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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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Royal Court Theatre publishes encouraging report on Rare Earth Mettle controversy but “the proof of the pudding will be in the eating”

The Royal Court Theatre has published a report into last year’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.

This week, the Sloan Square-based theatre has published its full report, which comes at the conclusion of an investigation. The report explains that, over the course of successive stages of redrafting, the context and background for how the central character came to have what was, by the end, a clearly Jewish name, had been removed without adequate substitute, and that there were “structural weaknesses” that meant that this problem was not identified earlier.

As for the failure to heed the warnings and concerns by those who did identify the problem, Mr Pirie, who is an Associate Director at the Theatre and is at the centre of the scandal, expressed his remorse. Oddly, the review included a reference to medical treatment that Mr Pririe was apparently undergoing at the time which may have affected his judgment, but the report was at pains to insist that Mr Pririe did not himself rely on this in explaining his conduct, and his apology, reproduced in full in the report, makes no reference to this or any excuse.

The report notes that “a number of contributors were severely shocked and saddened by these events, especially as the Royal Court prioritises inclusivity and support for marginalised groups.”

The report proceeds to list numerous actions that the theatre will now be taking, including “both urgent and long-term specialist training on issues relating to antisemitism”, ensuring Jewish representation in creative teams, introducing new systems to record complaints, inject more senior oversight, and provide wellbeing resources to staff, among other policies. 

Last December, in Episode 4 of Podcast Against Antisemitism, we discussed the controversy at the Royal Court Theatre with the critic and journalist who broke the story, Kate Maltby. You can listen to the episode here or watch it here.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Rare Earth Mettle scandal is not the first to rock the Royal Court Theatre’s relations with the Jewish community, which is why it is vital that this report be more than a tick-box exercise. The content of the report is encouraging, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and it will be up to the Theatre, liaising with Jewish organisations as it has begun to do, to rebuild the community’s trust and introduce the right oversight and support to prevent incidents like this from recurring and ensure that Jewish artists and staff are comfortable collaborating with the institution going forward.”

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Nazi concentration camps recreated in popular children’s online game 

A popular children’s online game drew attention recently after it was discovered that some of its users had recreated Nazi concentration camps.

Roblox is a computer game where users can create, and interact with, virtual worlds. It has been discovered that users were able to interact with a virtual Nazi concentration camp where they were able to click “execute” to then release deadly gas from showerheads.

There was also reportedly a railroad built in order to simulate the entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Tanya Carter, of the Safe Schools Alliance campaign group, a grassroots organisation that campaigns to uphold child safeguarding in schools, said: “We are horrified to hear of Nazi rooms featuring dead bodies and gas chambers…This is particularly disturbing in a climate of rising antisemitism.”

In a statement, Roblox said: “We have zero tolerance for content or behaviours that promote or glorify extremism, including antisemitism.

“We have removed the experiences in question and permanently banned the individuals who created them from our platform. We work tirelessly to maintain a platform that is safe, civil and inclusive, and we use a combination of manual and automated detection tools to swiftly remove experiences that do not comply with our Community Standards.

“We are committed to preventing this type of content from being uploaded to our platform, remove it as soon as we learn about it, and take appropriate steps against those who have uploaded the content.

“In tandem with our efforts, we encourage anyone to report content or behaviour that may promote extremism using our Report Abuse feature, and we have a dedicated team of thousands who act on those reports.”

It was also reported in September that Roblox, in addition to other online games including Call of Duty and Minecraft, was being used as a means of spreading antisemitism. 

Roblox spokespeople condemned the news at the time, stating: “We work relentlessly to ensure our platform remains a safe and civil space, and with a combination of machine learning and a team of over 2,000 moderators, we monitor for safety 24-7 to detect and swiftly act on any inappropriate content or behaviour.”

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Whoopi Goldberg suspended by ABC for two weeks after claiming Holocaust was not about race but instead about “man’s inhumanity to man” and “white people fighting each other”

Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended by the ABC network for two weeks after claiming that that the Holocaust was not about race but instead about “man’s inhumanity to man” and “white people fighting each other”.

She made the comments on Monday on The View, a programme that she co-hosts, eliciting outrage from Jewish groups around the world, including Campaign Against Antisemitism. She then published a statement apologising, and on Monday evening, she went on a late-night television show to apologise again (the interview was recorded before she published her statement but broadcast after), but appeared at the same time to double down on the comments, saying that the Nazis had lied and actually were concerned with ethnicity rather than race.

On Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actress opened her programme by saying: “Yesterday on the show I misspoke. [The Holocaust] is indeed about race, because Hitler and the Nazis considered the Jews to be an inferior race. Now, words matter, and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected. I also stand with the Jewish people.”

In a memo to staff last night, ABC News President Kim Godwin wrote: “Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments.  While Whoopi has apologised, I’ve asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments. The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.” She added: “These decisions are never easy, but necessary. Just last week I noted that the culture at ABC News is one that is driven, kind, inclusive, respectful, and transparent. Whoopi’s comments do not align with those values.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Holocaust revisionists are not all white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Some are people like Whoopi Goldberg saying things like this. Despite her subsequent television appearance in which she claimed to be ‘torn up’ that people accused her of being antisemitic, she then doubled down by insisting that the Nazis took issue only with ethnicity, not race. Ms Goldberg would do well to listen to Jewish voices and undertake a course in Holocaust education.”

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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Publisher apologises over book claiming Jewish person betrayed Anne Frank

The Dutch publisher Ambo Anthos has apologised for releasing a book that claimed a Jewish person betrayed Anne Frank, stating that not enough research was put into the book in order to make this claim.

The Betrayal of Anne Frank, the book which made international headlines after it was released last month, will no longer be printed until more work can be done to verify claims made. 

The disputed claim alleged that Arnold van den Bergh, who was a member of the Jewish council in Amsterdam, which was an administrative body the German authorities forced Jews to establish, led the police to Frank’s address. However, critics argue that Mr van den Bergh would not have had access to that information.

The publishing house said in a statement that it should have taken a more “critical” stance.

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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Evan Rachel Wood accuses musician Marilyn Manson of writing “kill all the Jews” above her side of the bed

Evan Rachel Wood has accused the musician Marilyn Manson of writing “kill all the Jews” above her side of the bed during their relationship.

The actress has claimed that her controversial former boyfriend also compelled her to carve an “M” near her private parts and also sexually assaulted her “on camera” during the filming of a music video when she was nineteen.

The allegations of abuse came in a new documentary, “Phoenix Rising ­– Part 1: Don’t Fall”, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will be broadcasted on HBO in March.

According to Ms Wood, in addition to demanding loyalty from her, Brian Warner ­– Marilyn Manson’s real name – decorated their home with Nazi propaganda and told her that Hitler was a “rock star”, knowing that she is Jewish. Mr Warner is accused of bombarding her with antisemitic symbols and messages as part of a campaign of sexual and emotional abuse, which he denies.

The claim is one of numerous allegations of abuse that have recently surfaced against Marilyn Manson by former partners and associates, resulting in his record label dropping him.

Mr Warner’s lawyer responded to the film in November, saying that he “vehemently denies any and all claims of sexual assault or abuse of anyone,” adding: “These lurid claims against my client have three things in common — they are all false, alleged to have taken place more than a decade ago and part of a coordinated attack by former partners and associates of Mr. Warner who have weaponised the otherwise mundane details of his personal life and their consensual relationships into fabricated horror stories.”

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Ridley Road star Agnes O’Casey reveals what it’s like playing a Jewish woman infiltrating a neo-Nazi group in first ever TV role

The actress Agnes O’Casey joins Podcast Against Antisemitism this week, revealing what it is like to play a Jewish woman who infiltrates a neo-Nazi group.

Ms O’Casey tells us about how starring in Ridley Road in her first ever television role gave her the opportunity to learn more about her Jewish roots.

The interview comes after her co-stars, Eddie Marsan and Tracy-Ann Oberman, revealed that they were subjected to online antisemitic abuse.

The episode 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 and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Prince of Wales commissions seven artists to paint portraits of Holocaust survivors

The Prince of Wales has commissioned seven artists to paint portraits of seven Holocaust survivors. The paintings are to be publicly displayed at Buckingham Palace.

“As the number of Holocaust survivors sadly but inevitably declines, my abiding hope is that this special collection will act as a further guiding light,” Prince Charles said.

The portraits of Helen Aronson, 94, who survived the Lodz ghetto, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, 96, a musician who played in an orchestra of inmates at Auschwitz and also survived Bergen-Belsen, and the other survivors, have been painted by Paul Benney, Peter Kuhfeld, Ishbel Myerscough, Clara Drummond, Massimiliano Pironti, Stuart Pearson Wright and Jenny Saville.

The paintings are to be a reminder of “history’s darkest days,” but will also show “humanity’s interconnectedness, as we strive to create a better world for our children, grandchildren and generations as yet unborn ­– one where hope is victorious over despair and love triumphs over hate,” Prince Charles said.

The project will also feature in a BBC Two documentary later this month that will present the survivors’ accounts.

Prince Charles has long been involved in the cause of Holocaust remembrance.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Prince of Wales has made it his mission to amplify the critical cause of Holocaust remembrance in Britain. With this unique project he has made yet another contribution to Holocaust education with his inimitable flair. We are grateful to Prince Charles for everything that he continues to do to make the lives and experiences of Holocaust survivors known to the wider public, particularly at a time when fewer and fewer direct testimonies are available.”

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“I hate the word ‘hate’”: columnist and academic Zoe Strimpel gives her take on contemporary antisemitism

The Sunday Telegraph columnist and academic, Zoe Strimpel, joins Podcast Against Antisemitism this week to discuss her commentary on contemporary antisemitism.

Ms Strimpel tells us why online abuse does not stop her throwing a spotlight on racism towards Jews, and discusses her academic work in the field of dating and relationships.

The 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 and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Comedian Jon Stewart clarifies remarks, insisting that he never accused JK Rowling of antisemitism in her portrayal of goblins in Harry Potter series

The comedian Jon Stewart has clarified remarks he made in his podcast in which he appeared to accuse the author JK Rowling of antisemitism in her portrayal of the goblin bankers in the Harry Potter book series.

Mr Stewart, who is Jewish, mused as to why Ms Rowling chose to “throw Jews in there to run the f***ing underground bank” in a fantasy world where people “can ride dragons and have pet owls.”

After backlash, he later insisted that the remarks were light-hearted.

In an episode of his podcast yesterday, he said: “I do not think J.K. Rowling is antisemitic. I did not accuse her of being antisemitic. I do not think the ‘Harry Potter’ movies are antisemitic. I really love the ‘Harry Potter’ movies, probably too much for a gentleman of my considerable age.”

He told critics to “get a f***ing grip.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The portrayal of the goblins in the Harry Potter series is of a piece with their portrayal in Western literature as a whole. It is the product of centuries of association of Jews with grotesque and malevolent creatures in folklore, as well as money and finance. The mythological associations have become so ingrained in the Western mind that their provenance no longer registers with creators or consumers.

“Those who continue to use such representations are often not thinking of Jews at all, but simply of how readers or viewers will imagine goblins to look, which is a testament more to centuries of Christendom’s antisemitism than it is to malice by contemporary artists. So it is with JK Rowling, who has proven herself over recent years to be a tireless defender of the Jewish community in its fight against antisemitism, for which we are immensely grateful.”

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Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe explains why why she helped to set up the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance

This week’s guest on Podcast Against Antisemitism is the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe.

In today’s episode, Ms Rowe talks about her experiences in the music industry and why she helped to set up the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance.

The episode 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 and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Theatre critic Kate Maltby decries Royal Court Theatre’s “unconscious bias” that led to Herschel Fink scandal

The theatre critic Kate Maltby has blamed the Royal Court Theatre’s “unconscious bias” in her discussion of the Herschel Fink scandal on today’s episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.

Ms Maltby, whose writing has appeared across national newspapers, also recounted her own family’s fascinating history.

The podcast with Ms Maltby 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 and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Lord Grade tells Podcast Against Antisemitism BBC’s reportage of Oxford Street incident is “shoddy journalism”

Lord Grade, a former Chairman of the BBC, has described the BBC’s rapportage as “shoddy journalism” in today’s episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.

In the podcast, Lord Grade described the BBC’s coverage of the recent antisemitic Oxford Street incident, which has come under fire, as a “very poor piece of journalism”.

In response to why he thought that the BBC has been alone among major media outlets in suggesting, without evidence, that the Jewish victims in the incident were also racist and therefore at least partially to blame, Lord Grade described the coverage as “very poor journalism. I wouldn’t put it down to antisemitism. It’s very, very poor journalism on the face of what we know at the moment. It’s just a very, very poor piece of journalism. To describe the antisemitic taunts from the people who launched the attack, which you can see on film, there’s no way you can describe the antisemitism as ‘alleged’, which is what the BBC report says. They then said there were clearly anti-Islamist cries from the bus. There is no evidence for that. It may be true, there may have been, I don’t know, but there is no evidence that anyone’s found so far to support that and the BBC has got to explain two things; why it defended the broadcast without really understanding the nature of the complaint and examining the evidence, and then two, how on earth did they come to make such a pig’s ear of their rapportage.”

Our polling has shown that a majority of British Jews are not satisfied by the BBC’s handling of antisemitism complaints, which is a figure far worse for the BBC than any of the other major broadcasters. Historically, the BBC has handled complaints internally, and only relatively recently has Ofcom been given a role, whereby if the BBC rejects complaints at every stage, a complainant can now escalate the matter to Ofcom. But few members of the public have the patience to get through this uniquely drawn-out process, which they have to do because the BBC so consistently rejects antisemitism complaints. Why, we asked Lord Grade, is the BBC so resistant to acknowledging error, both in this case and over the years?

Lord Grade replied: “Well the first thing to say is that I have found, because I have complained to the BBC even as a former Chairman and as a former Senior Executive in the corporation, I have complained to the BBC and without exception, the first complaint has gone into the programme makers, the editorial people, and without exception they come back, always, they’re never wrong. They always come back, straight away, the default position is ‘we’re not wrong.’ Then when you dig into it and you escalate it to the BBC’s formal complaints procedure, there’s a bit more work done, forensic evidence collecting, and eventually…I don’t think I’ve ever lost a complaint against the BBC at that stage. So the problem lies with the editorial teams who seem incapable of ever admitting quickly that they’re wrong, and I think that’s a very serious failing. What they don’t understand is that admitting you’re wrong and admitting quickly that you’re wrong is a sign of strength, not of weakness, and I think they seem to see it as a sign of weakness, which it isn’t, of course.”

Lord Grade also discussed highlights from his storied career in media and broadcasting, and endorsed Campaign Against Antisemitism’s coming protest outside the BBC.

The podcast with Lord Grade 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 and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Eddie Marsan tells Podcast Against Antisemitism that antisemitism is often ignored or even indulged in because it’s seen as a “trendy racism”

Today’s guest on Podcast Against Antisemitism is the actor Eddie Marsan, who shared insightful comments on antisemitism within the acting industry and the UK.

Marsan, who is not Jewish, has also received antisemitic abuse for playing a Jewish character in the BBC’s Ridley Road and for speaking out against antisemitism online and in public life.

Mr Marsan said: “There isn’t only a blindspot against antisemitism. In some ways, I think antisemitism is a trendy racism. It’s a trendy racism. I read a thing about a guy called Ferdinand August Bebel, who was a German social democrat in the nineteenth century. And he described antisemitism as the “socialism of fools”, because most racists, when they attack somebody who they consider to be inferior to them, they’re always shooting down, but a lot of antisemites, especially those on the left, believe that they’re shooting up to this kind of all-powerful Jewish cabal that runs the world. And it’s quite often sold as a form of egalitarianism, as anti-capitalism, as anti-imperialism. And so you have lots of very, very experienced left-wing intellectuals who are telling younger people: ‘This isn’t racism, this is anti-capitalism.’ Then morally, it’s okay to do. And so that’s why I say, it’s a very, very seductive and a very trendy racism. And it goes against my culture.”

Mr Marsan went on to say: “It breaks my heart for young, Jewish actors, really. I mean, I’ve got lots of Jewish friends in the profession, and they’re walking into rehearsal rooms and film sets and they have to make a decision about whether they put their head above the parapet or not. And that kind of thing upsets me, and I don’t think that’s right for a profession like ours, which is supposed to encourage empathy and openness and complexity and understanding, to be so bigoted.”

He also observed: “As an actor, when you explore characters, you realise in order to be a good actor, you can never play evil characters or good characters. You can only play human beings. What you have to accept, as an actor, is that all aspects of the human condition are on a spectrum. You have to explore the spectrum and embrace the spectrum, and what I’m beginning to realise now is that because of the binary nature of populism, whether it’s left-wing or right-wing populism, people are not embracing the spectrum, they’re not embracing the complexity. So antisemites on the right or the left will ask someone like you, ‘where do your loyalties lie?’ They will ask you to be binary because they see the world in a binary way. And the reality is, the world isn’t binary. Do you know what I mean? And human beings aren’t binary. I mean, your Jewishness doesn’t define you. It’s an aspect of you and it’s a part of you that informs who you are but there’s loads of other elements that inform who you are.”

On the scapegoating of Jews, Mr Marsan said: “Populism is still powerful, because we live in a very, very complex world and people prefer simple lies to complex truths, and one of the simplest lies that a politician can sell people is to create an ‘other’. If they create an ‘other’, then you unify everybody on your side, and you create a narrative that people can belong to. And one of the easiest ‘others’ for people to hate are Jews, it’s really easy. And the far-right and the far-left can hate Jews to the same degree, they’re a really convenient ‘other’ for them.”

On diversity, he said: “When it comes to the antisemitism, in many ways that kind of broke my heart because the people who were being antisemitic were people who I thought would never be. Do you know what I mean? They were supposed to be the champions of diversity, they were supposed to be standing up against that and they weren’t.”

You can listen to the full podcast here.

Or you can watch the full interview here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism streams every Thursday and can be downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.

Last week’s guest was comedian and author David Baddiel.

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CAA launches Podcast Against Antisemitism, a weekly podcast streaming every Thursday, with David Baddiel as our first special guest

Campaign Against Antisemitism has today launched a new weekly podcast.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, streaming every Thursday, is the first podcast in the world to focus on racism against Jews.

Each week, the podcast gives you the chance to hear from those on the front line in the fight against antisemitism – in politics, media, universities, social media, entertainment and on our streets – with expert analysis from Campaign Against Antisemitism. In this first episode, we discuss the fight against antisemitism in sport.

The podcast also features an in-depth interview with a special guest in each episode, including leading activists, authors, celebrities, columnists, social media influencers and more. In this first episode, we are joined by the comedian and author of Jews Don’t Count. David Baddiel, who talks to us about antisemitism as the forgotten racism and his experiences of it as a football fan and in the arts.

You can stream or download Podcast Against Antisemitism on Amazon, Apple, Buzzsprout, Google, Spotify and Soundcloud or wherever you get your podcasts.

Alternatively, you can listen at antisemitism.org/podcast, where each episode will be available every week and where you can subscribe to receive the latest episodes straight to your inbox.

You can also watch the full interview with our special guests every week on our YouTube channel.

If you have any questions, please e-mail [email protected].

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Van Gogh painting stolen from Rothschild by Nazis sells for record $35 million

A painting by Vincent Van Gogh that was stolen from its Jewish owner by the Nazis has been sold at auction for $35,855,000, a record for a Van Gogh painting on paper at auction.

The “Meules de blé” (“Wheatstacks”) watercolour was completed in 1888 and purchased by German Jewish art collector Max Meirowsky in 1913. In 1938, Meirowsky fled antisemitism in Germany for Amsterdam, leaving the painting with an art dealer who sold it to Alexandrine de Rothschild.

When Rothschild left Germany for Switzerland, her art collection was stolen by the Nazis.

The painting’s whereabouts until the 1970s are a mystery, but in 1979 American businessman Ed Cox bought it in New York.

