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Dutch Easter carollers continue to sing antisemitic song despite outcry from the Jewish community

Easter carol singers in the Dutch city of Ootmarsum have faced criticism for the alleged antisemitic content of one of their songs.

Ootmarsum, about 80 miles east of Amsterdam, has hosted the traditional carolling procession – known to locals as vlöggeln – since at least 1840. It consists of dozens of Catholic men singing as they walk a particular route through the city several times a day on the first and second days of Easter.

They sing a song entitled “Christ Resurrected” and its lyrics, which are printed and handed around to onlookers, excoriate “the Jews who with their false council sacrificed Jesus on the cross”.

It is not only the content of the song that has drawn protests from the Jewish community, but the connotations of how it is organised.

Eight lead singers dressed in raincoats, known as the Poaskerls, lead the carolling. They must be single Catholic men who have no intention of getting married in the next four years. The point is a rite of passage: the eight Poaskerls accept that they are no longer youths and become adults. The oldest of them smokes a cigar. He is the treasurer of the group and given the nickname of the “Judas”.

The accusation of “Deicide” – the belief that the Jews are collectively responsible for the death of Jesus Christ – is part of the classic repertoire of antisemitism, and has led to innumerable acts of violence against and mendacious claims about Jews for centuries. Since 1965, however, the Catholic Church asserted, though “the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ”, Jews cannot be held collectively responsible for this, then or now.

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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Rutgers University and local police investigate two separate incidents of antisemitic harrassment of Jewish fraternity

Rutgers University and local police are investigating a series of antisemitic incidents involving a fraternity at the University.

Members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity were commemorating Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, in their annual 24-hour-long event, which involved reading the names of people who were murdered during the Holocaust, when they were reportedly pelted with eggs.

This closely follows a separate apparently antisemitic incident that took place a few days before, when several cars full of people carrying and waving Palestinian flags stopped outside the fraternity’s residence on Sicard Street, shouting antisemitic remarks, spitting, and throwing things at the house.

The latter incident apparently took place after a local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine held a “Defend Al-Aqsa, Defend Palestine” rally. The perpetrators are reported to have called fraternity members “baby killers” and “terrorists”.

Rutgers University-New Brunswick Chancellor-Provost, Francine Conway, sent a letter to Rutgers students and faculty about the incident, saying: “Initial representations regarding the incident are disturbing. We understand and are sensitive to the concerns of those who were targeted, and stand by our Jewish students, faculty and staff. Harassment based on religious belief, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or for any reason, is antithetical to our values at Rutgers University.”

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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Paris Court of Appeal reduces fine for Dieudonné over videos

A sentence imposed on Dieudonné over videos that he released in 2020 has been reduced by the Paris Court of Appeal to a fine roughly equivalent to £75. However, the Appeal Court upheld a fine of 10,000 euros (£80,000) in another case against him.

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, Belgium and Switzerland.

At his trial in May 2021, Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, 56, was found guilty of antisemitic insults, incitement to hatred and a crime against humanity. He claimed that the videos in question were fake, created through a sophisticated digital technique.

The original custodial sentence of four months’ imprisonment plus a fine was reduced to a fine of 100 euros. However, the Court of Appeal upheld a fine of 10,000 euros plus 3,000 euros in damages against Dieudonné for a video released in September 2020 defaming anti-racism delegate Frédéric Potier, who is involved in the fight against antisemitism and LGBT hatred.

In the summer of 2020, in a move to combat hateful content, Dieudonné was banned from major online platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

In May 2021, he was also sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, only one of which must be served, plus a further fine of 200,000 euros for a string of financial crimes, including tax fraud and money laundering.

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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Following action by CAA, Solicitor General confirms he is referring Nicholas Nelson’s unduly lenient sentence for antisemitic harassment to Court of Appeal

Following action taken by Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Solicitor General has confirmed that he will refer Nicholas Nelson’s absurdly lenient sentence for antisemitic harassment to the Court of Appeal.

Mr Nelson, the defendant in a criminal case that resulted from first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism, was given an eighteen-month sentence, suspended for two years, at Southwark Crown Court last month. However, given that his campaign of harassment endured for a period of time against multiple victims and came after he had committed several similar offences, we considered this sentence to be inexplicably lenient.

Accordingly, we wrote to the Attorney General’s Office, which has the power to refer sentences for certain offences which are believed to be unduly lenient, to the Court of Appeal.

We have now received confirmation from the Solicitor General that he is referring the case to the Court of Appeal.

Alex Chalk QC MP agreed that “the behaviour of Mr Nelson was truly appalling.”

Offering two reasons for his referral, Mr Chalk wrote: “First, it is arguable that the judge failed sufficiently to have regard to the fact this was multiple offending against three separate victims over a sustained period of time. Given there were three separate victims, the judge arguably ought to have imposed consecutive sentences.”

Providing his second reason, Mr Chalk said that “There were two features in this case that required an immediate custodial sentence,” the first being that “These were serious offences committed against multiple victims over a significant period of time. Given the nature of the offending, and Mr Nelson’s previous convictions, a significant deterrent element was required, together with appropriate punishment.” He also pointed out that “abuse, harassment and antisemitism online and on social media is a significant public issue and of real concern to the wider public.”

Mr Chalk added: “Secondly, Mr Nelson had a poor compliance history with court orders. The offending was committed in breach of two earlier suspended sentences. Such a disregard for the earlier orders of the court required punishment by way of immediate custody, notwithstanding any mitigation or progress made since those earlier sentences.”

The Solicitor General expressed his gratitude that Campaign Against Antisemitism brought this case to his attention. He has a record of referring unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal, including, recently, that of the neo-Nazi teenager Ben John, a review of whose sentence we also called for.

Mr Nelson’s case was the culmination of first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism to unmask an anonymous antisemitic online troll. He pleaded guilty at Peterborough Crown Court in January to racially aggravated harassment under section 31(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and with sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety under 1(1)(a) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, after he repeatedly sent abusive antisemitic e-mails and messages to Oscar-nominated Jewish writer Lee Kern and hateful messages to communications strategist Joanne Bell, and harassing a staff member at the Board of Deputies, a Jewish charity, over the telephone.

Mr Kern contacted Campaign Against Antisemitism, which funded a case on his behalf led by Mark Lewis, the esteemed lawyer who is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The abusive communications came from accounts that Mr Nelson had worked hard to make anonymous. Victims of abuse from anonymous accounts usually have nowhere to go, because only rarely will the police track down the sender, and the cost of private action is usually beyond victims’ means.

However, a new legal initiative devised by Campaign Against Antisemitism together with counsel breaks through that barrier. It has enabled us to identify the anonymous troll by obtaining a special kind of court order which has its origins in the pharmaceutical industry and has never before been used to unmask an anonymous abuser sending antisemitic messages. The court order requires an internet service provider to disclose details of the owner of an online account so that legal proceedings can be issued.

We used this legal device to identify Mr Nelson and criminal proceedings were commenced, leading to him pleading guilty. Mr Nelson had called for another Holocaust, called Mr Kern Shylock, spoke of Jews being used for gun practice, called Jewish women whores, shared obscene sexual fantasies involving Hitler, and glorified the proscribed genocidal antisemitic terror group, Hamas.

Mr Nelson, who lives in Cambridgeshire and was a vigorous supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, also previously sent abusive messages to two Jewish women Labour MPs, branding one a “vile useless c***” and the other a “traitor” who should “end yourself”. At the end of 2018 he pleaded guilty to the same charge and was given a twenty-week suspended sentence for twelve months and ordered to complete 160 hours unpaid work. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications of an offensive nature to two other Labour MPs, one of whom is Jewish and the other is an active campaigner against antisemitism. In addition to the charges that Mr Nelson pleaded guilty to today in relation to Mr Kern and Ms Bell, Mr Nelson also pleaded guilty to harassing a member of staff at the Board of Deputies over the telephone.

He had committed the offences whilst apparently already subject to a suspended sentence for other antisemitic offences. This would appear to demonstrate his contempt for the supposedly deterrent suspended sentences that he had already been handed. Nonetheless, instead of going directly to prison, the defendant, Nicholas Nelson, 32, was instead ordered to undertake just 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 220 hours of unpaid community service. He must also pay a modest victim surcharge and is subject to a restraining order.

Handing down the suspended sentence and referring to Mr Nelson’s “horrible tirades”, Judge Charles Gratwicke said that “Nobody sitting here in this courtroom who has read the newspaper can feel anything but revulsion, sickness and downright anger at the type of hate that you engaged in.” Nevertheless, he insisted that the defendant was “not the person you were two or three years ago.”

On the day of the sentencing, Mr Kern said: “I have noted the immediacy with which custodial sentences have been handed out for first time offenders who have engaged in other forms of racism. Yet here we have a repeat offender who has embarked upon an unparalleled campaign of hatred against Jews and has been spared prison again and again. Why are antisemitic hate crimes not deemed as criminal as those of other forms of racism? What exactly does it take for a person found guilty of repeated racially motivated crimes against Jews to actually go to prison? This is a disgrace and an embarrassment and sends a clear signal to Britain’s Jews that when it comes to receiving justice, they don’t count.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are grateful that the Solicitor General has readily acceded to our request for a review of Nicholas Nelson’s absurdly lenient sentence. To all but let off a defendant who committed racist offences over a sustained period against multiple victims, apparently whilst serving suspended sentences for similar offences, is a staggering miscarriage of justice and mocks not only the direct victims of this campaign of harassment but the whole Jewish community and all those who suffer at the hands of online trolls. We hope that the Court of Appeal will impose a more fitting punishment on someone who has brought such harm to the targets of his racist bile.”

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.

Image credit: JC

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“F**k Jews”: two antisemitic incidents in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh over the first weekend of Passover

It has been reported that the neighbourhood of Squirrel Hill in eastern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has seen two separate antisemitic incidents over the last week.

On 15th April, the first night of the Jewish festival of Passover, more than twenty families had antisemitic flyers tossed into their driveways by a hate group who have also been known to work in California, Florida, New York, Colorado, and other American states.

Residents reported finding the antisemitic flyers inside a plastic bag filled with rice. This fits the profile of other similar incidents in Palo Alto, Beverly Hills, and elsewhere, though the Squirrel Hill victims did not disclose the precise wording of the material.

On 17th April, a male reportedly shouted “F**k Jews” as he walked past the Shaare Torah Congregation on Murray Avenue, a long street that connects the two communities of Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South.

In October 2018, Squirrel Hill, where 40 percent of the more than 26,000 residents are Jewish, saw the most violent antisemitic incident in American history, when 46-year-old Robert Bowers entered the Tree of Life synagogue and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle and three handguns, murdering eleven and wounding seven members of the congregation.

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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Jail for mosque leader who called for violent Jihad

A mosque leader who called for “Jihad by sword” while making a stabbing gesture and wearing a black top emblazoned with the words “Free Palestine, resistance is existence” has been jailed after being found guilty of intending to encourage terrorism.

Abu Bakr Deghayes’ twenty-minute sermon a congregation of around 50 at Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre in November 2021 was caught on CCTV. The audience reportedly included teenagers and young men in their twenties, as well as older members, and it is understood that several in the audience began to fidget as the speech went on, with some walking out.

The Old Bailey heard that Mr Deghayes, 53, from Saltdean, Sussex and originally from Libya, spoke in English and Arabic, urging the congregation to ignore the British Government and its Prevent programme. He is claimed to have said: “Allah is more powerful than you. You, idiots. You non-believers, idiots. Allah is more powerful than you. The non-believer…is an idiot; he’s stupid. Jihad is compulsory upon you, you, you and you until the Day of Resurrection, whatever the British Government thinks, whatever Prevent thinks, whatever Israel thinks.

“Send to the sea. They can go and drink from the sea, Allah curse their fathers, OK? Jihad, jihad, jihad! Jihad is compulsory. Jihad by fighting by sword that means this jihad is compulsory upon you, not jihad is the word of mouth but jihad will remain compulsory until the Day of Resurrection. And my livelihood is under the shadow of my spear.”

He added that anyone who did not like what he said was an enemy of Allah, declaring: “Go fight Allah! Go Fight Allah!”

Mr Deghayes, who denied wrongdoing, has been handed a sentence of four years’ imprisonment, plus a further year on licence.

Two of Mr Deghayes’ sons were killed fighting in Syria (a third died in a stabbing incident in Sussex). Abdul, who was reportedly involved with drugs and was murdered by a dealer in 2019 aged 22, was the twin brother of Abdullah, who was killed in 2016 fighting in Syria. Their brother Jaffar was killed in 2014 aged seventeen while fighting to overthrow the Syrian dictator, Bashas Al-Assad. Both were apparently fighting for the al Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front. Yet another son, Amer, is believed still to be fighting in Syria.

In 2017, a serious case review reportedly identified missed opportunities to prevent the sons from being radicalised, as well as noting failures to understand the role of religion in their lives. The report also alleged that Mr Deghayes would wake the boys up at 04:30 in the morning to study the Koran and would whip them with electrical wire.

The boys’ uncle, Omar Deghayes, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and spent five years in Guantanamo Bay.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that over eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.

Image credit: Google and Sussex Police

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Following mental health assessment, man who allegedly punched Jewish men to the ground deemed unfit to give plea

During a court hearing that was held today for a man who was arrested after visibly Jewish men were punched to the ground in January, the defendant was deemed unfit to give his plea due to his mental ill health.

Police in Haringey arrested a man after two visibly Jewish men were viciously punched to the ground in Stamford Hill in January in an assault that was widely publicised. CCTV footage showed a man striking blows to the two Jewish men’s faces and bodies.

The victims, Israel Grossman and Erwin Ginsberg, were promptly treated by Hatzola, a volunteer-run emergency medical service, and were hospitalised. It is understood that one victim sustained severe bruising, a broken nose and a fractured wrist, while the other also suffered bruising and injuries to his wrist and eye.

The incident took place on Cadoxton Avenue and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

Malaki Thorpe, 18, of Fairview Road N15, appeared in Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court shortly after the incident and was charged with two counts of racially aggravated ABH and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.

He was remanded in custody, and did not attend a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court in March, when the court determined that he was to undergo a mental health assessment to determine his fitness to stand trial.

Today, at the hearing in the same court, Mr Thorpe’s lawyer, David Lyons, stated that the defendant was unfit to plead as he was “suffering from psychotic illness”.

Mr Thorpe is currently remanded in custody and is awaiting transfer to Chase Farm Hospital to receive medical treatment. The court will reconvene in June for a case management hearing where, depending on a doctor’s assessment, Mr Thorpe may have an opportunity to state his plea. 

Mr Lyons also disclosed that there is no dispute that Mr Thorpe hit these men, but he requested that the court reconsider whether the racially motivated element is applicable, to which Judge Aaronberg responded that the comment had been noted.

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Jewish children reportedly assaulted and stolen from by teenage gang in Stamford Hill

Jewish children have been abused and stolen from by teenagers in Stamford Hill according to two reported incidents.

In one such incident, teenagers reportedly broke into a block of flats where they found children between the ages of four and six playing amongst themselves before pouring water on them and proceeding to steal their toys. It has been alleged that the teenagers also stole other residents’ belongings from the communal area of the building. 

The assailants were believed to have been a mixture of young men and women and video footage appears to show two people running out of the building.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 1809 13/04/22

In a separate incident, the same gang of teenagers is believed to have assaulted an eleven-year-old and one-year-old baby in a play area. The perpetrators, who were said to have been young-looking women of Black ethnicity, reportedly poured yoghurt over the infant and buggy and threw ice lollies at them whilst hurling verbal abuse.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 2621 13/04/22

Additional CCTV appears to show, in a third incident, a Jewish-owned shop where the premises have been vandalised, reportedly by the same assailants behind the previous incidents.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3374 13/04/22

All three incidents took place last week in Stamford Hill and were reported on Friday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Swastikas discovered and removed from trees in New York park

Swastika graffiti was discovered on trees in Forest City Community Park in Wantagh, Nassau County, on 14th April, the eve of Passover and Easter.

A pentagram Satanic symbol was also discovered at the New York park.

In response to the incident, the swastikas will be scrubbed off and the Parks and Public Safety departments will conduct more patrols and additional check-ups of the park and its facilities, according to authorities.

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: Google

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Two subject of manslaughter investigation following death of French Jewish man, but prosecutors say antisemitism plays no role in his death

It has been reported that two men have been charged with causing the death of a French Jewish man who was fatally wounded after being hit by a tram.

The two suspects, reported to be aged 27 and 23, are now the subject of a manslaughter investigation by police in Bobigny, six miles north-east of the centre of Paris. However, though the alleged antisemitism behind the crime has been widely reported, the public prosecutor said: “There is currently no evidence to establish the discriminatory nature of this attack.”

The suspects are instead being investigated for “intentional violence resulting in death without the intention of causing it.”

While the death of Mr Cohen, 31, was at first treated as a traffic accident, his family went on to release video footage that appears to show him being attacked by a group of men, leading him to flee for safety without noticing the oncoming tram. Mr Cohen was taken to hospital but did not survive his injuries.

Mr Cohen is believed to have been wearing a kippah, or skullcap, during the attack, and the family called upon the police to reopen the investigation into his death as they felt his visible Jewish identity played a role in his attackers’ motivation.

It was reportedly only when the family started asking questions, handing out fliers in post boxes throughout the neighbourhood and urging witnesses to come forward, that someone eventually came forward with the crucial video footage that showed that the victim was being attacked moments before his death.

