when we’re in the taxi, just be careful, just stay low-profile,’ because I was afraid for them,” she disclosed.

Throughout the interview, Ms Sthers also discussed a variety of other topics, including her award-winning film Holy Lands, how to tackle antisemitism through art, and her experience of working with the late Jewish film icon, James Caan.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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“Why should I have to change everything about myself?” Jewish rapper Westside Gravy on refusing to cower to antisemitism and anti-Black racism

Westside Gravy, a rapper and producer who uses his music to address antisemitism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke candidly about the discrimination he faces, and his refusal to back down from it. 

“A lot of times, there’s a conversation about the talk that Black parents have with their Black children regarding how to interact if you’re getting profiled or harassed by anyone, really, but especially people talk about it when it comes to issues of police brutality,” the rapper said. “And there’s also a similar thing that to do with being Jewish, publicly identifying as Jewish.

“There’s times that I’ve been harassed and had things yelled at me for being identifiable as a Jewish man,” he revealed. “You should be able to go out and not hide aspects of your identity that are immutable…you can’t change them, you can’t hide them, or else you’re hiding a part of yourself. And at the same time, it’s about being conscious of whatever situation you’re in.”

The California native, who now lives in Israel, broke down the meaning behind some of his lyrics. In his song, Wish You Would 2, he raps: “Why do I gotta be the one to pay the price and change my life? It just ain’t right to trade my sight and see myself through hatred’s eyes.”

“There’s a couple times I’ve written lines, I’m like ‘This sums up everything I’m trying to say,’” he explained, before delving into the theory of “double consciousness”. 

He explained: “There’s this idea that originated, even talking specifically about the Black experience, that if you’re walking around, you have to be conscious not only of who you are as a person but also how you’re perceived…I get perceived as all sorts of things just because of stereotypes, unfair stereotypes of other people.

“I was trying to play on that, and at the same time, humanise what it means to be a Jewish person because I’m speaking from a first-person perspective of ‘Why should I have to change everything about myself?’”

The rapper went on to explain that he feels that “when we have these stereotypes put on us, they’re not as a result of someone’s individual thought. They’re a result of a whole, huge movement of hatred against our people, that infects a bunch of people to hold these stereotypes and negative prejudices against us.”

Wearing a kippah (skullcap) is important to Westside Gravy, as he states: “I’d always wear a kippah when I was going to synagogue, or praying, or at Shabbat, and I started to do it on a daily basis.”

He explains that he never wears his kippah as a means of spiting antisemites, but more so because “it doesn’t feel right for me to change that or to hide it about myself, because it’s a part of me the same way as anything else you see about me – my skin colour, my hair texture, my facial features – are a part of me.” 

The musician, however, is certainly not afraid of antisemites, even going so far as to mock them in his song Benjamins Baby, a reference to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who previously suggested that Jewish people buy political support when she tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”, referencing a song about a $100 bill and AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group.

The satirical song, in which the rapper subversively embodies the character of the antisemitic stereotype of a powerful Jewish politician, also references former KKK leader David Duke and the antisemitic hate preacher, Louis Farrakhan.

The song was written following Westside Gravy’s witnessing of how politicians would blame the opposite parties for committing acts of antisemitism, whilst wilfully ignoring it when it occurred in their own movement. 

“It’s very irresponsible to not recognise the fact that antisemitism is not a political movement. It’s not something that’s tied to a political party or a political ideology, it’s a form of hatred that infects all sorts of different political leaders,” he said. “Look at someone like David Duke, who is on the far-right. Look at someone like Louis Farrakhan who, though his values are not congruent with actual, left-wing values, is often praised by people on the far-left.”

Westside Gravy astutely observed that “the things that they say about Jewish people – ‘Jewish extremist Zionists’ – are identical. The dehumanisation is identical. The tropes that they use about Jews and money, whether it’s from the right wing or the left wing, are identical tropes.

“It’s important for us as Jewish people to recognise that our civilisation, our culture, our history, predates all these political parties that are trying to blame the other side for antisemitism.” 

Throughout the interview, Westside Gravy also discussed a variety of other topics including antisemitism in hip-hop, his musical inspirations, and his ability to rap in several languages.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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CAA announces new event: “An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has announced an event scheduled for the new year, titled: “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Tickets can be purchased here.

Ben M. Freeman is a Scottish, gay, Jewish author, activist and educator whose latest book, Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, is the second instalment of his seminal manifesto of the modern Jewish Pride movement that has taken the Jewish world by storm.

There will be a conversation followed by a Q&A and book signing.

The event will be held at a Shoreditch location (to be revealed on the day) on 19th January, running from 19:30 to 21:30.

Earlier this year, Mr Freeman appeared on an episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, where he spoke about the importance of having a basic understanding of history and why it is vital in tackling antisemitism. 

Speaking on his passion for studying history, Mr Freeman told our host that “I was always able to view history from a bird’s-eye perspective, and I don’t know why that is…it’s just the way my mind works. So, for me, that means I’m able to spot patterns.

“That’s why I can look at Paul [the Apostle], and then Marx, and then things that were said later on, things that are said today, and then draw a connection.”

Mr Freeman said that looking at common themes between historical events can better explain the events behind antisemitic incidents and “tell us why”. 

“So much of the commentary on Jew-hatred is just commentary, it’s just people describing what happened. ‘This person said this, that person said this,’ and for me, we have to get to the ‘why’, and the ‘why’ is not going to be answered in 2022, it’s going to be answered looking back in history to thousands of years ago.”

The podcast with Mr Freeman can be listened to here, or watched here.

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“Unlike anything I’ve experienced”: Jewish artist describes relentless online harassment

Roots Metals, a jeweller, artist, and writer who uses her considerable online platform to educate her followers on antisemitism and Jewish history, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she disclosed some of the online harassment that she has faced.

Roots Metals said: “Someone made a tweet implying that I use a ‘Nazi font’ and I am sending secret, white-supremacist dog whistles through the word count of my posts. And it went viral, and with that just came so much abuse. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced until this point.”

The jeweller further admitted that the harassment grew to such an extent that she was forced to call a Jewish organisation for help. 

“It got really, really bad. It’s still bad. Hopefully, it dies down soon, but it’s just been awful,” she said. 

Asked whether she had advice for other Jewish activists who also tackle antisemitism online, she said: “I would say if you want to start [fighting antisemitism online], I don’t recommend putting your face out there, but it’s too late for me. I would definitely feel safer if I were anonymous.

“I would definitely take precautions. I would not tell people where I live. I would keep my name out of there and as far as other things you can do, I would definitely exercise very strong boundaries. If someone is being antisemitic, just block. Some people you can’t reason with.”

Roots Metals further added that initially, she found the allegations of her appropriating Nazi iconography ridiculous to the point of being amusing.

“When I first saw it, I laughed, because I was like, ‘This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.’ And then it went viral. Then it wasn’t so funny anymore.”

Throughout the interview, Roots Metals also discussed why the spread of anti-Zionism on university campuses concerns her, antisemitism in her native country of Costa Rica, and how she infuses Jewish themes into her art and writing.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Success for CAA as London venue cancels appearance from notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz

A venue in South London has cancelled a scheduled appearance from the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The Tea House Theatre, whose events have courted controversy in the past, promoted the “Year-End Review in Speech and Song” event on Twitter and Instagram, writing that Ms Chabloz “will talk about her own experiences in being cancelled”.