Last week it went on sale again, with an agreement facilitated by Christie’s auction house that the proceeds from the record bid will be divided between the late Mr Cox’s estate and the descendants of Meirowsky and Rothschild.

It is understood that this agreement resolves any dispute over the ownership of the masterpiece.

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.

Image credit: Christie’s

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Scrutiny grows on Sour Lemons after Royal Court Theatre issues apology and changes character’s name amid complaints of antisemitism

The Royal Court Theatre has issued an apology and changed the name of a character after receiving complaints of antisemitism.

The theatre received backlash after the new play Rare Earth Mettle, from writer Al Smith, which is coming to the Royal Court this week, used the name ‘Hershel Fink’ for the character of a Silicon Valley billionaire.

In response, the theatre wrote on Twitter that it was “grateful to members of the Jewish community who got in touch with the Royal Court to communicate the name of one of the characters in Rare Earth Mettle is antisemitic.” It went on to state that “the character is not Jewish and there is no reference to being Jewish in the play,” but that the theatre acknowledged that this was an “example of unconscious bias,” stating that they will “reflect deeply on how this has happened in the coming days” and that it was deeply sorry.

The theatre later released a separate statement on its website, in which it said: “The Royal Court Theatre apologises unreservedly for this situation. It was a mistake, it shouldn’t have happened, and we are sorry it did. We stand in solidarity with our Jewish staff, artists, audiences and friends and are grateful to those who got in touch to communicate that the character named Hershel Fink was perpetuating an antisemitic stereotype. In response, the writer has decided to change the name to Henry Finn – this will be effective from the first performances next week, and we shall reprint all communications and the play text with this change.”

The statement continued: “Now we are looking towards the dialogue that will help us reflect on the process that enabled the name to remain and what is missing in our systems that would have mitigated this unnecessary harm. Our anti-racism work is current and ongoing, and this experience proves once again how necessary and wide that work must be. We will work hard now in the hope of building trust and confidence within our Jewish community.”

Notably, the theatre is partnered with an organisation called Sour Lemons, which describes its mission as “dismantling systemic racism in the arts and culture sector.” The partnership, which encompasses the Royal Court and Young Vic theatres, is described as “a strategic two-year partnership to identify and dismantle systemic racism within the organisations.” It is remarkable that Sour Lemons did not speak out against the use of the stereotype.

The founder and Chief Executive of Sour Lemons, Sade Banks, has in the past tweeted her support for the boycott of Israel. An overwhelming majority of British Jews find the tactics of those seeking to boycott businesses that sell Israeli products to be intimidating.

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Kanye West says that Jewish people “kill each other in business” during interview

In a newly released interview that took place on the podcast Drink Champs, musician Kanye West has said that Jewish people “kill each other in business”.

Towards the end of the interview, Mr West spoke on the issue of black mobility within society and said: “I’m a community builder…but the people that have in the past been in a position of power are gonna try to separate Jay [Z] and [Damon Dash], separate my mom and my dad, separate me and Virgil [Abloh]. You see a pattern? That makes it impossible for Black Wall Street…I thought of our community growing, when we not forced to make the choice of whether or not we can afford to have a child, when we’re not forced to say, ‘I’ma have to kill this [n-word] cos he said this or this’. 

“You know, you never hear about Jewish on Jewish crime. You know, they kill each other in business in a different kind of way, but not actually physically taking a life.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, 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 is an example of antisemitism.

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French court clears Jean-Marie Le Pen over “oven batch” remark about Jewish singer 

A French court has cleared Jean-Marie Le Pen over his remark about a Jewish singer, in which he made a joke about the Holocaust. 

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the French far-right party National Front (now National Rally), went on trial earlier this year after being charged with “inciting antisemitic hatred”.  

The charge against Mr Le Pen originated from a 2014 video on the Party’s website, in which Mr Le Pen reportedly denounced several celebrities who disagreed with his political views. When asked about the French singer and actor Patrick Bruel, who is Jewish, Mr Le Pen seemingly mocked the Holocaust and Mr Bruel, saying: “I’m not surprised. Listen, next time we’ll do a whole oven batch!”

Mr Le Pen reportedly denied the allegation of Jew-hate, claiming that his comments carried no antisemitic messages “except for my political enemies or imbeciles”. 

Both the court and judge disagreed, with the judge stating that Mr Le Pen had targeted Jewish people with his comments. She added, however, that while he cleared “relished” in appeasing his supporters with his comments, they did not amount to “inciting discrimination and violence.”

This was not the first time that Mr Le Pen has faced trial due to antisemitism-related comments. In 2018, France’s Court of Cassation upheld a conviction against Mr Le Pen for Holocaust denial after he said that the Holocaust was “a detail” of World War II. Subsequently, National Front’s leader Marine Le Pen, the daughter of Mr Le Pen, expelled him from the Party.

In June, President Macron condemned antisemitism in an historic ten-minute long video address to the American Jewish Committee. Reiterating how important it was for France to have adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism, he went on to say that the Definition alone “is not enough”, and that France needs to strengthen their actions.

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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Musician Alex Clare was reportedly told to choose between his career or religion by record label 

The singer-songwriter Alex Clare, who was raised in a secular Jewish home but turned to orthodox Judaism in his early twenties, was told ten years ago that he had to choose between his career or his religion by his record label, he said in a recent interview. 

The musician said that while Island Records were “very tolerant” of his decision to pull out of an April tour with Adele due to some of the gigs coinciding with the Sabbath and the Jewish festival of Passover, the label appeared to grow annoyed when he declined to record a BBC radio concert in October in order to observe the Jewish festival of Sukkot. A difficult conversation with label bosses then led to Mr Clare being dropped after just one album.

Mr Clare commented: “They said, ‘It seems like you’re more into your religion than you are into your career,’ and that really wasn’t the case. I really was focused on my career, but personal lifestyle choices, whatever they are, haven’t always necessarily been so tolerated. I’m not unique – historically this has been a running theme, not just for Jewish people but anyone who makes commitments elsewhere.”

He continued: “When I signed, they knew that that was happening but they didn’t quite understand how serious the rules of keeping the Sabbath are. And for some reason every piece of promo that came in was seeming to fall on a Friday night or Saturday morning, and I was turning down opportunity after opportunity.”

“They thought I was nuts,” Mr Clare said of the label when he turned down at least five gigs of the tour with Adele. 

A spokesperson for Island Records said that they had “reached out to apologise directly to Alex.” They added: “What was said to him ten years ago was wrong and does not in any way represent our views or policies.”

Mr Clare noted that when he was re-signed by the label, they were “very apologetic.” 

“We have a saying in Hebrew called Gam Zu L’Tovah, which means ‘This too is good’,” he said. “We say that when something goes really badly wrong. It’s like the most crazy statement to have enough faith and say, ‘This right now is a really bad situation but ultimately God is good and life is good and this is for a greater good’ – whatever that might be. And in my case it really worked out that way. I got dropped by the label but months later I had a top ten hit all over the world, selling [double] platinum, and obviously got a much bigger record deal second time!” 

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French President inaugurates Dreyfus affair museum in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron has inaugurated the first museum dedicated to the Dreyfus affair.

Maison Zola-Musée Dreyfus is located in the former home of French author Émile Zola and houses the full Dreyfus Collection containing more than 500 items. These include documents, photographs, songs, posters and other memorabilia relating to the Dreyfus affair and designed to give a full picture of events in France in the late 19th century.

The events that became known as the Dreyfus affair took place in the late 19th century, after antisemitism led to the wrongful conviction of army captain Alfred Dreyfus as a traitor and spy. After Captain Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted of passing military secrets to the Germans and sentenced to life imprisonment on the infamous Devil’s Island, Émile Zola – already a leading author – wrote an open letter to French President Félix Faure in defence of the Jewish officer.

The letter was published on the front page of the popular L’Aurore newspaper under the banner headline “J’accuse.” Mr Zola blamed the army for its mistaken conviction of Captain Dreyfus and for attempting to cover it up. Following the public outcry, the incident became known as the Dreyfus affair. Mr Zola himself was found guilty of libel and was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and a fine. Captain Dreyfus was tried again on the same falsified charges and a military court again found him guilty, but he was pardoned by the new President, Emile Loubet, in 1899.

Captain Dreyfus was eventually exonerated in 1906 and went on to serve honourably in WWI, but the memory of the case cast a long shadow of antisemitism over France’s history.

The restoration and creation of the museum in the former home of Mr Zola in Médan, just west of Paris, took ten years and was co-financed by fashion entrepreneur Pierre Bergé; the French Government’s Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah; and the Government-run Dilcrah, which works to combat discrimination of all kinds, including antisemitism.

Louis Gautier, President of the Maison Zola-Musée Dreyfus Association, told a Paris newspaper that the museum would principally focus on education, hosting school groups. It would focus on “questions of racism and exclusion,” and would explain how the justice system works.

In 2002, at the 100th anniversary of Mr Zola’s death, France’s then-President Jacques Chirac held a national homage at Maison Zola, and declared that the writer’s ideals still needed to be upheld in modern times.

The story of the Dreyfus affair was adapted into a 2019 film called J’accuse (An Officer and a Spy). Directed by Roman Polanski, it won awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay in the French César Awards.

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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National Gallery removes “antisemitic” artwork from online exhibition 

The National Gallery has removed a picture that it has deemed antisemitic from its upcoming online exhibition. 

Albrecht Dürer’s Christ Among the Doctors tells the story of Jesus as a twelve-year-old debating with Jewish doctors in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. While many artists have painted the biblical scene, some feel that Dürer’s painting from 1506 uses antisemitic overtones to depict the Jewish characters.

A National Gallery spokesperson said: “We are aware that the representation of the Doctors may cause offence and both the wall texts and the audio guide in the exhibition will acknowledge and address caricature and antisemitic portrayal in the painting.

“We have removed the image and accompanying text from our online gallery of selected exhibited works as we felt that in this format there was not adequate space for the interpretation required for this work.”

The exhibition is set to launch next month and will focus on the work of Dürer.

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“Can you racially abuse Jewish people?” former footballer John Barnes, wonders in new book

Former Liverpool and England footballer John Barnes reportedly wonders in his new book whether one can racially abuse Jewish people.

“Can you racially abuse Jewish people?” he asks, explaining that “if the Jewish people are a race, what race does a black Jewish person belong to?”

Mr Barnes’ particular conceptualisation of racism becomes a little clearer when he argues that “The only way to truly destroy racism is to destroy capitalism,” and the “only way to achieve true equality for all is by creating a socialist society, and that’s not about to happen whether we think it should or not.”

In recent years, Mr Barnes has been politically outspoken. In 2019, he appeared on BBC Question Time, and, whilst commending the Labour MPs who left the Labour Party in the previous week over “what they believe,” and recognising “it’s about antisemitism in the Labour Party,” he also took it upon himself to decide on behalf of Jewish people what is and what is not antisemitism.

On the issue of antisemitism, Mr Barnes asserted that “there is a difference between that and anti-Zionism…getting mixed up” and correctly pointed out that “you can criticise the state of Israel without being antisemitic.“ But he then turned against the view of the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community in saying that he thought that “from the Labour Party’s point of view, as much as Zionists may want to say it’s one and the same I don’t think it is. It’s a bit like saying all racism is the same, because it isn’t, for example the Jews, in my opinion, whilst it is a religion they aren’t necessarily a separate race of people. I think they get mixed up in that respect.”

Mr Barnes is welcome to write about his own experiences but should think twice before propagating misperceptions of Judaism and the Jewish people, on which matters he has proven repeatedly that he is no expert.

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Ridley Road actors Eddie Marsan and Tracy-Ann Oberman receive antisemitic abuse on Twitter

Actors Eddie Marsan and Tracy-Ann Oberman, the stars of BBC’s television series Ridley Road, have revealed that they have both received abuse on Twitter.

In Ridley Road, Mr Marsan and Ms Oberman play integral members of the 62 Group, a coalition of Jewish activists who fought against fascism during 1960s Britain.

While Mr Marsan is himself not Jewish, he has received a considerable amount of online abuse for playing a Jewish character. Posting screenshots of some of the comments he has received, Mr Marsan tweeted: “F**k me, this is relentless, all I did was play a Jew, I dread to think what would’ve happened if I was actually Jewish.”

He later tweeted: “If you do a show about racists, you’re going to p**s racists off. It means we’re doing something right.”

Speaking on the abuse, Mr Marsan said: “This is my culture. I’m not Jewish, I’m not religious in any sense. But what I am, the thing that made me curious and open minded, comes from the diversity I was raised in. So I am sticking up for my culture, because my culture is diversity. It’s unacceptable that friends of mine who are Jewish if they become actors, they’re going to suffer this abuse.”

Ms Oberman, who is Jewish, also took to Twitter to highlight some of the abuse that she has received, writing: “Im posting this to show antisemitism isn’t just a Hard Right Problem. Fascism takes on many guises.”

One of the comments referred to people “exploiting the Holocaust to gain support/sympathy for their colonialist-settler aims,” while another said: “You’ve turned millions against you & exposed the duplicitous tactics that have stereotyped you as rats for millenia, and why it always ends up in either expulsion or ovens”

Ms Oberman also called upon the actors’ union Equity earlier this year to provide a safe space for Jewish performers. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.

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Saudi children’s cartoon animates story where Allah turns Jews into apes due to their “trickery and deception”

A Saudi YouTube channel has reportedly uploaded a cartoon aimed at children where Allah turns Jews into apes due to their “trickery and deception”.

The story is reportedly from the Quran and seemingly depicts three groups of Jewish people; a group who sinned, a righteous group, and a group opposing the righteous group. 

The video uploaded to the Ibtikar Media channel says that in a test of the Jews’ faith, Allah would send a surplus of fish on the Sabbath, but would forbid them from fishing so that they can focus on prayer. 

The story goes on to say that the group of Jewish “sinners” then “employed a trick” where they would cast their fishing nets on Friday so that the fish would get caught in the net on Saturday, to then be collected on Sunday. According to the video, this group would fish on the Sabbath by “employing trickery and deception”. 

The righteous Jews “would warn the people about Allah’s wrath and His punishment, and would forbid them from doing what they were doing,” and the third group would “oppose the people who forbade these acts.”

The narrator of the animation continues: “When the sinners did not heed the words of advice, Allah’s punishment came upon them at night. The group that commanded good were spared the punishment. The fate of the third group was not mentioned. The punishment of the sinners was that they were transformed into apes.”

The video concludes by saying that the Jews who were transformed into apes were able to recognise their relatives, however, their relatives were not able to recognise them. The narrator states that shortly after that, the Jews who were turned into apes died, “leaving no descendants”.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

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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Outrage online after host club in Osaka holds Nazi-themed night

A host club in Japan has come under fire after holding a Nazi-themed night, it was revealed recently. 

Host clubs are a type of nightclub where female staff members are paid to drink and spend time with male customers. In some instances, customers are presented with a “menu” of available hosts.

Twitter users were dismayed to find out that the Unfair Club in Osaka chose to host a theme night in which staff wore Nazi uniforms. 

In addition to this, the event released promotional material advertising the night featuring swastikas. A photo of the inside of the club shows someone surrounded by bottles of alcohol that display swastikas on them, and is sitting in front of a large swastika that has been mounted on the wall.

One user wrote: “This is what the inside of the Nazi host club looks like. Ignorance and stupidity at its finest.”

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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CAA to write to BBC after blurb for French period drama describes Alfred Dreyfus as “notorious Jewish spy”

The BBC has edited the blurb for a French period drama on iplayer that described the wrongly-convicted French military officer Alfred Dreyfus as a “notorious Jewish spy”.

In its description of the new BBC4 series, Paris Police 1900, the BBC wrote: “French period crime drama. The French Republic is in turmoil as rumours spread about the release from Devil’s Island of Dreyfus, the notorious Jewish spy.”

Alfred Dreyfus was a French army captain wrongfully charged with espionage in the 1890s because he was Jewish. He was tried and convicted, leading to an outcry and his eventual release. The real spy was caught and Dreyfus was reinstated into the army and served honourably in WWI. The Dreyfus affair is considered one of the most momentous incidents in the history of European Jewry and antisemitism.

The BBC must apologise for this incredible oversight, and we shall be writing to the Corporation.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Somehow, the most basic facts about the antisemitic Dreyfus affair eluded BBC producers in their description of a programme about this very period in French history. One wonders how authentic the period drama could hope to be if it fails to grasp such elementary background. The BBC must apologise, and we shall be writing to the Corporation.”

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 writes to Netflix over provocateur Dave Chappelle’s antisemitic comments in ‘comedy’ special

Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to the streaming giant Netflix over provocateur Dave Chappelle’s new ‘comedy’ special over antisemitic comments he makes during the programme.

In “The Closer”, released on Tuesday, Mr Chappelle makes off-colour comments about numerous minority groups. Regarding Jewish people, he says: “In my movie idea, we find out that these aliens are originally from earth — that they’re from an ancient civilization that achieved interstellar travel and left the earth thousands of years ago. Some other planet they go to, and things go terrible for them on the other planet, so they come back to earth, [and] decide that they want to claim the earth for their very own. It’s a pretty good plotline, huh? I call it ‘Space Jews’.”

The implication is that the inhuman Jews left their ancient homeland and other countries of their dispersion of their own volition. After causing destruction elsewhere they have now returned to reclaim what they had willingly abandoned, even at the expense of misery of others. As an analogy it shows breathtaking ignorance of Jewish and world history, not to mention current affairs, and plays into antisemitic tropes about Jewish otherness, world domination, insularity, parasitism and evil.

The incoherent ‘joke’ receives little applause, with Mr Chappelle reacting by saying: “All right, it’s gonna get worse than that, hang in there.”

Mr Chappelle later makes another comment referencing how Jews subject others to the atrocities that they suffered in the Holocaust. “How can a person perpetuate the same evil on a person that looks just like him?” he asks. “It’s mind blowing. And shockingly, they’re making a movie about him. Ironically, it’s called “Space Jews’.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The claim is a form both of Holocaust inversion and also Holocaust denial, as the analogy minimises the scope of the genocide of the Jewish people by making baseless equations.

Mr Chappelle’s programme has also drawn the ire of other minority groups.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Antisemitism and minimising the Holocaust are no joke. Whilst there is always a place for light-hearted humour, Dave Chapelle’s so-called comedy is barely coherent and plays on the ignorant prejudices of his audience. It is bad enough to do so in the confines of a comedy club, but to be streamed into living rooms around the world courtesy of Netflix is an undeserved privilege for someone willing to mock the trauma of Jewish history and the memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide. We shall be writing to Netflix for the show to be pulled from its service.”

Earlier this year, Netflix rightly condemned antisemitism and Holocaust denial. We hope they now live up to that commitment.

https://twitter.com/ifthedevilisix2/status/1445507470726631431
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Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet British ambassador after right-wing author accused of antisemitism was denied entry into UK

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to meet the British ambassador this week after a right-wing author accused of antisemitism was denied entry into the United Kingdom on Saturday.

A letter from the Border Force showed that Rafal Ziemkiewicz, a Polish author who has been accused of promoting antisemitism and homophobia, was denied entry into the country as his views were deemed to be “at odds with British values” that were “likely to cause offence” and was flown back to Warsaw. 

Mr Ziemkiewicz was accused of antisemitism by Poland’s Human Rights Ombudsman last year after he reportedly said on Polish television that Jews had cooperated with Germans in the Holocaust. In 2014, he was accused of justifying rape after he allegedly tweeted: “Whoever has never taken advantage of a drunk person, let him throw the first stone.” He has also reportedly made several homophobic comments and tweets.

Speaking on the incident, Mr Ziemkiewicz reportedly said on Sunday: “I fell victim to a really powerful hatred against Poland by Poles themselves.”

Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Szynkowski vel Sęk then tweeted about the event, saying: “I will invite Ambassador Anna Clunes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week to make sure that freedom of speech belongs to the catalog of British values ​​and as it corresponds with the attitude of the British services in the case of R. Ziemkiewicz.”