The victim’s father, Gerald Cohen, said: “Why is the family the one who needs to bring the evidence to police investigators? If we hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have known the truth. We want justice for our son Jeremy.”

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 offers £10,000 reward for information leading to conviction in connection with “life-or-death” antisemitic attack in West Hampstead

Campaign Against Antisemitism has announced on ITV News that it is offering a £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in connection with a violent antisemitic attack in West Hampstead.

You can watch the ITV segment here.

Over Chanukah, a Jewish man was allegedly violently attacked by a man carrying what appeared to be a knife in an antisemitic attack in the north London neighbourhood. The alleged assailant said that he wanted to “Kill my first Jew” but has not been traced.

Police released a CCTV image of a man whom they need to speak with. The photograph that has been released may not be of the assailant.

Following the attack, police faced criticism for their initial slow response, which they had said would take an hour to respond to, however the police investigation was upgraded following intervention by CST. Nevertheless, the investigation has stalled, and we are now again appealing to the public to provide information so that justice can be done for the victim.

The incident took place on 2nd December at around 19:20, when the victim was returning from work. He exited West Hampstead Underground Station and walked to the nearby Marks and Spencer supermarket located in West Hampstead Square.

He saw the alleged attacker desecrating a 4-metre high public Chanukiah that was erected on West Hampstead Square to celebrate the Jewish festival of Chanukah, pulling the object down before proceeding to stamp on in and shout antisemitic abuse.

With no prior interaction, the attacker approached the victim and aggressively said: “You look Jewish” and that he was “looking for a Jew to kill” after singling out the victim among other pedestrians, despite there being no visible indication of his Jewish background.

He allegedly asked threateningly: “Are you Jewish?” The victim, understandably wishing to avoid a confrontation, said “No,” to which the man replied: “Good, I want to find a Jew to kill.”

The victim entered a nearby Marks and Spencer supermarket and the man remained outside. The victim was worried for the safety of other Jews and their families in the neighbourhood where the man was loitering, which has a sizeable Jewish population. The victim approached a supermarket employee, who said that the man had been in the store earlier.

The victim decided to call the police, explaining the situation to them over the course of about eight minutes.

Officers told the victim that they did not consider the case urgent enough for a priority response and would come within an hour, despite the attacker threatening to kill Jews.
After a short period of time, the victim spotted the man again, outside the shop, pulling down the public Chanukiah which someone had put back up in the intervening time. The victim also said that the man was shouting aggressively at a young woman, aged 18-25 who fled the square. He then returned to pulling the Chanukiah to the ground.

Fearing for the young woman, the victim and the supermarket employee confronted the man from a ten-metre distance. The attacker allegedly shouted at him in response: “I knew you were Jewish, you lied to me” and began walking towards his victim while shouting: “You are Jewish. I am going to kill you.” He said something in Arabic before allegedly declaring: “I want to kill my first Jew.”

The victim ran back into Marks and Spencer and turned to see if the man had followed him, which he had, having put on a facemask in the meantime.

As the assailant walked into the shop, he shouted at the victim again: “You are Jewish.”

The man reached the victim, allegedly squaring up to him aggressively with barely a metre between them. Within seconds, the man allegedly pushed the victim as hard as he could with both hands on the victim’s chest, forcing the victim to take a step backwards, all the while repeating: “You are Jewish. I am going to kill you.”

The attacker then allegedly punched the victim violently with force towards the head around five times, the victim had to guard himself from the attacks using his forearms and elbows.

After the first attack, the victim again told the man to back away and pushed the attacker away. The attacker allegedly replied: “I am not leaving until you are dead.” Taking steps backwards with his coat and heavy bag restricting his movement, the victim found himself cornered at the edge of an aisle with nowhere else to move backwards to.

He turned his head around to see what was blocking him, at which point the attacker took advantage of the victim’s shift in concentration and allegedly threw a strong punch which connected with the victim’s head. The victim tried to move his head backwards in an attempt to limit the impact. Had he not done this, the victim believes that his injuries would have been even more severe and he would have been knocked unconscious onto the floor of the supermarket.

Again, the victim told the man to “back away” to which the attacker repeated “I am not going away until you are dead.”

By this point, the victim began to fear for his life. He had no inclination to fight the man and wanted to defuse the situation. He managed to extricate himself and head towards the self-service checkout machines, with the man following him and allegedly shouting more antisemitic abuse and death threats. He was also heard shouting in Arabic.

The victim dropped his bag and jacket to make it easier to run from the man, but the man kept walking faster and faster, eventually reaching for his right jacket pocket.

He grabbed what was apparently a knife and allegedly said “I will kill you now, you Jew.” The victim ran to the back of the shop before the man had the chance to reveal the weapon fully. He turned to see that the man remained by the checkout machines, still staring at the victim and allegedly performing a slit-throat gesture.

The man then allegedly picked up the victim’s jacket and bag and walked calmly out of the shop. The victim remained where he was, terrified for his life. He did not see the man thereafter. A staff member then approached the victim to tell him that the man had left. The victim called the police for a second time, as did the shop employee, and spoke to operators for an extended period. Another staff member then brought over the victim’s bag, which had been discarded, and he later found his jacket in the shop. None of the contents of the bag or jacket had been taken.

Finally, the police arrived. Despite the duration of the incident and the proximity of a police station only half a mile up the road.

The victim called the CST, which provided support to the victim and pressed the police to upgrade their investigation. Police mounted extra patrols in the area in subsequent days and CST adapted its operations to take account of the incident. Campaign Against Antisemitism has subsequently provided legal and other assistance to the victim.

The assailant is described as being black and possibly of Somali ethnicity, aged between 25 and 30 and between 6’0” and 6’1” in height. He had a slender build and bad teeth, and wore a dark green beanie hat, a dark puffer jacket with large pockets, dark trousers and no gloves. He wore a dark facemask when in the shop. He spoke in English, with a mixed East London and foreign accent, and spoke Arabic.

If you have any information, please e-mail us at [email protected] or call us on 0330 822 0321.

You may contact us in confidence or provide details so that we can contact you if your information leads to a conviction and you are eligible for the reward. Your reward will be payable upon Campaign Against Antisemitism determining, at its discretion, that there has been a successful conviction as a result of the information that you provide, and only after the deadline to appeal such conviction has passed.

Alternatively, you can contact the police directly on 101, quoting reference: CRIS 2328674/21. Please note that if you choose to contact the police directly and do not also contact us, you may be ineligible for the reward, given that we may be unable to contact you.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “What this victim has suffered is unspeakable, and it is only thanks to his quick thinking that he survived the ordeal without even worse injury than he endured. The delayed response of the police, despite the close proximity of a police station just up the road, and subsequent police failures, mean that the investigation is now stalled. We are calling on the public for help to ensure that justice is done and a dangerous assailant is taken off our streets. If you have any information, please contact us.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Jewish man finds antisemitic graffiti sprayed onto felled tree

A Jewish resident of Thornhill, Ontario, has expressed his dismay after finding antisemitic graffiti while out for a walk.

On 11th April, Dennis Kalish was on one of his favourite walks around “picturesque” Bond Lake in the Richmond Hill area, around twelve miles north of the centre of Toronto, when he found antisemitic symbols daubed in blue and black spray paint on a downed tree.

Mr Kalish said this is not the first time that he has seen such graffiti in his local area. He said that not only that he has seen his synagogue defaced and heard antisemitic slurs yelled at visibly Jewish people, but that he thinks antisemitism is becoming more common in Canada.

Mr Kalish said: “There’s no shame, no accountability. This is what’s happening over here; it’s becoming so prevalent.”

Mr Kalish has reported the incident to York Regional Police, who released a statement saying they are looking into the incident.

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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Notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz sentenced to jail once again after action by CAA

The notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz has been sentenced to jail today once again, after being found guilty of a communications offence following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Last week’s two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.

The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.

At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”

Summing up, Judge Nina Tempia said that the defendant “was making up evidence” as she went along, and she did not accept Ms Chabloz’s claim that her song was about the controversial activist Tommy Robinson, describing that suggestion as “ludicrous”. Instead, Judge Tempia said, “I have not doubt” that the song related to Jews. She further noted that, given Ms Chabloz’s previous convictions, she “knew exactly what she was doing” and that she had a propensity to commit these types of offences.

The prosecution asked the court to take into account that the whole Jewish community was a victim in this crime and that Ms Chabloz had an incomplete report of her previous sentences.

Sentencing Ms Chabloz today, Judge Tempia reiterated her comments of last Friday and sentenced Ms Chabloz to 22 weeks’ custody – because the matter is, Judge Tempia said, “so serious” – of which she will serve half and then be under post-sentence supervision. She has also been ordered to pay £1,058 in costs by 30th September. She will not have bail pending any appeal.

Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.

Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome this sentence, in view of Alison Chabloz having dedicated herself to spreading her hateful and dangerous views about Jews. She is a repeat offender who has never shown any sign of remorse for the damage that she causes. It is right that she now will have to serve another prison sentence.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Jewish shopper has kippah “snatched” from head in alleged antisemitic incident

It has been reported that a Jewish shopper was the victim of an allegedly antisemitic attack after his kippah (skullcap) was “snatched” from his head in a supermarket near Manchester.

It has emerged that, at around 01:10 on 3rd March, the unknown assailant advanced on a male victim by the self-service checkout area, before grabbing the kippah from the victim’s head and running away onto Pilsworth Road in the direction of the M66 motorway.

It was reported that, before the incident, the alleged offender was with two other men who left in a taxi.

Police were alerted to the incident, which took place in a branch of supermarket chain Asda in Pilsworth, Bury, and are now appealing to the public for help in finding the perpetrator. The police have now released a CCTV image of a person to whom they would like to speak.

Greater Manchester Police said that the taxi apparently then headed towards the Darnhill area of Heywood.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Greater Manchester Police

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CPS betrays Jewish victims after dropping antisemitism element of assault charges in plea bargain

A man charged with attacking five religious Jews in the North London neighbourhood of Stamford Hill has pleaded guilty to two criminal charges, but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has outrageously dropped the religiously/racially aggravated element of the charges as part of a plea bargain.

Last Thursday, Abdullah Qureshi, 28, from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates’ Court to one count of assault by beating and one count of grievous bodily harm with intent. But it has emerged that the CPS dropped the religiously/racially-aggravated element of the charges, despite Mr Quershi having attacked only visibly Jewish people — including a child and a 64-year-old man — that day in one of Britain’s most diverse neighbourhoods.

In one incident at 18:41, an Orthodox Jewish man was struck in the face with what appeared to be a bottle. In another at 19:10, a child was slapped on the back of the head, and in yet another at 20:30, a 64-year-old victim was struck and left unconscious on the ground, suffering facial injuries and a broken ankle. It is understood that two further incidents have been alleged.

The incidents received significant media attention at the time, and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, condemned “this appalling attack,” adding: “Let me be clear, racist abuse and hate crime, including antisemitism, have absolutely no place in our city.”

Mr Qureshi had originally been charged with in connection with a series of assaults in Stamford Hill in August, with one count of racially or religiously aggravated wounding or grievous bodily harm, four counts of racially or religiously aggravated common assault and one count of racially or religious aggravated criminal damage. The charges related to five incidents on 18th August investigated by Metropolitan Police’s Central East Command Unit. Groups including Campaign Against Antisemitism and Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, put out witness appeals following the incidents, as three of the five alleged incidents were caught on video.

He is due to be sentenced in May, but the guilty pleas will come as little consolation for his victims or the wider Jewish community.

Recent polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that a record 59% of British Jews do not believe that the CPS does enough to protect them. This failed prosecution will be viewed by many in the Jewish community as another failure of the CPS to protect them.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “In a violent spree, Abdullah Qureshi attacked innocent Jews as he came across them in the street, from a young child to an elderly man. We applaud the Shomrim for reporting these incidents and the police for identifying the perpetrator. It is disgraceful that, once again, the CPS has proved to be the weak link in our collective effort to secure justice and protection for British Jews. Polling shows that a majority of British Jews do not believe that the CPS does enough to protect them. This failed prosecution will only reinforce that eminently reasonable conclusion.”

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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“I Am a Nazi” teenage terrorist who encouraged violence against Jews is imprisoned for two years

A neo-Nazi terrorist who encouraged acts of violence against Jews has received a two-year sentence in a young offenders institution.

Thomas Leech, 19, promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories about the nefarious “global influence” of Jews and the “Great Replacement”, a far-right conspiracy theory which claims that Jews are responsible for mass immigration and the supposed extinction of white Europeans, as well as posting examples of Holocaust-denial.

He also glorified neo-Nazi terrorists, including Norwegian mass shooter Andrers Breivik, Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooter Robert Bowers, and Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof.

Mr Leech confessed to being a Nazi when taken into custody by counter-terrorism operatives, but continued to post extreme antisemitic content even while on bail.

He first came to police attention when he claimed to be planning a shooting at his West Yorkshire school in 2017, but insisted that it was merely a “prank”. He received a caution and was referred to Prevent but eventually “dropped off the radar” when he moved to Kent later that year. He later moved to Preston, and his online activity was uncovered by CST.

The prosecution said that “the cumulative effect of the [social media] posts is a call to arms by Mr Leech, inciting others who shared his world view to commit mass murder.”

At Manchester Crown Court, Mr Leech pleaded guilty to three counts of encouraging acts of terrorism and stirring up religious or racial hatred.

Judge Alan Conrad QC called Mr Leeches actions “deeply disturbing”.

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.

Image credit: Lancashire Police

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Lawyer fined after reportedly writing that Scottish town is like Auschwitz “but without the social problems”

It has been reported that a solicitor from Ayrshire has denied posting allegedly antisemitic comments on social media, but has been handed a fine by the Law Society of Scotland.

Criminal defence lawyer Neil McPherson, 64, is reported to have compared Auschwitz to Paisley, thirteen miles west of Glasgow. Mr McPherson is alleged to have written in a Facebook post that the concentration camp was like the Scottish town “but without the social problems.”

Mr McPherson is said to have claimed that the posts were written by someone else. The Law Society of Scotland’s professional conduct committee, however, found that it was “more likely than not” that the solicitor made the comparison, posted under another Facebook user’s photograph of a visit to Auschwitz.

Mr McPherson has been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay a further £100 to Arnon Nachmani, a Scottish-Israeli lawyer who was born in Paisley and who lost family in the Holocaust, who stumbled across the comments some months after they were posted.

Mr Nachmani said he would donate the money to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem.

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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Man charged with attempted murder following spree of antisemitic incidents in New Jersey

The Police Department in Lakewood, New Jersey, has released details of an allegedly antisemitic attack that took place on Friday 8th April.

Dion Marsh, 27, is accused of taking part in a series of incidents throughout Lakewood. All of Marsh’s alleged victims are said to be Orthodox Jews.

Mr Marsh reportedly assaulted a driver and stole his car before running over someone else, stabbing a third victim in the chest, and striking a fourth with the vehicle in nearby Jackson Township.

All four victims are reported to have been injured in the incident, the latter two critically. Mr Marsh has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and bias intimidation, as well as carjacking and weapons charges.

The ADL’s New York/New Jersey Regional Director is reported to have said: “More needs to be done to prevent violence against the Jewish community, and in particular visibly identifiable Jews in Ocean County and across our region. Jews should not be afraid to go about their business without living in fears that they will be targeted for violence.”

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: Lakewood Police Department

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New York Police Department reveal 92% rise in antisemitic hate crime during March

New data published by the New York City Police Department shows that antisemitic hate crimes rose by 92% in March 2022 compared to a year ago.

23 antisemitic hate crimes were reported in New York in March 2022. In March 2021, the police recorded eleven such incidents.

These findings reflect those of previous months: February 2022 saw a 400% increase in antisemitic incidents compared to February 2021 (56 compared to eleven the year before), while January showed almost 300% additional antisemitic hate crimes year on year.

While the NYPD recorded increases in hate crimes aimed at Muslims, people based on their ethnic origin in general, and based on the victim’s sexual orientation, the number of incidents with Asian or Hispanic victims went down.

Taking all reported incidents into account, the data reveals that there were more antisemitic hate crimes than those experienced by any other group except Asian-Americans.

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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New York Jewish man has arson conviction vacated after 39 years due to jurors’ antisemitism

A Jewish man who was wrongfully convicted of arson in 1983 and has spent the last 39 years trying to clear his name has been vindicated.

Barry Jacobson’s lawyers, who were supported by the ADL and the Innocence Project, announced on Tuesday 5th April that a court ruled that the jury was biased, and that the case has been dismissed.

Mr Jacobson was sentenced to six months in prison and received a fine of $10,000 after being found guilty of setting a fire at his home in Richmond, Massachusetts in 1983, though only served one month. The conviction caused him to lose his real estate licenses in Massachusetts and New York, which proved to be detrimental to his job in the commercial real estate business.

Mr Jacobson stated that “for nearly 40 years I have been haunted by this wrongful conviction.”

He continued: “Time and again it has affected my career, my business, my family and my community. It has been beyond painful. It is an experience I would not wish on anyone.”

Bob Cordy, Mr Jacobson’s attorney, said that the prosecution and jury deliberations were both affected by antisemitism. The prosecution, Mr Cordy said, relied on a racist stereotype where they believed that Mr Jacobson set the fire for insurance money.

In a sworn statement from one juror, he referred to Mr Jacobson as “one of those New York Jews who think they can come up here and get away with anything.”