Lambeth’s Vauxhall Ward condemned the event, tweeting: “Shameful that @theatre_tea here in Vauxhall would welcome someone with such abhorrent views. The right to free speech is not a right to platform, and we hope they will reconsider this event.”

It added: “Antisemitism has no place in Vauxhall.”

Labour Party MP Florence Eshalomi, representing Vauxhall, expressed similar sentiments, writing: “This is worrying – #Vauxhall is a vibrant diverse constituency. I hope the venue in question will reconsider- free speech should not be a platform for people to share any form of hate, racism, discrimination or antisemitism.”

However, it has now been announced that while the event hosted by conspiracy theorist Ian Fantom will go ahead, Ms Chabloz will no longer be appearing.

Speaking to the JC, Tea House Theatre owner Harry Iggulden said: “I’ve looked now into her history a bit more, I understand a bit more of who she is and quite what a repugnant human being she is, and found myself in the position of this horrible person coming to my house.

“I put my colours to the mast a long time ago about being a free speech house, and sometimes I have to let people who I don’t agree with, speak in my house. But there are limits. And last couple of days, I’ve been weighing those limits.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are pleased that convicted Holocaust-denier Alison Chabloz will no longer be appearing at this venue. We have worked for a number of years to repeatedly send Ms Chabloz to prison over her attempts to spread her antisemitic vitriol. Her landmark conviction following a private prosecution that we initiated was the first conviction over Holocaust denial in this country. It is prudent of the venue to have heeded our call for her to be denied a platform, and we are grateful to Vauxhall Ward councillors and local MP Florence Eshalomi for their support.

“However, the venue’s continued platforming of Ian Fantom, a senior figure in the notorious Keep Talking group, who has had long affiliations with promoters of antisemitic conspiracy theories, is worrying. If the Theatre is serious about creating a safe environment for Jews, it will think twice about hosting an event organised by him.”

Earlier this year, Ms Chabloz was found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.

The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.

At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”

Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.

Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

She is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America, and is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism produced a video detailing the complete history of our legal battle with Ms Chabloz, which you can watch in full here.

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London venue shamelessly set to host notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz

A venue in South London is shamelessly set to host the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz and conspiracy theorist Ian Fantom this week.

The Tea House Theatre, whose events have courted controversy in the past, promoted the “Year-End Review in Speech and Song” event on Twitter and Instagram, writing that Ms Chabloz “will talk about her own experiences in being cancelled”.

Lambeth’s Vauxhall Ward condemned the event, tweeting: “Shameful that @theatre_tea here in Vauxhall would welcome someone with such abhorrent views. The right to free speech is not a right to platform, and we hope they will reconsider this event.”

It added: “Antisemitism has no place in Vauxhall.”

Labour Party MP Florence Eshalomi, representing Vauxhall, expressed similar sentiments, writing: “This is worrying – #Vauxhall is a vibrant diverse constituency. I hope the venue in question will reconsider- free speech should not be a platform for people to share any form of hate, racism, discrimination or antisemitism.”

Earlier this year, Ms Chabloz was found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.

The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.

At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”

Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.

Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

She is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America, and is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism produced a video detailing the complete history of our legal battle with Ms Chabloz, which you can watch in full here.

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Far-right music festival cancelled in Scotland

A far-right music festival which was scheduled to have taken place in Bathgate, Scotland has been cancelled.

The festival, which was called a “Nazi event” by anti-racist activists, was set to go ahead this weekend. 

The organisers of the event were reported to be the far-right group Blood & Honour, who are believed to be active in working with musicians whose lyrics promote white supremacy.

One band that was scheduled to appear was the group Mistreat, a band from Finland whose songs are said to contain violent lyrics and have been photographed performing in front of swastika flags.

The festival’s cancellation arises following condemnation from politicians, including representatives from the SNP and the Liberal Democrats. 

Martyn Day, the SNP MP for Linlithgow & East Falkirk, said that “There is no place for such abhorrent hatred in Scotland,” while Sally Pattle, a Liberal Democrat councillor on West Lothian council, added that she found the event “deeply concerning” and said that the festival’s organisers had “a history of spewing far-right bile and hatred and no one wants their brand of ideological nonsense in our area, or anywhere else for that matter.”

Advocacy group Hope Not Hate said of the incident: “It looks like the organisers have been well and truly spooked and are moving to a back-up venue.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.

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Theatre company pulls production of Romeo and Juliet set in Nazi Germany

A theatre company has cancelled a production of Romeo and Juliet which was to be set in Nazi Germany.

The adaptation from London’s Icarus Theatre Collective was billed to present Romeo Montague as a member of the Hitler Youth, while Juliet Capulet would be a Jewish girl.

The description read: “In defiance of their entire society and in secrecy from their closest friends, hopeful young lives burn amidst a cataclysmic backdrop of impending war. Sun and moon shine down on star-crossed lovers as a Jewish girl falls for a member of Nazi Youth and the boy questions everything he was taught to believe.”

However, it transpired that an apparent error resulted in the casting notice omitting any mention of Jewish people, contrary to Director Max Lewendel’s initial draft.

Upon this coming to light, Mr Lewendel stated: “Our first draft had it, we don’t know how it went wrong. We are correcting that as soon as possible. That is absolutely not what was intended, and apologies to anyone that was understandably affected by this.”

When questioned on why an adaptation of the play involving Jews and Nazis was conceived of in the first place, Mr Lewendel said: “It’s the increasing fascism in the world today that has kind of become a trend in my work. 

“I gained some comfort that the idea could be accepted when I saw things like ‘Jojo Rabbit’, and it shows this young boy – younger than Romeo – who’s been indoctrinated but doesn’t really understand what he’s been indoctrinated against.”

The Theatre then said that following the error, it was no longer working with the Casting Director alleged to have been responsible for the change in the draft.

However, it has since announced that it would now be dropping the project altogether. In a statement released on Twitter earlier today, it said: “We apologise and are deeply sorry for the offense and pain we caused to the Jewish community. 

“As a company led by a Jewish Artistic Director who knows the pain of losing family in the Holocaust, we recognise that we’ve made mistakes that have resulted in the Jewish community and Jewish artists feeling excluded and being hurt.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are glad to hear that an apology has been issued after it was revealed that a casting notice for a play about Jews and Nazis did not mention Jewish people.

“We still struggle to think how this production could be anything but tasteless. It is staggering that anyone would find this play about morally-equivalent feuding families to be an appropriate way to explore Nuremberg-era persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany.”

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Hitler painting shredded by Jimmy Carr for Channel 4 television programme reportedly a fake

A painting by Adolf Hitler that was reportedly purchased by Channel 4 with a view to letting comedian Jimmy Carr destroy it in a new television programme has been deemed a fake. 

The concept of the programme, titled Jimmy Carr Destroys Art, is to let an audience decide on whether artwork from “problematic” artists should be destroyed following a debate surrounding the ethics of separating the art from the artist.  

The other artists include Pablo Picasso, Rolf Harris and sexual abuser Eric Gill.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: “Jimmy Carr Destroys Art is a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the limits of free expression in art, and whether work by morally despicable artists still deserves to be seen. It speaks directly to the current debate around cancel culture and is in a long tradition of Channel 4 programming that seeks to engage a broad audience with the biggest and thorniest ethical and cultural questions.