However, he later clarified his comments. “I see the ambassador this week. The conversation is not an escalation, but the foundation and common denominator of the work of the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are also bound by the obligation to care for Polish citizens abroad and to respect freedom of speech. These revelations are worth so much,” the Minister said.

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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Teenage actor who played role of antisemitic bully in a film is now suspected of the real-life assault of 60-year-old Hamburg man

A sixteen-year-old has been suspected of assaulting a 60-year-old man at a vigil against antisemitism in Hamburg, Germany.

During the “Hamburg for Israel and against antisemitism” vigil, which took place on 18th September near the city’s central train station, a group of three or four people approached the participants and one of them – a male believed to be between the ages of eighteen and 25 – began yelling abuse.

When participants asked the offender to stop, he punched the victim in the face. Although police chased the group, they managed to flee on e-scooters.

After the attack, the victim was reportedly in hospital for six days with a broken cheekbone and nasal bone. Photos show the victim with a swollen eye and bloody face. In an interview, the victim was seen having to wear an eyepatch.

The teenage suspect identified by police as Aram A., who reportedly acted in a film about Holocaust survivors in which he played the role of a bully who harasses a Jewish boy, is being investigated for causing bodily harm.

Hamburg State Security was said to have identified Aram A. using video footage and then located him at his home in Berlin. Aram A.’s mother reportedly stated that her family was “against Israel” but that “what [her] son did is wrong”.

Stefan Hensel, Hamburg’s Commissioner on Jewish Life and the Fight against Antisemitism, said: “The rapid search success of the authorities is a reassuring signal after the disturbing images of the attack on the Hamburg vigil participant. The current case shows once again that even projects with the best intentions are no remedy against antisemitism. We see this incident as an appeal to intensify our work even further. In the long run, it will only be crowned with a consistent investigation of antisemitic crimes and criminal prosecution.”

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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Sacked Eton teacher shares interview with author who claimed “Jews were always behind pornography”

A former teacher at Eton College has shared an interview he conducted with an author who claimed that “Jews were always behind pornography”.

Will Knowland, who was reportedly sacked from his position as an English teacher at the prestigious school last year after accusations of sexism were raised against him, shared an interview online in which his guest was a controversial author.

During the interview, the topic of which was pornography and its place in society, author Dr E Michael Jones made several inflammatory remarks. At one point, Dr Jones says: “If you’re talking about, concretely, the rise of pornography in the twentieth century, you have to talk about Hollywood, and you have to talk about the Jews. The Jews were always behind pornography.”

Later in the interview, when Mr Knowland quizzed the author on whether pornography could exist as an expression of free speech, Dr Jones reportedly said: “It’s not part of free speech, no one ever said that dirty pictures were part of free speech, but that’s what the Jews did over this period of time.” He allegedly also called the ADL, an American Jewish organisation, “the SS of the Jewish Gestapo”.

According to the ADL, Dr Jones is “an antisemitic Catholic writer who promotes the view that Jews are dedicated to propagating and perpetrating attacks on the Catholic Church and moral standards, social stability, and political order throughout the world”. The group adds that he “portrays the Jewish religion as inherently treacherous and belligerent towards Christianity” and that he “describes Jews as ‘outlaws and subversives [who use] religion as a cover for social revolution,’ and claims that Judaism possesses ‘a particularly malignant spirit’.”

In 2008, Mr Jones defended the use of the terms “the synagogue of Satan” and “the vomit of Judaism”, stressing that they originate from religious sources.

Mr Knowland reportedly defended the interview yesterday, stating that “Clearly many Jews are aghast at pornography, but suppressing discussion is not healthy. Accordingly, Jewish involvement in pornography has been discussed in the Jewish Quarterly. If Dr E Michael Jones is mistaken in his views, giving them a platform is the best way to expose those mistakes.”

Mr Jones has denied all accusations of antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

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Antisemitism is being spread through video games, research shows

According to BBC Click, antisemitism and other forms of hate, including racism towards other groups and homophobia, is being spread through video games.

Examples of such hate were found on the streaming platforms DLive and Odysee where players can stream themselves playing games like Call of Duty, Roblox and Minecraft whilst chatting with other users.

In Minecraft, an adventure game where users can build and create new environments, it was discovered that a user had built a Nazi concentration camp. It was also reported that in the game Roblox, a user had invited other users into a driving game where they could “become a racist” by running over and killing non-white characters.

A spokesperson for Minecraft said: “Terrorist or violent extremist content is strictly forbidden by our community standards and we take action to remove such content if it appears on our systems.”

Roblox spokespeople similarly condemned such actions, stating: “We work relentlessly to ensure our platform remains a safe and civil space, and with a combination of machine learning and a team of over 2,000 moderators, we monitor for safety 24-7 to detect and swiftly act on any inappropriate content or behaviour.” A spokesperson for Call of Duty said: “The actions we have taken to confront racist behaviour include banning players for racist and hate-oriented names, implementing new technology and making it easier for players to report offensive in-game behaviour.”

It was also said that these conversations can then move onto the social media platform, Telegram. In March, we reported that the far-right group Patriotic Alternative was using Telegram to create neo-Nazi channels dedicated to share vile messages, antisemitic conspiracy theories and images glorifying Hitler.

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In fawning obituary, The Guardian omits antisemitism of self-avowed antisemite

In a fawning obituary, The Guardian has omitted the antisemitic beliefs of self-avowed antisemite, Mikis Theodorakis.

Mr Theodorakis, the Greek composer known for writing the scores to Zobra the Greek and Serpico, said on television in 2011 that he was “anti-Israel and antisemitic.” He also said that “everything that happens today in the world has to do with the Zionists” and that “American Jews are behind the world economic crisis that has hit Greece also.” It was reported that in November 2003, he branded Jews “the root of evil” and in 2004, it was alleged that he claimed that Jews owned the world’s banks and media. Mr Theodorakis allegedly later apologised for these comments.

While The Guardian does not mention his self-reported hatred for Jews in its obituary of nearly 2000 words, it does describe his politics as “firebrand” that may have been “naïve”. The article also states that “he was criticised for his politics, his music, his private life,” but leaves out specifically Mr Theodorakis’ perpetuation of antisemitic conspiracy theories. The Times also produced an obituary but included the composer’s record of antisemitism.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Mikis Theodorakis was a self-described antisemite who unashamedly spouted racist rhetoric on television. It is inconceivable that The Guardian would omit his views were they directed at any other minority, and sadly unsurprising that it has whitewashed his self-confessed antisemitism. The newspaper must apologise and amend the obituary to give a fuller picture of Mr Theodorakis.”

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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BBC Bargain Hunt expert apologises for sale of Nazi memorabilia at his auction house

BBC Bargain Hunt expert Tim Weeks has apologised after it was revealed that Nazi memorabilia was due to be sold at his auction house.

Some of the items that were listed in Mr Weeks’ Wessex Auction Rooms auction included a £2,000 Third Reich banner, a £300 swastika and a collection of badges. The items have since been removed from the auction which is being held today.

Mr Weeks apologised for the incident, stating: “Upon learning that a number of Third Reich items are listed for auction I have contacted the head of our militaria department to withdraw them immediately from sale as we would never wish to cause any offence. We apologise if any has unintentionally been caused.”

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Quentin Tarantino says Hollywood made fun of 1980s Israeli directors “in an antisemitic way”

Quentin Tarantino has said that the Hollywood community made fun of two prominent Israeli directors “in an antisemitic way”.

Last week, the prolific director spoke in a Jerusalem Film Festival panel, where he expressed the admiration of both himself and his Pulp Fiction partner, Roger Avery, for Israeli directors Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus and their company, Cannon Films. “I loved Cannon Films in the ’80s. I was really enamoured with that company. We thought if we could meet Menahem and Yoram, they would give us a chance,” he said.

He added that “the American press and trade papers would make fun of them, the Hollywood community would make fun of them and not take them seriously and frankly, in an antisemitic way.” Mr Tarantino added: “What me and Roger saw were two guys trying to take on the industry, trying to take on Hollywood and make the movies they wanted to make.”

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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Student who downloaded nearly 70,000 neo-Nazi and bomb-making documents spared jail, instead told to read classic literature

A former De Montfort University student who downloaded nearly 70,000 documents pertaining to neo-Nazism and bomb-making has been spared jail, and instead was told to read classic literature.  

Ben John, 21, was convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court on 11th August of possessing information likely to be useful for preparing an act of terror – a charge that carries a maximum jail sentence of fifteen years.

Ben Lloyd, prosecuting, told the court at the sentencing yesterday that Mr John had previously failed to heed warnings by counter-terrorism officers.

The court heard that Mr John was labelled a terror risk only days after his eighteenth birthday. He was referred to the Government’s counter-terrorism scheme, Prevent, but continued to download “repellent” right-wing documents, which included the Anarchist Cookbook, a guide to making bombs and illegal drugs at home, written during the 1970s. The author of the book has since stated that he was motivated by anger at the time of writing and said that the “basic premise behind the Cookbook is profoundly flawed”.

In addition to this, the court also heard that in January 2018, Mr John had come to the attention of, and had meetings with, Prevent officers. In May 2018, Mr John wrote a letter called “Eternal Front”, where he claimed to be a member of the Lincolnshire Fascist Underground and railed against gay people and immigrants. This prompted further meetings with Prevent officers and a psychiatric evaluation.

It was said that by April 2019, Mr John had accumulated over 9,000 right-wing and terror-related documents, which by August 2019 had increased by 2,600. In January 2020, he was arrested and charged with offences under the Terrorism Act, including possessing documents on combat, homemade weapons and explosives.

Eventually, Mr John had collated 67,788 documents which contained a large quantity of National Socialist, white supremacist and antisemitic material, as well as information relating to a Satanic organisation.

Lincolnshire Police said that Mr John “had become part of the Extreme Right Wing (XRW) online, and was studying Criminology with Psychology in Leicester when he was arrested”.

Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTP EM) Detective Inspector James Manning, who led the investigation in partnership with regional and national agencies, said: “The terrorist material he was found in possession of is extremely dangerous, and he acquired this to further his ideology. It indicates the threat that he and other followers of this hateful ideology pose to National Security. It was not light reading, or material most would concern themselves with for legitimate reasons. This has been a long and complex investigation over the course of eleven months.” 

Judge Timothy Spencer QC said he believed that Mr John’s crime was likely to be an isolated incident and “an act of teenage folly”. He labelled Mr John as a “lonely individual with few if any true friends” who was “highly susceptible” to recruitment by others more prone to action. Judge Spencer went on to say that he was “not of the view that harm was likely to have been caused”.

However, stating that the material was “largely relating to Nazi, fascist and Adolf Hitler-inspired ideology” as well as “a substantial quantity of more contemporary material espousing extreme right-wing, white-supremacist material”, he rejected Mr John’s assertion at his trial that the material was “mere academic fascination”. “My view is that to a significant degree you have aligned with these ideologies and to a significant degree have adopted the views expressed as your own,” said the judge.

Harry Bentley, the barrister for Mr John, said that “violence is the necessary ingredient of terrorism. It is not the prosecution case he was planning a terrorist attack.” He added: “[Mr John] was fascinated by extreme right-wing views and shared those views himself. He was a young man who struggled with emotions, however he is plainly an intelligent young man and now has a greater insight. He is by no means a lost cause and is capable of living a normal, pro-social life.” Mr Bentley also said that the whole case was “really about not deleting items on a computer”, an argument which the judge dismissed as an “over-simplification” of the case.

Speaking directly to Mr John, Judge Spencer asked him: “Have you read Dickens? Austen? Start with Pride and Prejudice and Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.”

The judge told the defendant to “think about Hardy. Think about Trollope”, before adding: “On 4th January you will tell me what you have read and I will test you on it. I will test you and if I think you are [lying to] me you will suffer. I will be watching you, Ben John, every step of the way. If you let me down you know what will happen.”

“He has by the skin of his teeth avoided imprisonment,” the judge told Mr Bentley.

Mr John will have to return to Judge Spencer every four months in order to be tested on his reading. In addition, he was handed a two-year jail sentence suspended for two years plus a further year on licence, monitored by the probation service.

Mr John was also given a five-year Serious Crime Prevention Order requiring him to stay in touch with the police and let them monitor his online activity and up to 30 days on a Healthy Identity Intervention programme.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is inexplicable that a man who collected nearly 70,000 neo-Nazi and terror-related documents could avoid a maximum jail term of fifteen years and leave court with no custodial sentence whatsoever. Instead, the judge has let off Ben John with a mere suspended sentence and some English homework. Yet for all the novels that the judge has ordered Mr John to peruse as he enjoys his unearned freedom, it was notable that Crime and Punishment was not among them. Perhaps the judge himself ought to review that classic as he reflects on the risk that his sentence poses to the public.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.

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Controversial Warsaw art exhibition features artist previously jailed for placing swastikas at Jewish community centre

An art exhibition at a Polish state museum has been criticised for giving a platform to antisemitic and racist messages.

The “Political Art” exhibition at Warsaw’s Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art features the work of 30 artists in what organisers say is a celebration of free speech, a challenge to political correctness and the “cancel culture” of the left-wing.

Poland’s Jewish community has criticised the exhibition and strongly protested the inclusion of Swedish artist Dan Park, who was jailed in Sweden in 2009 for hate crimes. In an open letter to the museum’s Director, Piotr Bernatowicz, rabbis and Jewish leaders argued that promoting such artists offends “all people” in a country where “six million Polish citizens – half of whom were Jews – were murdered during World War II.”

Poland’s Chief Rabbi, Michael Schudrich, said that while free expression was “essential to a democratic society”, free expression “still has limits.”

The Warsaw art centre, which has showcased avant-garde art for 30 years, says that the “Political Art” exhibition provides a space for artists excluded elsewhere. It features works that use swastikas or other symbols rooted in the Holocaust in an apparently ironic way but the most controversial inclusion is Mr Park, who was jailed in Sweden after placing swastikas and boxes labelled “Zyklon B”, which was the gas used in the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust, outside a Jewish community centre in Malmo. Among works by Mr Park at the exhibition is a pastiche of an advertising poster that shows the Norwegian right-wing mass murderer Anders Breivik as a model for a well-known clothing brand.

Protesters carrying a large banner that read “State promotion of fascism” confronted Mr Park at the exhibition opening,  

Museum director, Mr Bernatowicz, was appointed in 2019 by Poland’s Law and Justice Party. Since coming to power in 2015, the Party has been accused of using Poland’s cultural institutions to promote conservative values.

At a news conference, Mr Bernatowicz said that he acknowledged that some of the work was “provocative” and “controversial,” and that he could understand the position of the Jewish organisations, but that Jewish representatives should “see the exhibition” before condemning it. He added: “I am not creating a platform propagating any types of Nazi or neo-Nazi views.”

Mr Bernatowicz said that he was “creating a platform” for art to be expressed. At the news conference, several artists, including two Jewish artists, defended the exhibition as an important platform. Israeli artist Marc Provisor said that while he found some of the images “not only disturbing but offensive”, he thought that it was important for those who protested to view the exhibition to “see what disturbs you.”

Separately, an anti-fascist network in Poland condemned “the attempts to use Polish art institutions to platform artists infamous for their neo-Nazi sympathies.”

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. 

World’s biggest video-game streaming site tries to curb “hate raids”

Twitch, the world’s biggest streaming site for watching video games, announced that it would introduce new measures to prevent “hate raids” that include antisemitic abuse, images of swastikas, and other racist or homophobic abuse.

The move follows complaints from users in minority groups after some users of Twitch were subjected to high levels of abuse in recent months in so-called “hate raids.” Founded in 2011 and bought in 2014 by Amazon, Twitch receives more than 30 million site-visits per day.

The hate raids vary in scale from a handful of abusive messages to hundreds. It is thought bots may also be used for posting offensive spam or ultra-violent images.

Twitch came under increasing pressure to act after the hashtag “#TwitchDoBetter” was launched on Twitter and became a magnet for complaints by regular victims of “hate raids.” In August, Twitch announced that new measures such as “account verification improvements” would be introduced later this year.

In the meantime, however, players say the abuse continues. A New York-based gamer of Jewish and Chinese background who uses the name Chonki said that his stream had been inundated with antisemitic messages and images of swastikas. “The hate raids have not slowed down whatsoever; they only seem to be getting worse,” he said.

Players have tools designed to filter abuse but hate raid victims say that hacker-slang which purposely misspells words and banned terms is used to evade filters. Mark Griffiths, Director of Nottingham Trent University’s International Gaming Unit, said that “determined trolls” would “always find ways around” the tools designed to stop them.

Streamers such as Chonki who are angry that Twitch has failed to keep hate-raiders off of the site have suggested various ways in which Twitch could act. Twitch, said Chonki, was “taking 50% of my income” and that “they can’t even protect us from hate raids.”

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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“Jeopardy!” game show host quits after comments about Jews surface

The host of the American game show, “Jeopardy!”, has quit after his comments about Jewish people have surfaced.

Mike Richards, the executive producer of “Jeopardy!” who was touted to become the show’s daily host, decided to step down from the role on Friday after inflammatory comments he made on the “The Randumb Show” podcast came to light.

Mr Richards, who hosted the podcast in 2013 and 2014, at one point was reportedly speaking about noses and said: “Ixnay on the ose-nay” and “She’s not an ew-Jay.” This is “Pig-Latin” for “Nix on the nose, she’s not a Jew.”

It was alleged that Mr Richards also made derogatory comments about women, Haiti, homeless people and people with disabilities.

In a statement on Friday, Mr Richards said: “Over the last several days it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show. As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately.

“I want to apologise to each of you for the unwanted negative attention that has come to Jeopardy! over the last few weeks and for the confusion and delays this is now causing. I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust and confidence.”

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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Australian pop-punk band “shocked and saddened” at former band member’s reported neo-Nazi posts

The Australian pop-punk band, The Spazzys, has stated that the band is “shocked and saddened” after it was reported that one of its former band members was involved in posting neo-Nazi hate speech.

An article published on Tuesday alleged that Alice McNamara, the real name of the former band member who performed under the name Ally Spazzy, had “been posting neo-Nazi and anti-lockdown propaganda under an online alias”. The article stated that Ms McNamara was a musician but did not specify her as a member of The Spazzys.

Kat Spazzy, the band’s lead singer, took to Instagram on behalf of both her and Lucy Spazzy, her sister and fellow band member, to voice their joint condemnation of their former band member.

In the comments section of writer Tom Tanuki’s Instagram post, in which he stated that the Alice McNamara named in the article was indeed the former member of The Spazzys, Kat wrote: “It has come to my attention this morning, that Ally Spazzy, a former member of our band, is alleged to have been involved in posting online hate speech. Ally’s views had become increasingly odd, irrational and conspiratorial over recent years, indeed, that is the reason why The Spazzys have not been able to play together for some time.

“We are shocked and saddened to now discover that she is alleged to have been anonymously posting in support of neo nazi beliefs. Lucy Spazzy and I condemn such views in the strongest possible terms. They are abominable and offensive to us. They do not reflect that attitude and character of the band either before or after Ally was a member.”

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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“Equity’s Inequity”: Demonstrators say actors’ union helped escalate “upsurge in antisemitism in the UK”

On Tuesday, demonstrators campaigned outside of the headquarters of the actors’ union, Equity, alleging that the union helped to escalate the “upsurge in antisemitism in the UK”.

The protesters, wearing sashes that read “Equity’s Inequity”, said that they represent 300 “usually anonymous theatre-goers, who sit in the dark and applaud” and delivered an open letter to the union condemning its reported association with London’s anti-Israel rallies in May, which were revealed to have been infested with antisemitic chants and signs.

Judith Ornstein, one of the protest’s organisers, said: “How can we enjoy the theatre knowing there are creatives on stage and behind it whose union Equity has made them unsafe?”

Speaking of the “vile antisemitism and violence” that occurred at some of the anti-Israel rallies, Ms Ornstein said that “A union should protect and support its members. All its members.” She added that Paul Fleming, Equity’s General Secretary, “should have made that his priority.”