Mr Jacobson’s lawyers were aware of antisemitism on the jury months after the verdict, but despite mentioning it in their appeals, there was no vindication.

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: ADL via The Times of Israel

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Notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz found guilty of communications offence after action by CAA

The notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz has been found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.

The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.

At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”

Summing up, Judge Nina Tempia said that the defendant “was making up evidence” as she went along, and she did not accept Ms Chabloz’s claim that her song was about the controversial activist Tommy Robinson, describing that suggestion as “ludicrous”. Instead, Judge Tempia said, “I have not doubt” that the song related to Jews. She further noted that, given Ms Chabloz’s previous convictions, she “knew exactly what she was doing” and that she had a propensity to commit these types of offences.

The prosecution asked the court to take into account that the whole Jewish community was a victim in this crime. Sentencing is due to take place next week, and Ms Chabloz’s incomplete report of her previous sentences may be considered an aggravating factor.

Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.

Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome this verdict against Alison Chabloz, who has dedicated herself to spreading her hateful views about Jews. As a repeat offender, she must face a sentence with real teeth in order to bring an end to her rampage of anti-Jewish racism which has continued relentlessly for far too long, paused only by stints in prison that our effortsbrought about.”

Ms Chabloz was originally facing a charge of incitement to racial hatred under the Public Order Act, but this was reduced to an offence under s.127 of the Communications Act.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Teenagers threaten Jewish boys with a sword and crowbar in New York

Three teenagers armed with a sword, a crowbar and a knife allegedly threatened a group of Jewish boys on New York’s Upper West Side.

The teenagers, ranging in ages from twelve to sixteen, allegedly threatened the group of six Jewish boys on the evening of Saturday 2nd April. The teenagers reportedly said that they wanted to “get them” because they were Jewish and proceeded to follow the boys home before running away.

Gale Brewer, the NYC Council Member who represents the district, condemned the incident as a “horrible antisemitic attack” on a Facebook post.

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 woman wearing Ukrainian pin badge confronted with Nazi salute on the London Underground

It has been reported that a man performed a Nazi salute at a Jewish woman on the London Underground when he saw that she was wearing a Ukrainian pin-badge.

Charlotte Saloman, 37, was travelling between Paddington and Baker Street on 5th April when the incident took place. Ms Saloman was first alerted to the potential danger when she noticed a man whom she believes to have been in his early 30s boarding the train and who soon began staring at her and her badge.

Ms Salomon said: “He sat opposite me and stared at my pin. Then he stood up, did a halfway-up arm salute, and moved further down the carriage. At first, I was puzzled, then I realised what the gesture was. I made eye contact with another passenger. They looked confused as well.”

Ms Salomon, Deputy Chair of the Saffron Walden Conservatives Association, was on her way to the House of Lords to take part in an event about women fighting antisemitism.

After sharing her account of the incident on Twitter, Ms Salomon received messages of support, but others contained offensive sentiments, including one that read “Heil Hitler” followed by a swastika.

It has been reported that the police are now investigating this incident.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Family of French Jewish man killed by tram says antisemitism played a role in his death

The family of a French Jewish man who was fatally wounded after being hit by a tram has said that antisemitism may have played a role in the incident. 

While Mr Jeremy Cohen’s death in February was initially treated as a traffic accident, new video footage released by the family appears to show a gang of men attacking Mr Cohen, 31, prompting him to flee for safety without noticing the tram. 

Mr Cohen is believed to have been wearing his kippah, or skullcap, during the attack, and the family have now called upon the police to reopen the investigation into his death as they feel his visible Jewish identity played a role in his attackers’ motivation.

It was reportedly only when the family started asking questions, handing out fliers in post boxes throughout the neighbourhood and urging witnesses to come forward, that someone eventually came forward with the crucial video footage that showed that the victim was being attacked moments before his death.

The victim’s father, Gerald Cohen, said: “Why is the family the one who needs to bring the evidence to police investigators? If we hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have known the truth. We want justice for our son Jeremy.”

The footage of Mr Cohen was released to the public this past Monday, which was also the anniversary of the murder of Sarah Halimi, a 74-year-old Jewish woman living in Paris who was murdered in 2017 by her twenty-seven-year-old Muslim neighbour, Kobili Traoré. Mr Traoré tortured Ms Halimi before throwing her out of a window, yelling “Allah Akbar,” “I killed the shaitan,” which is an Arabic word for ‘devil’ or ‘demon’, along with antisemitic vitriol.

In a disgraceful decision last year, France’s Court of Cassation ruled that Ms Halimi’s killer could not stand trial due to being high on cannabis whilst committing the murder.

Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism held a rally outside of the French Embassy in solidarity with French Jews opposing the Court of Cassation’s unjust ruling, joining simultaneous rallies around the world.

The speeches can be watched in full on our YouTube channel.

A few months later, it was announced ​​that a French Parliamentary commission of inquiry would be established in order to investigate the murder of Sarah Halimi. However, in January of this year, the inquiry was closed. The results of the 67,000 word report found that police had arrived on the scene before Ms Halimi was killed but waited outside of her apartment during the entire incident, apparently unable to hear her screams. The report shockingly concluded that the officers, judges and psychiatrists involved in the case had done everything by the book.

This led to a disagreement between those on the committee itself, with the report only being passed on a seven to five vote, with Meyer Habib, the French Parliamentarian who formed the commission, accusing police and fellow lawmakers of lying and engaging in a cover-up. 

In February, a report by France’s Jewish Community Security Service said that antisemitic incidents in France had skyrocketed by 75% in 2021.

Last year, the murderer of French Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll was sentenced to life in prison.

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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Far-right Austrian rapper sentenced to ten years in jail for glorifying Nazi ideology

A neo-Nazi activist and rapper from Austria has been handed a ten-year jail sentence by a Vienna court.

The 37-year-old artist, who recorded music under the name ‘Mr Bond’, was found guilty of glorifying Nazi ideology. This is a crime in Austria under the country’s 1947 Verbotsgesetz (Prohibition Act), which not only banned the far-right paramilitary organisations that flourished even after the defeat of the Nazi regime, but made it illegal to deny, condone or try to justify the Holocaust.

Mr Bond’s music was based on the appropriation of existing rap songs, to which he gave new lyrics with Nazi and antisemitic themes. One such song was used by the assailant of the October 2019 attack outside a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle, in which two people died. The murderer, Stephan Balliet, filmed his crime and put it on the internet, soundtracked by Mr Bond’s song.

Mr Bond was described as “particularly dangerous” by the court. In the same trial, his brother was sentenced to four years in prison for running an antisemitic website.

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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Ukrainian Jewish community leader stabbed in apparent antisemitic attack

It has been reported that the director of the Jewish community in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk has been stabbed by an attacker shouting antisemitic statements.

Igor Perelman was reportedly stabbed three times while out for a walk in the centre of the city.

Vitaliy Kamozin, Chief Operating Officer of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, stated that Mr Perelman’s wounds have been treated and he is recovering from the attack. Mr Kamozin said: “There were antisemitic statements, but the motive is not yet clear.” The incident is apparently being examined by the police.

The Russian war on Ukraine has elicited a plethora of Nazi comparisons and is witnessing actual neo-Nazi soldiers on the battlefield.

President Putin of Russia justified his war on Ukraine in part by claiming that he needed to “denazify” the country, a stance that was reinforced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and apparently also adopted by China. Mr Lavrov also compared the United States to Hitler, stating: “Napoleon and Hitler, they had the objective to have the whole of Europe under their control…Now Americans have got Europe under their control. And we see the situation has really demonstrated what role the EU is playing in the context of the global situation. They are just fulfilling a role. So we see, like in Hollywood, there is absolute evil and absolute good and this is unfortunate.”

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 community is “top target for hate crimes” says security organisation after surge in bomb threats

An “alarming number” of recent bomb threats directed at Jewish community centres and synagogues in one month across the United States was a sharp reminder that “the Jewish community remains a top target for hate crimes in the United States.”

The warning came from the Secure Community Network (SCN), a Jewish communal security organisation, which noted in a press release issued in late March that since the beginning of the month there had been eighteen reported bomb threats directed at Jewish community centres (JCCs) and synagogues in nine states.

SCN said that it was “actively working with community leaders and law enforcement agencies” over the “recent wave of bomb threats against Jewish facilities nationwide.”

FBI officials have stated that investigations into the threats were active and remained a high priority.

The SCN comments came as the New York Jewish Week reported that the Staten Island JCC had briefly evacuated its premises following a bomb threat, while the JCC of Indianapolis also revealed that it had recently received a bomb threat.

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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Neo-Nazi gang members who shared antisemitic material convicted of terror and firearm offences

It has been reported that four members of a neo-Nazi gang who shared antisemitic material with each other via the social media platform Telegram have been convicted under anti-terrorism and firearms legislation.

Concerns have previously been raised over the alleged increase in neo-Nazi content on Telegram. Last year, the far-right group Patriotic Alternative was found to have created neo-Nazi channels dedicated to sharing vile messages, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and images glorifying Hitler.

Samuel Whibley, 29, Daniel Wright, 29, Liam Hall, 31, and Mr Hall’s girlfriend Stacey Salmon, 29, were convicted of fifteen offences, including counts relating to the encouragement of terrorism and the publication and dissemination of materials related to it, as well as firearms offences.

The jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard that all four defendants shared antisemitic videos, memes, and images, including material celebrating Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Ms Hall confessed to finding material online in which Jews were alleged to control the media and banks, as well as to watching videos made by neo-Nazis in an attempt to see “both sides of the argument” about Hitler.

The court heard that the group communicated with each other using a public Telegram channel set up by Mr Whibley under the name Oaken Hearth. This was, jurors heard, used as “a gathering place for British white nationalists.” Mr Whibley then audited prospective members, who had to prove they were white by taking a selfie before answering questions about their involvement in neo-Nazi groups.

Mr White joined the chat using the name “Gott Mit Uns”, words found on the belts of Nazi soldiers during the Second World War.

The group also shared racist material aimed at Black people, while Mr Whibley reportedly praised Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant, Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik, and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Mr Justice Spencer will sentence all four defendants at a later date.

In October, a teenage neo-Nazi was been jailed for eleven years after using Telegram to plot terrorist acts.

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.

In 2020, members of the proscribed National Action group were sentenced to prison, having engaged, amongst other activities, in far-right stickering and recruitment campaigns.

Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to monitor and report on far-right stickering campaigns, including by the far-right Hundred Handers group.

Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing Northeast

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Russian journalist’s apartment vandalised with pig’s head and antisemitic slur

A pig’s head and an antisemitic epithet were reportedly left outside the Moscow apartment of a respected Russian journalist.

Alexei Venediktov, the Editor of the Echo of Moscow radio station, took to social media to report the incident, posting one photograph of a pig’s head with a wig on, lying on the floor by his front door, and another picture of a Ukrainian coat of arms fixed to the door itself with an antisemitic slur attached to it.

Echo of Moscow was formed towards the end of the Soviet Union, and since then has been a significant representative of the new freedoms granted as part of the policy of Glasnost (openness) instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union, as part of a campaign to increase government transparency, allowing citizens to publicly discuss problems with the communist system, and potential solutions, for the first time.

Later, Mr Veneditkov, who has Jewish heritage, revealed a still from CCTV footage outside his apartment building. It appears to show a figure posing as a food delivery worker arriving at his front door. However, Mr Venediktov said that the food company in question contacted him and explained that the uniform seen in the video has been out of use for several years.

Mr Venediktov expressed his concern on the social media platform Telegram, writing: “This in the country that defeated fascism. Why not just fix a six-pronged star to my apartment door?”

In addition to the antisemitic element, this incident is also the latest example of the Russian Government’s crackdown on independent media.

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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“I will kill you all, Hitler should come back”: Man in Stamford Hill knocks on neighbours’ door yelling abuse at 4am on Jewish Sabbath

It has been reported that a man woke up his Jewish neighbours at 4:00 by knocking on their door and yelling antisemitic abuse.

The man was said to have shouted: “I will kill you all, Hitler should come back.”

The alleged incident took place on 19th March and is understood to have occurred in the Stamford Hill area of North London on the morning of the Jewish Sabbath and lasted for approximately one hour.

It was also alleged that, yesterday, the same man told a six-year-old girl: “Get inside, I will kill you”, before threatening to burn her house down.

Both incidents were reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4735 28/03/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.

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Teenagers throw stones at Jewish homes and children in Stamford Hill

It has been reported that teenagers in Stamford Hill have targeted Jewish homes.  

Stamford Hill Shomrim have reported that the vandals had thrown stones at Jewish homes and children playing in gardens from garage roofs on Knightland Road.

Anybody with information should call Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number 4608254/22.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.

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Reality TV star Dawn Ward cleared of antisemitism charges

Reality television star and property developer Dawn Ward has been found not guilty after she was accused of shouting antisemitic abuse at two Jewish brothers and slapping one of them in the face.

The 48-year-old Real Housewives of Cheshire star was accused of going on a “rant” at brothers Jake and Sam Jacobs at London Euston station after having “too many glasses of wine” at the Ritz hotel with her agent.

A jury heard that, on 29th October 2019, Ms Ward overheard the brothers asking aloud why their trains were delayed. She is alleged to have demanded of them: “Why do you lot always complain?”

Prosecutor George Wedge acknowledged that Ms Ward was referring to the Jacobs’ Jewish identity. Ms Ward, however, claimed that she had no idea that the Jacobs brothers or Sam Jacobs’s girlfriend Samantha Eisner, were Jewish.

Inner London Crown Court heard that the brothers chose to overlook Ms. Ward’s comments, only for her allegedly to become violent. She is alleged to have called Jake Jacobs a “fat c***” and a “Jewish p***k” and slapped him in the face. She also allegedly referred to Ms Eisner as a “little disease.”

Ms Ward has been cleared of two counts of racially and religiously aggravated harassment, causing alarm or distress.

After being cleared of two counts of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and one count of possessing cocaine, Ms Ward is reported to have said: “I am still prone to tears and crying as I write this post. I don’t believe I will ever truly get over this…Anybody who remotely knows me knows I stand for equality of race, religion and sexuality and I will continue to live my life to these values and raise my children to do the same.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Dutch Jewish man claims police are ignoring campaign of harassment despite chants of “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” and “Cancer Jew” by assailants

A Jewish man from the Netherlands is reported to have been the victim of multiple antisemitic attacks, but claims that his complaints have been ignored by Dutch authorities.

Kevin Ritstier, 34, from the town of Wijchen in the east of the country, says that he has been repeatedly attacked by a street gang sometimes numbering up to fifteen young men.

Mr Ristier says the harassment originated when the men targeted him after seeing him returning home from a Bar Mitzvah celebration wearing items of traditional Jewish religious clothing, including a kippah and a tallit, or prayer shawl.

This rapidly turned into a campaign of harassment in which the men pounded on Mr Ritstier’s front door and made antisemitic remarks, including “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” (a common chant among Dutch football fans) and “Cancer Jew”.

Mr Ristier has also been physically harmed. After one assault, his leg was slashed and he was left bruised and suffering from a split lip.

He added that his numerous formal complaints to the police, lodged after each incident, have led nowhere, claiming that the authorities have ignored each one and that he has been made to feel like he has been bothersome.

The police have reportedly said that criminal proceedings have not been taken against any members of the gang due to lack of evidence, but insist that Mr Ristier’s complaints are being taken “very seriously”.

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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Antisemitic Florida flyers blame Jews for Ukraine War and COVID-19

Community leaders in Sarasota have expressed anger over antisemitic flyers distributed in the Florida town twice in recent weeks.

The flyers – placed in Ziplock bags, weighted with rice – were placed on driveways of Jewish homes. The first batch, in mid-February, blamed the Jewish community for COVID-19. In the second tranche, some flyers again blamed Jews for COVID-19, while, according to the Sarasota Police Department, others blamed Jews for the war in Ukraine, claiming: “Every single aspect of the Ukraine-Russia War is Jewish.”

Speaking at a rally in Sarasota after the first batch of flyers were discovered in February, the Director of the American Jewish Committee said that the hatred in the flyers did not reflect the town. “This group does not speak for Sarasota, which time and again has stood up against all manifestations of antisemitism,” he said. “It makes me feel determined to say hate…against anyone will not win.”

This is just the latest of many incidents of antisemitic flyers being distributed across the United States.

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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Hate crime charge urged for woman in SS-style clothing and swastika armband

Authorities in California’s Orange County are recommending hate crime charges against a woman who was allegedly dressed as a Nazi SS officer and is alleged to have yelled antisemitic comments at a man who tried to get her to remove her swastika armband.

According to a photo taken by a member of the public, the woman was dressed in an all-black outfit similar to that of a Nazi SS officer and wearing the armband while walking around outside a community centre in Laguna Woods, Orange County.

A man confronted the woman, who allegedly responded with antisemitic comments. According to a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, a “physical altercation” ensued as several people – including a man in his 80s – tried to remove the woman’s armband. Police attended the incident.

Subsequently, the district attorney’s office was asked to recommend that charges against the woman should include hate crime.

The following day, the Mayor of Laguna Woods, Carol Moore, released a statement saying that the city was outraged by the incident. “The city of Laguna Woods stands firmly against antisemitism, bigotry and hate in all its forms, fully and without exception,” the statement read, adding that the conduct “alleged in the disturbance” was “abhorrent, inexcusable, and antithetical to the character and values of our community” and that “any delay” in the public response was intended to “allow the investigation to conclude.”