“In relation to the Hitler painting; the artwork, should the audience decide, will be shredded. Not torched.” 

However, Bart Droog, who has written extensively in fake paintings attributed to Hitler, has reportedly said that the piece of art in question is not a genuine painting by Hitler. 

“This is a clear fake. It doesn’t even resemble any known authentic Hitler watercolour.

“By seeking cheap publicity with sensational, bogus Hitler news, Channel 4 not only insults and hurts the Jewish community but does the same to all relatives of his victims.”

When asked if Channel 4 should have known the painting was fake, Mr Droog stated: “Yes, they would have known if they had employed a true expert. By buying a fake Hitler work and presenting it as authentic, Channel 4 not only sponsored criminals and inspired forgers to make more phony Hitlers, but also cooperated with the forgers in faking history itself.”

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: “The painting was bought from a reputable auction house which had authenticated it as genuine. It was made clear in the programme the painting may not be a genuine Hitler.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

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CAA launches petition calling on Adidas to drop partnership with Ye (aka Kanye West) following his repeated antisemitic outbursts

Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a petition calling on global retailer Adidas to drop its partnership with Ye (also known as Kanye West) following his repeated antisemitic outbursts.

The petition can be signed here.

Ye has posted brazen antisemitic statements in the past month on social media.

  • On 7th October 2022, he posted on Instagram: “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
  • Two days later he tweeted: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” 

On an episode of the Drink Champs podcast, aired on 16th October 2022, Ye:

  • Said: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they can’t drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
  • Demanded: “I want all the Jewish children to look at they daddy and say ‘Why is Ye mad at us?’”
  • Stated that was “Me Too-ing the Jewish culture. I’m saying y’all gotta stand up and admit to what y’all been doing, and y’all just got away with it for so long, that y’all ain’t even realise what y’all doing.”
  • Referred throughout the interview to “Jewish business secrets”, “Jewish Zionists”, and stated how Jewish people in the entertainment industry “will take one of us, the brightest of us, that can really feed a whole village, and they’ll take us and milk us until we die.”
  • Claimed that he had been “blocked out” by “the Jewish media”.
  • Said: “Jewish people have owned the Black voice, whether it’s through us wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt, or it’s all of us being signed to a record label, or having a Jewish manager, or being signed to a Jewish basketball team, or doing a movie on a Jewish platform like Disney.”
  • Doubled down on his tweet about “going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”, claiming that he “is Jewish also”, adding: “We’re not just Black. We are Jew [sic], just like the Jewish people…I can’t be an antisemite.”
  • Claimed that he responded to being invited to a Holocaust museum by saying: “I want you to visit Planned Parenthood. That’s our Holocaust museum.” 
  • Complained about being photographed in public, saying: “You get used to being screwed by the Jewish media.” 
  • Said: “A thing that a Jewish person will always say is they’ll say ‘This is mine’. Something that a Black person built, or any company built, they’ll be like ‘This is mine now’.”
  • Referencing fellow rapper Ice Cube, who was criticised for sharing an antisemitic image, said: “You really influenced me to get on this antisemite vibe, and I’m here to finish the job.” (Ice Cube has refuted this claim and distanced himself from Ye.)
  • In an interview on CUOMO on the NewsNation network, aired on 18th October 2022, Ye:
  • Said: “I don’t like the term ‘antisemitic’. It’s been a term that’s allowed people, specifically in my industry, to get away with murder.”
  • Made comments referring to the “Jewish underground media mafia”. 
  • Claimed “Jewish people own the Black voice.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, examples of antisemitism include “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions,” and “Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.”

On his partnership with Adidas, Ye has said: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they can’t drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”

Adidas must answer Ye’s question. It must denounce antisemitism and end its partnership with Ye.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “By continuing to align itself with a public figure who has revealed himself to be a virulent antisemite, Adidas would be demonstrating that it does not care about racism against Jews. Ye has claimed that he can ‘literally say antisemitic s*** and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?’ Adidas must answer Ye’s question: It must denounce antisemitism and end its partnership with Ye.”

The petition can be signed here.

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Channel 4 purchases Hitler painting for Jimmy Carr to potentially destroy in television programme

Channel 4 has reportedly purchased a painting by Adolf Hitler, with a view to letting comedian Jimmy Carr potentially destroy it in a new television programme. 

The programme, titled Jimmy Carr Destroys Art, will see an audience decide on whether artwork from “problematic” artists should be destroyed following a debate surrounding the ethics of separating the art from the artist.  

The other artists include Pablo Picasso, Rolf Harris and sexual abuser Eric Gill.

Ian Katz, Channel 4’s Director of Programming, said: “There are advocates for each piece of art. So you’ve got an advocate for Hitler. There’ll be someone arguing not for Hitler, but for the fact that his moral character should not decide whether or not a piece of art exists or not.”

Mr Katz said that if the audience were to decide that the painting by Hitler should not be destroyed, it would not be placed in the Channel 4 boardroom and would be “appropriately” disposed of.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: “Jimmy Carr Destroys Art is a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the limits of free expression in art, and whether work by morally despicable artists still deserves to be seen. It speaks directly to the current debate around cancel culture and is in a long tradition of Channel 4 programming that seeks to engage a broad audience with the biggest and thorniest ethical and cultural questions.

“In relation to the Hitler painting; the artwork, should the audience decide, will be shredded. Not torched.” 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Holocaust is still within living memory and must be treated with the utmost respect. Using artwork from Adolf Hitler, the murderous dictator responsible for the deaths of six millions Jewish men, women and children, as a prop for an entertainment show risks disrespecting the memories of the victims, which is something that Channel 4 would do well to bear in mind. While we welcome debate surrounding the moral and ethical issues surrounding the art of Adolf Hitler, it must be done soberly and tastefully.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

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Royal Court Theatre faces torrent of abuse over new play highlighting antisemitism

The Royal Court Theatre is facing a torrent of abuse for putting on a play highlighting antisemitism, according to the JC.

Jonathan Freedland’s new play, Jews. In Their Own Words, examines the history of antisemitism while also drawing material from interviews and real-life experiences.  

The play, created in response to the increase in antisemitism, also discusses Royal Court’s Rare Earth Mettle controversy.

The theatre, which is considered to be a significant cultural voice but has a history of controversy relating to the Jewish community, received backlash after a play late last year, Rare Earth Mettle, from writer Al Smith and director Hamish Pirie, used the name “Hershel Fink” for the character of a greedy Silicon Valley billionaire.

The theatre issued two apologies when the controversy first arose in November 2020, with questions raised over how the character came to have such a name and the failure of senior figures at the theatre either to notice the problem or to respond properly to concerns raised earlier in the process by Jewish colleagues.

The character’s name was shortly thereafter changed and the incident was described by theatre critic and JC columnist Kate Maltby as an act of “unconscious bias” on Podcast Against Antisemitism. 

It has now emerged that the Theatre has been on the receiving end of antisemitic comments following the staging of Mr Freedland’s play, which has included abusive phone calls to its staff and a series of complaints to its switchboard and social media channels.

Mr Freedland told the JC: “As soon as that piece of mine appeared in the Guardian — setting out what the play was about — the trolls were out in force, not only on social media, filling up the Royal Court’s timeline, but in real life, harassing the theatre’s box office staff with phone calls, many of them abusive.”