Ms Ornstein stated that the demonstrators called upon Mr Fleming and Equity President Maureen Beattie “to acknowledge how ill-judged and partisan their intervention has been, and also its role in escalating the upsurge in antisemitism in the UK”.

The open letter said that both Mr Fleming and Ms Beattie should “undertake antisemitism awareness training and rebuild bridges with those union members they have let down”. 

In a video uploaded to Twitter by Ms Ornstein, the protesters can be seen outside Equity headquarters. Speaking to the camera, fellow demonstrator Dany Louise said: “It was very predictable that there would be a lot of antisemitism at that rally, and indeed there was. It was blatant, naked antisemitism on the streets of London. Equity was there, and Equity did not call it out, and we feel that this does a real disservice to its members who will not all agree with that position, and indeed, several have left as a result.”

In May, Dame Maureen Lipman, who was a member of Equity for 54 years before leaving after the union voiced its support for the anti-Israel demonstrations, warned Jewish members to “get the hell out”, adding: “I didn’t join a political union. I joined a union to protect its members. You don’t dictate to artists what they believe in, and don’t incite them to join a mob.”

The actress and columnist, Tracy-Ann Oberman, was another leading figure who criticised Equity, asking on Twitter: “How are UK Jewish performers and friends meant to feel safe?”

Demonstrators are seen in the video delivering the open letter to staff at Equity headquarters, before Ms Ornstein states how the anti-Israel demonstrations were “poisoned by antisemitism”. She said: “Paul Fleming should have known that five days before his call [urging Equity members to attend another anti-Israel rally], a convoy of cars displaying Palestine flags drove through Jewish areas of London. Through a megaphone, they shouted ‘f**k their mothers, rape their daughters’. Paul Fleming should have known that Jewish women had to lock themselves into their homes. Paul Fleming should have known the rallies were tainted.”

“We have done what we were going to do. We have seen Equity’s inequity. We don’t know what difference it will make but they need to know that we’re not going anywhere,” Ms Ornstein added.

Dany Louise is also a former councillor who bravely resigned from the Labour Party in 2019 and spearheaded the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism in Hastings Borough Council.

Ms Louise gave an impassioned speech at the meeting, saying: “In the last few years, antisemitism has entered the national public discourse in a truly frightening and morally repugnant way. Where once it was the preserve of the far right, it has now become commonplace on the left as well. Shockingly, there has been widespread denial of this fact, with far too many people somehow casting it as yet another Jewish conspiracy theory. The denial itself has become another form of antisemitism, enthusiastically entertained by many who would otherwise call themselves part of the Community of the Good.”

She also rightly noted that the eleven examples “are indivisible from the Definition”, and that any “modified version” of the Definition is “no longer the…Definition”.

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Porn sites allow antisemitic content to remain despite being notified

It has been reported that pornography sites have allowed antisemitic content to remain on their platforms despite being notified about it. Attempts to flag the videos have reportedly been ignored.

Dozens of videos containing antisemitic themes have been found, including some where actors dressed as Nazis act out scenes in which they rape Jewish women. Another video is reportedly titled “Palestinian raping a Jew”.

Fighting Online Antisemitism is the group behind the shocking reports.

Group founder Tomer Aldubi said that pornography sites are very quick to remove content of underage people or “revenge porn”, but in regard to antisemitism, “the porn giants seem to not want to address it.”

Image credit: Fighting Online Antisemitism via JTA

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One year after his antisemitic social media rampage, why on earth is Wiley back on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube?

Barely one year after his antisemitic social media rampage, Wiley has been accepted back on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

On 24th July 2020, the rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, who is known as Wiley, spent days engaged in an escalating rant on social media against Jews. After likening Jews to the Ku Klux Klan and claiming that Jews had cheated him and were “snakes”, Wiley tweeted that Jews should “hold some corn”, a slang expression meaning that they should be shot. He added: “Jewish community you deserve it”. He then also called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews.

Wiley repeatedly evoked conspiracy theories that Jews were responsible for the slave trade and that modern-day Jews are in fact imposters who usurped black people — a conspiracy theory that has incited acts of terrorism against Jews, such as a shooting in Jersey City and a stabbing attack in Monsey, NY during the festival of Chanukah last December.

In the days that followed, Wiley continued to rail against Jews on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Following discussions with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a major 48-hour boycott of Twitter and Instagram in which we participated, and our projection of antisemitic tweets onto Twitter’s London headquarters, which then went viral, Twitter, Facebook (which owns Instagram), Google (which owns YouTube) and TikTok agreed to remove Wiley from their platforms, depriving him of access to his nearly one million social media followers.

However, it appears that all is forgiven as Wiley is once again active on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube in what is just the latest example of social media platforms not taking antisemitism seriously.

A few weeks ago, newly returned to Twitter, Wiley tweeted: “In all my years on earth I realised everyone wants you to care about their stuff like Holocaust etc but not one of them give a f*** about the enslavement and f***ery of black people so it’s hard for me to care for them knowing they don’t care for us #YaGetIt #JusSayin”

Recently, we published a major report that shows how Twitter fails to implement consistently its own policies on hate. The report showed how Twitter appointed Campaign Against Antisemitism as a partner to monitor anti-Jewish racism on its platform and promised regular meetings, only to cease those meetings and ignore offers of antisemitism training after we began alerting the company to the inconsistent application of its policies by personnel.

Not only were phrases like “f*** the Jews” not considered to breach Twitter’s rules, but other phrases such as “Hitler was right” were sometimes permitted and sometimes removed, without any form of coherent reasoning. Moreover, one of the few areas where Twitter has in the past said that it would take action is over Holocaust denial, pledging to remove “attempts to deny or diminish” violent events such as the Shoah. Our report, however, shows that Twitter personnel repeatedly raised no objection to phrases such as “#Holohoax” and other, more elaborate tweets of Holocaust denial.

A separate study revealed that 90% of antisemitic social media posts remain on Facebook and Twitter even after being reported. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) conducted the study of 714 antisemitic posts across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Its research found that 84% of antisemitic posts remained, with 90% remaining on Facebook and Twitter specifically. The findings from the CCDH noted that in particular, the social media giants’ response to tackling racist conspiracy theories was particularly disappointing. They ignored 89% of antisemitic conspiracy theories and addressed only 5% that blamed Jewish people for the COVID-19 pandemic. Only one in 20 posts that attacked Jewish people directly were removed. In situations where a post had clear links to violence or neo-Nazism, 30% of posts were removed.

Recently, Campaign Against Antisemitism called on the New World Fest music festival to drop the unrepentant antisemite Wiley from its line-up. The grime artist was due to appear at the festival last weekend, however, it was reported that he did not show up.

At the time of Wiley’s original antisemitic tirade, Campaign Against Antisemitism immediately reported Wiley to the Metropolitan Police Service, but in September the police force confirmed to us that Wiley was not in the UK at the time of his antisemitic tirade. Under Home Office rules, that means that the Metropolitan Police must give primacy to police in the jurisdiction where Wiley was at the time. Lawyers acting for Campaign Against Antisemitism have filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands, which is where grime artist Wiley was located when he launched his tirade against Jews.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “One year after his antisemitic social media rampage, why on earth is Wiley back on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube? Not only have social media companies abjectly failed to take antisemitism on their platforms seriously, as evidenced by our recent report and other findings, but to permit Wiley back on their networks despite their pledges barely a year ago adds insult to injury. They have no shame.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms. We also continue to make representations to the Government on this matter.

https://twitter.com/EskidanceLive/status/1408697107784122374
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CAA calls on music festival to drop unrepentant antisemite Wiley from line-up

Campaign Against Antisemitism is calling on the New World Fest music festival to drop the unrepentant antisemite Wiley from its line-up. The grime artist is due to appear at the festival this weekend, despite launching into an antisemitic tirade last summer.

On 24th July 2020, the rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, who is known as Wiley, spent days engaged in an escalating rant on social media against Jews. After likening Jews to the Ku Klux Klan and claiming that Jews had cheated him and were “snakes”, Wiley tweeted that Jews should “hold some corn”, a slang expression meaning that they should be shot. He added: “Jewish community you deserve it”. He then also called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews.

Wiley repeatedly evoked conspiracy theories that Jews were responsible for the slave trade and that modern-day Jews are in fact imposters who usurped black people — a conspiracy theory that has incited acts of terrorism against Jews, such as a shooting in Jersey City and a stabbing attack in Monsey, NY during the festival of Chanukah last December.

In the days that followed, Wiley continued to rail against Jews on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Following discussions with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a major 48-hour boycott of Twitter and Instagram in which we participated, and our projection of antisemitic tweets onto Twitter’s London headquarters, which then went viral, Twitter, Facebook (which owns Instagram), Google (which owns YouTube) and TikTok agreed to remove Wiley from their platforms, depriving him of access to his nearly one million social media followers.

Campaign Against Antisemitism immediately reported Wiley to the Metropolitan Police Service, but in September the police force confirmed to us that Wiley was not in the UK at the time of his antisemitic tirade. Under Home Office rules, that means that the Metropolitan Police must give primacy to police in the jurisdiction where Wiley was at the time.

Lawyers acting for Campaign Against Antisemitism have filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands, which is where grime artist Wiley was located when he launched his tirade against Jews.

Ron Eisenmann, a partner at Eisenmann & Ravestijn, filed documents on behalf of Campaign Against Antisemitism seeking Wiley’s prosecution in the Netherlands over his antisemitic incitement. We are extremely grateful to Mr Eisenmann and his firm for agreeing to represent Campaign Against Antisemitism on a pro bono basis.

We are grateful to the Community Security Trust, which was able to provide us with evidence showing that Wiley was in Rotterdam at the time of his antisemitic abuse.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is continuing its response to this incident, including:

  • Filing our criminal complaint against Wiley in the Netherlands;
  • Continuing to meet with executives from Twitter, Facebook and Google to address their response to antisemitism on their platforms;
  • Working with the Cabinet Office’s Honours Forfeiture Committee to ensure that Wiley’s MBE is revoked;
  • Seeking a change in policy so that racists are automatically stripped of their honours in future;
  • Urging the Government to bring forward legislation to regulate social networks and force them to remove racist incitement which has recently borne fruit; and
  • Working with the music industry to remove Wiley’s awards and ensure that he is shunned for his racism.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is extraordinary that a festival would think it appropriate to try to rehabilitate an unrepentant antisemite on its stage. One wonders whether a musician who had targeted another minority would have been feted in this way. The festival must drop Wiley and explain how this racist came to be invited in the first place, especially as prosecutors consider our case against him.”

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Success for CAA as Hitler-loving radio host who called for Jews to be murdered and asked listeners for a gun sentenced to 32 months in prison

A Hitler-loving radio host has today been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to eight counts of inciting racial hatred after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Following an investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism that was acted upon by Devon and Cornwall Police, Graham Hart, 68, of Penponds, Camborne, was charged earlier this year with five counts of incitement to racial hatred. The charges related to “using offending words or behaviour in a programme involving threatening, abusive or insulting visual images or sounds which was included in a programme service, intending thereby to stir up racial hatred or, having regard to all the circumstances, whereby racial hatred was likely to be stirred up.”

Three further charges were subsequently added following a further investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Mr Hart is an amateur singer-songwriter from Cornwall who has hosted numerous controversial figures on his online radio show, including the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz, who was sentenced to eighteen weeks in prison in March of this year for offences committed during an interview with Mr Hart. Mr Hart also previously courted controversy after a local rugby team banned his music due to concerns about a Holocaust-denial song of his that was circulating on the internet.

An investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism revealed that Mr Hart repeatedly claimed that Jews are “filth”; questioned whether six million Jews were really murdered in the Holocaust; praised Adolf Hitler as “the greatest man of the twentieth century”; said that “is isn’t just the white people who hate the Jews…it’s everyone hates the Jews. Everyone”; claimed that the Jews “run everything”, are “evil” and are “not of this world”; and argued that the Jews have “got to go down, they’ve just got to go down”.

Among numerous other inflammatory statements, he said: “To be honest, I get more and more pissed off every day at what I find out about the Jews. It just gets worse and worse and worse. And I have to say the more I find out, the more I hate you and the more I spread the word.”

The three further charges arose from comments that Mr Hart made on this radio show in late December, including: “Let’s get rid of the Jews. It’s time for them to go…I’ve had enough of these people now … the chaos that they cause”; and “it’s always these same people that are behind everything. So, they’ve got to go. That’s the bottom line. How we’re going to do it…I don’t know”.

Other comments included: “I can’t think what else we can do. I don’t want to go with bloodshed but if that’s what it’s going to take, let’s get it done” and “I’m not armed….I wish I was. If anyone in the chatroom or any of the listeners want to send me a gun, it would be nice.”

Invoking another antisemitic trope, he also compared Jews to vermin, saying: “‘Ah but they’re children… they’re children.’ Yeah I know. They’re like a rat. If you’ve got a rat with four babies, you don’t kill the babies because they’re cute, aren’t they? You just kill the mother. Well, guess what. If you don’t kill those babies, if you just leave them, they’ll grow up to be big rats. So, I hope you go…you go as well. Screw you, you’ve taken too many of our people. We’ve got to start looking after our own.”

He has also said: “I’m a little bit over the top but I say wipe them all out” and “So, if you’re listening out there Mr Jew, we’re coming to get you.”

Mr Hart has also referenced Campaign Against Antisemitism, saying: “I’m involved with the Campaign Against Antisemitism. I’ve got my own little thing going on there and when I’m ready, I’ll pounce. And I’m not far from it either. I’m not far from it. I’ve had enough of these people, guys. Call them out. They run the bloody world and it’s got to stop. And we’ve got to stop talking. That’s why I say … Can we get organised?”

Mr Hart appeared in Truro Crown Court on 26th April for a hearing but was held on remand after refusing to engage with the court or appoint legal counsel. He subsequently did so and appeared on 7th June in Truro Crown Court for the pre-trial hearing, where he entered pleas of guilty on all counts.

Today at the same venue, Judge Robert Linford sentenced Mr Hart to sixteen months in prison, which comprises two years’ imprisonment on the first five counts and 32 months for the remaining three counts to run concurrently and of which he will serve half. He was also sentenced to a criminal behaviour order of ten years, prohibiting him from engaging in similar activities on the internet, as well as a forfeiture order allowing the police to destroy the equipment that they seized. The sentence reflects the one-third discount for Mr Hart’s guilty pleas.

Mr Hart’s counsel had argued that Mr Hart was a victim of reading things on the internet that he came to believe, and that his twelve days’ incarceration (while he refused to engage with the court earlier this year) brought him to his senses and that he no longer holds any of the beliefs he expressed. Judge Linford rejected these arguments.

The Judge was visibly angry as he delivered his judgment, telling Mr Hart that “you set out to whip up feelings of hatred of people of the Jewish faith”. He pointed out that Mr Hart’s activities continued while he was already under investigation, and the judge considered that this showed a total unwillingness on Mr Hart’s part to reflect on his behaviour. Judge Linford added that Mr Hart’s performance in interviews with the police was almost as bad as his radio shows, and that police found further troubling evidence of entrenched antisemitic feeling in his home. The judge determined that the offending was far too serious for anything other than an immediate custodial sentence.

Campaign Against Antisemitism wishes to commend Devon and Cornwall Police — and in particular officers DC Sean McDonnell and DI Daniel Massey — for their tireless commitment to seeing Mr Hart face justice.

It was regrettable that, once again, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was not nearly as proactive as the police in this case. It took an intervention by one of our honorary patrons, Lord Austin, for the CPS to issue charges thirteen months after the CPS received the file from the police. We do, however, commend the CPS for its diligence once it agreed to pursue the case, appointing the same counsel who recently prosecuted a neo-Nazi police officer in the Metropolitan Police.

In a statement, Detective Inspector Daniel Massey said: “The sentencing of Graham Hart brings an end to a lengthy and difficult investigation. Hart’s antisemitic views are completely unacceptable in every way and have caused considerable distress to the Jewish community and many other people over the years. His behaviour towards the Officer in the Case was also an issue at times and shows Hart’s complete disregard for anyone who dares to challenge his views or actions, however, I am grateful for the hard work, dedication and professionalism that brought about this conviction.

“I am also grateful to the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which initiated this investigation and has remained positively engaged throughout a protracted enquiry. Additionally, I would like to thank the CPS for its support and guidance in prosecuting this challenging case. This sends a strong message to Graham Hart, and those who share these types of views, that antisemitic behaviour and all hate crime will be dealt with robustly.”

Nick Price, Head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division in the CPS, said: “Graham Hart used his position to influence people as a radio host to stir up racial hatred and incite violence against the Jewish race. I am pleased that he has been brought to justice and we have put an end to his abusive and insulting broadcasts. The CPS are committed to prosecuting hate crime and will continue to work as an independent body to ensure justice is served.”

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Thanks to the diligence of officers DC Sean McDonnell and DI Daniel Massey, who acted on our investigations, Graham Hart will be in prison and restricted from reoffending for the next ten years. The offences he committed constitute some of the most extreme hatred towards Jews that we have ever encountered. It is vital that the Jewish community is protected from this man, which this sentence achieves. It also sends a necessary message to like-minded people that hate towards British Jews will not be tolerated.”

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 almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Cartoonist suspended from YesCymru after posting “blatantly antisemitic caricature” of fellow member

A cartoonist, known as Mumph, has been suspended from YesCymru, an organisation that campaigns for an independent Wales, after posting a cartoon on Twitter which has been described as a “blatantly antisemitic caricature” of a fellow member.

The incident was initially raised on Twitter by the group “Labour for an Independent Wales.” It stated that one of its members, who also sits on the YesCymru Central Committee, was the subject of antisemitic abuse and labelled the cartoon “a blatantly antisemitic caricature” that was “evocative of the darkest of the last century.”

The group continued: “As members of the Labour Party we’re acutely aware of how pernicious and dangerous antisemitism is and, as human beings, we’re shocked by its prominence in the indy movement. We are unequivocal in our opposition to any individual or organisation that tolerates antisemitism.”

The cartoon in question depicts the YesCymru member with exaggerated facial features, which one Twitter user described as “uncomfortably similar to Nazi antisemitic propaganda,” and is also shown carrying a sign that says “Yes But No” above a silhouette of Wales.

According to the Labour-affiliated group, the cartoon insinuated that the YesCymru member was “behind a conspiracy to bring down the independence movement internally due to a ‘dual loyalty’.” 

The charge of dual loyalty and disloyalty is among the most widely held antisemitic slurs. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations” is an example of antisemitism.

YesCymru released a statement in which the group announced Mumph’s suspension from its organisation. The statement read: “This morning YesCymru’s attention was drawn to a cartoon attacking a member of CC by a former service provider and member of YesCymru. We believe that this illustration repeats antisemitic tropes and is designed to cause hurt to the CC member.

“While YesCymru encourages debate and discussion amongst its members, supporters and the wider community, we cannot tolerate bullying, harassment or antisemitism and need to take action by suspending the member with immediate effect and withdrawing his work from our welcome pack while pending investigation.”

While Mumph has not released a statement of his own regarding the suspension, he has retweeted a post from a Twitter user which appeared to dismiss the allegations of antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.

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Dieudonné fined by Swiss courts for Holocaust denial sketch just days after being handed prison sentence in France

Dieudonné has been fined by the Swiss courts for denying the existence of Nazi gas chambers in a sketch just days after being handed a prison sentence in France.

Dieudonné, whose real name is Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, is a French comedian and political activist who has been convicted for hate speech and advocating terrorism, among other offences, in France and Belgium.

A complaint was made in 2019 after Mr M’Bala M’Bala performed the sketch in Switzerland. Last week, the Swiss courts found him guilty of violating laws on racist and antisemitic content and fined him 170 CHF (the equivalent of £134) a day, for 180 days.