City Councilman Noel Hatch, who said that he had lived in the area for 25 years and had seen “no indication that there is anything like this brewing,” described it as “a solo act” that was “not germane to any concern” that there was “something brewing here in Laguna Woods village.”

The incident came a month after antisemitic fliers were distributed in the Orange County districts of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Cypress. A report released in 2021 by the Orange County Human Relations Commission found that, in 2020, hate crimes in the county increased by 35%.

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: ADL

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Austrian anti-vaccination protesters who wore Stars of David sentenced in court

Two Austrian men who publicised myths about coronavirus vaccinations by wearing Stars of David have reportedly been convicted of violating the Alpine republic’s strict anti-Nazi laws.

The two men, who have both refused to be vaccinated, had worn yellow felt stars bearing the word “Ungeimpft” (unvaccinated) at anti-vaccination demonstrations held in Vienna.

A court in Vienna heard that the defendants, known as “Mr K”, 50, and “Mr B”, 34, pled not guilty to infringing upon Austria’s 1947 Verbotsgesetz (Prohibition Act), which not only banned Nazi paramilitary organisations, but made it illegal to publish or broadcast denials or minimisation of the Holocaust. Austria’s Jewish community has recently argued that these laws should be extended to ban the utilisation of Holocaust-related imagery and slogans in order to push anti-vaccination conspiracy theories.

Much of the rhetoric that has emerged from anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists has compared lockdowns to the Holocaust. These crude and inflammatory comparisons have included protesters donning yellow stars bearing the word “Unvaccinated”, a comparison that has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.  

Such symbolism is reminiscent of the kind of insignia that Jews in Germany and occupied Europe were forced to wear by the Nazis. Those wearing such items in 2021 do so in order to compare the persecution of the Jewish people with protective measures sanctioned by the German federal government in order to deal with the pandemic. Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.

The judge handed both men fifteen-month suspended sentences and three years’ probation.

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 appeals to Attorney General as Nicholas Nelson handed absurdly lenient sentence following antisemitic harassment

The defendant in a criminal case that resulted from first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism has been handed an absurdly lenient sentence today at Southwark Crown Court which we are appealing to the Attorney General’s Office, which has the power to refer sentences for certain offences, which she believes to be unduly lenient, to the Court of Appeal.

The eighteen-month sentence, suspended for two years, was the culmination of first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism to unmask an anonymous antisemitic online troll.

When the defendant was unmasked as a result of our litigation, we realised that he was a repeat offender with a long history of obsessive antisemitic harassment. He had committed the offences, for which he was today sentenced, whilst apparently already subject to a suspended sentence for other antisemitic offences. This would appear to demonstrate his contempt for the supposedly deterrent suspended sentences that he had already been handed.

Nonetheless, instead of going directly to prison, the defendant, Nicholas Nelson, 32, was instead ordered to undertake just 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 220 hours of unpaid community service. He must also pay a modest victim surcharge and is subject to a restraining order.

Handing down the suspended sentence, referring to Mr Nelson’s “horrible tirades”, Judge Charles Gratwicke said that the defendant was “not the person you were two or three years ago.” However, he accepted that “Nobody sitting here in this courtroom who has read the newspaper can feel anything but revulsion, sickness and downright anger at the type of hate that you engaged in.”

Mr Nelson had pleaded guilty at Peterborough Crown Court in January to racially aggravated harassment under section 31(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and with sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety under 1(1)(a) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, after he repeatedly sent abusive antisemitic e-mails and messages to Oscar-nominated Jewish writer Lee Kern and hateful messages to communications strategist Joanne Bell, and harassing a staff member at the Board of Deputies, a Jewish charity, over the telephone.

Mr Kern contacted Campaign Against Antisemitism, which funded a case on his behalf led by Mark Lewis, the esteemed lawyer who is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The abusive communications came from accounts that Mr Nelson had worked hard to make anonymous. Victims of abuse from anonymous accounts usually have nowhere to go, because only rarely will the police track down the sender, and the cost of private action is usually beyond victims’ means.

However, a new legal initiative devised by Campaign Against Antisemitism together with counsel breaks through that barrier. It has enabled us to identify the anonymous troll by obtaining a special kind of court order which has its origins in the pharmaceutical industry and has never before been used to unmask an anonymous abuser sending antisemitic messages. The court order requires an internet service provider to disclose details of the owner of an online account so that legal proceedings can be issued.

We used this legal device to identify Mr Nelson and criminal proceedings were commenced, leading to him pleading guilty. Mr Nelson had called for another Holocaust, called Mr Kern Shylock, spoke of Jews being used for gun practice, called Jewish women whores, shared obscene sexual fantasies involving Hitler, and glorified the proscribed genocidal antisemitic terror group, Hamas.

Mr Nelson, who lives in Cambridgeshire and was a vigorous supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, also previously sent abusive messages to two Jewish women Labour MPs, branding one a “vile useless c***” and the other a “traitor” who should “end yourself”. At the end of 2018 he pleaded guilty to the same charge and was given a twenty-week suspended sentence for twelve months and ordered to complete 160 hours unpaid work. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications of an offensive nature to two other Labour MPs, one of whom is Jewish and the other is an active campaigner against antisemitism. In addition to the charges that Mr Nelson pleaded guilty to today in relation to Mr Kern and Ms Bell, Mr Nelson also pleaded guilty to harassing a member of staff at the Board of Deputies over the telephone.

Mr Kern said: “I have noted the immediacy with which custodial sentences have been handed out for first time offenders who have engaged in other forms of racism. Yet here we have a repeat offender who has embarked upon an unparalleled campaign of hatred against Jews and has been spared prison again and again. Why are antisemitic hate crimes not deemed as criminal as those of other forms of racism? What exactly does it take for a person found guilty of repeated racially motivated crimes against Jews to actually go to prison? This is a disgrace and an embarrassment and sends a clear signal to Britain’s Jews that when it comes to receiving justice, they don’t count.”

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Today’s sentence is deeply disappointing. Nicholas Nelson has, for years, obsessively harassed Jews and sent them violent and obscene messages day after day. Instead of sending him to prison where he belongs, Judge Gratwicke has spared a man who deserves no leniency. We are now referring this absurd sentence to the Attorney General’s Office.

“Though the sentence has been regrettable, the fact that Mr Nelson was convicted proves the efficacy of our new legal device to unmask internet trolls who hide behind anonymous e-mail addresses in order to abuse Jewish victims. This game-changing approach is the most significant development in the legal fight against online hate in years. We have been grateful for the cooperation of the police and prosecutors. We will continue to devise innovative legal mechanisms to protect the Jewish community and deliver justice to victims of antisemitism, including in ways previously thought impossible.”

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.

Image credit: JC

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Neo-Nazi group present at Boston St Patrick’s Day parade

Organisers of this year’s annual St Patrick’s Day parade in Boston were left feeling “disgusted” after it was discovered that a far-right group wearing items featuring neo-Nazi symbolism and holding a banner saying “Keep Boston Irish” had attended.

The twenty-strong group, reportedly the Nationalist Social Club (NSC), who is known for engaging with mainstream public events, was seen wearing green clothes and baseball caps. They remained anonymous through the use of face-masks bearing the number 131 (code for ACA, or anti-communist action) and sunglasses. 

Though confined to small, self-organising chapters mostly inside the United States, the organisation is known for spreading white supremacism. They maintain an overtly military theme, regarding themselves as combatants against a “Jewish-controlled” social and political system that aims at “white genocide”.

One member of the group was spotted holding a flag with the Celtic cross (a black flag with a white “plus” sign inside a circle). This Irish Christian symbol is often appropriated by white supremacist groups. 

A joint statement co-written by City Council President Ed Flynn, Councillor Michael Flaherty, state Senator Nick Collins, state Representative David Biele, US Representative Stephen Lynch, and Suffolk County clerk of civil courts Michael Donovan said: “We are disgusted by reports of outside hate groups descending into Boston for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade yesterday. Their ideology is repugnant and contrary to an event that celebrates our proud immigrant history and is enjoyed by children, families, and people of all ethnicities and backgrounds.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Woo stated: “It was deeply disturbing to see this display at a local celebration of culture and heritage, as we work to heal and build community through our recovery. With the growing intensity of white supremacist groups nationally, we are working closely with law enforcement at all levels – Boston will not tolerate hate crimes, and we will not be intimidated in our work to build a city for everyone.”

Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a spokesman for Boston police, stated that the police were aware of the group’s presence and that they would be conducting follow-up investigations.

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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Teenagers in Florida sentenced after spray-painting the word “Jew’s” on rabbi’s driveway

Two teenagers have been found guilty of carrying out a hate crime against a rabbi and sentenced in Bonita Springs, Florida.

Seventeen-year-old Tucker Bachman and fourteen-year-old Case Leckbee have been found guilty of criminal mischief when they defaced Rabbi Mendy Greenberg’s home, spray-painting the word “Jew’s” on his driveway, destroying his mailbox, and smashing his car window.

Mr Bachman and Mr Leckbee were reportedly sentenced to community service and a curfew. They also have to attend a Neighbourhood Accountability Board with their parents or guardian, at which Rabbi Greenberg will be present.

State Attorney Amira Fox said: “These juveniles will face their consequences immediately from the community they injured. They will learn of the impact of their senseless behaviour by meeting with leaders of the Jewish community and, together, the community will determine how best to repair the harm.”

Rabbi Greenberg is reported to have said: “I’m not looking for punishment, I’m looking for rehabilitation. For something to be rectified, for a wrong to be righted.”

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: Lee County Sheriff’s Office

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Detroit synagogue targeted by bomb threat hoax on day after Jewish festival

A synagogue in Farmington Hills, Michigan, received a telephone call on 18th March from someone who claimed to have planted a pipe bomb at the synagogue.

The Temple Adat Shalom building was evacuated, and police and police dogs sent in to search for the device.No bomb was found, and the incident was described as a “cruel hoax designed to terrorise our communities,” by Rabbi Aaron Bergman in an e-mail to the congregation.

The hoax threat came the day after the conclusion of a Jewish festival that celebrates a biblical attempt to wipe out the Jewish people.

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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Swastikas daubed on Peterborough building three months after similar incident

Reports have surfaced that swastikas have been spray-painted on a building in Peterborough.

A Twitter user posted photographs of the graffiti on the social media platform, adding that he tried to report the incident to the police but was not able to because the wall was not his property. 

Mr Griffiths speculated that the property may belong to Cross Keys Homes, Peterborough’s largest provider of independent living accommodation tailored to the needs of elderly and vulnerable residents.

In an exchange over Twitter with Cambridgeshire Police, Mr Griffiths was informed that the crime can be reported online, only for him to reportedly find the link broken and himself unable to report damage done to a property that did not belong to him.

This is not the first such incident to be reported in recent months in the area. In December, we reported that local residents had conveyed their outrage after swastika graffiti was found on walls in a nearby shopping centre.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Jewish people in Edgware reportedly pelted with eggs

Jewish people in Edgware have reportedly been pelted with eggs in public over the last two weekends.

According to the Community Security Trust, there have been several reports of such incidents.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously reported on occupants of a car hurling eggs at recognisably-Jewish Edgware residents, and the words “Hail Hitler, f*** Jews” scrawled on the wheelie bin of an Edgware workplace owned by a Jewish businessman.

CST has asked for witnesses and victims to come forward. Anybody who has any information that might help the investigation is asked to report to the police on 101 and CST on 0800 032 3263.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Police investigate football fans’ “f****** Jew” chant on train

West Midlands Police are reportedly looking into a video that appears to show football fans singing a song targeting Jewish people on a Birmingham train.

The video, uploaded to Twitter by Tottenham Hotspur fan @N17_SAUL, appears to show Arsenal supporters singing on their way to a fixture with Aston Villa on Saturday 19th March.

The song, which refers to the Jewish religious practice of circumcision in the context of Arsenal’s rivalry with Tottenham, ends with the words “f****** Jew.”

One fan is then reported as saying “Love that one,” amid the laughter of other members of the group.

A spokesman from Tottenham Hotspur is reported to have said: “Antisemitism in any form is wholly unacceptable and we support all efforts to kick it out of the game. We hope that those individuals conducting this vile chant are identified and dealt with in the strongest way possible.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.

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Woman arrested on suspected arson of church and synagogue in New Britain, Connecticut

A Connecticut woman was arrested on 12th March for arson and burglary after being accused of setting fires in a synagogue and a church.

Kimorah Parker, 30, allegedly broke into Tephereth Israel Synagogue on 11th March and started a fire that caused “fairly extensive” damage. She has also been accused of setting fire to St Matthew’s Lutheran Church.

Local police are investigating the arson with the assistance of the FBI.

The FBI released a statement in which it said: “Local police have arrested a suspect well-known to them and retain the lead over the ongoing investigations. No other incidents have been reported since the arrest. The FBI will continue to coordinate with local law enforcement and, pending further evidence collection, will determine whether federal charges are appropriate.”

A Tephereth Israel Synagogue congregation member called the incident “devastating,” adding: “We don’t know why the person who started the fire did this…we know she chose a church and a synagogue, so it wasn’t specifically Jewish; we don’t know a motive.

“It’s devastating, because that building holds a lot of memories for me and my family…I’m hoping that [the] building itself is still structurally sound and that they can repair it.”

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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Reality TV star Dawn Ward allegedly calls Jewish brothers a “f***ing disease,” court hears

Reality television star and property developer Dawn Ward is alleged to have shouted antisemitic abuse at two Jewish brothers and slapped one of them in the face, a court has heard.

The 48-year-old Real Housewives of Cheshire star is accused of being under the influence of alcohol when she went on a “rant” at brothers Jake and Sam Jacobs at London Euston station.

Jurors heard that, on 29th October 2019, Ms Ward overheard the brothers asking aloud why their trains were delayed. She is alleged to have demanded of them: “Why do you lot always complain?”

Prosecutor George Wedge acknowledged that Ms Ward was referring to the Jacobs’ Jewish identity.

Inner London Crown Court heard that the brothers chose to overlook Ms. Ward’s comments, only for her allegedly to become violent. She is alleged to have called Jake Jacobs a “fat c***” and a “Jewish p***k” and slapped him in the face. She also allegedly said to them: “Shut up, you f***ing disease.”

The brothers then informed the police and Ms Ward was arrested before authorities allegedly discovered cocaine on her person.

Ms Ward has denied aggravated intentional harassment and possession of the illegal drug.

Jake Jacobs is reported to have said: “For a long time, it made me really sad, because what my parents and grandparents have gone though it’s brought it all back. I couldn’t believe in this current climate; I was naive to think it doesn’t happen. But when it happens to you it really affected me for a long period of time.”

The trial continues.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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85 percent of French Jews believe antisemitism is widespread in their country, according to new survey

A new survey of French Jews has found that 85 precent believe that antisemitism is widespread in their country.

The survey was published by IFOP, a French international polling and market research firm.

The survey also found that 64 percent of the overall French population believes that antisemitism is widespread.

According to the survey, 68 percent of French Jews have faced antisemitic harassment or abuse. Twenty percent of French Jews have reported being the victims of at least one antisemitic physical assault. It was noted that attacks were more likely if the victim was wearing a religious symbol.

Around 30 percent of people polled said that “Jews are richer than the average French person,” while 37 percent believed that Jews had “too much influence in the French economy and financial system.”

It is over 65-year-olds who are more likely to have antisemitic prejudices according to the survey.

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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Pennsylvania found to be worst state for white supremacist propaganda

The State of Pennsylvania was found to have more white supremacist propaganda than any other state, with antisemitic incidents in general being recorded at 150% higher than it was in 2015.

A report showed that in 2021, 473 instances of white supremacist propaganda were distributed, almost doubling the previous year’s findings for the State. 24 of these incidents occurred in Pittsburgh.

Many of these incidents were reported to have come from Patriot Front, a national white supremacist group, who are said to be responsible for 82% of the propaganda incidents in the whole of the United States. Reportedly, members of the group must meet a distribution quota to remain within the group.

The second-highest level of white supremacist propaganda was found in the State of Virginia with a recorded 375 examples. 

The findings were published in ADL’s annual assessment. 

Last month, we reported that Pennsylvania police launched an investigation after graves in three separate cemeteries were vandalised with swastikas. Photographs uploaded to Twitter show large, orange swastikas spray-painted on headstones in Montgomery County.

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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Police investigating after another Toronto high school reports antisemitic vandalism

It has been reported that antisemitic vandalism was discovered outside of a Toronto high school.

Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird said that the reported antisemitic graffiti that was found outside of Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute was a “hateful act of vandalism” that was “very similar to recent incidents”, adding that police are investigating.

The vandalism appears to be a part of a wave of antisemitic incidents sweeping across Toronto and Greater Toronto schools.

Last week, we reported that a church in downtown Toronto and a school in the Greater Toronto area were also targets of antisemitic vandalism. Days prior, antisemitic graffiti had been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.

Other recent reports include the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools in a short span of time.

Additionally, on 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.” On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.

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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Bailiffs appointed to obtain £10,000 from antisemitic aristocrat Piers Portman after Courts Service says he failed to pay compensation

Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has informed Campaign Against Antisemitism that it has appointed bailiffs to obtain £10,000 from the disgraced antisemitic aristocrat Pier Portman.

The Hon. Piers Portman, the youngest living son of the 9th Viscount Portman and heir to 110 acres of West End real estate, was sentenced in October 2021 to four months in prison and ordered to pay over £20,000 after being found guilty of calling Gideon Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, “Jewish scum” in a confrontation at a courthouse in 2018. Mr Portman was denied leave to appeal in December.