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Chart-topping Hasidic Jewish rapper says his way of fighting antisemitism is “to be proudly Jewish”

Moshe Reuven, a chart-topping Hasidic hip-hop artist, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about his journey of breaking antisemitic stereotypes as an identifiably Jewish musician.

As well as having his debut single top international charts, he recently collaborated with Julian Marley, son of the legendary reggae musician Bob Marley, on a single. He described the experience of working with Mr Marley as “surreal”, and a “huge blessing”. When asked about the compatibility between the two artists, the Hasidic hip-hop star said that it “makes a lot of sense” due to how, in his view, the “spirituality of Hasidism” can be harmonised with the “sort of spirituality people think of” when it comes to the younger Marley. 

The rapper revealed that he got into hip-hop music in his youth. “I didn’t grow up religious,” he said, adding that “part of being a kid in the secular world, hip-hop is pop culture…more people listen to it than any other genre”. 

The musician’s religious journey drove him to get into creating music, as he found the content that characterised mainstream hip-hop music was “treif”, meaning not kosher, and in his view, “not teaching the right morals”. 

He describes his musical journey as part of “bringing myself into Hasidism, Torah, and how I’m relating to what I know is right”. 

In previous instances, hip-hop music has contained antisemitic lyrics. Earlier this year, the UK media regulator Ofcom sanctioned London-based radio station Rinse FM after they aired a Jay Electronica song that was deemed to have contained “antisemitic hate speech.”

In recent times, musician Nick Cannon apologised for alleged antisemitic comments and claimed to make an effort to educate himself, while the rapper Wiley has only continued to double down on the severity of the antisemitic tweets that he posted in July 2020.

Commenting on the dichotomy between the two, the Jewish rap star said that “it’s sad that someone took the other approach” and that this “shows the two options a person has if they make such a mistake”.

He said that people can “grow up with the wrong information” and repeat “what someone they look up to says” without reflecting on its wider potential to offend, adding that sometimes animosity “isn’t a general ‘we hate the Jews’ and sometimes it is”, but that either case is problematic if it ends up in widely distributed song lyrics.

He went on to condemn the horrific antisemitic attacks taking place against identifiable Jews in both London and New York, asking of the assailants: “Are you a big dude for doing that to someone? That’s some innocent guy that wouldn’t hurt anyone, and you’re going to punch him in the face? How ridiculous is that?”

Throughout the interview, the rapper stressed how being “proudly Jewish”, in his view, is the best way to fight antisemitism, and the importance of being “strong in our culture”.  

He added that it was important to “be proud of who you are” and lamented the fact that some Jews would feel embarrassed to be Jewish due to the judgment of others.

“It’s a very special thing to be Jewish,” he concluded.

This podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Artist with history of inflammatory social media posts about Jews granted exhibition in London art space

An artist with a history of inflammatory social media posts about Jews is exhibiting her work in a London art space.

Anna Laurini, whose works are also featured on the website of the online art marketplace, Saatchi Art, is exhibiting her work in the show, “All this Energy”, at a North London cafe. 

In one Instagram post, a figure, which appears to be Ms Laurini, poses on a rooftop with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City in the background. The caption reads “Imagine a world without #Israhell”, a reference to the conspiracy theory that Israel was responsible for the terrorist attacks on New York City on 11th September 2001.

In a Facebook post, Ms Laurini appears to have shared an article from what appears to be the publication, Palestine Voice, which seems to have featured Ms Laurini in a 2020 edition. Ms Laurini captioned the post with the words “From the river to the sea”, part of the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

This chant only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Another online post apparently shared by Ms Laurini, features a black and white image of the gates to what looks like a Nazi concentration camp, but replaces the infamous words above the entrance gate, “Arbeit macht Frei” (“Work sets you free”), with the words “Green pass macht Frei”, which compares COVID-19 restrictions to Nazi ideology.

Ms Laurini appears to have repeated the sentiment in this post with one that features a version of the flag of Nazi Germany. In this instance, the post shows the flag with a green background and the words “green pass”, again apparently comparing Nazism and anti-coronavirus measures put in place by European governments.

Additionally, Ms Laurini appears to have retweeted a post that features the image of Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, who is Jewish, with captions that seem to suggest that the Rothschild family are responsible for a conspiracy that involves the “geo-engineering” of the weather and its “rebranding” as climate change, which allegedly leads to the erosion of democratic freedoms around the world.

The Rothschilds appear in many anti-Jewish conspiracy theories as a sinister, controlling force.

Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.

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British contestant on Israeli reality TV programme says antisemitism made him leave the UK

A British contestant on an Israeli reality TV show has said that antisemitism forced him to leave the United Kingdom.

The singer, Josh Brennan, who was gaining an increasing following in the UK, and who has performed in venues across the country, appeared on the programme Rising Star.

Mr Brennan received overwhelming support from the judges and the audience, but revealed that he had moved to Israel due to an antisemitic incident he experienced on the streets of London.

Mr Brennan said that “someone walked past me while I was wearing a Magen David [Star of David] necklace. Someone shoves me, spits to my feet and says to me, ‘you and your family belong in the [gas] chambers.’”

In a video clip from the show, the viewer can hear both the judges and the audience gasp in shock when Mr Brennan tells his story.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2021 showed that over two thirds of British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.

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“Find other Jews you can talk to”: Meet the Jewish actors calling out antisemitism

Dan Wolff and Sam Thorpe-Spinks, two Jewish actor-producers, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where they shed light on the antisemitism they experienced at drama school that now serves as inspiration for their upcoming play.

Their play, Emanate Presents: A Night of New Jewish Writing, features six, stand-alone short scenes. Mr Wolff and Mr Thorpe-Spinks supplied the writers, directors and actors with the questions “How do we define ourselves as Jewish?” and “How is that changing?” as prompts.

Playing at London’s Kiln Theatre on 8th and 9th of August, the production was created as a response to the duo’s experiences of antisemitism, examples of which included being asked if they were going to pick pennies up off of the floor and being told that “the Jews run New York”.

Speaking on the discrimination they faced at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Mr Wolff stated that much of the antisemitism was not the fault of the School specifically but rather caused by their peers, adding that he viewed it as more of a higher education issue.

Mr Thorpe-Spinks admitted that the two felt frustrated in the fact that being two of the only Jews in their year made calling out antisemitism difficult, and often resulted in them not saying anything at all. 

“We didn’t talk about it much, and I don’t know why it is. Recently, having this chance to talk to you and talk to the School, we suddenly start saying things and we go, ‘Oh, actually that wasn’t okay’. 

For some reason, I thought, ‘You get little jokes and that’s just part of it’, but actually when you start saying it, you go ‘No, why should we have had to put up with that? Why didn’t we speak out or make a formal complaint?’ Not just in drama school but in rehearsal rooms, professional rooms…the moment you do start talking about it, sometimes for the first time, you hear yourself and you go ‘Wow, I was going to be okay with that’.”

“And what happens is,” Mr Wolff added, “with each little remark, it chips away at something inside of you. It chips away, essentially, at your sense of pride of being Jewish. And with each little thing, it gets stripped away and it gets poked at and it gets damaged, so then you start to internalise it and you start to go ‘Well, the jokes are sort of true…we’re the butt of the joke and it’s sort of okay because someone has to be.’ 