Mr M’Bala M’Bala, 55, claimed that the views expressed in the sketch belonged to the on-stage character and not to him. However, this excuse was not accepted by President of the Geneva Police Court Sabina Mascotto, who said: “In view of his previous statements, his positions and the absence of any humor in his remarks, he will be found guilty of racial discrimination.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “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 an example of antisemitism.

Last week, we reported that Mr M’Bala M’Bala had been sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for producing videos of an “antisemitic nature.” Mr M’Bala M’Bala was also fined €10,000 last Friday after he was found guilty of “public insult to an official,” namely Frédéric Potier, the former interministerial delegate for the fight against racism, antisemitism and anti-LGBT hatred.

Earlier this year, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was instructed by the Paris Court of Appeals to pay a fine of €9,000 (over £7,700) for mocking the Holocaust in a video.

Mr M’Bala M’Bala has attacked the “Zionist lobby”, claiming it controls the world, and he has been convicted more than twenty times on charges that include defamation, hate speech and endorsing terrorism in Belgium and France. Last year, he was given a two-year jail sentence and fined for tax fraud and money laundering.

In 2013, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was recorded during a performance suggesting that it was a pity that a Jewish journalist was not sent to the gas chambers. The then-French interior minister, Manuel Valls, declared that Mr M’Bala M’Bala was an “antisemite and a racist” and he would seek to ban all his events as public safety risks.

Last summer, as social media platforms claimed to be stepping up their fight against hate content, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was permanently banned from several major online platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, for his use of “dehumanising” terms in relation to Jews.

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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Jewish inclusion officer for children’s book society resigns after receiving death threats and abuse for speaking out against antisemitism

A Jewish inclusion officer for a children’s book society resigned last month after she received a barrage of death threats and abuse for speaking out against antisemitism.

April Powers, the former Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), posted a statement on Twitter in response to the recent spate of antisemitic attacks that occurred across the United States.

The statement, released on behalf of the SCBWI, read: “The SCBWI unequivocally recognises that the world’s 14.8 million Jewish people (less than 0.018% of the population) have the right to life, safety, and freedom from scapegoating and fear. No person should be at risk because of their heritage, religion, disability, or whom they love.

“In the last several years, antisemitism has been on the rise globally, and has fuelled a 75% increase in hate speech and random violence against Jewish people in the last few weeks alone. Because antisemitism is one of the oldest forms of hatred, it has its own name. It is the example from which many forms of racism and violence are perpetrated.”

Ms Powers received online abuse for the statement, as some Twitter users argued that she should have also included a statement on Islamophobia in the release. Ms Powers engaged in an online debate with one of the users before blocking them. However, she regretted her handling of the incident and resigned as a result.

Speaking on her experience, Ms Powers said: “This person is calling me a white supremacist and that I deserve to die and so does my family. It doesn’t matter if it’s credible or not, the feeling that you have when someone threatens your life and that of your family online and publicly is a terrorist act.

“I am so sad and disheartened that this is the world that we live in right now because none of them deserve any of this and their lives, safety and careers are on the line because of it.”

The SCBWI received criticism for its handling of the situation and was even accused of not standing with Jewish people. One of those criticising the SCBWI included PEN America, a non-profit organisation that aims to protect free speech through literature and human rights.

On its website, PEN America said: “Issuance of a factual public statement within the scope of a professional’s job should not be grounds for discipline or resignation under pressure. Biases and bigotries take on many variations and targets – anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, sexism, and other forms each have their own distinct characteristics and are worthy of forceful denunciation in their own right. The fight for human rights and dignity must oppose such hatreds in all their forms…absent any such indication, the condemnation of one form of hatefulness should not be read to imply indifference toward others.”

Following Ms Powers’ resignation, the SCBWI released a statement that said: “As an apolitical literary organization, it is not our mission to promote any specific political viewpoint or policy. Instead, we provide our members the opportunity, space, tools, exposure, and empowerment they require to make the high-quality, diverse children’s books that all children need.

“Recently, our Equity and Inclusion officer resigned by her own choice, not at any request or demand of our organisation, as she felt she had made mistakes in her professional decisions in managing social media. Today, we want to be sure that our community understands our core mission as an organisation of children’s book writers, illustrators, and translators.”

Last week, Ms Powers released a Facebook post in which she clarified that the SCBWI did not fire her or ask her to resign, going on to say that “there are good, kind people who work and volunteer there, many of whom are from marginalised, minority, or underrepresented backgrounds (including Jewish) themselves who have also been harassed and trolled relentlessly.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is extraordinary that an inclusion officer at a major organisation has seen the need to resign following a negative reaction to her bravely calling out antisemitism. It is all the more outrageous that she was pilloried for having spoken out against a form of racism to which she, as a Jewish woman, would be particularly sensitive.

“This incident stands in stark contrast to the mere reassignment a few weeks ago by Google of its Head of Diversity Strategy after he was revealed to have made antisemitic comments. Yet again, it seems that diversity is inclusive of all minorities except Jews, and opposed to all forms of discrimination except antisemitism.

“If it becomes impossible to call out antisemitism in the corporate world, it will become even harder to combat it. It is past time that corporations and unions live up to their values and protect their Jewish workers and members.”

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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Dieudonné sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for videos of an “antisemitic nature”

The French comedian Dieudonné has been sentenced to four months’ imprisonment for producing videos of an “antisemitic nature.”

Dieudonné, whose real name is Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, is a French comedian and political activist who has been convicted for hate speech and advocating terrorism, among other offences, in France and Belgium.

Mr M’Bala M’Bala, 55, was handed his prison sentence last Friday after being charged with “public insult of an antisemitic nature” and “contestation of a crime against humanity” as a result of two videos that date back to May 2020.  

During his trial last May, Mr M’Bala M’Bala insisted that the man in the videos was not him and that in fact his likeness was manufactured using deepfake technology. However, the court was not convinced, stating: “The character appearing on the screen, identified by investigators as Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, has the same name, the same appearance, the same voice and the same lexical references as the defendant.”

Mr M’Bala M’Bala was also fined €10,000 last Friday after he was found guilty of “public insult to an official,” namely Frédéric Potier, the former interministerial delegate for the fight against racism, antisemitism and anti-LGBT hatred.

Earlier this year, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was instructed by the Paris Court of Appeals to pay a fine of €9,000 (over £7,700) for mocking the Holocaust in a video.

Mr M’Bala M’Bala has attacked the “Zionist lobby”, claiming it controls the world, and he has been convicted more than twenty times on charges that include defamation, hate speech and endorsing terrorism in Belgium and France. Last year, he was given a two-year jail sentence and fined for tax fraud and money laundering.

In 2013, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was recorded during a performance suggesting that it was a pity that a Jewish journalist was not sent to the gas chambers. The then-French interior minister, Manuel Valls, declared that Mr M’Bala M’Bala was an “antisemite and a racist” and he would seek to ban all his events as public safety risks.

Last summer, as social media platforms claimed to be stepping up their fight against hate content, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was permanently banned from several major online platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, for his use of “dehumanising” terms in relation to Jews.

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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Murals defaced with Nazi graffiti in Ukiah, California

It was reported last week that at least two murals in Ukiah, California had been defaced with Nazi graffiti.

One of the artworks depicted a woman wearing a surgical mask that had been vandalised with a drawing of a swastika and the letters ‘SS’ on her face.

Former President Nancy Horowitz Bertsch and Current President Sherrie Ebyam of Kol HaEmek, the Mendocino County Inland Jewish Community, wrote a letter to the Ukiah Police Department that said: “These acts of defilement are Hate Crimes. As leaders of our Jewish Community, we will not sit quietly and let this go by. We expect that the city of Ukiah Police Department will investigate, find, and hold accountable those responsible for these crimes.”

Shannon Riley, Deputy City Manager for the city of Ukiah, wrote a letter which read: “On behalf of the city of Ukiah, I am appalled and saddened by recent acts of graffiti swastikas and other Nazi-style symbols — on two different public art projects. These incidents were discovered and reported to various individuals, including to the two artists, and the vandalism was removed immediately. The Ukiah Police Department was not notified until Wednesday, 30th June, nearly seven days after the first case was discovered. Since that time, information including photographic evidence of the vandalism has been gathered and the detective division of UPD is investigating the incidents as a hate crime. Every effort is being taken to bring justice to the individual(s) responsible for this defilement of public art.

“The community can assist by reporting any information related to these incidents, as well as in-progress acts of graffiti or vandalism, to the UPD through its non-emergency line (707-463-6262). Additionally, existing graffiti can be reported through the use of the city’s mobile app, iWorQ, available on Apple or Android phones.”

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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Dame Maureen Lipman quits actors’ union Equity after it reportedly encouraged its members to join antisemitism-infested rallies

Dame Maureen Lipman has quit the actors’ union, Equity, after it reportedly encouraged its members to join London’s anti-Israel rallies which were revealed to have been infested with antisemitic chants and signs.

Dame Maureen, a member of Equity for 54 years, warned Jewish members to “get the hell out,” adding: “I didn’t join a political union. I joined a union to protect its members. You don’t dictate to artists what they believe in, and don’t incite them to join a mob.”

The actress and columnist, Tracy-Ann Oberman, was another leading figure who criticised Equity, asking on Twitter: “How are UK Jewish performers and friends meant to feel safe?”

In a statement, Equity said: “Equity has a long, and proud history of standing up for peace and justice around the world – including in Palestine. Violence directed against ordinary working people in both Israel and Palestine is appalling, and it is to be condemned by our movement. The disproportionate actions of the current Israeli government over the past few weeks, both in the policing of Jerusalem and toward Gaza, are particularly horrifying. We stand in solidarity with Palestinians taking industrial action, and workers around the world taking action in support of them.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Equity should take a long hard look at themselves after associating with a march infested with antisemitic banners and other signs appearing to condone violence and where a speaker blamed Israel for racism against Jews. It is difficult to see how Equity can possibly pretend to represent their Jewish members when they turn a blind eye to anti-Jewish hate.”

Recently, Dame Maureen showed her support of France’s Jewish community when speaking at Campaign Against Antisemitism’s rally for Sarah Halimi.

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Conservative MP Dr Matthew Offord to write to BBC’s Director-General requesting BBC not broadcast Alexei Sayle Desert Island Discs episode after comedian claimed allegations of antisemitism “amongst supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are a complete fabrication”

Matthew Offord, the Conservative MP for the heavily-Jewish constituency of Hendon in North London, has written to the BBC’s Director-General, Tim Davie, to request that the BBC not broadcast the upcoming episode of Desert Island Discs, which is set to feature Alexei Sayle this Sunday.  

Mr Sayle has previously claimed that allegations of antisemitism “amongst supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are a complete fabrication.” He is also a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Research conducted by Campaign Against Antisemitism revealed widespread antisemitism amongst supporters of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

According to a statement that was released on his website, “Matthew’s request comes in response to the antisemitic incidents which occurred over the weekend following the violence in Israel.” It goes on to say that “The letter says that every broadcaster should be wary of giving a platform to anyone who is seen to be excusing antisemitism. For a person to state publicly that another who made allegations of antisemitism is a liar is not only wrong but also allows antisemitism to continue and in some cases flourish.”

The statement continued: “Matthew said: ‘ITV recently took the decision not to broadcast the final episode of a drama starring Noel Clarke after allegations were made against him. In light of Alexei Sayle’s continuing behaviour and the distress this is causing my constituents and others, the BBC should take the same action and not broadcast the next episode of Desert Island Discs which features Mr Sayle.’”

Mr Sayle 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.

Dr Offord is an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

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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Van Morrison faces fresh controversy after releasing new song entitled “They Own the Media”

Singer Van Morrison has faced fresh allegations of antisemitism after releasing a new song entitled “They Own the Media.”

The song alludes to a powerful elite who control the media and have influence over societal behaviours and beliefs. Some of the lyrics read:

“They tell us that ignorance is bliss
I guess by those that control the media, it is
They own the media, they control the stories we are told
If you ever try to go against them, you will be ignored”

In another verse, Mr Morrison sings:

“They control the narrative, they perpetuate the myth
Keep on telling you lies, tell you ignorance is bliss
Believe it all and you’ll never get, nеver get wise
To thе truth, ’cause they control everything you do”

By singing “they own the media,” Mr Morrison has been accused of deploying a trope regarding the hidden power of Jews which featured heavily in the antisemitic propaganda of the Soviet Union, as well as in other eras and places.

Tom Breihan, the Senior Editor for Stereogum, wrote that the song had “a title that sure seems to be an antisemitic trope.”

He went on to say: “Maybe it’s satire. Maybe the ‘they’ of the title doesn’t refer to any specific group of people. But when you consider that this man just went on a months-long COVID-denial tantrum, we have every right to be suspicious about this one.”

This is not the Northern Irish musician’s first brush with accusations of antisemitism. In 2005, Mr Morrison released “They Sold Me Out”, a song that appeared to perpetrate the antisemitic conspiracy theory of deicide. One verse of the song reads:

“Sold me out for a few shekels and divided up my robes
They sold me out
It’s the oldest story that’s ever been told
They sold me out”

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Bestselling author gets called out for antisemitic tropes in her books

A New York Times bestselling author has been called out for including antisemitic themes in her books, as well as the harassment of other authors.

Emily Duncan, author of several young adult books, has been accused of writing a plot that contains a multitude of antisemitic tropes, including the perpetuation of the “blood libel,” as well as the use of stereotypical, antisemitic physical and behavioural descriptions. These characteristics included “dark-eyed, dark-haired, vermin-like creatures who are part of a secret cabal that control the government of fantasy Poland,” according to one Twitter user.

Ms Duncan issued an apology on Twitter, stating: “In terms of criticisms that an element of my book included an antisemitic plot, I did recognise the significance while researching and tried to handle this in a sensitive way, but I fell short. I am sorry for the harm this has caused.”

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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Antisemitism is a “smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government”, according to Roger Waters

Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd musician with a history of inflammatory comments about antisemitism, has again waded into controversy with a remark that antisemitism is “smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government”.

Mr Waters made the comment during an appearance on a monthly online talk show called Let’s Talk It Over, with record producer Brian Eno adding that accusations of antisemitism on the political Left are “worthless” and intended to silence those who “question what is happening in Palestine”.

During the discussion, Mr Eno reportedly defended three prominent figures in the antisemitism debate of recent years, saying: “When you see people like Ken Loach, David Miller, Jackie Walker, when you see those people being accused of antisemitism, you cannot help but say this is all made up.”

Mr Eno added: “We know there are a lot of antisemites in the world, and we know that generally they’d don’t come from the left of the political spectrum. Why aren’t they being attacked? We are being called the enemy for some other reason than antisemitism, and of course it is transparently clear that we are being called the enemy because we question what is happening in Palestine. That is all you have to do to be called antisemitic.”

Mr Waters said: “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.”

Image credit: Harry’s Place

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History group drops plans to celebrate works of William Cobbett over antisemitism concerns

A history group has reportedly dropped plans to celebrate the works of a 19th-century political commentator after his books were found to contain a slew of antisemitic views, blaming the economic crisis of the time on “Jewish money”.

Hyde900, a history group based in Winchester, had planned to commemorate the writer William Cobbett (1763-1835) on the 200th anniversary of the publication of his book Rural Rides, but the group has pulled out.

The book chronicles his views on the agricultural crises of the 1820s England, which he blames on “Jewish money” in the City.

Founder Edward Fennell, said: “Within Rural Rides there were a number of gratuitous antisemitic and racist comments which seemed at odds with Cobbett’s generally ‘progressive’ opinions [and] organisers thought that they needed to be investigated further. As a result, it was decided that it could not be justified to hold an event which, as one person observed, ‘put him on a pedestal’.”

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“Jews to the ovens” and other neo-nazi abuse as Gaia Servadio book presentation is Zoombombed

An online presentation in Italy for the new novel by the Italian journalist-turned-fiction-writer Gaia Servadio, was suspended after being interrupted by antisemitic and neo-nazi abuse.

The presentation for the book, entitled Giudei (“Jews”), was sponsored by the magazine Carta Vetrata. Commenting on the abuse, Ms Servadio said that similar events had occurred during “other online presentations, even in England,” where she lives. Ms Servadio, whose father was Jewish, was born in 1938 and experienced antisemitism in Padua, where she grew up.

Abuse in the Zoombombing included comments such as “Jews to the ovens” and “f***ing Jews” as well as other expletives and belching noises.

She has lived in London for more than 50 years and was the mother-in-law of Boris Johnson when her daughter, Allegra Mostyn-Owen, was the British Prime Minister’s first wife. The novel tells the story of a turbulent century through the lives of two Jewish families.  

Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously reported on the phenomenon of ‘Zoom bombing’ and has urged communal institutions to take precautions to safeguard against antisemitic disruption of online events.

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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Bulgarian TV host apologises after allegedly denying Holocaust on air

The host of a popular gameshow on Bulgarian National Television has apologised after allegedly denying the Holocaust and spouting anti-Jewish racism on air.

After asking contestants to name “the chess player with Jewish roots who nonetheless spoke out harshly against Jews,” Orlin Goranov went on to quote from an article on a white supremacist website. The author claimed to have interviewed the late chess master Bobby Fischer, who was also infamous for promoting antisemitism. Mr Goranov quoted the article claiming to quote Mr Fischer saying, “There were no gas chambers; that’s all baloney” and that Jews didn’t like to work, which was “one of the things the Jews didn’t like about Hitler’s concentration camps.”

On the following day, Bulgarian National Television’s director, Emil Koshlukov, apologised, saying that the quotations “contain hate speech and slander” and promised to “punish the employees” responsible for the incident.

A day later, Mr Goranov apologised on air, saying that his comments were not aimed at offending Jews “but at accurately quoting Fischer.”

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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Dieudonné must pay fine or face prison for mocking Holocaust in a video

The controversial French comedian Dieudonné was instructed by the Paris Court of Appeals to pay a fine of €9,000 (over £7,700) for mocking the Holocaust in a video.

Dieudonné, whose real name is M’Bala M’Bala, is a French comedian and political activist who has been convicted for hate speech and advocating terrorism, among other offences, in France and Belgium.

Mr M’Bala M’Bala faces the fine or a ten-month prison sentence following the rejection of his appeal for a conviction for publishing a video and a song entitled “C’est Mon choaaa” (“That’s my Shoah”). The fine was originally imposed in November 2019, but he appealed against the sentence. He also denied singing it or writing it, claiming that it was written by a prison inmate during a song-writing workshop.

The court ruled that the lyrics referred “unquestionably, by innuendo,” to the Holocaust (Shoah) which was being “mocked.” The court said that the right to humour invoked by Dieudonné conflicted with “another right – that of human dignity.”

Mr M’Bala M’Bala, 54, has attacked the “Zionist lobby”, claiming it controls the world, and he has been convicted more than twenty times on charges that include defamation, hate speech and endorsing terrorism in Belgium and France. Last year, he was given a two-year jail sentence and fined for tax fraud and money-laundering.

In 2013, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was recorded during a performance suggesting that it was a pity that a Jewish journalist was not sent to the gas chambers. The then-French interior minister, Manuel Valls, declared that Mr M’Bala M’Bala was an “antisemite and a racist” and he would seek to ban all his events as public safety risks.

Last summer, as social media platforms claimed to be stepping up their fight against hate content, Mr M’Bala M’Bala was permanently banned from several major online platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, for his use of “dehumanising” terms in relation to Jews.

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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Norway state-owned radio morning-show host pejoratively refers to “God’s chosen people” in on-air rant

A host on Norway’s state-owned broadcaster went on an antisemitic rant on live radio referring pejoratively to Israel as “God’s chosen people”.

In a segment on 3rd February in which morning-show host Shaun Henrik Matheson said that “We must never forget what a s***ty country Israel is”, he also said: “If some homemade rocket should land somewhere over the God’s chosen people, then terrible actions of revenge are committed where thousands of people are killed, often children.”

Mr Matheson’s hostility toward the Jewish state was such that he admitted that he “almost wished” the COVID-19 vaccine, which Israel is distributing more rapidly than any other country, had not worked.