When Mr Portman was originally sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, His Honour Judge Gregory Perrins said that Mr Portman has “strongly-held antisemitic beliefs”, and that he had “deliberately targeted Mr Falter because of his role in prosecuting Alison Chabloz.” Ms Chabloz is an antisemite who has been repeatedly imprisoned following work by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

In scathing sentencing remarks, HHJ Perrins told Mr Portman: “You said you’re an honourable British gentleman. You’re anything but.”

HHJ Perrins then imprisoned him for four months, with the possibility of release on licence after two months, and ordered him to pay a £10,000 fine, make an additional £10,000 compensatory payment to the victim, Mr Falter, and pay court costs.

Mr Falter intends to donate the entire £10,000 to Campaign Against Antisemitism when the bailiffs obtain it from Mr Portman.

Mr Portman, 50, was prosecuted after approaching Mr Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 14th June 2018 following the sentencing of Alison Chabloz, a notorious Holocaust denier and antisemite. Campaign Against Antisemitism had brought a private prosecution against Ms Chabloz which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took over, and which ultimately led to a conviction and landmark legal precedent. Mr Falter had testified against Ms Chabloz, who has since been repeatedly sent to prison over her antisemitic statements, including denying the Holocaust and claiming that Holocaust survivors had invented their suffering for financial gain.

Mr Portman followed Mr Falter out of the courtroom and confronted him in the lobby of the court building, where an enraged Mr Portman came close to Mr Falter and said: “I’m Piers Portman. I have written to you before. Come after me, you Jewish scum. Come and persecute me. Come and get me.”

Mr Portman was referring to a 1,527-word e-mailed screed previously sent to Campaign Against Antisemitism in which he denounced his former wife and her divorce lawyer, Baroness Fiona Shackleton each as a “greedy, grasping and lying manipulator of the system that happens to be Jewish.” He accused his former wife of “playing the Talmud inspired ‘Tyrant posing as a victim.’” Noting in the e-mail that he had a “Harrow Public School education”, Mr Portman defended the term “Holohoax”, writing that “I fail to see how the fabricated word has anything to do with hating anyone. Surely it is merely an expression created by people that believe they have been lied to,” and questioning how the terms “Jew” and “Jewboy” could be antisemitic.

He concluded his e-mail by taunting Campaign Against Antisemitism to “Come and pick on me…come and have a do with me…come and perform your charity on me.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image: Piers Portman, right, leaves Southwark Crown Court with conspiracy theorist Matthew Delooze

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Church and school become latest targets of antisemitic vandalism in Toronto, Canada 

A church in downtown Toronto and a school in the Greater Toronto area are the latest targets of antisemitic vandalism in what appears to be a wave of incidents in the Toronto area. 

Two schools in the town of Newmarket were reportedly defaced with antisemitic, anti-Black and LGBTQ-phobic graffiti. Police stated that they had been called in to Newmarket High School after anti-Black graffiti was found in a boy’s bathroom stall and were called back in two days later regarding carvings found in the school that were deemed antisemitic and LGBTQ-phobic. 

The following day, police were called in to Huron Heights Secondary School regarding graffiti in the boy’s bathroom that “included a number of drawings, profanities and male genitalia as well as some possibly anti-Black and antisemitic graffiti that has been partially scribbled over.” 

Police said that in all instances, the graffiti was quickly removed.

It was also reported that police are investigating after the Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto was vandalised with antisemitic and homophobic graffiti.

The Church released a statement in response to the incident in which it said: “Sadly, these acts have grown in frequency over the past years, with our building a regular target. Metropolitan takes action to quickly remove all graffiti, at considerable expense to the church.

“Above all, Metropolitan stands as an affirming church in downtown Toronto with a long history of support for the LGBTQ community. Likewise, Jesus’ teaching to ‘love your neighbour’ is our driving mission and we are therefore dedicated to standing up to antisemitism and all forms of hate.”

These reports follow last week’s in which antisemitic graffiti had been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.

Other recent reports include the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.

On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.” On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.

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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Sixteen-year-old student arrested and charged with hate crime for “antisemitic writings” in Illinois

A sixteen-year-old student at Illinois’ Springfield High School has reportedly been arrested and charged with a hate crime for antisemitic writings.

The male student was arrested by the school resource officer on Wednesday at Springfield High School and was also charged with disorderly conduct involving threats to a school and criminal defacement of property.

The student had a hearing on Monday and is being detained at Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center. Officials are waiting for the results of the student’s psychological assessment.

In response to the incident, a statement released by the Jewish Federation of Springfield said: “The Jewish community here in Springfield, like Jewish communities everywhere, deplores any manifestation or expression of antisemitism. Hostility to Jews as a group, negative stereotyping of Jews, and scapegoating of Jews as responsible for the various ills of society have a long and unfortunate history and have had very sad and tragic consequences over the course of Jewish history.

“We regard any expression of antisemitism, racism, or hate directed against any group in our community with deep concern and remain vigilant about the implicit threat not only to ourselves and to other communities that might be targeted, but also to the fabric of a diverse, pluralistic and democratic society.”

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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Two instances of antisemitic vandalism discovered in Sheffield in as many weeks

A member of the public discovered a yellow star sticker with the letter “J” in the middle appended to a cash machine at a post office on London Road in Sheffield this week.

The discovery, reported to Campaign Against Antisemitism, came within two weeks of the appearance of antisemitic graffiti, including swastikas and references to Hitler and the Nazis, in a popular park.

The graffiti, discovered by a local runner on a pathway in Boleshill Park, Crookes, is believed to have been written using ash from a fire.

The runner reportedly said “It wasn’t actually paint, but they lit a fire and used the ash to make the graffiti. I rubbed it with my foot, thinking it was white paint but it started to come out.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Jewish couple confronted by man performing Nazi salute in North London

It has been reported that a Jewish couple were confronted by a man performing the Nazi salute in North London.

CCTV footage shows a visibly Jewish man and woman walking down the street when a man walking in the opposite direction appears to perform the salute before walking off.

The incident took place in Clapton Common and was reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol. 

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3759 08/02/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Antisemitic flyers distributed around Palo Alto

A series of antisemitic flyers have been distributed around neighbourhoods in Palo Alto, California, prompting concern from local community leaders and law enforcement.

The flyers claim that certain named American federal officials and politicians are Jewish and blame them for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The flyers were placed in plastic bags and weighed down with rice to stop them from being displaced by the wind before being placed in the front yards and porches of houses and apartment complexes. They are believed to have been distributed by the antisemitic Goyim Defence League (GDL), led by Jon Minadeo II

The GDL is a group is responsible for stunts such as visiting a Chabad centre to claim that “these Jewish terrorists” were behind 9/11, and hanging a banner on a Los Angeles overpass reading “Honk if you know the Jews want a race war.” Last year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. Recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.

Jeff Schwartz, teacher and Mitzvah Director at the Congregation Kol Emeth synagogue expressed his concerns about the flyer’s use of antisemitic themes, saying: “When you see a swastika on a building or something similar, it just hits you right in the heart. We know [antisemitism] is always there, but you don’t really believe it until you see something like this.”

We reported last month that the FBI was investigating antisemitic flyers, also connected with the GDL, that were deposited in the driveways of members of the Colleyville synagogue where a British Islamist recently took four people hostage.

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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“F*** Jews”: Jewish woman and six-year-old child flee after being screamed at in Stamford Hill

It has been reported that a Jewish woman and a six-year-old child were screamed at by a man in North London, prompting them to run for safety. 

The man reportedly shouted “F*** Jews” to the woman and child and stood in close proximity to the two.

The incident took place at a bus stop in Stamford Hill and was reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol. 

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 7322 05/03/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Police investigating antisemitic graffiti found on Greater Toronto school that used to serve as synagogue

Antisemitic graffiti has been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.

Police are investigating the acts of vandalism which they believe were carried out on separate dates spanning the last two months. 

Reports say that on 9th January, black spray paint was found on signs at Simonston Park, on 12th January, blue spray paint was found on a private school that is understood to be Metro International Secondary Academy, a building that formerly served a synagogue, located across the street on Simonston Boulevard, and on 19th February, blue spray paint was found, again, on the same school building.

York Regional Police said: “Investigators believe that these incidents are hate motivated and are asking any witnesses, anyone with information or video surveillance footage in that area, to please come forward.” 

This latest report comes days after the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students in the area performing Nazi salutes.

Constable Alex Li of the Toronto Police Service said: “These are being treated as hate-motivated and our Hate Crime Unit is fully engaged…Due to the similarities in each incident, investigators are exploring whether they are linked.”

The schools involved were Central Technical High School, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Antisemitic graffiti was also reportedly found on the playground of Regal Road Junior Public School.

The reports of graffiti are the latest in what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.

On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.”

On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. 

On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.

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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Woman’s alleged repeated taunting of Jewish schoolgirls with dog reportedly leads to injury in Stamford Hill

A woman’s alleged repeated taunting of Jewish schoolgirls with her dog has reportedly led to an injury.

It was reported that the woman routinely and intentionally scares the schoolgirls with her dog when the children leave the school at the end of the day, recently prompting one girl to run away and injure her foot in the process. It is understood that, rather than taking the dog for a walk, the woman travels by bus to the school, alights, approaches the children, gives the dog more slack on the leash so that it can get closer to the children, and, after terrorising them, she returns to the bus and goes home. This has reportedly occurred on multiple occasions.

This latest incident occurred on Amhurst Park and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4605853/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Google

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New York police say antisemitic crimes rose by 400% in February

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has said that antisemitic crimes rose by 400% in February.

Last month, police recorded 56 hate crimes against Jewish people, compared with 11 in February 2021. Additionally, fifteen incidents were recorded in January compared with four in January of last year. The statistics reflected an overall increase in New York crime.

One such incident in February occurred when the words ‘F*** Jews’ were spray-painted three times on a newly opened Israeli restaurant named Miriam on the Upper West Side in New York City on Thursday 17th February. This antisemitic incident occurred at the same time as the Mayor, Eric Adams, was scheduled to hold a meeting to address the increase of antisemitic incidents across the city. 

A separate incident was addressed by Mayor Adams after he lambasted “disgusting” graffiti targeting Jewish people that was found scrawled on the window of a Queens dental office. A photograph shows the word “JEWS” scrawled across a window with a profanity preceding it. The graffiti was reportedly discovered by a rabbi on Saturday, after the Jewish Sabbath had ended, who then reported it to the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force.

Mayor Adams said in a tweet: “This would be disgusting anytime but it’s especially outrageous as we come to the end of Shabbos. We won’t let this vicious hatred go unanswered in our city.”

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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Police investigate antisemitic graffiti in Derbyshire

Police are investigating antisemitic graffiti reportedly found in Derbyshire.

The graffiti was said to have been found in an underpass to Gosforth Lane in Dronfield.

A spokesperson for Dronfield Police Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “Unfortunately, it would appear that some people still think it acceptable to engage in anti-social, criminal damage in Dronfield in the guise of graffiti.

“More disturbingly is the fact that this graffiti is offensive and contains antisemitic comments. This is totally unacceptable and any identified offenders will be dealt with by way of a robust response as this crime is motivated by hatred.”

“This must stop,” the spokesperson added.

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Man who left antisemitic flyers at Sacramento synagogue and school jailed

Nicholas Wayne Sherman, 34, was sentenced on 1st March to 180 days of incarceration in Sacramento County Jail for leaving antisemitic leaflets at a synagogue and an elementary school in Carmichael, California, in October 2021.

He left “Aryan Nations” flyers on the doorsteps of homes and at the elementary school in Carmichael, many of which had swastikas drawn or printed on them.

Later that month, Mr Sherman tied papers to a menorah and a metal fence at the synagogue. These papers included antisemitic comments such as “Hitler was right” and photos of Adolf Hitler.

Mr Sherman was arrested in December 2021 and pleaded no contest to his charges. Eleven other misdemeanour charges were filed against him, although all were dismissed.

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: Shalom Le Israel

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Antisemitic graffiti reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students performing Nazi salutes

Antisemitic graffiti has reportedly been found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students in the area performing Nazi salutes.

Constable Alex Li of the Toronto Police Service said: “These are being treated as hate-motivated and our Hate Crime Unit is fully engaged…Due to the similarities in each incident, investigators are exploring whether they are linked.”

The schools involved were Central Technical High School, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Antisemitic graffiti was also reportedly found on the playground of Regal Road Junior Public School.

The reports of graffiti are the latest in what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.

On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.”

On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. 

On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.

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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“I will carve a swastika on your forehead with a knife,” Jewish man reportedly told

A Jewish man was reportedly threatened following a dispute regarding employment, in which he was told: “I will carve a swastika on your forehead with a knife.”

The incident, which was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, is now reportedly being dealt with by the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Hate Crime Investigators.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3590 02/03/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Antisemitic Cambridgeshire neo-Nazi sentenced to over eight years in prison

A man who sported a moustache in the style of Adolf Hitler’s and wore a Nazi armband to his trial has been sentenced to jail for more than eight years, after being found guilty of terror offences and stirring up racial hatred.

Matthew Henegan, 35, distributed leaflets in Cambridgeshire, where he resides, and possessed a document titled “How To Make Armour Piercing Bullets”, which apparently contains information likely to be useful in terrorism. In the raid of his home, investigators reportedly found a Nazi armband and leaflets which referred to Hitler as “your saviour”.

In addition, Mr Henegan asserted that Jewish people masterminded the COVID-19 pandemic and created an hour-long film in which he claimed that Jewish people controlled the police, economy and media. He reportedly referred to Jews as “kikes”, adding that they were filthy and sadistic and branded them “creatures”.

The content was published in documents and videos labelled “Corona Virus Hoax Full Edition”, “Corona Virus Hoax Supplement” and “Corona Virus Hoax Update – How You Are Being Controlled” which was then stored on archive.org, a publically accessible online database. 

During the trial, jurors watched excerpts from Mr Henegan’s films, one of which included the statement: “One (you) given a standing command upon my death to slaughter the kike, for they will come to slaughter you as they already do and you will enter your children into the same slave stage that you live in today. Colonisation is what the kike is doing here with us, they merely turn film into their perverted dream and our reality. The power of the Aryan far exceeds the kikes and I will lead you to victory over these vile sadistic creatures. Your Fuhrer.”

Mr Henegan reportedly appeared at last year’s preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey wearing dark glasses, a hairband and an armband with a red swastika. According to a report, the judge asked the defendant’s lawyer: “Can you see what he’s wearing?”, and ordered Mr Henegan to leave the courtroom. The defendant asked: “Are we done for the day then?” The judge replied: “We are not.” The defendant replied: “I have a right to freedom of expression, freedom of dress, freedom of religion. They are rights not for debate.” The judge instructed the lawyer to give his client advice and said: “Next time it will not be out in the public corridor.” Mr Henegan returned to the courtroom with a jacket, with the armband no longer visible.

Mr Henegan told the jury on Monday: “You may see me, with my moustache, and think of it as a Hitler moustache, rather than Charlie Chaplin or Oliver Hardy. It is clearly your diseased mind that influences your thoughts.”

When Mr Henegan was asked if he was a National Socialist, he replied: “Yes, “I do not pretend otherwise.”

Despite denying all charges, Mr Henegan was convicted at the Old Bailey for publishing, distributing or possessing material intended to stir racial hatred on six counts and one count of possessing a document useful to a terrorist after approximately eleven hours of jury deliberation. 

He refused to addend Winchester Crown Court, where Judge Nigel Lickley QC sentenced him on 2nd March to eight years and one month in prison with an extended licence period of four years, and made him subject to a counter-terrorism notification order for 30 years. Judge Lickley said: “You created racist material designed to be inflammatory, to cause upset and incite racial hatred of the Jewish faith. In the context of the pandemic enveloping the world, you distributed material designed to incite racial hatred.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “On top of every other misery that this pandemic has inflicted on the world, it has also been treated as a pretext for racists to promote antisemitic conspiracy theories. Among them is Matthew Henegan, who calls himself the Fuhrer, came to court with a Nazi armband and says that Jews control the media and police and are behind a supposed ‘Covid hoax’. We welcome the conviction and strong sentence of this abominable individual, which keeps him out of society and keeps the rest of us safe from the danger that he poses.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Cambridgeshire Police

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Court hearing for man who allegedly punched Jewish men to the ground

A court hearing was held today for man who was arrested after visibly Jewish men were punched to the ground in North London in January.

Police in Haringey arrested a man after two visibly Jewish men were viciously punched to the ground in Stamford Hill. CCTV footage shows a man striking blows to the two Jewish men’s faces and bodies.

The victims, Israel Grossman and Erwin Ginsberg, were promptly treated by Hatzola, a volunteer-run emergency medical service, and were hospitalised. It is understood that one victim sustained severe bruising, a broken nose and a fractured wrist, while the other also suffered bruising and injuries to his wrist and eye.

The incident reportedly took place on Cadoxton Avenue and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

Malaki Thorpe, 18, of Fairview Road N15, appeared in Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court shortly after the incident and was charged with two counts of racially aggravated ABH and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.

He was remanded in custody, and did not attend today’s hearing at Wood Green Crown Court. Today the court determined that he is to undergo a mental health assessment to determine his fitness to stand trial, and the case is due to progress in the coming months.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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CAA publishes latest Antisemitism Barometer, showing detrimental impact of antisemitism surge, with British Jews also pointing fingers at criminal justice system, Labour Party, Green Party, universities and social media

Today, Campaign Against Antisemitism publishes our latest Antisemitism Barometer, comprising a survey of the British public’s views toward Jews and a poll of the Jewish community.