“It’s an accumulative process that happens over years and years and years where you internalise it and you get to a point where you start to not hear it. It’s terrifying, the idea you become numb to the sense of discrimination. So I suppose we’re trying to thaw out the numbness in a way with this project. It’s about a defrosting of this internalised antisemitism.”

Mr Wolff explained how a core tenet of acting is being able to trust the actor that you are performing with, and that if that actor says something antisemitic, it becomes impossible to fully trust in them, which results in the work suffering.

“Essentially, what happens is you go ‘I’m with you in this space and I’m with the work but I fundamentally cannot be myself and I cannot be truly open because there is a part of me that is so integral to me that you cannot accept,” Mr Wolff said.

When asked for what advice they would give to Jews in the acting industry who may be experiencing antisemitism but aren’t sure what to do, the actor said: “Find other Jews that you can talk to and you can say, ‘This happened and I’m not sure about that,’ and more often than not, someone else can go ‘That is antisemitism,’ or ‘That’s not okay’. 

“Just try and talk as much as possible. And if you can, call it out. You’d probably be surprised that people are willing to listen. If I could say something to myself ten years ago, I would say call it out more.”

Mr Thorpe-Spinks explained that he found it easier to call out antisemitism once he began tracing his familial roots back, which offered him an appreciation of his Jewish heritage, allowing him to feel emboldened enough to say something.

“It made me understand who I am a bit more, and was proud of who I am, and I think that sense of empowerment would make it easier to call things out,” he said. “For a lot of my childhood, I was Sam who was technically Jewish but wasn’t interested, and maybe when I experienced antisemitism, I would not have associated myself with it, to be honest. But because I have discovered my ancestry, I suddenly go ‘I am proud of what they went through and of who I am’, and I think there’s a real empowerment to that kind of self-discovery.” 

Throughout the interview, the duo touched upon a variety of other issues, including whether non-Jews can play Jewish characters and last year’s incident in which the Royal Court Theatre came under intense scrutiny after the greedy billionaire character in its play Rare Earth Mettle was given the name Herschel Fink.

The podcast with Mr Wolff and Mr Thorpe-Spinks can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Rapper apologises for wearing anti-fascist t-shirt with confusingly prominent swastika at music festival

A British rapper has apologised after he was filmed wearing a t-shirt featuring the word “destroy” over a very prominent swastika.

Tyron Kaymone Frampton, known as Slowthai, justified his choice of the anti-fascist t-shirt, but also said that he is aware that it caused some fans confusion when he performed in it at the Osheaga Festival in Montreal.

One Twitter user expressed their dismay, writing that “Today at the Osheaga music fest, Slowthai performs wearing a swastika t-shirt. At what point does his manager, festival organisers, or stage managers step in and say this symbol of hate has no place at the festival, in Quebec, or in Canada?”

The rapper tweeted an apology, saying that “I’m sorry to anyone who is offended by me wearing an anti-fascist/anti-regime t-shirt and the use of the symbol it represents. I want you to know I stand firmly against antisemitism and fascism of any kind, something the t-shirt was meant to illustrate wth the word “destroy” above the symbol.”

The Osheaga Festival tweeted a statement which said that: “A performer appeared on stage Saturday wearing a controversial t-shirt displaying a swastika that caused confusion. The t-shirt denounces the regime. We sincerely apologise to anyone who may have misinterpreted this message and felt hurt.”

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Tampa students hold art exhibition in response to recent antisemitism surge

School students in Tampa, Florida, have organised an exhibition to raise awareness about antisemitism as a response to the area’s recent influx of anti-Jewish hatred.

The exhibition, entitled “Shine a Light”, was set up by the Tampa Jewish Community Centres and Federation, a month after three Tampa neighbourhoods were outraged by the appearance of antisemitic flyers, a problem that has been noted in several different cities across the United States.

Students studying in grades four to twelve were invited to submit works, accompanied by a description of their piece in writing, for the competition.

Those selected were chosen not only on the traditional basis of artistic expression, originality, and stylistic creativity, but how well they conveyed a message about fighting antisemitism and the emotional depth with which they did so.

One of the honorary judges, Mayor Jane Castor, said that “We need to remember lessons from history. Even in 2022, synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and Jewish people have been attacked. Community projects like ‘Shine a Light’ help in raising awareness about the human cost of antisemitism.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.

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Bestselling author Stephen King calls Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera a “great man” during prank call

The bestselling author, Stephen King, has come under fire for appearing to praise the antisemitic Second World War-era Ukrainian nationalist leader and Nazi collaborator, Stepan Bandera, who played a key role in creating the conditions that made the Holocaust possible.

This came during a phone call with someone whom Mr King believed was current Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy.

During what turned out to be a prank call organised by the Russian comedy duo, Vovan and Lexus, Mr King, who is a vocal supporter of Ukraine, appeared to call Bandera a “great man”.

Mr King compared the “flaws” of American leaders George Washington and Thomas Jefferson with Bandera’s, saying that “On the whole, I think Bandera is a great man, and you’re a great man, and Viva Ukraine.”

The duo also encouraged Mr King to offer “Zelenskyy” a role in a new film of one of Mr King’s novels, and to comment on Ukraine’s Azov Batallion, which is known to have members with neo-Nazi sympathies.

As head of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, Stepan Bandera was responsible for drafting the Party’s “Minority Policy”, which included a line about how “Jews are to be isolated, removed from governmental positions in order to prevent sabotage…Those who are deemed necessary may only work under strict supervision and removed from their positions for slightest misconduct…Jewish assimilation is not possible.” 

During Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Bandera declared that Ukraine was henceforth an independent state led by Adolf Hitler. After Bandera wrote a proclamation that included the words “Glory to the heroic German army and its Führer, Adolf Hitler”, a series of attacks broke out against and Jews and Poles.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the world.

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Documenta art festival director resigns over antisemitism scandal

The Director of Documenta, the quinquennial art festival held in the German city of Kassel, has resigned after the fifteenth edition of the festival displayed works that contained inflammatory references toward Jews.

Director Sabine Schormann has agreed with Documenta’s supervisory board that her contract will be terminated and an interim director will be appointed in her stead.

After months of controversy and speculation about alleged antisemitism, Documenta 15 opened in June and featured the artwork People’s Justice (2002) by the Indonesian collective, Taring Padi, which includes images of soldiers who have pigs’ heads for faces and are labelled with the word “Mossad”, the Israeli intelligence agency, and what appears to be a caricature of a visibly Jewish person with sidelocks, smoking a cigar, accompanied by symbols of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary unit, on his hat.

Jewish groups in Germany and throughout the world had expressed their concerns about Documenta 15, which has been curated by the Indonesian art collective, ruangrupa, because they included another foreign collective, the Question of Funding, which supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, in the exhibition. Taring Padi were, however, not included in those initial complaints.

The organisers of Documenta initially placed a black drape over People’s Justice, which was later dismantled, but some Jewish groups complained that the festival’s organisers had not gone far enough to address the issue.

Antisemitic incidents in Germany have increased considerably. Campaign Against Antisemitism is reports on antisemitic incidents in Germany.

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Arab airlines to screen film about Portuguese Inquisition’s persecution of Jews

Airlines from a number of Arabic-speaking countries have acquired the rights to show a film about the Portuguese Inquisition in Porto.