As NRK’s Broadcasting Council prepared to meet, its Secretary, Erik Skarrud, revealed that 527 communications had been received regarding the programme, an overwhelming majority of which were critical and complaints. Very few were supportive, he said: “you can probably count those on one hand.”

Complaints against Mr Matheson have also been filed with the Norwegian police. “It is time to close down NRK,” said Norwegian parliamentarian, Per-Willy Amundsen of the Progress Party. Asserting that the broadcaster was a “front for the hatred of Jews,” Mr Amundsen urged that NRK be downsized and sold. Privatisation was “the best solution,” he said.

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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Jewish students face mix of solidarity and antisemitic backlash for raising concerns over appearance of controversial filmmaker Ken Loach at St Peter’s College, Oxford

Jewish students are facing an antisemitic backlash online after opposing an event with the controversial filmmaker Ken Loach, who has a history of antisemitism-denial and inflammatory comments.

The event was being hosted by Prof. Judith Buchanan, the Master of St Peter’s College, of which Mr Loach is an alumnus.

Oxford students have largely sided with their Jewish peers, with St Peter’s JCR (junior student body) voting to issue a statement condemning the event. Dialogue between Jewish students and Prof. Buchanan reportedly failed to reach an understanding.

However, Jewish students have reported to Campaign Against Antisemitism that they are also facing an antisemitic backlash over the incident, particularly online, where they have been called “rich Jewish students” and (pejoratively) “Zionists” and “f***ing Zionists”; gratuitous connections have been made to Gaza; the Talmud has been described as “satanist”, with calls to burn it; there are numerous references to Israel being a racist state, in a deliberate breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism; and portrayals have been promoted of the Oxford Jewish Society as a “lying racist organisation”. Some individual Jewish students have also been targeted.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is providing backing to the Oxford Jewish Society and has made legal assistance available.

A roster of ‘usual suspects’ in the creative industry have backed Mr Loach, with the controversial musician Roger Waters describing the effort to raise concerns over the event “McCarthyite”.

Mr Loach’s voice has been 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.

A spokesperson for St Peter’s College told the Oxford Student: “Ken Loach, an alumnus of St Peter’s College, has been invited by the College and The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities to speak about two of his films. These films form part of a distinguished filmmaking career. This is the latest in a run of occasions on which Ken Loach has been invited to speak in College, all of which have previously been very well received by students. The event will be respected as advertised and we look forward to a good conversation about the films on this occasion.

The continued: “Significant concerns about the event have been brought clearly to the attention of College and College is committed to creating further opportunities for these concerns to be properly respected and discussed within College.  St Peter’s stands vigorously against all forms of discrimination and always seeks to support students who are discriminated against. In the context of the current conversation, College affirms without reservation its very strong opposition to antisemitism. It recognises the appalling atrocities that antisemitism has wrought and can bring.  While not believing that no-platforming is the way to pursue goals of a free and open academic community, it is committed to supporting students who find such decisions painful and to finding ways to address these questions within College as part of a broader, ongoing conversation.”

The Oxford Jewish Society has released an updated statement to its members: “I am sure many of you have followed the events of the past few days relating to the talk that was hosted by St Peter’s College Master, Professor Judith Buchanan, this evening. There was no mention of antisemitism in the talk itself. Professor Buchanan provided a brief explanation as to why the event was not cancelled before introducing Ken Loach. She did not directly address the allegations of antisemitism levelled at Ken Loach. Shortly after the event, multiple public figures signed a statement published on ‘Artists for Palestine UK’, entitled: ‘Artists stand with Ken Loach and against McCarthyism’. Following that, [the musician and controversial activist] Roger Waters…shared our statement directly on Facebook, and then on Twitter. Accompanying his post is a trope-ridden caption that reads: ‘Don’t let the Israeli Lobby rewrite our dictionaries with this McCarthyite, racist, claptrap. We know what antisemitism is, and being anti-Israeli apartheid ain’t any part of it.’

“As a result of this, the statement has garnered huge publicity, and with that, antisemitic comments have been posted on the JSoc Facebook and Twitter pages, as it was a public post. Waters’s own post has amassed a large number of likes, shares and retweets…I am deeply sorry that this has caused so many students such upset and anger. We were left with little choice by the leadership at St Peter’s in publishing a statement. And we will continue to do everything we can to protect students from antisemitic speakers, and from antisemitism itself.”

The Jewish Society has offered assistance to members.

Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Despite his history of incessant antisemitism-denial and over the objections of Jewish students, the controversial filmmaker Ken Loach was invited to one of Britain’s most prestigious universities. Now, Jewish students are facing an extreme antisemitic backlash merely for raising concerns, and we are making available legal assistance and support. We are particularly grateful to the Oxford student body for their solidarity with their Jewish peers. It is perverse that someone who spouts hate and belittles the lived experience of Jews is given a platform while those who courageously call him out find themselves targeted by hate.”

The University of Oxford has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].

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Positive review of Jewish Cookbook in The Observer sparks antisemitic comments online

A newspaper review hailing a Jewish cookbook has sparked a slew of antisemitic slurs online.

After Jewish journalist Jay Rayner wrote a piece for The Observer, in which he commended Claudia Roden’s Book of Jewish Food for its revival of traditional Jewish recipes in homes and restaurants, the article was posted on The Guardian’s Facebook page (The Guardian is The Observer’s sister newspaper).

Users responded with comments such as, “No ty I do not eat stolen food from the original owners, Palestinian [sic]” and “Would you have bought a German recipe book during WWII slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent people? Even though the author may have been living somewhere else, Britain perhaps?”

“Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel” and “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” are both examples of antisemitism under the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Guardian has since deleted the comments from its Facebook page and issued an apology.

A spokesperson for the newspaper reportedly said: “We take online abuse and hate speech incidents very seriously and were horrified to see these disgusting and offensive remarks posted underneath a Guardian article on Facebook. Such comments are unacceptable in any circumstances. We removed the Facebook post as soon as the antisemitic comments were brought to our attention overnight. We have since reposted the article and will act as necessary if further such comments occur.”

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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Mayim Bialik, Sharon Osbourne, Gene Simmons and Craig David help launch alliance between Jewish and black celebrities to combat hate in entertainment

170 celebrities from the Jewish and black communities have come together to form an alliance against antisemitism and anti-black racism in the entertainment industry.

The “unity statement” includes other household names, as well as leading producers and other figures, such as Jason Alexander, Nick Cannon (who was recently embroiled in controversy over antisemitism before publicly making amends), Jeremy Piven, Antoine Fuqua, Ethiopia Habtemariam, Neil Blair, Ozwald Boateng and the late Larry King.

The statement reads: “We acknowledge that the Black and Jewish communities have a shared history of subjugation and persecution. We recognise that the Black community in America has faced a history of racism that continues to this day, while the Jewish community is currently encountering record levels of antisemitism, which affects both group’s sense of fear, vulnerability, and self-worth. As members of the entertainment community, we stand against all forms of hate, and pledge to work to bring our two communities together in solidarity, to support one another in our struggles, and to better understand each other’s plight and narratives.

“The Jewish community must continue to speak out against racial injustice and work to effect change, while the Black community must continue to speak out against all forms of antisemitism. In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., Rabbi Abraham Heschel, and the many Blacks and Jews who stood together in the fight for civil rights, we come together to support each other in the struggle against hatred and bigotry. In the words of the late John Lewis, ‘We are one people, one family, the human family, and what affects one of us affects us all.’”

Last year, hundreds of musicians and other music industry figures signed a letter condemning antisemitism and racism in the wake of the grime artist Wiley’s antisemitic tirade.

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The Netherlands names author who allegedly made negative comments about Dutch Jews as lead speaker at WWII commemoration

A Muslim author who has allegedly expressed negative sentiments about Dutch Jews and Israel has been named as the keynote speaker at The Netherland’s Remembrance of the Dead event.

The National Committee which organises the annual commemoration announced last week that Moroccan-born Abdelkader Benali will deliver the address at this year’s main memorial ceremony in Amsterdam. Held on 4th May and attended by King Willem-Alexander and other dignitaries, it is the day when the nation remembers its fallen soldiers and the victims of Nazism, who include 102,000 Dutch Jews.

According to a 2010 article published in the HP de Tijd weekly by Harald Doornbos, a respected Dutch journalist, Mr Benali expressed antisemitic views in July 2006 in Beirut, Lebanon, during a conversation between the two. Mr Doornbos, a specialist on the Muslim world, wrote “Benali let loose”, and quoted Mr Benali as allegedly saying that southern Amsterdam “is full of Jews. And that’s annoying that there are so many of them. Amsterdam Jews. Makes you feel uneasy as a Moroccan. It looks like Israel. So many Jews, it just feels crazy.”

In a 2009 opinion piece published in the Volkskrant newspaper, Mr Benali called Gaza a “ghetto.” According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, comparing Israel’s actions to those of the Nazis is an example of antisemitism.

This is not the first controversy for the organisers: in 2017, after naming rapper Emerson Akachar as “ambassador for peace,” it emerged that a year before he had been filmed shouting “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” during a soccer match. The committee revoked the honour. In 2012, meanwhile, a poem describing an SS soldier as “a victim of World War II” was pulled after sparking protests.

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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Sylvain Sylvain, Jewish guitarist for the New York Dolls whose family fled antisemitism in Egypt, dies aged 69

Sylvain Sylvain, the musician hailed as the “lynchpin” of the rock band, New York Dolls, has died at the age of 69 following a two-year battle with an unspecified form of cancer.

The guitarist was born Sylvain Mizrahi to a Syrian Jewish family in Cairo in 1951. His family emigrated during the Suez Crisis, which is believed to have triggered a renewed wave of antisemitism across the country, from which the family was fleeing. The family eventually settled in Queens, New York following a brief stay in France.

He joined the New York Dolls in 1972 after befriending the band’s original drummer, Billy Murcia, at his high school. The guitarist pursued a solo career and recorded numerous albums up until the late 1990s.

Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith’s longtime Jewish guitarist, issued a social media post on Sylvain Sylvain’s personal Facebook page to announce his death and celebrate his accolades.

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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Swastika-wearing goats and Nazi monkey at Russian circus spark public backlash

Prosecutors in Russia have launched an investigation into a circus performance that featured a monkey clothed in a Nazi uniform and two goats dressed in blankets embellished with swastikas. It is alleged that the incident may have broken laws surrounding the promotion of fascism.

The performance, watched by young children and their families, was commissioned by the Russian Orthodox Church in Udmurtia, a region in western Russia. Social media footage showed the animals being controlled by circus performers and trainers around the ring dressed in Soviet uniforms. The audience can be heard applauding and cheering throughout the show, which occurred on the day after Orthodox Christmas.

Following public outcry, the church released a statement in which it assured that the performance was used to celebrate the “victory over fascism” in Moscow in 1942, and to reflect a “worldwide condemnation” of the ideals of Nazi Germany.

In 2014, the country introduced a ban on Nazi symbols, however the law was later amended after politicians highlighted that it applied to documentaries and films about the Nazi regime and the Second World War. The Chairman of the public chamber of Udmurtia stated that the use of Nazi symbols, akin to those incorporated in the circus, are permitted for educational purposes.

Prosectors have not issued a comment on their current investigation.

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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TV personality and antisemitism activist Rachel Riley vindicated as judge strikes out all of the “fanciful” defences of Twitter troll she sued for defamation

Rachel Riley, the Jewish TV personality and campaigner against Jew-hatred, has been vindicated in a defamation case that she brought against a Twitter troll who Campaign Against Antisemitism exposed in 2017 over his blog in which he claimed that there was a “conspiracy” by Jews and those who would defend them in the UK, and in which he has posted and linked to the work of notorious antisemites.

Mr Sivier had promoted a narrative started by another online troll that Ms Riley was bullying a teenage girl.

In a statement celebrating today’s judgement, Ms Riley noted that from the moment she began to criticise antisemitism in the Labour Party, she was subjected to a “large volume of abuse” that “seemed to increase exponentially”.

Instead of addressing her concerns, she explained, trolls on social media “turned their attention to discrediting my arguments by smearing my character”. One of them launched “a particularly nasty (defamatory and untrue) smear” accusing Ms Riley of bullying, but due to the fact that he was not located in the UK, Ms Riley did not pursue him for libel.

Today’s judgement has vindicated Ms Riley and her persistence, with the court striking out all of Mr Sivier’s defences, which the judge described as “fanciful” and “verging on the perverse”. This judgement leaves Mr Sivier with the option to concede or proceed to a full trial in which he would need to meet evidentiary thresholds that, in the circumstances, are thought to be impossibly high.

Mr Sivier has continued his crowdfunding campaign for legal funds.

Ms Riley was represented by solicitor Dr Mark Lewis, who is also an honorary patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism, and barrister John Stables.

Campaign Against Antisemitism congratulates Ms Riley on her success today, and applauds her, Tracy-Ann Oberman, and other activists against antisemitism who are unafraid to confront and expose antisemitic abuse online.

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Greek Jewish Community denounces cartoon that trivialises the Holocaust

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) has denounced what it calls “another attempt to diminish and exploit the Holocaust” following the publication of a cartoon in a Greek newspaper.

The KIS said that a cartoon published in the Greek daily Efimerida ton Syntakton on 16th January depicting the iconic image of Auschwitz with a play on its slogan to make a point about universities (“Studies Make You Free”) was “a hideous and vulgar” use of the Holocaust for political purposes.

The KIS said that Kostas Grigoriadis, the cartoonist responsible for the cartoon, had drawn another in the same newspaper in 2018 in which he also depicted the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp to protest plans for a twelve-hour work day.

In a statement, KIS said that neither the expressions of respect towards the victims of the Holocaust nor the newspaper’s “firm position against antisemitism” excused it for publishing cartoons that insulted “the memory of the victims” by “trivialising the place of their martyrdom.”

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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Portugal’s first Holocaust Museum to open this week in Oporto

A Holocaust museum is due to open this week in Oporto, Portugal’s second-largest city after the capital, Lisbon. It will be the first museum of its kind in the country.

The idea for a Holocaust museum in the city was conceived by the local Jewish community. During World War II, the the local Jewish community played an important role in giving refuge to Jews fleeing other European countries.

The Mayor of Oporto and the President of Oporto’s Jewish community will preside over the inauguration, which will be attended by dignitaries, including the Secretary of State for Culture Jorge Barreto Xavier, UNESCO official Karel Fracapane and the head of the Portuguese delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Leaders of other faiths are also due to attend, including the Bishop of Oporto and the President of Muslim community.

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.

Image credit: The Holocaust Museum in Oporto, Portugal

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Antisemitic letter delivered to the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara

A letter containing antisemitic insults and slurs was discovered by employees of the National Museum of Judaism and the Shoah in Italy on the morning of the 8th January.

The contents of the letter have not been published, however reports suggest that the letter included a threatening message and several expletives directed toward the Jewish community.

The director of the Museum, situated in the northern city of Ferrara, said that the cultural and educational mission of the institution remains unwavering and the organisation will not be intimidated by such acts of antisemitism.

Local law enforcement were alerted to the recent incident, and the General Investigations and Special Operations Division has launched an investigation to identify the perpetrator. The envelope was addressed to the popular museum, however the location of its sender is currently unknown.

The Mayor of Ferrara stated that the city, with a historic Jewish heritage, maintains a zero tolerance for racial hatred and discrimination, and those responsible for antisemitic attacks will be held to account.

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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“Potent symbol of white supremacy” placed at New York City Holocaust museum

A Confederate flag, described as “a potent symbol of white supremacy” was placed at a New York City Holocaust museum on Friday.

The incident at the Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust came two days after the incident at the US Capitol which featured far-right activity.

Jack Kliger, the museum’s President and CEO, said that the police had been informed. In a statement, he described the flag as “a potent symbol of white supremacy, as evidenced by the events at the US Capitol this week”, adding that the incident showed that “hate has now arrived at our doorstep.”

The New York Police Department confirmed that the incident was being investigated, but did not confirm whether it was being treated as a “bias crime”. The spokesperson called it an “atrocious” act.

The museum played a central role in New York’s efforts to combat antisemitism in early 2020 after Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed that every pupil in a New York City public school should be required to visit a museum dedicated to the Holocaust.

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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CAA demands Shoutcast owner Audio Valley stops hosting David Duke after the former KKK Grand Wizard used the service to incite his followers to converge on Washington DC

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to Audio Valley, owners of streaming service Shoutcast, asking that they stop hosting David Duke on the Rense Radio Network after the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard used a broadcast to call on his followers to converge on Washington DC.

Shoutcast is a platform for media streaming and Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Online Monitoring and Investigations Unit monitors the Rense Radio Network, which Shoutcast hosts.

During an hour-long internet radio broadcast on 5th January, Dr Duke exhorted his followers to join the protest on Capitol Hill to defend the United States against a supposed Jewish conspiracy to overthrow President Donald Trump. Dr Duke claimed that the Jewish conspirators spanned the higher echelons of US business, media and politics and had plotted to depose President Trump and replace him with Joe Biden, who Dr Duke said was under Jewish control. Dr Duke was joined throughout the broadcast by British Holocaust denier Andrew Carrington Hitchcock.

The next day, the US Capitol was breached by a group including various white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

Campaign Against Antisemitism contends that this broadcast and others like it are a breach of Shoutcast’s Terms of Use and we have called for an urgent investigation leading to the termination of Rense Radio Network’s broadcasts.

Dr Duke has previously been removed by several other social media networks.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We regularly monitor output by far-right and far-left individuals and groups, and on this occasion the former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke was heard exhorting his deranged followers to converge on Washington DC. Dr Duke has rightly been removed from numerous social media networks, and we have now written to Shoutcast to follow suit and stop streaming Rense Radio Network, which broadcasts his radio show.”

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Kelechi Okafor drops out of Woman’s Hour rather than facing questions from Emma Barnett on her defence of antisemitic comments by Reggie Yates

Actress and fitness studio owner, Kelechi Okafor, has dropped out of BBC Woman’s Hour, hanging up the telephone before going on air after finding out that the programme’s new host, Emma Barnett, planned to ask her questions about her defence of antisemitic comments by Reggie Yates, who apologised only once he had been caught out.

Ms Barnett had been approached by Twitter users, including journalists Rosa Doherty, who first discovered Ms Ofakor’s comments, and Adam Cailler, who tweeted Ms Barnett with Campaign Against Antisemitism’s reporting on Ms Ofakor.

Ms Okafor reportedly hung up on Ms Barnett during a conversation shortly before broadcasting was due to commence.

She had been invited onto the programme to speak about the #MeToo movement but Ms Barnett noticed the information from Campaign Against Antisemitism that had been sent to her about Ms Okafor. She was concerned that is Ms Okafor was to be on the programme, she must face questions about her past.

According to a string of angry tweets posted by Ms Okafor, Ms Barnett had been commenting about her without realising that Ms Okafor could hear her. Ms Okafor tweeted that she was “being talked about like a dickhead” and that it was “absolutely degrading and vile”. She then appeared to dismiss the entire matter as “other bs”.

Ms Barnett had brought up Ms Ofakor’s decision in 2017 to defend comments about Jews made by BBC presenter Reggie Yates in which he claimed that it was “great” that the young generation of grime music artists is not “managed by some random fat Jewish guy from north west London, they’re managed by their brethren”.

Ms Okafor had argued that Mr Yates was wrong to apologise for the comments and to step down as a host of the BBC’s Top of the Pops programme.

In a 24-minute podcast on iTunes and Soundcloud that has since been removed, Ms Okafor addressed Yates’ comments, remarking that she “had a huge problem with people apologising for things that they meant”, adding that Yates’ apology statement was “well-manicured”. She said that Yates’ comments were “not problematic”, that he was speaking “the truth”, and that the whole affair demonstrated “the power of a specific community”. Ms Okafor challenged whether these Jewish music managers really are from North West London, adding “I just want to know where the fallacy is”, and that “stereotypes are based on an element on truth”.