The Barometer’s poll of the British public’s views towards Jews utilises the Generalised Antisemitism Scale. The survey was designed and analysed by Dr Daniel Allington of King’s College London, with fieldwork carried out by YouGov.

  • Using the twelve-question Generalised Antisemitism Scale, the survey shows that 57% of British adults do not harbour any antisemitic views; they did not affirm a single one of the twelve statements.
  • The other side of the coin, however, is that there is deeply troubling normalisation of antisemitism, as 43% of British adults did affirm at least one antisemitic statement, although over half of them only agreed with only one or two antisemitic statements.
  • 11% of British adults have entrenched antisemitic views, affirming four or more antisemitic statements. 
  • The most popular antisemitic statement was that “Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews”, with which 24% of British adults agreed. That view is antisemitic under the International Definition of Antisemitism adopted by the Government.

The Barometer also includes a separate survey of British Jews designed and analysed in consultation with Dr Allington and carried out by Campaign Against Antisemitism and Jewish community partners. The survey reveals that:

  • The events of 2021, when antisemitism surged on British streets and campuses, online, in workplaces, schools and hospitals and in other institutions, have left their mark. British Jews are now less optimistic about their future in the UK, and a record 46% also decline to display visible signs of their Jewish identity due to antisemitism.
  • The antisemitism that arose during the conflict between Hamas and Israel weighed particularly heavy with British Jews, almost eight in ten of whom disclosed that the various demonstrations in the UK during the conflict caused them to feel ‘intimidated as a Jew’.
  • British Jews’ confidence in the criminal justice system is lower than ever: the Crown Prosecution Service has always performed poorly in our polling, but for the first time ever, a majority of British Jews do not believe that the police or the courts do enough to protect them either.
  • British Jews reserve significant opprobrium for political parties: over eight in ten British Jews still feel that the Labour Party is too tolerant of racism against Jews, belying Sir Keir Starmer’s claim to have “shut the door” on antisemitism in his Party. For the first time, a majority of British Jews also believe that another party is too tolerant of antisemitism: the Green Party.
  • In the first ever poll on the subject, almost all British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities (92%) and on social media (96%) is a problem, underscoring the need for urgent action.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The events of 2021 have left their mark on Britain’s Jews. Antisemitic incidents broke new records, particularly during the conflict between Hamas and Israel, with almost eight in ten British Jews feeling ‘intimidated as a Jew’ and many now questioning our community’s future in the UK.

“It is not just the perpetrators who are faulted by the Jewish community, but also those tasked with protecting us. For the first time, a majority of the Jewish community now does not trust the police, CPS and courts to protect them. If the next commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and Director of Public Prosecutions wish to restore the confidence of British Jews in their institutions, they should urgently adopt the recommendations set out in our report.

“British Jews also point the finger at political parties, with over eight in ten British Jews still feeling that Labour is too tolerant of racism against Jews, belying Sir Keir Starmer’s claim to have ‘shut the door’ on antisemitism in his Party.

“Jewish life on campus is thriving, but there is no excuse for Jewish students or faculty to be forced to think twice about their educational or professional trajectory because of concerns over antisemitism. As our polling demonstrates for the first time, there is a clear consensus that British Jews are alarmed by antisemitism in universities. Given the strength of sentiment, it is vital that a minority of universities stop refusing to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, and that all institutions actually apply the Definition when allegations of racism toward Jews arise.”

“Britain cannot be content when almost half of a long-established minority community avoids disclosing identifying signs in public, or when a broad majority considers one of the two major political parties to be too tolerant of racism. It is not too late to make the right changes in politics, at universities, online and to criminal justice, but our recommendations are increasingly urgent.”

The full Barometer is available at antisemitism.org/barometer.

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Alleged Nazi sympathiser accused of building submachine gun to use against Jews stands trial in Birmingham

An alleged Nazi sympathiser currently standing trial in Birmingham has pleaded not guilty to preparing an act of terrorism.

Birmingham Crown Court heard last week that 24-year-old Ben Styles of Leamington Spa posted in an online group called “#Kill All the Jews”, and had begun building a submachine gun to use against Jewish people. He reportedly posted in the online group: “I hope the holocaust is real next time.”

Prosecutors said that Mr Styles told his friend that he was “just getting as strong as possible for the war” and sent screenshots of his phone which used images of swastikas for the background.

Referring to his phone’s background image, Mr Styles reportedly told his friend: “Waking up and seeing this lock screen to start my day is far more important than some non-person NHS clapper shouting at me about primary school history.”

Mr Styles reportedly said of the New Zealand Christchurch terrorist attack:  “I just got back from New Zealand – it made me super racist. Then that happened and I had a good day.”

Prosecutor Matthew Brook told the court that a Nazi fitness manual and a book titled “The SS family yearly – celebrations of the SS family” was found in Mr Styles’ garage, along with the lower part and top part of a homemade submachine gun and shop-bought blanks with manuals which “showed the reader how to convert blank bullets into functioning live ammunition”.

Mr Brook continued: “In this case, the evidence will prove that the defendant, Ben Styles, fully believed in extreme right-wing ideology. That is the twisted ideology of Nazis and white supremacy. The evidence will show that the defendant had collected on an encrypted USB drive instruction manuals about how to build guns and how to make live ammunition.

“When the police searched his home on 15th February last year, they found that he had closely and carefully followed the instructions in one of those manuals and was well on his way to making a homemade submachine gun.

“He had also started to make ammunition. He had also written a manifesto which talked about, in his words ‘working to fulfil my mission’, and set out his views about being in a religious war against the Jews and other targets of extreme right-wing terrorists.

“The evidence will show, it will prove, that the defendant was preparing to commit a terrorist act.”

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.

Image credit: Google

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Yoga instructor fired after employer reportedly discovers her relationship with, and assistance to, leader of antisemitic hate group

A yoga instructor has been fired after her employer reportedly discovered that her boyfriend is the leader of an antisemitic hate group.

Kelly Johnson was released from her position at a hot yoga studio in Berkeley, California after it was reported that her boyfriend is Jon Minadeo II, the leader of the antisemitic Goyim Defence League (GDL).

The GDL is a group is responsible for stunts such as visiting a Chabad centre to claim that “these Jewish terrorists” were behind 9/11, and hanging a banner on a Los Angeles overpass reading “Honk if you know the Jews want a race war.” Last year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. Recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.

Most recently, the GDL has been responsible for distributing antisemitic flyers to homes across the United States in less than one week, including the driveways of members of the Colleyville synagogue where a British Islamist recently took four people hostage. Written at the top of each flyer reads “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish” alongside the domain “goyim.tv”. The latest incident of flyer distribution has prompted an investigation by the FBI.

A statement released by the yoga studio confirmed that Ms Johnson “is no longer associated with Yoga Hell Petaluma or Hella Yoga Berkeley,” adding that “We are a firm believer in diversity and inclusion” before asserting that “Kelly seems to share in Jon’s beliefs” and “had assisted him in his business of hate.” 

It continued: “We were devastated to find out that someone so close to us could be so far from our values.” 

Jeff Renfro, a Jewish businessman and founder of Yoga Hell and Hella Yoga, said that he noticed a change in Ms Johnson’s attitudes towards the latter half of 2021, asserting that she even made a comment about sitting next to “smelly Jews” on a plane. Mr Renfro also claimed that after researching Mr Minadeo II, he found that Ms Johnson assisted the group’s leader with the paperwork in the creation of Goyim TV. 

Mr Renfro explained the decision in firing Ms Johnson, who he said was “like a sister to him,” made harder due to their close personal and professional relationship. “I told her I’m Jewish, I explained to her that my mother was Jewish…This is something that is not okay, no matter how good of friends we are. This overrides our friendship.”

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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University of South Florida suspends fraternity amid antisemitism allegations

The University of South Florida (USF) has temporarily suspended one of its fraternities amid antisemitism allegations.

The news comes shortly after the University released a statement condemning alleged antisemitic behaviour from its students.

One reported incident included the drawing of a swastika on the head of the Jewish fraternity pledge by members of the senior leadership of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

The statement also reported a social media post minimising the Holocaust.

The letter, sent by Dean Danielle McDonald, said that “Actions such as these are reprehensible and deserve our condemnation,” adding that “Student Conduct and Ethical Development (SCED) is investigating and will act in accordance with the due process standards outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.”

“USF embraces and celebrates diversity in all its forms. Antisemitism, racism, hate, and prejudice have no place here. We remain strong and united in our commitment to the Principles of Community in our pursuit of excellence,” Dean McDonald added.

Pi Kappa Phi’s suspension is to be reviewed tomorrow at an Informational Meeting between the fraternity’s President and a Hearing Officer.

The fraternity also released a statement on Instagram in which they denied that an antisemitic post was made by a member of the group and that the antisemitic action in question, in which a swastika was drawn on a Jewish fraternity pledge, was carried out by a “non-member guest”. 

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: StopAntisemitism.org

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Maine teenager alleged to have plotted mass murder at Chicago synagogues and mosques

A teenager is alleged to have plotted to commit “mass murder” at Chicago synagogues and mosques.

Xavier Pelkey, an eighteen-year-old boy from Maine is said to have been found with shrapnel-packed explosives and has been accused of planning to travel to Chicago and commit “mass murder”.

Mr Pelkey was arrested at his home in Waterville, Maine on 11th February. The FBI discovered three homemade explosive devices in his backpack that were loaded with fireworks, staples, pins and thumbtacks to “increase the amount of shrapnel propelled by an explosion if the devices were detonated”, according to investigators.

Mr Pelkey has been charged with unlawful possession of a destructive device. He said that his aim was to kill as many people as he could and then be killed by the police in what prosecutors described as “a calculated act of violence that was designed to take many lives.”

The suspect had also allegedly been conversing with two other teenagers on Instagram to assist with his scheme.

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: U.S. District Court records

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Pennsylvania police investigate after graves in three cemeteries vandalised with swastikas 

Pennsylvania police have launched an investigation after graves in three separate cemeteries were vandalised with swastikas. 

Photographs uploaded to Twitter show large, orange swastikas spray-painted on headstones in Montgomery County.

Also written on one of the headstones was a name and an address.

Plymouth Township Police, who were called at around 6:00 yesterday from a concerned passerby, are using the name and address as a lead but Police Chief John Myrsiades has declined to provide a name at this time.

Chief Myrsiades said: “Either that was the person who did it, or more likely somebody that had a problem with somebody else. So at least it gives us a lead that we’re pursuing to try to get some information.” 

He added: “I’m torn between being sickened and being sad.”

In November, hundreds of residents of the Pennsylvania town of Lancaster turned out to support the town’s Jewish community after a chanukiah in the town-centre was vandalised.

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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Three neo-Nazis plead guilty to planning attack on United States power grids

Three neo-Nazis have pleaded guilty to planning an attack on power grid across the United States.

Jonathan Frost, 24, Christopher Cook, twenty, and Jackson Sawall, 22, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to extremists.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said that “According to these pleas, three individuals engaged in a disturbing plot to attack our country’s energy infrastructure, damage the economy and stoke division in our society, all in the name of white supremacy.” 

It has been reported that Mr Frost and Mr Cook met in an online chat room for extremists in 2019, whereupon Mr Sawall, a friend of Mr Cook’s, later joined. It was here that Mr Cook was said to have disseminated neo-Nazi and white supremacist content. 

The men plotted to use rifles to attack power grids across the States in a plan that they believed, according to the Justice Department, “would cost the government millions of dollars and cause unrest for Americans in the region.”

The Justice Department added that the men “had conversations about how the possibility of the power being out for many months could cause war, even a race war, and induce the next Great Depression.”

The men met in person in 2020 in Columbus, Ohio, where Mr Cook resided. Here, they spread further neo-Nazi propaganda and painted a swastika flag below a bridge.

Timothy Langan, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, said that the men were motivated by their “racially or ethnically…violent extremist views.” 

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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Spree of antisemitic vandalism leads Massachusetts college to hold remote classes and offer $10,000 reward for information

In response to a spree of antisemitic vandalism in recent weeks at Curry College, a private college in Massachusetts, the College has decided to hold remote classes today, in addition to its offer of a $10,000 reward for information.

According to officials at the College, twenty swastikas have been discovered on the premises so far, in addition to a note targeting Black people.

In a statement released at the time that the initial act of vandalism was discovered, the College said: “Our support and care go out to everyone in our community, but particularly to our fellow Jewish and Black community members affected by this act…The College has both clear policies against hostile or hateful speech and a full commitment to creating a safe, welcoming, and diverse campus.”

Last week, however, after further incidents of antisemitism were discovered in the laundry room and a bathroom of a residence hall, the College in the town of Milton said that it would give a $10,000 reward to anyone who could provide information on the incident. 

The College has also decided to host its classes remotely today after a note threatening Black people was discovered which mentioned the date of 22nd February. 

Curry College President Kenneth Quigley Jr. said that “These disgusting acts of racism and antisemitism will not be tolerated on our campus,” adding: “The person or persons responsible for this must be identified, removed from our campus, and brought to justice.”

In December, we reported that Mount Holyoke College, a prestigious women’s college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, has seen its third report of an antisemitic incident that semester after a swastika and an antisemitic slur were allegedly found in the bathroom.

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 woman on London bus left shaken after passenger tells driver Jews shouldn’t be allowed on

A Jewish woman on a London bus was left shaken after a fellow passenger allegedly shouted to the driver that Jews shouldn’t be allowed on.

The suspect was reportedly sitting behind the victim and shouted to the driver: “Why are you letting on Jewish people, they are not supposed to be here.” 

He then continued his verbal attack on Jewish people before the bus driver told him to leave the bus, which he did. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism understands that the suspect is believed to be a middle-aged black male of average build. He was said to be five feet and six inches tall and wore dark clothing with a green cap.

The incident occurred on a 254 bus that was going towards Stamford Hill at 09:04 on 27th January and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 7976/21FEB22.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Antisemitic conspiracies believed to have contributed to man’s murder of his own family

Antisemitic conspiracy theories are believed to have been a contributing factor as to why a man murdered his own family last year.

German police said that the man, who lived in the State of Brandenburg and, before killing himself, reportedly shot his wife and children aged four, eight and ten on 7th December, feared that his children would be taken away from him owing to a forged coronavirus document.

According to Germany’s Interior Ministry, investigators uncovered messages sent by the man that indicated he was fearful that Germany’s vaccine mandates were part of a plan to “to halve the world population and establish a new world order under Jewish leadership.”

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

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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“F*** Jews” spray-painted on Israeli restaurant in New York City

The words ‘F*** Jews’ were spray-painted three times on a newly opened Israeli restaurant named Miriam on the Upper West Side in New York City on Thursday 17 February.

This antisemitic incident occurred at the same time as the Mayor, Eric Adams was scheduled to hold a meeting to address the increase of antisemitic incidents across the city. The NYPD hate crimes unit reported 22 hate crimes against Jews from 1st January to 1st February. This is compared to eight hate crimes in the same period in 2021.

New York State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal wrote that “My constituents woke up to hateful and disgusting antisemitic graffiti…I encourage our neighbours to support Miriam.”

Mark Levine, the President of the Borough of Manhattan, called the incident “disgusting” and said that “we can’t accept this as normal.”

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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FBI investigating antisemitic flyers deposited in driveways of members of Colleyville synagogue targeted by hostage-taker, while other flyers continue to appear across United States

The FBI is investigating antisemitic flyers that were deposited in the driveways of members of the Colleyville synagogue where a British Islamist recently took four people hostage.

According to reports, one flyer in the driveways in Texas claimed that “every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish,” while another made references to Jewish members of the Biden administration. Yet another reportedly read: “Black lives murder white children.”

It is believed that the flyers are associated with the antisemitic “Goyim TV” group, which has repeatedly been involved in the distribution of antisemitic flyers in recent months.

Furthermore, just in the last few days, similar antisemitic flyers to those in Texas have appeared across the United States, including in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Virginia, in some cases in multiple disparate locations in those states.

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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Activists convicted of “falsely accusing” Holocaust-revisionist bishop of antisemitism

A prominent Athens bishop has been acquitted by a court of antisemitic rhetoric, with the activists behind the claims being found guilty of “falsely accusing” him.

In 2015, Bishop Seraphim, the Metropolitan of Piraeus, allegedly said that the “international Zionist monster” that “controlled” the left-leaning government in power at the time was to blame for new legislation increasing civil rights among same-sex couples, while five years earlier he told a local television station that Jews were to blame for Greece’s debilitating debt crisis and that they had orchestrated the Holocaust. He later stated that these comments were his personal opinions and not those of the church.

Instead, the two human rights activists were found guilty of “falsely accusing” the Greek Orthodox bishop of racist hate speech by the three-member Athens tribunal and were given twelve-month jail sentences, suspended for three years.

Andrea Gilbert, one of the two activists who works at the Greek Helsinki Monitor rights group, said that the “outrageous” verdict was “representative of the institutionalised antisemitism that exists in Greece.” Ms Gilbert added: “We have immediately appealed and will fight it all the way.”

Ms Gilbert, in addition to the other convicted activist, the Helsinki Monitor spokesperson, Panayote Dimitras, had brought the complaint against Bishop Seraphim in April 2017. The pair accused the Bishop of public incitement to violence and hatred, in addition to abuse of ecclesiastical office.