Qatar Airways, Iraqi Airways, Kuwait Airways, Egyptair, Middle East Airlines from Lebanon, Syrian Airlines and others now have the rights to show 1618, a film about the Portuguese Inquisition in the city of Porto, which took place 120 years after Portuguese Jews were forcibly converted to Christianity or coerced into exile.

The film was produced by the Jewish community of Porto and sold to the air carriers as part of a program to combat antisemitism by telling the story of the city’s Jewish community.

1618 is about the lives of Porto’s so-called “New Christians” who were severed from the Judaism of their ancestors. In particular, it follows the story of 100 so-called “New Christians” who were imprisoned by the representatives of the Inquisition, which frightened the rest of the community into fleeing.

The film will be released in September 2022 with a premiere to be held in Porto.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the Middle East.

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Israeli Charedi woman creates immersive virtual reality film about Auschwitz

A Charedi woman from Israel has created an immersive virtual reality film that shows the viewer the horrors of Auschwitz.

Miriam Cohen was unable to go on a trip to Poland to see the death camp in person aged seventeen, and developed the film to document it for people who are not able to visit it.

A Triumph of Spirit offers 360-degree views of what Auschwitz looks like from the inside while the viewer is guided by a historian and researcher, Yisrael Goldwasser.

Now that large Charedi audiences in Israel have seen the film, there are plans to bring the film to the UK.

Ms Cohen said: “If we’re talking about religious girls, none of them watch movies. They don’t watch Holocaust movies, or stuff like this. They only read about the Holocaust and they imagine. And when they see this movie, suddenly their imagination and all they read about – it gets a form.”

With antisemitism increasing worldwide, Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news relating to antisemitism globally.

Image credit: Jewish News

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Documenta 15 art festival opens amid controversy about representations of Jews in Indonesian art collective’s work

After months of controversy, the fifteenth edition of the quinquennial contemporary art festival, Documenta, has opened in Kassel, Germany, amid controversy, including allegations that one of the artworks contains inflammatory representations of Jewish people.

The artwork, entitled People’s Justice (2002), was produced by the Indonesian collective, Taring Padi, and appears to show the violence committed by Indonesia’s Suharto dictatorship. However, the work also includes images of soldiers who have pigs’ heads for faces and are labelled with the word Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, and what appears to be a caricature of a visibly Jewish person with sidelocks, smoking a cigar, and with symbols of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary unit, on his hat.

Jewish groups in Germany and throughout the world had expressed their concerns about Documenta 15, which has been curated by the Indonesian art collective, ruangrupa, because they included another foreign collective, the Question of Funding, which supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, in the exhibition. Taring Padi were, however, not included in those initial complaints.

The organisers of Documenta initially placed a black drape over People’s Justice, but it has now been reported that the work will now be dismantled entirely.

Germany’s Minister of Culture, Claudia Roth, said that “human dignity, protection against antisemitism, racism, and misanthropy are the foundations of our coexistence and this is where artistic freedom finds its limits.” The President of Germany also urged the organisers to do more to address the allegations of antisemitism.

Antisemitic incidents in Germany have increased considerably. Campaign Against Antisemitism is reports on antisemitic incidents in Germany.

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Cardiff Council reconsidering sculpture of radio pioneer due to his role in “excluding Jewish scientists”

Cardiff Council is considering abandoning plans to erect a sculpture honouring radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi.

The announcement came after the Council became aware that Mr Marconi was a supporter of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and his exclusion of Jewish scientists in the academic world.

Mr Marconi, who is regarded as the “father of radio”, jointly won the Nobel Prize in 1909 for his pioneering work in wireless telegraphy. This included making discoveries that permitted messages to be sent by radio waves.

In 1897, Mr Marconi transmitted a radio signal across open sea off the Welsh coast, which is why the city of Cardiff intended to honour him with a four-metre high sculpture in the Cardiff Bay barrage area. This was, however, prior to the Council’s discovery of Mr Marconi’s fascist ideology.

In 2002, historian Annalisa Capristo unearthed documents that show that Marconi deliberately prevented Jewish scientists from joining the Academy of Italy during his time as its President. Mr Marconi had marked applications by Jews with an “E”, which refers to the Italian word Ebreo, meaning “Jew”.

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: “Whilst Flat Holm Island is rightly famous as the site of the world’s first radio transmission over open sea, radio pioneer Marconi’s involvement with the Italian Fascist Party, and his role in excluding Jewish scientists from the Academy of Italy is less well-known and understood.

“Having been made aware of these matters, the project team will be contacting all funding partners immediately and beginning a review of the sculpture proposals to ensure that the fascinating history of Flat Holm Island is celebrated in a way that’s consistent with Cardiff’s values as a tolerant and welcoming city where equality and diversity is championed and celebrated.”

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Painter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors turns her experiences of antisemitism into art

Sharon Schurder, a London-based painter who uses her experiences of antisemitism as inspiration for her artwork, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she provided insight into her creative process.

Ms Schurder revealed how she experienced antisemitism on more than one occasion whilst taking public transport, which led her to feel unsafe to the degree that she felt no other option but to take taxis to work.

“I’m Orthodox, so I had a little siddur with me, so it’s pretty obvious that I was Jewish. And someone tried to send me a picture through AirDrop…I didn’t open it because it was just a guy behind me laughing away so I kind of knew it was going to be something. And he was saying stuff, like ‘blah blah blah, Jewish, blah blah blah’.”

Ms Schurder added that on another journey, someone yelled “you’re killing babies” at her, and in a separate incident whilst waiting on a platform at Borehamwood and Elstree train station, a man screamed at Ms Schurder and her children: “Go chat with Netanyahu…you don’t belong here.”

“I’m a grandchild of Holocaust survivors,” Ms Schurder revealed, “so I’m probably always cognisant of ‘are we really welcome, are we really wanted?’

“It’s London, that can’t be happening, that you can’t just travel normally on public transport. It was unnecessary and terrifying.” 

When asked about the process behind turning her experiences into art, Ms Schurder said: “My aim in every painting is to make people look at that painting and make them stop and think….that activism, trying to be pumped into the paint. 

“There is a lot of meaning behind it. In my art, it’s very value-based…for me, it’s a lot about combatting antisemitism with a very strong Jewish pride.”

Throughout the interview, Ms Schurder touched upon a wide variety of topics which included discussing her grandfather, a Holocaust survivor who also painted, the story of how she began painting, and what it was like being featured in British Vogue.

The podcast with Ms Schurder can be listened to here, or watched in its entirety here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, television personality Robert Rinder, writer Eve Barlow, Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe, and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Celebrated author who implied Jews were paedophiles and wrote “Are Goyim meant to be slaves of Jews?” is asked to speak at university

Pulitzer prize-winning author Alice Walker, who has previously garnered media attention for her inflammatory comments and support for conspiracy theories, is set to speak at San Diego Community College for the investiture ceremony for its new chancellor.

Ms Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 for her novel The Colour Purple. She is, however, also known to have made inflammatory comments about Jews, one example of which can be seen in her poem “To Study the Talmud”. Excerpts from Ms Walker’s poem reads:

“Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews, and not only
“That, but to enjoy it?
“Are three year old (and a day) girls eligible for marriage and intercourse?
“Are young boys fair game for rape?
“Must even the best of the Goyim (us, again) be killed?”