Ms Okafor then began describing how black entertainers had been “so short changed by the kind of people Reggie Yates describes”. She commented that “all sorts of ethnicities” can be capable of this but added “the fact is, these men has dominated the industry for decades [sic]” and are “taking most of the profits”. She claimed that black artists “are having to work [their] entire arse off while they’re keeping everything”. Ms Okafor remarked near the end of the podcast that grime, RnB, and hip-hop music have been “diluted” by these supposed Jewish music managers who “like blackness as long as it’s making them money”.

Ms Okafor also appeared to take umbrage at how the Holocaust receives public attention each year, but claimed that the legacy of slave trade was seemingly ignored. She described how these historical events are responsible for the “power dynamic” that she was discussing.

Ms Okafor then turned her attention to Harvey Weinstein, a Jewish figure in the entertainment industry who had recently been accused of sexual assault and rape, of which he has since been convicted. She remarked how accusations of inappropriate behaviour from the black actress Lupita Nyong’o were not taken seriously, but that “if you offend one of the more powerful sectors of the community, then off be with your head”. Ms Okafor claimed that what’s happening now is that “people are demanding their pound of flesh, and I am very specific about the reference I just made”. Ms Okafor mentioned how the phrase is linked to Shakespeare. The “pound of flesh” is a central plot device in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in which the antagonist Shylock is portrayed as a stereotypical money-grabbing Jew. Shylock has become synonymous with the antisemitic trope that Jews control money and the banks, and it appears that Ms Okafor explicitly intended this understanding.

Ms Okafor was not in the least apologetic about her comments in the podcast, saying that “if people don’t like what I said, they can drink some water and go to sleep”.

When approached privately by Ms Doherty, a journalist with the Jewish Chronicle, who first discovered the podcast, Ms Okafor responded via Twitter: “Hi @Rosa_Doherty thank you for your email regarding my podcast. I appreciate the time you took to reach out to me. What does the Jewish Chronicle do to tackle anti-blackness?”

In a statement about today’s incident, Ms Barnett said that she had raised the issue with her producers and Ms Okafor after being sent a “report of the transcript of what she had said on her podcast supporting antisemitic comments by Reggie Yates comments about Jewish male managers and profits. As Weinstein is also Jewish and was referenced as part of this same podcast, I was discussing with my producers the role of this guest in light of her allegedly antisemitic comments. Kelechi overheard that chat on our open Zoom link — with two minutes to airtime. I then directly talked to Kelechi about the allegations, standing by my queries, and said she could put her response across in the programme. She denied the allegations and hung up, choosing to no longer be part of the programme. I stand by my questions to my team and to Kelechi. I would have happily hosted her on the programme with a question on this issue.”

A BBC spokesman said: “During an off-air conversation ahead of the programme, Emma Barnett and the production team talked about a guest’s role in the discussion, and how to reflect some of the guest’s alleged previous comments and the issue of antisemitism as part of the Woman’s Hour discussion on the role of minority voices in the MeToo movement. This was also raised directly with the guest before going on air.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Whilst Kelechi Okafor clearly considers herself to be an activist against anti-black racism, we are not aware of her ever apologising for her appalling defence of the antisemitism of Reggie Yates, which we called out at the time. Emma Barnett was absolutely right to want to question her on the cause of her disgrace — indeed that is the only topic on which Ms Okafor should be interviewed on such a prestigious platform.”

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Actor Keith Allen defends Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism

The actor Keith Allen has defended Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism, complaining of the “appalling treatment” meted out to the former Labour leader.

Mr Allen said in an interview with the Radio Times that Mr Corbyn had been treated “appallingly” by the media, which was “scared” of him.

Regarding Mr Corbyn’s antisemitism, Mr Allen said: “I don’t think for one moment that he’s an antisemite”.

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.

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.

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

Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.

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Sir Michael Morpurgo declines to include The Merchant of Venice in his retelling of Shakespeare stories for children because of its “antisemitic” attitudes

Sir Michael Morpurgo has revealed that he will not be including The Merchant of Venice in a new collection of Shakespeare stories for children due to the play’s “antisemitic” attitudes.

The popular children’s author reportedly said of his upcoming Tales From Shakespeare that “I avoided Shylock because it worried me too much if I am honest about it…there are assumptions right the way through about what it is to be a Jew, and how Jews are thought of, which are so important for our society that, for me, it was best not to go there.”

Shylock, the titular character of the play, is infamous for embodying numerous antisemitic tropes, including avarice and usury, although some scholars note that the portrayal is more multi-dimensional than it seems, with the play’s Christian characters also exhibiting unsympathetic qualities.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice is a sensitive topic best approached with context and guidance. Sir Michael Morpurgo is right to recognise that there are other Shakespeare plays more suitable for younger readers.”

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Torrent of ugly antisemitic abuse as Miss France runner-up reveals father is Israeli

French police are investigating after a contestant in the Miss France beauty competition was subjected to a torrent of antisemitic abuse when she revealed that her father is Israeli.

Representing Provence, April Benayoun came second in the national pageant. After saying that she had an Israeli father, she was subjected to a torrent of antisemitic abuse. Her mother is Serbo-Croatian.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that police and gendamerie had been “mobilised” to investigate, while the minister for Citizenship, Marlene Schiappa, said that a report would be sent to the Public Prosecutor.

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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CAA files complaint with Netherlands prosecutor’s office over Wiley’s antisemitic tirade launched from Rotterdam

Lawyers acting for Campaign Against Antisemitism have filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands, which is where grime artist Wiley was located when he launched his tirade against Jews.

Ron Eisenmann, a partner at Eisenmann & Ravestijn, filed documents on behalf of Campaign Against Antisemitism seeking Wiley’s prosecution in the Netherlands over his antisemitic incitement. We are extremely grateful to Mr Eisenmann and his firm for agreeing to represent Campaign Against Antisemitism on a pro bono basis.

On 24th July 2020, the rapper Richard Kylea Cowie, who is known as Wiley, spent days engaged in an escalating rant on social media against Jews. After likening Jews to the Ku Klux Klan and claiming that Jews had cheated him and were “snakes”, Wiley tweeted that Jews should “hold some corn”, a slang expression meaning that they should be shot. He added: “Jewish community you deserve it”. He then also called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews.

Wiley repeatedly evoked conspiracy theories that Jews were responsible for the slave trade and that modern-day Jews are in fact imposters who usurped black people — a conspiracy theory that has incited acts of terrorism against Jews, such as a shooting in Jersey City and a stabbing attack in Monsey, NY during the festival of Chanukah last December.

In the days that followed, Wiley continued to rail against Jews on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Following discussions with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a major 48-hour boycott of Twitter and Instagram in which we participated, and our projection of antisemitic tweets onto Twitter’s London headquarters, which then went viral, Twitter, Facebook (which owns Instagram), Google (which owns YouTube) and TikTok agreed to remove Wiley from their platforms, depriving him of access to his nearly one million social media followers.

Campaign Against Antisemitism immediately reported Wiley to the Metropolitan Police Service, but in September the police force confirmed to us that Wiley was not in the UK at the time of his antisemitic tirade. Under Home Office rules, that means that the Metropolitan Police must give primacy to police in the jurisdiction where Wiley was at the time.

In anticipation of this development, Campaign Against Antisemitism had already appointed Mr Eisenmann and begun to prepare our case.

We are grateful to the Community Security Trust, which was able to provide us with evidence showing that Wiley was in Rotterdam at the time of his antisemitic abuse.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is continuing its response to this incident, including:

  • Filing our criminal complaint against Wiley in the Netherlands;
  • Continuing to meet with executives from Twitter, Facebook and Google to address their response to antisemitism on their platforms;
  • Working with the Cabinet Office’s Honours Forfeiture Committee to ensure that Wiley’s MBE is revoked;
  • Seeking a change in policy so that racists are automatically stripped of their honours in future (please help by signing our Parliamentary petition);
  • Urging the Government to bring forward legislation to regulate social networks and force them to remove racist incitement (please help by signing our Parliamentary petition), which has recently borne fruit; and
  • Working with the music industry to remove Wiley’s awards and ensure that he is shunned for his racism.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Wiley used his social media following to attempt to ignite a race war between black people and Jews. He accused Jews of ‘doing anything to ruin a black man’s life’ and called for them to be shot. His brazen calls for racist violence were made whilst on Dutch soil and we will use all of the means at our disposal to ensure that he answers to a Dutch judge. Antisemites do not stop at national borders and neither will we in pursuing them. We will always do whatever it takes to defend the Jewish community. It is why we are here.”

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“There was [sic] no six million Jews living in Europe at that time”: American rapper Lord Jamar denies scale of Holocaust

An American rapper has produced a podcast denying the scale of the Holocaust.

Lord Jamar, 52 (real name Lorenzo Dechalus), former member of hip-hop band Brand Nubian, is now a record producer and podcaster.

In a podcast with Muslim Scientologist Rizza Islam, Lord Jamar claimed that a far smaller number of Jews died in the Nazi genocide, saying that the numbers have been exaggerated because “there was [sic] no six million Jews living in Europe at that time.”

Rizza Islam appeared to agree, asserting that he “did the research.” If he had, he would have seen census records confirming that there were more than 9.5 million Jews in Europe before WWII, more than six million of whom were murdered in the Holocaust.

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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Host of Iron Chef America apologises for “flippant” comment about Auschwitz uniforms

Alton Brown, the host of the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” and creator of “Good Eats”, issued an apology last week following a “flippant” remark he posted on Twitter about the uniforms worn by prisoners at the Auschwitz extermination camp during the Holocaust.

The post, originally shared on 10th November, read: “Do you think the camp uniforms will be striped, like the ones at Auschwitz or will plaid be in vogue?” Mr Brown claimed that the remark was a comment on the current political climate. In response to an individual comment, he also tweeted, “I have no gold fillings”, a reference to the fillings often stolen by the Nazis from the bodies of murdered Jews.

A few minutes after the post was tweeted from his account, another user of the networking site responded with criticism and Mr Brown replied: “F*** you”.

With 4.5million Twitter followers, numerous followers expressed shock at the television host’s gross insensitivity, describing his remarks as “hurtful” and “disgusting”. Several Jewish organisations called for the removal of the celebrity chef from the Food Network too demonstrate zero tolerance for antisemitic language.

In a public statement, Mr Brown maintained that the allusion to the victims of the Holocaust was not for a “humorous effect” and it was a “very poor use of judgement and in poor taste”. The tweet has subsequently been removed from the platform.

The Food Network, and the culinary entertainment industry more broadly, has not yet taken any further action or spoken out.

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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Joshua Malina calls out Hollywood for employing Mel Gibson despite past antisemitic remarks

The American Jewish actor Joshua Malina levelled criticism at Hollywood last week for continuing to employ Mel Gibson following past antisemitic comments.

The actor is set to star in the upcoming film “Dangerous” and has recently been cast in the action-thriller “Leo From Toledo”. Retweeting a tweet from Variety that outlined Mr Gibson’s recent work, Mr Malina wrote: “Antisemite Continues To Get Work.”

Mel Gibson has a long history of offensive comments and causing controversy . He first came under public scrutiny from Christian and Jewish activist groups and organisations in 2004 for his movie “The Passion of Christ”, and, in 2006, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and told the police officer that “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world” and asked if the police officer was himself a Jew in what became a widely publicised incident.

He subsequently issued a public apology for the antisemitic remark and claimed that “[He is] not an antisemite. [He is] not a bigot.”

Fellow American Jewish actress Winona Ryder has also previously accused Mr Gibson as describing her as an “oven dodger” in the 1990s, in a direct reference to the crematoria at Nazi concentration camps. The actor strongly denies making the comment, reportedly calling the actress “a liar”.

Mr Gibson nevertheless enjoyed wide critical acclaim following the premiere of his film “Hackshaw Ridge” in 2016 and has maintained a high level of support from others in the industry. Others have continued to protest his continued high profile in Hollywood.

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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Investigation finds Spotify, Apple, Deezer and YouTube hosted antisemitic and racist music

Several major music streaming platforms have reportedly removed antisemitic and racist music, following an investigation.

The BBC found that sections of speeches by Adolf Hitler, references to white power and celebrations of the Holocaust featured in songs on the platforms, with Spotify, Apple, Deezer and YouTube apparently having now removed them.

One song on Spotify, for example, contained the lyrics: “Aryan child, listen to what is said/ So rise your hand and learn to love your land/ For the white revolution needs your uncorrupted hand.”

According to the BBC, Spotify said that the songs violated its hate content policy, while YouTube reportedly said that there was no place for hate on its platform. Apple Music has apparently hidden the majority of the songs while it investigates, and Deezer is investigating.

Following an antisemitic rampage by the grime artist Wiley over the summer, more than 700 musicians and members of the music industry signed a letter decrying racism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

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Sky HISTORY axes The Chop after CAA and others protested inclusion of contestant tattooed with apparent neo-Nazi symbols

Sky HISTORY has reportedly axed its programme, The Chop: Britain’s Top Woodworker, after Campaign Against Antisemitism and others protested the inclusion of a contestant who appeared to have neo-Nazi symbols tattooed on his face.

The contestant, Darren, was introduced by Sky HISTORY in a video on Twitter with the caption: “Meet the Woodman, the Bloke-With-All-The-Tattoos or Darren as we like to call him. #TheChop”, and he was due to feature on the show hosted by comedian Lee Mack.

The contestant is covered in tattoos, including on his face, where one tattoo reads “88”, a popular number in neo-Nazi numerology that denotes the phrase “Heil Hitler”, since ‘H’ is the eighth letter of the alphabet. Other tattooed numbers include 23/16, denoted White Supremacy, 18 for Adolf Hitler, and 1488, another white supremacist figure.

Sky HISTORY tried to defend one tattoo on the basis that 1988 was the year his father died, but this was disputed by a journalist on social media.

Now, the channel has reportedly cancelled the show, which was due to commence on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Sky HISTORY made a terrible mistake by including in ‘The Chop’ an individual adorned with what appear to be neo-Nazi tattoos without providing serious evidence to show that the tattoos mean something other than how they appear. These tattoos would be plainly visible to viewers on the show, including younger viewers, which is unacceptable. Sky HISTORY is right to cancel the show until it can satisfy viewers that they and their families will not be subjected to neo-Nazi propaganda.”

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CAA joins sceptics in calling out Sky HISTORY after it insists tattoos on face of The Chop contestant are not Nazi symbols

Sky has insisted that the tattoos on the face of a contestant on its woodcutting show, The Chop, are not Nazi symbols.

Despite pushback by sceptics, Sky HISTORY has defended its choice of contestant on the show, which is hosted by Lee Mack.

The contestant, Darren, is introduced by Sky HISTORY in a video on Twitter with the caption: “Meet the Woodman, the Bloke-With-All-The-Tattoos or Darren as we like to call him. #TheChop.”

The contestant is covered in tattoos, including on his face, where one tattoo reads “88”, a popular number in neo-Nazi numerology that denotes the phrase “Heil Hitler”, since ‘H’ is the eighth letter of the alphabet.

In response to criticism, Sky HISTORY has claimed that “Darren’s tattoos denote significant events in his life and have no political or ideological meaning whatsoever. Amongst the various numerical tattoos on his body, 1988 is the year of his father’s death.”

According to one journalist, however, the contestant’s father was on the electoral role until 2011, indicating that he did not in fact die in 1988.

Other tattooed numbers include 23/16, denoted White Supremacy, 18 for Adolf Hitler, and 1488, another white supremacist figure.

Sky HISTORY went on to say: “The production team carried out extensive background checks on all the woodworkers taking part in the show, that confirmed Darren has no affiliations or links to racist groups, views or comments. Sky HISTORY is intolerant of racism and all forms of hatred and any use of symbols or numbers is entirely incidental and not meant to cause harm or offence.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Sky HISTORY has made a terrible mistake by including in ‘The Chop’ an individual adorned with what appear to be neo-Nazi tattoos without providing serious evidence to show that the tattoos mean something other than how they appear. These tattoos will be plainly visible to viewers on the show, including younger viewers, which is unacceptable. If Sky HISTORY is indeed ‘intolerant of racism’ as it claims, then it must urgently provide a credible clarification or remove the contestant from the programme.”

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CAA concerned by some of the nominees for the 2020 Ethnicity Awards

The Ethnicity Awards has announced its nominees for its 2020 prizes. Many have done laudable work and set tremendous examples for the advancement of minorities and racial harmony in our society. However, a small proportion of the nominees are troubling in respect to their past comments or conduct in relation to the Jewish community.

In the Inspirational Personality category, the celebrity Jameela Jamil is applauded for launching and using her Instagram account “to create a safe and radically inclusive space on social media”. What goes unmentioned is her sharing over this summer of a video from 1990 featuring the antisemitic hate preacher Louis Farrakhan, with the caption: “Someone please tell me the name of this extraordinary man who so perfectly sums up white fear in under a minute.” She deleted the video after an outcry, but not before it was seen and shared by many of her followers, including other celebrities.

In the same category, the radio and television personality, Reggie Yates, is praised for his work helping people “steer clear of crime or substance abuse”. Again, unmentioned is his 2017 comment that it is “great” that the young generation is not “managed by some random fat Jewish guy from north west London, they’re managed by their brethren”, adding that they were “idiots”, “dickheads” and not “your people”. He subsequently apologised.

A nominee in the Charity or Community Initiatives category, Black Lives Matter UK, appears to be the collective behind the @UKBLM Twitter account, which posted an antisemitic tweet claiming that “mainstream British politics is gagged of the right to critique Zionism” – redolent of the notion that the Jews or the Jewish state exercise outsized influence in British politics – and refused to apologise. The Black Lives Matter Movement is also recognised in the Media Moment 2020 category.

Another nominee in the Charity or Community Initiatives category is the activist group Show Racism the Red Card, lauded as “the UK’s largest anti-racism educational charity”. Show Racism the Red Card has, however, been embroiled in controversy over its blind eye to antisemitism, demonstrated, for example, in its appointment of the outspoken filmmaker Ken Loach to a judging panel. The debacle eventually led one of the charity’s trustees to resign in protest against this appointment and Show Racism the Red Card’s disregard for the views of the Jewish community.

Among the Political Figures are numerous MPs who defended Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism, including Dawn Butler, who sat on Mr Corbyn’s front bench and served as one of his most loyal colleagues, and Marsha De Cordova. It is concerning that these figures should be celebrated so soon after their involvement in an episode that terrified British Jews, almost half of which considered fleeing the country. That does not seem like a credential for an ‘ethnicity award’.

Given that there are so many worthy figures and organisations who have done so much to further the standing of minorities in the UK, it is disappointing that these controversial nominees, who have in recent years provoked controversy in relation to the Jewish minority – and indeed in almost every case they have done so specifically over the past twelve months – have been included.

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“She should not be forgotten, since she was just found again”: 78 years after she was murdered by the Nazis, a Jewish artist’s paintings were discovered in a construction site

Plans are currently in progress to find a new home for a collection of paintings by a victim of the Holocaust that were only discovered in 2018 by a construction worker during the demolition of a dilapidated house near Prague.

The paintings by Czech artist Gertrud Kauders (1883-1942), who perished in a Nazi concentration camp, were discovered 78 years after her death.

Initially 30 paintings were recovered, however around 700 more canvases and sketches were subsequently uncovered in the walls and under the floorboards of the building in “near perfect condition”. The artwork is dated between the 1910s and the 1930s.

In 1939, the Nazis invaded the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, and consequently Ms Kauders asked her classmate, the Russian-born Natalie Jahudkova, to hide her life’s work, which comprised Impressionist portraits and scenes from nature, in her house that was then under construction. Ms Kauders was deported from Prague in 1942 to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, and from there to the Majdanek extermination camp in Poland, where the artist was murdered. Ms Jahudkova passed away in 1977, taking with her the secret of the hidden paintings.

Photojournalist Amos Chapple and his colleague Dana Katharina Vaskova found Jakub Sedlacek, the owner of the house and a descendent of Ms Jahudkova, on behalf of the artist’s relatives living in New Zealand. Mr Sedlacek reportedly agreed that the works would be housed together in the Czech Republic, with family portraits going to the Kauders family currently residing in New Zealand.