The accusations referred to a statement that Greece’s Central Board of Jewish Communities, KIS, described as containing “well-known antisemitic stereotypes, conspiracy theories and traditional Jew-hating attitudes.”

Over two years later, their complaint was dismissed by a prosecutor, who argued that the Bishop’s statement should have been viewed within the framework of the Christian Orthodox church. The pair were charged in November and the case was referred to trial by a prosecutor after the Bishop filed his own complaint against the activists for reportedly making false statements.

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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Mayor of New York lambasts “disgusting” graffiti targeting Jewish people in Queens

The Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, has lambasted “disgusting” graffiti targeting Jewish people that was found scrawled on the window of a Queens dental office.

A photograph shows the word “JEWS” scrawled across a window with a profanity preceding it. The graffiti was reportedly discovered by a rabbi on Saturday, after the Jewish Sabbath had ended, who then reported it to the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force.

Mayor Adams said in a tweet: “This would be disgusting anytime but it’s especially outrageous as we come to the end of Shabbos. We won’t let this vicious hatred go unanswered in our city.”

In a second tweet, Mayor Adams said: “@NYPDHateCrimes is investigating this attack, and make no mistake an attack on our Jewish community is an attack on every New Yorker. We will catch the perpetrators of this assault.”

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards also spoke out against the vandalism on Twitter, writing: “There are no words to accurately describe how hideous and vile this is. Hate cannot be accepted anywhere, but especially not in the World’s Borough. If you spew antisemitism or hate in our borough, you will be caught. You will be prosecuted. You will never win.”

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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“Don’t get off the bus F***** Jew,” serial offender says, as she blocks pregnant Jewish woman from alighting bus

An alleged serial offender told a pregnant Jewish woman “Don’t get off the bus F***** Jew,” as she prevented the victim from alighting the bus.

The incident took place on a 253 bus at 15:15 on 16th February and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

The assailant was described as a black woman aged around 25 with a medium build and a ponytail. She was wearing a mustard colour jumper.

The victim has reportedly been left traumatised by the abuse.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD9609 16/02/22.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Man convicted of sending antisemitic letters to Alan Sugar imprisoned for over three years

A man who was convicted of religiously-aggravated harassment after sending Alan Sugar a series of abusive and antisemitic letters was handed a jail sentence of three years and six months at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday.

Patrick Gomes, 70, sent three letters to one of Lord Sugar’s business premises in Loughton between October and December 2018, according to Essex Police.

Each letter was addressed to Lord Sugar and reportedly included abusive, threatening and offensive language that was also derogatory towards the Jewish faith. One of the letters read: “I would like to murder all Jews in Britain, Alan.”

Mr Gomes was arrested at his home in Leyton in March 2019, after his DNA and fingerprints were found on one of the letters. Police found additional discriminatory letters, and discovered that the address of the letters to Lord Sugar was in Mr Gomes’ address book.

Mr Gomes denied involvement but was found guilty of religiously-aggravated harassment, putting those targeted in fear of violence, on 1st December at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Lord Sugar, the former host of The Apprentice television show, was originally reluctant to refer the matter to the police, but thanks officers for “helping to shine a light on the fact that this type of behaviour is simply not acceptable.” Lord Sugar said that, following the incident, he is “now always looking over my shoulder.”

Mr Gomes has also been handed an indefinite restraining order not to contact Lord Sugar.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Lord Sugar was right to refer this matter to the police. There must be zero tolerance for antisemitic crime, but that can only happen when victims report incidents. If racism against Jews is allowed to fester, the number of victims will only grow. We commend the police for pursuing the matter, and believe that this sentence sends a strong message that such grotesque conduct 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 more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

Image credit: Essex Police

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Jewish family in Alabama receives death threats after reporting teacher’s Nazi salutes

A family in Birmingham, Alabama has received both death and arson threats after reporting an incident in which their teenage son witnessed his teacher leading the class in giving Nazi-style salutes during a history lesson.

Mariya Tytell, the mother of Ephraim “Epps” Tytell, who attends Mountain Brook High School in the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, described the incident as part of “a pattern” of antisemitism.

Her son “came home very upset,” she said, adding that he told her and his father that students were performing the Nazi salute. As the only Jewish student in the history class, it had made him feel “very scared and uncomfortable,” he had told them.

Ms Tytell admits that she initially thought that it had been “a misunderstanding” and brushed off her son’s concerns, but she then received calls from other parents and realised that this had not been the case.

A statement from the regional education authority said that the lesson was to explain about symbols changing over time and that the teacher allegedly “using the Bellamy salute” as an example. Before its adoption by the Nazis, this was a gesture to show allegiance to the American flag. School leaders said that the teacher had not instructed students to give the salute.

A short video, taken by a classmate, showing students raising their arms toward the American flag was circulated on social media. Ms Tytell said that an administrator told her son to apologise for sharing the video, and that when her son refused, he allegedly faced retaliation from his teacher including having his phone taken away and having his seat moved to the front of the classroom.

Ms Tytell said that the family tried to work out the issue with the school’s administration but claims that they were brushed off and that after speaking to the media about the incident, the family received death and arson threats.

“We kind of see it as a failure of leadership and also as part of a longer pattern of constant antisemitic incidents,” said Ms Tytell.

Danny Cohn, CEO of the Birmingham Jewish Federation and acting CEO of the Alabama Holocaust Education Centre, said that he did not think the teacher was “being intentionally antisemitic.”

Mr Cohn said that the reason for the incident could be attributed to a lapse in judgment, but added that he understood the reaction that it had provoked. When Jews “see the Nazi salute, they’re not listening for context,” he said. “They just see something that’s sent more than six million of our people to their deaths.”

He said that he had asked Mountain Brook Schools to allow its teachers to participate in a Holocaust education programme.

Mountain Brook school district leaders later conceded that the history lesson had lacked sensitivity. They also reportedly said that they did not condone performing the salute when a picture would have been sufficient and that the issue had been addressed with the teacher. They added that they stand against antisemitism and that they were working with local Jewish organisations.

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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Cardiff teenager charged with being a member of proscribed neo-Nazi group Feuerkrieg Division

A Cardiff teenager has been charged with terror offences which include allegedly being a member of the proscribed neo-Nazi group Feuerkrieg Division.

Luca Benincasa, 19, was arrested on 1st February by Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit (WECTU) officers and appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 3rd February. 

Mr Benincasa was also charged with four counts of possessing information likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Mr Benincasa was remanded in custody and was due to appear at the Old Bailey yesterday, though it is understood that he will instead appear at Winchester Crown Court on 13th August.

Last year, a teenager from Cornwall, who became the UK’s youngest terror offender and was believed to have been in contact with the founder of Feuerkrieg Division, was controversially spared a custodial sentence.

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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Visibly Jewish man victim of violent burglary in Stamford Hill

A visibly Jewish man was the recent victim of a violent burglary in Stamford Hill.

The man reportedly had his phone stolen during the burglary. CCTV footage shows the Jewish man being violently punched by another man wearing what appears to be a brown jacket and blue jeans.

The incident occurred on St Ann’s Road on 11th February at approximately 15:00 and was reported on Friday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3703 11/02/22

It was also reported that Hackney Police are looking to speak with a person named Mark Zahra regarding a burglary of a synagogue on Lampard Road which reportedly occurred on Saturday. Anyone with information should contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4604158/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Health officials with Jewish-sounding names receive hate messages and threats over COVID measures

Health officials with Jewish-sounding names in Salem, Massachusetts have been targeted with antisemitic messages and threats over COVID measures.

The city’s Mayor, Kim Driscoll, announced that members of the Board of Health and Health Department whose names suggested that they were Jewish had been directly targeted with messages and threats online, by e-mail and via voicemails.

In a statement, Ms Driscoll said that such actions were “repugnant and worthy of condemnation” regardless of one’s perspective on “COVID mitigation measures.” She added: “We reject and condemn vile, racist, antisemitic, and regressive attacks.”

Describing the “actions and messages” as “atrocious and utterly unacceptable,” Ms Driscoll urged citizens to do their part in “denouncing hate.”

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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“We don’t want Jews here…Heil Hitler”: Man performs Nazi salute to woman with two babies in Stamford Hill

CCTV footage captured what appears to be a man performing a Nazi salute to a woman who was pushing two babies in a pram in Stamford Hill.

The man reportedly said: “We don’t want Jews here…heil Hitler.”

The incident occurred on 7th February and was reported on Friday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4603995/22

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police received a report of an antisemitic hate crime that took place in Stamford Hill, N16 at approximately 16:45hrs on Monday, 7th February where a woman and her children were verbally abused by a man.

“Enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible, including analysis of CCTV footage. There have been no arrests.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Swastika drawn on window shade at U.S. embassy in Bulgaria

A swastika has been found on a window shade inside the U.S. embassy in Bulgaria.

The antisemitic symbol was first discovered the day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, last month, but has only now been reported.

This comes after a swastika was discovered in July 2021 inside an elevator in the embassy. That swastika was reportedly found in a “secure part of the embassy”, meaning that it was likely drawn by somebody with access inside an American diplomatic outpost.

Both President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the incident in July. The State Department launched an investigation, although no conclusion has been reported.

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: Google

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Prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker Tahra Ahmed sentenced to 11 months in prison for stirring up racial hatred after being reported to police by CAA

Tahra Ahmed, a prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker who was reported to the police by Campaign Against Antisemitism has been sentenced to 11 months in prison after being found guilty of publishing written material in order to stir up racial hatred.

Ms Ahmed, 51, was exposed in The Times as having claimed that the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire were “burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice.” After the tragic fire that left 71 dead, Ms Ahmed said that she had been coordinating the work of volunteers, coaching them and running workshops with the aim of empowering them. She reportedly discussed her beliefs with some of the people she has helped.

Ms Ahmed, who described herself during her testimony as “very very bright”, was found guilty of two counts of incitement to racial hatred, following the trial instigated after Campaign Against Antisemitism, CST and others reported the matter to the police.

Sentencing Ms Ahmed today, His Honour Judge Mark Dennis QC said that “stirring up racial hatred is an abhorrent act”. Noting that she had received a good education, he said: “I have no doubt you knew full well what you were doing and it’s likely affect,” adding that he had “no reason to conclude you have any remorse.”

He also read from character statements from Ms Ahmed’s family, noting that it was “unfortunate” that one of them had claimed: “There seems to be a special rule for the Jewish people…one rule for them, another rule for us. Is that fair?” A defence plea for Ms Ahmed to receive a light sentence on account of her care duties for her 74-year old diabetic mother was brushed aside as the judge observed that Ms Ahmed is not her mother’s primary carer and in fact visits about once or twice a week.

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “For years we have pursued justice against Tahra Ahmed and today we are vindicated by this strong sentence, which sends a very clear message to those who seek to stir up anti-Jewish racism through conspiracy theories.

“Ms Ahmed sought to twist the Grenfell Tower tragedy to fit her venomous world view in which it seems that any evil can be attributed to Jews. She used people’s suffering and anger in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy and tried to wield it as a weapon against Jews before an audience of tens of thousands on social media. We are pleased that she will now go to prison for her wicked fabrications.

“As we have seen, her hatred has not only enabled her to abuse the Grenfell tragedy, but also to accuse Jews of being responsible for 9/11 and of supposedly exaggerating the Holocaust. As the prosecution observed, she used her position as an aid volunteer in the aftermath of Grenfell to ‘bait the mob’ against Jewish people, making her conduct particularly repulsive.”

In her social media posts, Ms Ahmed had written: “Watch the live footage of people trapped in the inferno with flames behind them. They were burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice. Grenfell is owned by a private Jewish property developer just like the twin towers. I wonder how much Goldman [Goldman Sachs, a bank often targeted by antisemites] is standing to make in the world’s most expensive real estate location [Kensington].”

She has also described the Holocaust as the “holohoax” and posted on Facebook that “Hitler and the Germans were the victims of the Jewish conspiracy to destroy Germany.” She is also a proponent of the antisemitic conspiracy theory that the 9/11 terror attacks were faked by Jews. In one Facebook comment found by Campaign Against Antisemitism after The Times published its article, she wrote: “All the leadership of ISIS is directly recruited by CIA and the leadership are all Arab Jews, trained by Mossad.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism also uncovered posts by Ms Ahmed claiming that “Jews have always been the ones behind ritual torture, crucifixion and murder of children,” a comment redolent of the blood libel. Other posts described the antisemite Gilad Atzmon as her “good friend” and complained about the “hold of Jewish power over our so-called free and democratic society”, claimed that “Zioborg overlords are engineering a civil war”, and referenced a supposed “Zioborg Banking cartel”, among other inflammatory comments. She has also promoted the far-right, antisemitic “Kalergi Plan” conspiracy theory, which claimed that there is a plot to mix white Europeans with other races through immigration.

Following The Times’ exposé and the further research by Campaign Against Antisemitism, we reported Ms Ahmed to the police and called for her to be prosecuted. The five-day trial, held at the Old Bailey after Westminster Magistrates’ Court declined jurisdiction, ended today with a guilty verdict from a jury.

Ms Ahmed, who denied two counts of stirring up racial hatred by publishing written material, was described by prosecutor Hugh French as having “published two posts that were virulently antisemitic and crossed the line as to what is acceptable in a liberal society.”

During the trial, the prosecution read a statement by Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, Gideon Falter.

Giving evidence, Ms Ahmed said that she campaigns against the arms trade, with her lawyer describing her work as being part of the “social justice movement.”

She claimed to have a problem with “Zionist Jews, not all Jews,” and that when she talks about “Zionist Jews” or “Talmudic Jews” or “Satantic Jews” people know whom she is referring to, conceding that there were times when she wrote something and failed to make a distinction between the particular Jews whom she was talking about and Jews in general. She claimed that she detests publicity and that The Times, by publishing her posts, is guilty of inciting racial hatred, rather than her.

As her evidence turned to Grenfell, she explained that in 2014 she began working as a life coach, confirming, however, that she had no training in this field. She set out to provide support for the volunteers who were supporting the victims. When asked about her description of the Grenfell fire as a “Jewish sacrifice”, she answered that “the Talmud talks about sacrificing children, Satanic ritual abuse, a lot of it coming from the Jewish circles…the Ba’al Jews, Talmudic Jews, Zionist Jews they’re a small number of the Jewish community but they are criminals.” Asked whether the fire was started deliberately, she claimed that many people believe so. Pressed on whether the Jews were to blame, she said that at the time she did think that, “just like they bombed Gaza every couple of years.”

Asked by her lawyer whether she accepts that the post was insulting, she agreed, but she denied that it amounted to racial hatred, saying: “Absolutely not, no way. No racial hatred except to the criminals. I’ll be bold to the criminals and I’m entitled to be.” The prosecution noted, however, that with passions running high in the immediate aftermath of the fire, people would be looking for someone to blame, and Ms Ahmed’s posts were an attempt to “bait the mob”, which she denied.

When Ms Ahmed was asked about her claim that “Jews are always the ones behind ritual murder, especially young boys, to atone and be let back in Palestine,” she insisted that “there are millions of Jewish people who are anti-Zionist and many are Facebook friends, so if any of them were offended they would have pointed it out,” adding that “If it [the comment] stirred up racial hatred, it would have happened by now.”

Regarding her posts about the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Ms Ahmed told the court about “Satanic ritual abuse practiced by secret societies in order to control people…horrific torture of children, raping them, et cetera…Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul, my suggestion was he was not involved in SRA [Satanic Ritual Abuse] or the upper echelons of the cult and was therefore dispensible.”

The defence asked Ms Ahmed who the “Satanic ruling Jews” are, to which she responded that they are “the bankers, owners of media and corporations, they manipulate and control a lot of evil in the world and I want it to end and so I expose who they are. Unfortunately, sometimes I don’t qualify by saying ‘Satanic’ and some racists would comment and I’d delete the comment or tell them off. People would share racist or inflammatory memes and I’d delete them, even though I’m passionate about freedom of speech. My intention is to educate them.” When pressed by the prosecution on whether she could provide any examples of her calling out racism or removing posts as she claimed to have done, she could not.

On the Holocaust, Ms Ahmed told the court, “I’m not a Holocaust denier…unfortunately, six million Jews is a number that has been perpetuated and the actual number has been revised down by experts.” She affirmed using the term “Holohoax”, arguing that “it [the figures] was manipulated and exaggerated at the time” and that, regarding the actual number of deaths in the Holocaust, “The Jewish council [sic] says 3.5 million…the Red Cross says 283,000.” She also baselessly asserted that “Hitler had an agreement with Rothschild to put Jews in concentration camps so Rothschild could transfer Jews to Palestine” and approvingly quoted a known Holocaust denier. She was also pressed on why she described the expulsion of the Jews from England in the Middle Ages as a “final solution to the Jewish problem.”

The judge asked Ms Ahmed about 9/11: “It’s a yes or no question. Do you believe Jews were responsible for 9/11?” Ms Ahmed replied that “It’s not fair to answer that without context,” also variously describing the terrorist attack as a “false flag” operation and a “Mossad” operation. She further claimed that “Before US Presidents are elected, they show their allegiance to Israel to pay homage to say ‘we’re here to serve you’.”