While also receiving little scrutiny from the press about her views due to the forthcoming publication of her journals, Ms Walker has been asked to speak at the investiture of San Diego Community College’s new chancellor, Carlos O. Cortez.

Ms Walker has also voiced her support for the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, citing with approval his books Human Race Get off Your Knees: The Lion Sleeps No More, which states that the world is secretly run by shape-shifting reptilian humanoids and “Rothschild Zionists”, and And the Truth Shall Set You Free, which promotes the antisemitic conspiracy theories contained in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and questions whether the Holocaust happened.

The author reportedly described Mr Icke’s work as “a curious person’s dream come true” and denied that there was anything antisemitic or anti-Jewish about its content.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

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Singer who called Hitler a “good guy” and the Holocaust a “profitable hoax” disinvited from benefit concert

It has been reported that a rock concert in Tucson, Arizona has dropped a band from its bill due to an antisemitic website run by its frontman.

The “Whole Enchilada” benefit concert, held on 16th April at the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, was supposed to feature a number of popular local bands, including veteran outfit Chuck Wagon and the Wheels.

However, the attention of the organisers was drawn to the band’s lead singer, Chuck Maultsby, whose website allegedly contains numerous antisemitic posts, including examples of Holocaust denial, posts supporting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, and rationalisations for the concentration camps in which millions of Jews were interned and murdered.

Mr Maultsby’s material consists of over 250 pages of conspiracy theories blaming the coronavirus pandemic on Jews, claims that the Jews planned the 9/11 attacks on New York City, and celebrations of Adolf Hitler, who Mr Maultsby says was a “good guy”.

Along with justifications for the actions of notorious Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele, who, according to Mr Maultsby, saved the lives of tens of thousands of “inmates” at the death camp through his “tireless efforts”, the website explains how Jews are responsible for the deaths of former American President John F. Kennedy and US Army General George S. Patton, as well as announcing that the diary of Anne Frank is a “hoax”.

Mr Maultsby also describes the Holocaust in such terms, asking in one post from 2017: “Is the Holocaust a Hoax? Short Answer: OF COURSE. Within five minutes, any intelligent, open-minded person can be convinced that the Holocaust gassings of World War II are a profitable hoax.”

Mr Maultbsy’s website is reportedly no longer available at its original location, but has apparently been archived in several places. The site does still, however, show memes with Hitler’s photograph, myths about a “white genocide” orchestrated by Jews, and a self-published book that its author claims to have been banned on Amazon. One such meme reads: “If you think I am evil, it means you have never did any research but you are fully brainwashed by the Jewish written History [sic].”

Chuck Wagon and the Wheels were subsequently disinvited from the concert, and some members of the Tucson music scene denounced the singer.

David Slutes, the entertainment director for Hotel Congress, said: “It’s harder than you think to move quickly on something like this, even when it’s obviously the right thing to do. Everyone feels embarrassed, guilty and bad about it. But learning about the depth of Chuck’s insanity was rough. I have worked for this Jewish-run business for 25 years and they are like extended family. This was not going to work for any of us.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

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Creator of first ever video game about the Holocaust aims to educate future generations on the Shoah

Luc Bernard, a video game developer and the creator of the first video game about the Holocaust, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about how video games could be an instrumental resource in teaching young people about the Shoah.

Mr Bernard, whose grandmother assisted children who arrived in the United Kingdom on the Kindertransport, an initiative in 1938-39 to rescue nearly 10,000 Jewish children from Europe, described his motivation in the creation of his game, The Light in the Darkness.

“Some don’t believe video games can be educational. That’s something I disagree with,” he said. “The problem is, no one has thought about what is the next step, or how do we continue education in new ways? Because I think education is trying to get the digital generation to adapt to them, rather than trying to adapt to the digital generation.”

Pointing to the successes of previous artforms in providing Holocaust education after meeting initial resistance, Mr Bernard said: “Comic books were viewed as insane at one point until Maus came out. Films were kind of viewed like, ‘I don’t know, man,’ until Shoah came out, and Schindler’s List. Video games need to be able to tackle the subject because we’re the number one form of entertainment, and I think rather than discourage game developers towards doing it, we should actually be able to guide game developers and encourage them to make these games, because then there would be more awareness.” 

The story of the game revolves around Polish Jews in France during the Holocaust, Mr Bernard told our host. “You follow a Polish Jewish family in France, so you get to play, more like interact and experience, the story from France before the occupation, up to the occupation, antisemitism rising…we’re kind of going through every single step.

“What I really wanted to do is actually have you become attached to these characters, get to see who they were, get to live their life, rather than just go automatically into the bad things, because you know how film is, you want people to become attached emotionally so it has a bigger impact on the viewer, or on the player…also, in between scenes, you will have an option to listen to survivor testimonies, French survivors. You’ll be able to see the similarities to compare what they went through to what that current scene is showing.”

Asked whether ‘video game’ is an accurate title for The Light in the Darkness, Mr Bernard said that “it could be called several things,” including “an interactive story” or “an educational video game.” 

Despite Mr Bernard referring to The Light in the Darkness as a ‘game’, he clarified that he has removed the player’s ability to make choices within the game to mirror the reality of the Holocaust for Jewish people. “If I made choice-based things, it would make it seem like Jews could have saved themselves. There’s so many factors to the Holocaust [and] why it happened. The fact that loads of countries closed their doors, didn’t allow refugees in. How, as the Jews were trying to get to what was British Palestine back then, Britain closed it down. How Britain only allowed 10,000 children on the Kindertransport. All those things are pretty much out of everyone’s control and I know some people [whose] mothers had to give them up just so they could live. If I made it choice-based so that it could affect the story, it would just make it seem like people had a choice and that’s why I really just had to eliminate that, and that’s again what makes it very weird for a video game. It’s very different to anything else I’ve ever done before.”

Mr Bernard chose to set the game in France under the Vichy Government. “What makes the Vichy government so interesting is that it was France that deported the Jews, it was France that decided to deport the children. France went full-on collaboration and they weren’t Nazis – they were bad people, and they had the same intent as the Nazis – and setting it in France shows how it wasn’t just the Nazis that did this, and how everyday people can become hateful.

“I think when people will play it, they’ll be like ‘wait, this was the French Government that did this? It was the French policeman that rounded them up?’, then they’ll actually realise the extent to how bad the Holocaust was because a lot of people just think it was just the Nazis. And, no, it was Europe. Europe did this.”

Mr Bernard, who is himself French, said “I actually love France, but it also means you have to address the dark, historical past of your country.” 

The Light in the Darkness is expected to be released later this year for Xbox and Windows, with other platforms also under consideration.

Throughout the interview, Mr Bernard touched upon a wide variety of topics which included his own Jewish background, why the far-right has infiltrated video games, and how other video games have traditionally fallen short in how they depict Nazis.

The podcast with Mr Bernard can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox. Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, The Sunday Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Boston Couple to Create “Powerful Museum” About the Holocaust in the City

A couple from Boston say they have bought a building with the aim of creating the city’s first museum dedicated to the Holocaust.

Co-founders of the Holocaust Legacy Foundation, Jodi Kipnis and Todd Ruderman, explained that they have bought a building on Tremont Street in the centre of the city to house the project.

Though Boston already hosts the New England Holocaust Memorial, erected in the centre of the city in 1995, just one mile from Ms Kipnis and Mr Ruderman’s proposed museum, this new venture would be the city’s first indoor museum about the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators.