Upon first seeing Ms Kauders’ artwork, the chief curator of Prague’s Jewish Museum believed that the discovery was unique given the history of art in the Czech Republic. A spokesperson for the Jewish Museum in Prague reportedly said that she would be updated about the “whole intense process” and provide a “concrete result” as to whether it would be possible for the museum to house some of the paintings.

Ms Vaskova stated: “[Ms Kauders] should not be forgotten, since she was just found again.”

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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French Court returns art to heirs of Jewish art dealer murdered by Nazis

On Wednesday a Paris appeals court ordered the French state to return three significant works of art to the heirs of a Jewish collector who died in a German concentration camp in 1945.

The artworks by Andre Derain are currently housed at the Museum of Modern Art in Troyes and in the Cantini museum in Marseille.

They had initially been in the collection of Parisian gallery owner Rene Gimpel, who was denounced by a rival art-dealer after joining the Resistance which fought against the Nazi occupation and France’s collaborationist Vichy regime.

After Mr Gimpel was arrested the works – painted between 1907 and 1910 – were taken as spoils.

In Wednesday’s ruling, the court overturned the judgment of a lower court which last year rejected a bid for the restitution of the artworks to Mr Gimpel’s heirs.

“This is great,” declared Corinne Hershkovitch, a lawyer for the heirs, who are still trying to recover other works from their Mr Gimpel’s collection.

Mr Gimpel, who was of Jewish descent, was a prominent art collector in the early 20th century. He was arrested in 1944 and deported to Neuengamme concentration camp in Germany, where he died.

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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Spotify called on to remove songs by French rapper facing criminal prosecution for antisemitic lyrics

Spotify has been called on to remove the music of a French rapper whose controversial songs are accused of inciting antisemitic views and hatred, particularly among young people.

The rapper, known as Freeze Corleone, is facing criminal prosecution after his debut album was criticised for antisemitic lyrics and Holocaust denial in several tracks.

The rapper’s lyrics include 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.”

The opening track from the album, released on 11th September, is currently ranked 12th on Spotify’s daily Top 200 chart for France. Three of the top five spots on the weekly Top 200 Spotify chart also contain songs from the rapper’s controversial album. He has attracted 5.2 million listeners on the digital music platform.

Media commentators have expressed alarm at the rapid sale of copies in France that currently adopts a zero tolerance policy for antisemitic language.

In a recent announcement Gerald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minister, condemned the lyrics and confirmed that his Ministry would be pursuing legal action against the artist. Fifty members of the French Parliament also wrote to the Ministry of Justice with requests for a swift prosecution.

The rapper has been dropped by Universal Music France for the discriminatory lyrics. However, his music is still live on the streaming platform and competing services.

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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As Metropolitan Police confirm to CAA that Wiley was not in the UK during his antisemitic tirade, CAA instructs lawyers to pursue the case abroad

The Metropolitan Police Service has confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that Wiley was not in the UK during his antisemitic tirade in July. Under Home Office rules, that means that the Metropolitan Police must give primacy to police in the jurisdiction where Wiley was at the time.

In anticipation of this development, Campaign Against Antisemitism has already appointed lawyers in that jurisdiction and we will pursue justice abroad. At this time we will not give further details.

On 24th July, the rapper, whose name is Richard Kylea Cowie but who is known as Wiley, spent days engaged in an escalating rant against Jews. After likening Jews to the Ku Klax Klan and claiming that Jews had cheated him and were “snakes”, Wiley tweeted that Jews should “hold some corn”, which is a slang expression meaning that they should be shot. He added “Jewish community you deserve it”. He also called on “black people” to go to “war” with Jews.

Wiley repeatedly evoked conspiracy theories that Jews were responsible for the slave trade and that modern-day Jews are in fact imposters who usurped black people — a conspiracy theory that has incited acts of terrorism against Jews, such as a stabbing attack in Monsey in New York in December.

In the days that followed, Wiley continued to rail against Jews on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Following discussions with Campaign Against Antisemitism, a major 48-hour boycott of Twitter and Instagram in which we participated, and a viral stunt in which we projected antisemitic tweets onto Twitter’s London headquarters, Twitter, Facebook (which owns Instagram), Google (which owns YouTube) and TikTok agreed to remove Wiley from their platforms, depriving him of access to his nearly one million social media followers.

Campaign Against Antisemitism is continuing its response to this incident, including:

  • Filing a criminal complaint abroad against Wiley;
  • Continuing to meet with Twitter, Facebook and Google to address their response to antisemitism on their platforms;
  • Working with the Cabinet Office’s Honours Forfeiture Committee to ensure that Wiley’s MBE is revoked;
  • Seeking a change in policy so that racists are automatically stripped of their honours in future (please help by signing our Parliamentary petition);
  • Urging the Government to bring forward legislation to regulate social networks and force them to remove racist incitement (please help by signing our Parliamentary petition); and
  • Working with the music industry to remove Wiley’s awards and ensure that he is shunned for his racism.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “At this stage we are able to confirm that the Metropolitan Police Service has closed its investigation due to jurisdictional issues and that we have instructed lawyers abroad to pursue this matter. When antisemites incite hatred against Jews, we will pursue them, including across borders if necessary. We will provide further details at a later date.”

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Sir David Attenborough holds reunion for families of two Jewish refugee sisters who came on the Kindertransport and were looked after by his parents

Sir David Attenborough has reunited the families of two Jewish refugee sisters who were cared for during WWII by his parents.

Irene and Helga Bejah fled Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport, aged thirteen and twelve, in August 1939, as part of the operation that brought 10,000 refugee children to Britain.

Their mother had died years before and their father was deported to Auschwitz. Another sister was too old to be eligible for the Kindertransport and was left behind but reportedly survived the Holocaust.

Mary and Frederick Attenborough took in the girls, who lived with them and their three sons in Leicester for seven years and became like “sisters” to Sir David and his two brothers.

One of the brothers, Richard, the late filmmaker who became Lord Attenborough, also commented in the past how his mother involved her sons in the decision to take in the girls, knowing that it might impact the attention that she was able to give them. “My parents,” he said, “always stood up and were counted wherever they saw an injustice being done.”

After the War, the sisters moved to New York City to join their uncle.

Sir David has now revealed that last July he hosted a reunion for the sisters’ descendants, describing it as “an unforgettable afternoon” and saying “it’s a credit to my parents”.

Helga’s daughter, said: “I think the gravity of the visit really didn’t hit me or David until we were saying goodbye and hugging, because he was very modest and saying, ‘It’s really my parents’, and was not taking any type of accolade or responsibility. I think when he looked at all of us leaving, it hit him that we would probably not have existed if it was not for the humanitarian kindness of his family.”

Helga’s daughters have reportedly left her diaries, letters and other personal papers on long-term loan to Leicester University, in order to ensure that the Attenborough family’s act is recorded for posterity.

The two sisters have died, but their elder sister is reportedly alive, at 99 years old.

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Spitting Image under fire for caricature of Mark Zuckerberg with gratuitously big nose

The satirical puppet show, Spitting Image, has come under fire for a caricature of Mark Zuckerberg with a gratuitously big nose.

The image of the founder and CEO of the social media giant, Facebook, has been revealed by the rebooted television show, eliciting complaints that the caricature has employed antisemitic stereotypes such as a big, hooked nose and ghoulish appearance.

Mr Zuckerberg is Jewish.

It has also previously been reported that Spitting Image undertook a consultation about the portrayal of black characters in its programme, out of concern about racist images and tropes. It is unclear if Jewish or other minority characters were also the subject of consultations of their own.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Spitting Image should explain why a Jewish personality has been caricatured to appear with a gratuitously large, hooked nose and ghoulish appearance, when in real life Mark Zuckerberg is not associated with either of those physical features. Satire is integral to comedy and a vital part of our public conversation, but it should be based in reality and not on lazy and offensive stereotypes.”

The new season of Spitting Image is due to appear on ITV on the streaming service, Britbox.

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Wiley says “I was shut down by Facebook, and we all know who owns it”

Wiley has suggested that he was booted from Facebook because its founder and chief executive is a Jew, saying: “I was shut down by Facebook, and we all know who owns it”.

The antisemite grime artist made the comments in an interview with an internet football website, FilthyFellas, which commented on its YouTube channel that Wiley’s antisemitic rampage on social media last month was “wrong and poorly considered and very dangerous.”

However, he showed little remorse in his conversation with interviewer Poet.

Among his comments, he said of the Jews: “They own everything. I’m not antisemitic if I say the Jewish community’s very powerful, they own this, they own that – I’m not wrong. I’m not wrong. If I say there’s Sheikhs who own a lot of oil – am I wrong?”

He also suggested that his social media accounts on numerous platforms were deleted because he tried to represent “my people”. He said: “Twitter, shut down – who owns Twitter, do you reckon? Instagram, shut down – who owns Instagram, do you reckon? Facebook – shut down – we all know who owns Facebook. YouTube, Google, who owns that do you reckon?  That’s the first lot of people who have shown who they are. My thing was just drawing out certain ­– and you saw what came out, what they said, even down to things like Israel is your place, but bet you can’t come and get it.”

Wiley also claimed that his rant last month has partly inspired by Nick Cannon, the American rapper and television personality who recently courted controversy with antisemitic comments, for which he has sought to make amends.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Wiley to prosecuted, for his MBE to be revoked – and the Cabinet Office has confirmed to us that it has opened a case – and for his 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award to be rescinded.

We have also launched two petitions: one calling for racists like Wiley to be stripped of their MBEs, which can be signed here, and the other calling for the Government to bring forward Online Harms Bill this year, which can be signed here.

Following Wiley’s antisemitic rant, 700 musicians and members of the music industry signed a letter decrying racism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

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CAA hails “positive start” as Ivors Academy resolves to establish Ethics Committee to review past awards following our call for Wiley’s 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award to be rescinded

Campaign Against Antisemitism has welcomed as a “positive start” the Ivors Academy’s announcement that it shall be establishing an Ethics Committee to review past awards, after we called on the professional association for music creators to rescind Wiley’s 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award following the grime artist’s antisemitic rampage on social media.

Joe Glasman, an award-winning composer, Ivors member and former Ivors award panellist, as well as a senior volunteer at Campaign Against Antisemitism, initiated contact with Ivors last week, noting that Wiley had “spent the last several days on an antisemitic tirade” and wrote that it would be “untenable for an individual who holds such horrific antisemitic views to continue to be held up as worthy of such an award by the Academy, an honour bestowed specifically upon those whom the Academy considers to be inspirational role models for composers and young artists.”

Mr Glasman went on to note that the Academy is “rightly dedicated to diversity, equality and inclusivity” but that this means that the Academy “must be a safe space for all minorities, and that includes Jews.”

Following correspondence with Campaign Against Antisemitism over the past week and after its AGM today, Ivors has now released a statement announcing that “any statements of discrimination and intolerance made by Academy members or award winners affects us all, not just those who are targeted for prejudice or abuse. We adopt a generous and supportive outlook, fostering collaboration and growth, not division and hate. These are values our members must sign up to on joining our membership; they are also expectations we should have of our award winners in future. […]

“When we recognise individuals in our awards, we are giving them a high honour that comes with responsibilities for the recipient and for the Academy. We wish to codify these obligations going forward and are today announcing the establishment of an Ethics Committee which will review our award decisions in future, and carefully revisit how others have been treated in the past. Part of their work will be to review our current members’ codes of conduct and put in place an ethics framework to govern the giving and rescinding of honours and awards. We can only achieve consistency if we first establish solid guidelines that ensure an objective and robust approach. We intend to have the Ethics Committee formed and giving us guidance by November this year when the entries for next year’s awards begin to be received.

“We have needed a framework for some time, but this is now made more urgent following the antisemitic comments made by Wiley last month. Wiley is not the first musician to make abhorrent comments or behave in a way that is counter to the Academy’s values. But as a recent recipient of The Ivors Inspiration Award, for his work establishing UK Grime, the Academy has needed to be clear that his antisemitic views were not known at the time we gave him this award. And these views should not be an inspiration to anyone.”

The Ivors Academy has asked Campaign Against Antisemtisim to advise the new Ethics Committee and provide input to the new code of conduct.

Joe Glasman, an award-winning composer, Ivors member, former Ivors award panellist and senior volunteer at Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We welcome the statement from the Ivors Academy today that Wiley’s views ‘should not be an inspiration to anyone’ alongside its original unequivocal condemnation of his comments. Whilst I regret that the Academy does not currently have the structures in place to immediately rescind Wiley’s award and membership, I welcome its commitment to establishing an Ethics Committee in order to be able to do so, and accept the Academy’s invitation to contribute to its work. I applaud this positive start and look forward to the new Ethics Committee acting swiftly to rescind Wiley’s award.”

Following Wiley’s antisemitic rant, 700 musicians and members of the music industry signed a letter decrying racism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Wiley to prosecuted and for his MBE to be revoked. The Cabinet Office has confirmed to us that it has opened a case.

We have also launched two petitions: one calling for racists like Wiley to be stripped of their MBEs, which can be signed here, and the other calling for the Government to bring forward Online Harms Bill this year, which can be signed here.

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TikTok becomes latest social media platform to delete Wiley’s account

TikTok has become the latest social media platform to delete Wiley’s account.

The move comes following a multi-day antisemitic tirade by the grime artist, a global 48-hour walkout from social media in protest at technology companies’ toleration of antisemitism on their platforms, and a successful effort by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others to pressure Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to remove Wiley from their networks. We even literally shone a light on Twitter’s racism at its London headquarters.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Wiley to prosecuted, for his MBE to be revoked – and the Cabinet Office has confirmed to us that it has opened a case – and for his 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award to be rescinded.

We have also launched two petitions: one calling for racists like Wiley to be stripped of their MBEs, which can be signed here, and the other calling for the Government to bring forward Online Harms Bill this year, which can be signed here.

Following Wiley’s antisemitic rant, 700 musicians and members of the music industry signed a letter decrying racism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

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Cabinet Office confirms to CAA that request to withdraw Wiley’s MBE is now being reviewed, as CAA also launches Parliamentary petition for racists to be stripped of their honours automatically

The Cabinet Office has confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that it is now reviewing Wiley’s MBE, in response to a letter that we wrote to the Honours Forfeiture Committee calling for the antisemitic grime rapper to be stripped of the honour.

In a letter from the Cabinet Office, the Honours and Appointments Secretariat has advised that the Honours Forfeiture Committee “is able to consider cases for a variety of reasons,” including “being found guilty of a criminal offence” and “behaviour that is deemed to bring the honours system into disrepute”.

The letter went on to confirm that the Committee is acting on Campaign Against Antisemitism’s representations and has opened a case.

Additionally, in a departure for the Committee, which normally does not publish its decisions, the letter confirmed that Campaign Against Antisemitism will be kept informed of progress.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has also launched a Parliamentary petition for racists to be stripped of their honours automatically. The petition can be signed here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333141/

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

Moreover, Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for Wiley to be prosecuted and stands ready to take legal action if the authorities do not.

Wiley has also been banned from Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube after using the platforms to incite racial hatred against Jews.

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CAA launches petitions calling for racists like Wiley to be stripped of MBEs and for the Government to bring forward Online Harms Bill this year

Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched two parliamentary petitions, one calling for racists like Wiley to be stripped of their MBEs, and the other calling for the Government to bring forward Online Harms Bill this year.

Following our letter to the Cabinet Office calling for the antisemitic grime artist Wiley to be stripped of his MBE, we have launched a petition for this process to become automatic, as honours bestow credibility and prestige on individuals as a reward for bravery, achievement, or service to the UK, but some recipients later prove unworthy. To maintain confidence in the honours system, the Honours Forfeiture Committee should automatically revoke honours and deliberate in public, and its decisions be published and subject to judicial review.

The petition can be signed here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333141/

A second petition has also been launched calling for new legislation urgently to introduce a requirement for technology companies to remove racist incitement within set timeframes, a duty of care for social networks with personal liability for executives, and tighter requirements to provide evidence to police under warrant.

The petition can be signed here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333146/

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “From their pitiful responses to the hate spewed daily on their platforms, it is evident that social media companies will stop at nothing to make a profit. It is time for these deeply damaging and irresponsible companies to be held accountable for the hatred they help to spread. Antisemites are able to use these platforms to reach millions and by failing to act on anti-Jewish incitement technology companies are enabling it. Social networks are allowing racism to run rampant and it is high time they were regulated like all other mass media.”

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Following Wiley’s antisemitic rampage, more than 700 musicians and members of the music industry sign letter decrying racism

Following Wiley’s antisemitic rampage, more than 700 musicians and members of the music industry have signed a letter decrying racism.

Among the signatories were Alexandra Burke, Biffy Clyro, Clean Bandit, Dougie Poynter, Labrinth, Lewis Capaldi, Little Mix, James Blunt, Jess Glynne, Naighty Boy, Nao, Niall Horan, Nile Rodgers, Olly Murs, Rita Ora, and The 1975.

The letter was also signed by the heads of EMI, Universal Music UK, Warner Music UK, and Sony Music UK, and numerous songwriters, producers, managers, publishers and lawyers from the music industry.

In the letter, the signatories wrote: “We representatives of the music industry write to express our determination that love, unity and friendship, not division and hatred, must and will always be our common cause.

“In recent months anti-black racists and antisemites, plus those who advocate Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia, have repeatedly demonstrated that they want us all to fail.

“Whether it be systemic racism and racial inequality highlighted by police brutality in America or anti-Jewish racism promulgated through online attacks, the result is the same: suspicion, hatred and division. We are at our worst when we attack one another.

“Music brings joy and hope and connects us all. We stand together to wipe out racism.”

The letter comes after the grime artist Wiley delivered an unrepentant multi-day antisemitic rant on any social media platform he could find.

Last week, Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Ivors Academy calling to Wiley to be stripped of his 2019 Ivors Inspiration Award. We have also called for Wiley to be prosecuted and to lose his MBE.

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Wiley finally banned from YouTube following appeal by CAA

Campaign Against Antisemitism has been informed by Google that it has decided to ban Wiley from YouTube. He was using his channel to broadcast disturbing videos to almost 250,000 followers. It had initially refused to remove him, but Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully appealed the decision.

The performer, who was finally banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram following worldwide outrage, had been uploading further videos to his popular YouTube channel.

The videos continued in the same vein as his previous videos and his recent interviews with Sky News and The Voice, a newspaper for the black community, in which he reaffirmed his belief in antisemitic conspiracy theories and bigoted stereotypes about Jews.

For example, in one of the new videos, Wiley demanded that an unspecified “you”, which appears from the context to refer to Jews in general, try taking his passport away so that Wiley can see quite how much power the unnamed “you” has.

In another video, he read the name of a Twitter user and demanded to know whether she is a Jew.

In yet another video, he said that he had to “throw myself on the bonfire” to show his audience and “draw everything out — you saw it”.

The videos attracted many thousands of views, and comments posted beneath them were vehemently antisemitic.

Google initially decided to remove only one video, which it said was antisemitic, but not the ones cited above.

Following an appeal by Campaign Against Antisemitism, Google has now reversed its position and banned Wiley from the platform entirely.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Following contact between Campaign Against Antisemitism and Google, Wiley has now been banned from YouTube. This should have happened faster but we are pleased that this now means that Wiley can no longer incite antisemitism on any of the major social media platforms and has lost the ability to broadcast his hatred to the hundreds of thousands of people who followed him.

“It is extremely important to us that Wiley is held to account for his actions, which is why we are in touch with the Metropolitan Police Service to ensure that he is prosecuted and the Cabinet Office to ensure that he is stripped of his MBE.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.

We are seeking to recruit a General Counsel a Video and Content Creator an Education and Outreach Intern to join our London office

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Campaign Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. Everything that we do is done by people who volunteer their time, using donations contributed by members of the public. Join the fight against antisemitism by subscribing to our updates, volunteering, or donating.