During her testimony, Ms Ahmed also invoked far-right conspiracy theories, for example asserting that “Kabbalistic Jews don’t want Europe to remain white. Personally, I’m multicultural and love diversity. This plan is to bring other people into the land to deliberately destroy cultures,” a claim akin to the replacement theory antisemitic conspiracy theory popular with white nationalists. Her testimony also featured further comments about “Rothschild” control of the banking system; “ZioNazis”; “real Ashkenazis” and “Satanic Ashkenazis”; the “Bilderberg group” (which often features in conspiracy theories); “powerful people behind world governments”; a “cabal” akin to the “deep state” and “the most powerful ones at the top are Jewish”; the Khazar myth, which holds that contemporary Jews are actually a converted Central Asian people with no claim to the Land of Israel, and other conspiracy theories, including about the CIA and the COVID-19 “scamdemic”.

The prosecution accused Ms Ahmed of “using the witness box as a pulpit for your views” and of knowingly and deliberately “whipping up the mob with her social media posts.”

In her defence, over the course of her extended and rambling testimony Ms Ahmed insisted that “I’m not racist or antisemitic but passionate which sometimes looks like anger. They don’t care I write about Muslim terrorist organisations, I’m not accused of being islamophobic or anti-white or anti-British.” She described the trial as a “witchhunt” and claimed that, during case management and her plea hearing last year, she was “unlawfully arrested, incarcerated and tortured for six days” and suffered from “post-traumatic stress disorder” as a result, inhibiting her from mounting a strong defence. At more than one point, she was rebuked by the judge for misleading the jury about the case management process.

Ms Ahmed was found guilty by eleven of the twelve jurors, who agreed on both counts, and has today been sentenced.

We are grateful to the CST for once again providing security for CAA personnel attending court for the trial.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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UK records highest-ever number of reported antisemitic incidents in 2021, up 34% on the previous year

The CST’s latest release shows that the number of reported antisemitic incidents reached a record high in 2021.

The figures for 2021 show 2,255 reports of antisemitic incidents, which is the highest figure on record and represents an increase of 34% on the previous year.

It is also widely recognised that many incidents go unreported.

The surge in antisemitism during the conflict between Hamas and Israel last May – when the CST recorded 661 reported antisemitic incidents, which was the highest ever monthly figure – is undoubtedly one of the causes of the severe rise, although a loosening of pandemic restrictions is also cited as a milder contributing factor.

More than half of the incidents were in London, and 2021 also saw the highest number of reported antisemitic incidents on British university campuses.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Once again, the Community Security Trust has done an outstanding job of exposing the increasing normalisation of antisemitism in this country. That number of incidents in 2021, the highest ever reported, is shocking and disgraceful, but it comes as no surprise to those of us who are working on the front line in this fight to counter this ancient racism.

“There have been ample opportunities to put the brakes on the spread of this poison in recent years, and they’ve all been missed. The report today shows we are now seeing the consequences of those failures. We need to see genuine zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. We need an education program that deals not just with schools and campuses, and we also need to look at de-radicalisation because we know that antisemitism is a gateway to extremism.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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“I wish I had a gun to shoot you”: Jewish schoolchildren reportedly assaulted in Stamford Hill

It has been reported that Jewish schoolchildren were reportedly assaulted in Stamford Hill, North London.

The perpetrator is alleged to have harassed Jewish people before and is understood to have shouted “You Jews are so bad” and “I wish I had a gun to shoot you.” CCTV footage appears to show a visibly angry man yelling at Jewish schoolchildren as a Jewish man shields them as they walk.

The incident is believed to have occurred on 6th February and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4417 06/02/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Conspiracy theorist who admitted defacing seventeen bus stops in London with graffiti, including the words “Jews and gays are aliens”, denies the offence was racially or religiously aggravated

A conspiracy theorist who admitted defacing seventeen bus stops in London with graffiti, including the words “Jews and gays are aliens”, has denied that the offence was racially or religiously aggravated

Nicholas Lalchan, 47, from Edmonton, London, used a black marker pen to deface the bus stops, causing £100 of damage each time.

When he was charged, Mr Lalchan, who is Canadian, allegedly said: “New world order. The fourth Reich. We will see.”

Mr Lalchan was convicted of stirring up racial hatred by a jury at Aldersgate House Nightingale Court in central London in September 2021, having admitted possessing a marker pen with intent to cause criminal damage and being convicted of doing so with racial or religious motivation, which he had denied.

When police searched his home, they reportedly found leaflets, marker pens, maps of bus routes and a USB stick containing pictures that referenced Jewish people and conspiracy theories.

Judge Gerard Pounder told Mr Lalchan: “All it takes is for a small Jewish child to see this, and for them to get very upset. You were deliberately hostile and you aimed it at a specific group of people, whether that be gay people, a Jewish priest [sic] or Jewish people.”

Mr Lalchan’s lawyers are now appealing against his conviction for stirring up racial hatred so the court has adjourned sentencing. Explaining next steps, Judge Pounder said: “Your counsel will tell you what’s going on. It’s very complicated. I’m adjourning this until 18th March. That will just be to find out what’s happening in the Court of Appeal and fix a further date for sentence.”

As he was leaving the dock, Mr Lalchan said: “MI5, MI6 is looking to recruit me, they are trying to get me to work against the crown. Your Honour I don’t want to work for MI5, MI6, CIA.” When the judge told him that he would have an opportunity at a later date to make a statement, Mr Lalchan reportedly replied: “It might be too late then, Your Honour. Things are very fluid at the moment. Every single secret service is a traitor to its own population.”

Mr Lalchan is currently on bail and does not need to attend the next hearing. 

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Neo-Nazi student who disguised terrorism manual as Minecraft handbook jailed for three and a half years 

A neo-Nazi student who disseminated a terrorism manual disguised as a handbook for Minecraft, an adventure game where users can build and create new environments, was jailed on Friday for three and a half years.

Connor Burke, 19, shared the 27-page bomb-making manual in a channel on the social media platform Telegram under the file name Minecraft_Bow_Ammo_Types.pdf. Other terrorism-related documents, including the Anarchy Cookbook Version 2000, were also disguised as Minecraft handbooks. The Anarchy Cookbook Version 2000 is an updated version of the Anarchist Cookbook, which is 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”.

Concerns have previously been raised over the alleged increase in neo-Nazi content on Telegram. Last year, a teenage neo-Nazi was jailed for eleven years after using the social media platform Telegram to plot terrorist acts. The far-right group Patriotic Alternative was also found to have created neo-Nazi channels dedicated to sharing vile messages, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and images glorifying Hitler.

In a raid of Mr Burke’s family home in Bexleyheath in February 2021, anti-terrorism police found a copy of Mein Kampf, an SS-dagger, and racist and antisemitic propaganda on his computer. They also discovered a video about the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand.

Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Burke had an unhealthy interest in extreme right wing terrorist ideology, and this led to him sharing extremely dangerous material with others online.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing young people being drawn into extremist ideologies, some of whom – like Burke – then go on to commit serious terrorism offences.”

Naeem Mian QC, defending, said that “It is every parent’s worst nightmare. Through a toxic combination coming together, a young man who is from a very loving background but socially isolated found he was having to stay at home as many people were during lockdown. So the isolation was even greater.

“He was therefore spending too much time on his computer and on the internet, in his room by himself…He is a young man who has disappeared down something one would term as a rabbit hole. A very dark rabbit hole which became something of an echo chamber.”

Judge Christopher Kinch QC said: “You got yourself caught up in some very dangerous activity and you waded in deep”, but noted that the teenager’s parents called him a “loving, respectful, gentle young man” who they believe had been motivated to “make an impression” with people he met online. Judge Kinch said that he felt that Mr Burke had a good chance of rehabilitation.

Mr Burke pleaded guilty to disseminating a terrorist publication and four counts of possession of a document likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday to a total of 42 months’ imprisonment and an additional 12 months on licence.

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.

Image credit: Metropolitan Police

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Snowplow driver fired after posting video of himself spraying Jewish people with snow in New Jersey

A snowplow driver has been fired after he posted a video of himself spraying Jewish people with snow in New Jersey.

The video, shot from inside of the snowplow, shows the driver approaching two visibly Jewish people on his left. He then sprays the Jewish people before breaking into laughter.

Danny Klarmann, an employee of New Jersey Waste Management, posted the now-removed video to his Facebook profile alongside the caption: “This one’s for you JC.” 

An investigation is being carried out by Lakewood police and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office. 

Waste Management released a statement in which they said: The hateful conduct depicted in the video is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of inclusion and diversity we hold as a company.”

Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles also called the stunt “incredibly stupid and dangerous”, adding: “The plow could easily have thrown chunks of ice or rock and seriously injured or killed either of the victims. I am glad to know our police department is investigating all aspects of this incident.”

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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London Underground train carriage reportedly taken out of service after “YIDS” vandalism

A London Underground train carriage has reportedly been taken out of service after the British Transport Police were alerted to the carriage being vandalised.

The vandalism appears to show the word “YIDS” and a Star of David etched into the panel of the carriage

The person who alerted BTP was travelling eastbound on the Central line at 16:40 on 3rd February. After reporting the vandalism by text to BTP, she was then contacted by phone where she was then advised that Transport for London had been informed. 

The informant, who works for TfL, was able to check on an internal system and discovered that the carriage appeared to have been taken out of service. 

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NYPD hate crime unit investigating after spree of alleged antisemitic attacks in Brooklyn 

The New York Police Department (NYPD)’s hate crime unit is investigating a spree of alleged antisemitic attacks which were reported to have taken place over the weekend.

The incidents reportedly all took place in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn during the Jewish Sabbath.

At 22:26 on Friday, a 24-year-old visibly Jewish man was punched in the face. CCTV footage shows a man running up behind the Jewish man before striking him.

A second alleged antisemitic was also reported to have taken place on Friday.

A third incident saw multiple Yeshiva school buses being vandalised with swastikas.  

Last month, New York police arrested a woman who was suspected of making antisemitic comments to three Jewish children aged seven, two and eight, in Brooklyn. The suspect reportedly walked away after telling the three siblings that “Hitler should have killed you all. I’ll kill you and know where you live,” and spitting on the eight-year-old boy.

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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Plank of wood thrown through synagogue window in North London

A plank of wood has been thrown through a synagogue window in Stamford Hill, North London.

Haringey Police are treating the incident as a hate crime.

The incident is believed to have occurred yesterday at 19:00 on Franklin Street and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.

If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 2810 04/02/22

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Investigation underway after swastika painted on army barracks

An investigation is currently underway after a swastika was found painted on Rock Barracks in Suffolk last week.

The black swastika was reportedly scrawled onto the lower level of a barracks housing troops that was connected to the 16 Air Assault Brigade.

The Royal Military Police, who is leading the investigation, has said that multiple soldiers from the 23 Parachute Engineers reported the vandalism. It is understood that the Royal Military Police were made aware of the swastika graffiti as of 28th January, the day after Holocaust Memorial Day.

An army spokesman said: “We utterly condemn any form of antisemitism and are extremely proud of our service personnel from the Jewish community. We are aware of an incident at Rock Barracks, Woodbridge, on 28th January, 2022. This is being investigated by the Royal Military Police.”

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Concerns raised that Texas synagogue hostage-taker may have been influenced by antisemitic Urdu sermons that YouTube has failed to remove

Concerns have been raised that the Texas synagogue hostage-taker may have been influenced by antisemitic Urdu sermons that YouTube has failed to remove from its platform.

Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a Briton who took four hostages at the Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville before being shot dead by the FBI, was reportedly obsessed with two hardline Pakistani clerics popular on YouTube.

Israr Ahmed has 2.7 million subscribers on the social media network and was particularly popular with Akram, according to the JC. On his videos, he reportedly called Jews “the ultimate source of evil [and] the biggest agents of Satan”, adding that they “control the banking system of the world.” In another video, entitled “History of the Jews”, Dr Ahmed claimed that Jews had been acting against humanity for over 2,000 years. “The name of Jews became an expletive,” he said. “They became akin to pigs.”

Interestingly, one YouTube user reportedly asked why English subtitles for the sermons were not provided, prompting another to reply: “I’m happy that there are no subtitles. If these are available with subtitles, this’ll be removed from here.”

Meanwhile, the cleric Tariq Jamil has claimed in a video to his nearly six million subscribers that Jews “distorted” the holy books, among other inflammatory remarks. Akram reportedly organised a “rock star” welcome to Mr Jamil, who leads the hardline Islamic movement Tablighi Jamaat, when he visited Akram’s hometown of Blackburn in 2017. The local Tablighi mosque, Makki Masjid, had loudspeakers installed on the roof so that a crowd overflowing outside could hear his sermons.

According to Akram’s family, he joined Tablighi Jamaat and became a dedicated follower of is leader, Mr Jamil, in 2003. Within a year, he began adopting the harsh strictures of the sect, including growing a long beard and forcing his wife to wear a veil, against her wishes, according to reports. He also apparently began disappearing for months at a time in Pakistan and Britain. It is understood that Akram also raised funds for the group in Britain, a campaign of which Mr Jamil’s visit to Blackburn was part.

Akram was reportedly later banned from the Tablighi mosque after calling for jihad against Israel and the United States inside the mosque, as well as insulting the Gulf states who were warming ties with Israel. It is not believed that Akram had further engagement with Tablighi Jamaat after the ban.

A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said that the company was reviewing the videos and subscription channels highlighted by the JC. In 2019, YouTube updated its hate speech policy, leading to a significant increase in videos being removed from the platform. The guidelines state that antisemitism and hate speech are prohibited and that videos that breach the policy will be removed.

Previously, YouTube removed Urdu sermons by other figures after the JC reported them, but allowed the creators to continue to upload videos. The videos referenced the “Jewish lobby” and described Hitler as “an angel”. It is not known whether Akram watched those videos, but YouTube failed to remove the channels and continues to profit from them.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Scenarios like this make you wonder what exactly it takes for social media companies like YouTube to forgo a fraction of their profits by removing antisemites from their platforms. The substance of these racist sermons was apparently not enough for YouTube. Perhaps now, this evidence that the sermons may have incited Malik Faisal Akram to take Jews hostage in a synagogue will move the company to act. Or does it take actual dead Jews to persuade social media networks not to take the blood money that comes from broadcasting videos such as these? Government regulation of social media cannot come fast enough for the next victims of a social media user incited by those they watch or read online.”

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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“Jewish Nazi pigs” graffiti found in East London

Graffiti that reads “Jewish Nazi pigs” has been scrawled on a wall in Hackney Wick, East London.

The vandalism appears to have been written in black marker. A photograph of the vandalism was uploaded to Twitter.

Earlier this week, graffiti of a swastika was found scrawled on the glass casing surrounding a Borough High Street billboard.

The words “No to”, followed by a Star of David, were written in pink marker on the glass. A swastika was scrawled directly below.

Image credit: StopAntisemitism.org

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Note by Burnley Marks and Spencer attacker read: “O Israel, you are inflicting atrocities on Palestinians and Marks Spencer helping you financially”

A note alleged to have been written by a knifeman who stabbed staff and shoppers at a branch of Marks and Spencer in Burnley read: “O Israel, you are inflicting atrocities on Palestinians and Marks Spencer helping you financially.”

Munawar Hussain, 58, has denied a charge of attempted murder and two alternative counts of wounding with intent at Manchester Crown Court in connection with the incident, in which he used a knife to wound the shop manager in the neck before chasing her through the store on 2nd December 2020. He then stabbed a customer in the arm before the blade snapped, having become stuck in the customer’s handbag strap.

It was reported at the time that antisemitic rhetoric was also heard during the incident.

Following the attack, Mr Hussain reportedly tried to flee the scene but was detained outside by the shop’s security guard and members of the public before police arrived.

The court heard that, following his arrest, a note in Urdu was found on his person that read: “O Israel, you are inflicting atrocities on Palestinians and Marks Spencer helping you financially.”

It is understood that he was discovered to have had a history of mental health problems but was considered fit to answer questions and stand trial.

According to the prosecution, “he told the police that he had targeted Marks and Spencer deliberately because he believed Marks and Spencer funded Israel in what he described as its persecution of Palestine. He said that had his knife not broken he would have gone on to kill others. He said that he expected that the police might kill him and he intended to be a martyr.”

The store manager, who suffered a collapsed lung and nerve damage, told police that her assailant was wearing a COVID mask and that his eyes “looked pure evil”. She added: “If I had fallen he would have killed me. I just thought he is not taking me away from my kids.”

Jurors have been told that the accused does not dispute stabbing her or the customer, and that the issue for the jury is to determine his intention at the time. Judge Nicholas Dean QC, the Honorary Recorder of Manchester, told the jury: “The prosecution say that Mr Hussain had a terrorist motive for his actions. Even if you are sure he had such motivation it does not necessarily follow he had an intent to kill.”

The trial continues.

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.

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Brooklyn towing company fires driver for making antisemitic remarks

A Brooklyn towing company has fired one of its drivers after he was filmed making antisemitic remarks.

The incident reportedly took place on Sunday at 10:30 in the Borough Park area.

JETS Towing Company reportedly fired the driver after he yelled at a Jewish man for allegedly blocking traffic on 50th street, shouting: “Go back to your [***] country, let Hitler kill your [***], [****]. How about that?!”

The company’s dispatcher later said: “We do not condone any type of antisemitism or racism at our company.”

In January, a suspect was arrested in connection with an antisemitic incident in which a Jewish victim was called a “dirty Jew” before being punched in the face.

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.

We are seeking to recruit a General Counsel a Creative Communications and Events Officer a Communications and Research Manager 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.