The announcement comes after a rise in antisemitic incidents in and around Boston, including swastika graffiti found at a Boston high school, amongst other incidents in schools across Massachusetts, and the presence of the neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club at the recent St Patrick’s Day parade.

Ms Kipnis and Mr Ruderman have expressed their concern about young people’s lack of knowledge about the Holocaust. 

Ms Kipnis said: “The timeless and timely lessons of the Holocaust have never been more urgently needed. In order for the Holocaust to remain relevant to new generations, Holocaust Legacy Foundation is taking the opportunity to create a powerful museum for all of New England.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

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“You have to be annoyed about something to joke about it. What annoys me? Antisemitism”: Comedian Elon Gold on using comedy as a weapon against Jew-hatred

The comedian and actor Elon Gold appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about how he uses comedy to tackle antisemitism.

Speaking on his approach to discussing antisemitism in his comedy, Mr Gold stated that his priority is to consider whether his material is funny and whether he is making “the right point”. 

Describing what constitutes “the right point”, Mr Gold clarified: “If it comes from my heart and from my anger about antisemitism.”

“All of comedy is complaining, and I realised that a few years ago. You have to be annoyed about something to joke about it and to want to deride it, mock it, ridicule it, but first, it has to annoy you. So what annoys me? Antisemitism. It annoys the crap out of me and I’m angry about it because it’s not funny at all, but now I have to find the funny because that’s my job and I happen to be obsessed with finding the funny in hate, because when you do that, when you find the funny in hate, you get to expose the ignorance of bigotry. And you get to mock these bigots.”

Mr Gold outlined what this approach looks like by providing an example of one of his comedy routines that touches upon the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally. “One of my favourite new bits that I’ve been doing lately is mocking those idiots who went to the rallies with the tiki torches going around going ‘the Jews will not replace us.’” Mr Gold joked: “‘And I’m like, ‘the Jews will not replace you? We don’t want to replace you, we just want to put braces on you. Replace you? We just want to manage your portfolio.’”

Discussing why he feels the routine is so impactful, he says that it’s because “It’s got these funny jokes but it’s making a point. Here are these groups of morons walking around with tiki torches going ‘the Jews will not replace us’…what is that message, even? As it turns out, it’s about immigration and it’s a whole thing that it’s their farkakta (nonsense) brains that they think there’s some global conspiracy of the Jews trying to replace them, but it’s all just nuts.

“So it’s my job now to mock these nut-jobs. And I do it from the right place. I know I’m in the right and they’re dead wrong. You can’t justify any sort of racism, homophobia…you’re not right.”

Turning to the subject of offence, Mr Gold has clearly given careful consideration to this issue. “There are bits that I do where I literally do a German accent. And that, you know…you talking about something that’s triggering. The last thing I ever want to do is… let’s say a Holocaust survivor is in the audience, or even the son or grandson of one. And to offend one of them would hurt me deeply. So of course, it’s not my intention to offend, but it is my intention to mock Nazis.”

Mr Gold went on to explain how he differentiates those who may take offence at different types of jokes, for example a dirty joke. “If you’re offended by that, that’s your problem. With antisemitism, with an area as sensitive as that, now we’re not talking about sex, we’re talking about something that people are getting killed over, to this day, and for thousands of years. And I do make it a point not to do any Holocaust jokes. There’s nothing funny about it, and that’s not even a topic I would ever want to bring up.

“However, if Whoopie Goldberg brings it up and says something idiotic like ‘the Holocaust isn’t about race,’ I’m gonna do jokes like ‘oh, the Holocaust isn’t about race? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what my great-grandparents heard in the camps.’” In a German accent, Mr Gold jokes: “By the way, this is not about race. This has nothing to do with race, you Jews are always jumping to conclusions!”

Mr Gold goes on to explain his thought behind the joke, saying: “I’m doing the accent, I’m mocking Nazis, but the joke isn’t, God-forbid on the victims. It’s not even on the Holocaust. It’s on Whoopie, and it’s on the Nazis. It’s on the bad guys. Whoopie’s not bad, she said something bad and wrong and it’s my job to correct it with jokes.”

“So to me, I have to say something about this. It’s an impulse, I can’t just ignore it. And by the way, when she said it, again, I wasn’t offended by it. I just said to myself ‘Oh, I have to correct that error.’ And my only weapon is jokes.”

Throughout the interview, Mr Gold touched upon a wide variety of topics which included opening up about an encounter of antisemitism that his family experienced, why he refuses to work on the Sabbath, and his recurring role in the most recent season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The podcast with Mr Gold can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox. Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, The Sunday Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Glasgow museum displays works looted from Jews by the Nazis but refuses to identify which works

It has been reported that items displayed in the collection of a Glasgow museum may have been looted from their Jewish former owners by the Nazis.

The Burrell Collection, which dates back to acquisitions made by the wealthy shipowner Sir William Burrell in 1944, already knew that two works on display were stolen from their Jewish owners by the Nazis in the 1930s. Glasgow City Council even paid out a large amount of money in compensation to the works’ would-be heirs. 

However, Glasgow Museums curator Martin Bellamy has recently published a book, A Collector’s Life: William Burrell, which maintains that even more works than previously acknowledged can be proven to have belonged to Jewish owners who relinquished their treasures as part of the practice known as “forced sale”. 

This was part of the wider policy of “Aryanisation”, in which Jews in Germany and Austria were forced to register property or assets – including life insurance, stocks, furniture and works of art – valued above a certain amount. They also lost favourable financial incentives available to non-Jews, and were forced to be part of the highest tax bracket irrespective of their actual income. If they chose to leave the country, they were forced to hand over half of their assets and exchange what remained at the least favourable rate of exchange of their destination.

Glasgow Life, a charity that administers the 9,000-piece collection, has admitted that works acquired under these circumstances are on display. They do not, however, identify precisely which works were acquired in this manner.

Scottish historian Sir Tom Devine said: “As long as the provenance of these items is established by experts and curators, it should always be made public. The question the public will ask is, ‘What do they have to hide?’ I find the refusal rather curious. Curators of museums always want the truth to be out, and unvarnished at that.”

Speaking on behalf of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, Ephraim Borowksi said: “I suggest that the point to be made is that this isn’t a question of law, but morals. Given the scale of the Holocaust, there may be no surviving family members to make a formal legal claim. It’s up to public galleries to acknowledge the dubious history of items in their collection.”

The Burrell Collection, which has recently undergone a £70 million renovation, will open to the public on 5th April.

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Anne Frank betrayal book recalled after being refuted by historians

A book that claimed to expose the betrayer of Anne Frank has been removed from circulation after its findings were revealed to be unsound.

Prompted by research by Dutch historians, Canadian author Rosemary Sullivan’s The Betrayal of Anne Frank, published by the Amsterdam-based firm Ambo Anthos, will no longer be available.

The Betrayal of Anne Frank alleged that Arnold van den Bergh, a member of Amsterdam’s Jewish council – an administrative body forcibly established by the Nazis as part of their occupation of the Netherlands – led the police to the Frank family’s address at Westermarkt.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reported in February 2022 that Ms Sullivan’s book would no longer be printed until more work could be done to verify Ms Sullivan’s claims. However, after a 69-page report refuting the author’s findings, the publisher has now asked bookstores to return any stock they have already bought.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

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