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Argentine restaurant removes “Anne Frank” burger and “Adolf” fries from its menu

A restaurant in Argentina has removed an “Anne Frank” burger and “Adolf” fries from its menu following an outcry from the Jewish community. 

Other items on the menu at Honky Donky, a fast-food restaurant in Buenos Aires, included “Benito”, “Gengis” and “Mao” fries, references to the Italian fascist Benito Mussolini, the Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan and the Chinese Communist dictator Mao Zedong.

The restaurant faced a backlash from the Jewish community in Rafaela, which announced its intention to pursue legal action.

The Rafaela Jewish Community posted on Facebook: “A fast-food place in our city, banally uses the names of Anne Frank and Adolf to identify their products, the Jewish Community of Rafaela expresses its most sense of repulsion and indignation, communicating that legal action will be taken corresponding to the fact in question.”

The group reportedly brought the issue to the restaurant’s owners earlier this year and was assured that the menu would be amended, only threatening legal action when the menu remained unchanged.

Honky Donky has subsequently changed the name of its “Anne Frank” burger to the “Anne Boleyn” burger and has removed the “Adolf” fries from its menu. 

In a statement, the restaurant said: “From our gastronomic venture we apologise for the offence and the lack of sense of responsibility for the misuse of names that refer to open wounds in humanity as a whole,

“The public reach that the news has gained in recent hours encourages us to continue thinking about reinforcing our commitment to the values of defending human rights as unalterable principles for living in a just society and promoting a dignified life.

“Irony and cynicism do not fit when it comes to understanding that there are limits, that not everything is the same, and that the request for forgiveness must be accompanied by an amendment to heal the damage caused.”

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

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Panama adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

Panama has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The official adoption was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Panama City, and attended by Janaina Tewaney, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Itai Bardov, the Israeli Ambassador to Panama; Dr Fernando Lottenberg, the Commissioner of the Organisation of American States for monitoring and combating antisemitism; as well as a number of Jewish communal leaders. 

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.

Panama joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

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

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

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

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

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

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Argentina seeks arrest of four Lebanese citizens in connection with 1994 AMIA bombing

Argentina is seeking an international arrest warrant for four Lebanese citizens suspected of involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires.

The July 1994 attack resulted in the death of 85 and injured hundreds, after a truck containing explosives crashed into the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA).

The four men, Hussein Mounir Mouzannar, Ali Hussein Abdallah, Farouk Abdul Hay Omairi and Abdallah Salman, are accused of being “employees or operational agents” of the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hizballah, which is believed to have carried out the attack.

According to court documents, Mr Salman is suspected of “the coordination of the arrival and departure of the [Hizballah] operational group” that conducted the attack.

There have long been accusations of failure and corruption on the part of the Argentine authorities in delivering justice for the victims of the heinous AMIA bombing.

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

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Cocaine bricks wrapped in swastika packaging and stamped with ‘Hitler’ seized in Peru 

Bricks of cocaine wrapped in swastika packaging and stamped with the word ‘Hitler’ were seized in Peru. 

The drugs were reportedly discovered by anti-narcotics police aboard a ship transporting asparagus from South America to Belgium.

The packages are said to have weighed a total of 58kg and are likely to be worth millions of pounds sterling on the black market. 

Those responsible are yet to be found.

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

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Latin American Parliament adopts International Definition of Antisemitism 

The Latin American Parliament has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Two articles of declaration were released by the organisation, which brings together delegates from 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The first article states the Parliament’s adoption of the Definition. The second urges its members to “adopt the indicated definition as an active way of combating hate speech and as a tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, as well as to act specifically against Antisemitism.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates the Latin American Parliament’s solidarity with the Jewish community.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. The Latin American Parliament joins a growing list of international organisations and national, provincial and local governments around the world to use the Definition.

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Brazil bans Telegram after company’s alleged failure to cooperate with investigation into neo-Nazi activity which reportedly incited violence

Brazil has banned use of the messaging app Telegram after the company allegedly failed to cooperate with a federal investigation into neo-Nazi user activity which reportedly incited violent attacks.

The ban, which follows a temporary ban last year, came after Telegram refused to provide user data for two antisemitic group chats. 

The Brazilian authorities have indicated that they suspect these correspondences to have incited attacks, including the November 2022 school-shooting in Aracruz. 

The Brazilian Federal Court also ordered Telegram to pay a fine of $200,000 per day until it provides the requested information.

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

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Chilean newspaper reproduces antisemitic meme in alcohol advertisement

The Jewish community in Chile has expressed its disgust after the appearance of an advertisement for cheap alcohol that uses a well-known antisemitic meme.

The advert, published by the alcohol company, Arbol Verde, in an edition of one of Chile’s national newspapers, Las Últimas Noticias, features the “Smirking Merchant” meme. This depicts a hook-nosed man with a nefarious grin wearing a head covering and holding banknotes. The meme is thought by many to be a classically antisemitic representation of a Jewish person.

The meme was created in 2001 and accompanied a racist representation of a Black man with a caption that read: “A world without Jews and Blacks would be like a world without Rats and Cockroaches.”

The Jewish Community of Chile responded on Twitter and said that it was “unacceptable advertising alluding to the classic stereotype of a Jew that Nazi propaganda turned into the germ of antisemitism that led to the genocide of six million Jews. Unpresentable way of promoting a product and a serious lack of editing in the media.”

Approximately 18,000 Jews live in Chile, which makes up approximately 0.1 percent of a population of over nineteen million.

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

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President of Mexico accuses Jewish critic of being “Hitlerian”

The President of Mexico has come under fire from the country’s Jewish community for comparing a well-known Mexican-Jewish figure to Adolf Hitler.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during a press conference about the plight of undocumented Venezuelan migrants that advertising executive and political analyst Carlos Alazraki, who is known for his criticisms of the President, was “Hitlerian”.

Mr Lopez Obrador said of Mr Alazraki, who is Jewish: “He is extremely conservative, like Hitlerian”.

One another occasion he said that “Alazraki is a follower of Hitler’s thinking” and made a reference to Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, which the President frequently associates with his critics, it is reported.

A spokesperson for the Jewish community of Mexico condemned the reference to Hitler, saying that “Any comparison with the most bloodthirsty regime in history is regrettable and unacceptable.”

In response, Mr Lopez Obrador said: “I have very good friends in the Jewish community”.

With antisemitism increasing worldwide, Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on antisemitic incidents globally.

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Colombia adopts the International Definition of Antisemitism

Colombia has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Definition was signed into law by Colombian President Iván Duque. This was witnessed by Dina Siegel Vann, the Director of the Arthur Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs at the American Jewish Committee.

According to Ms Siegel Vann, President Duque said that he was adopting the Definition “as a means to reject antisemitic practices and discrimination against the Jewish people” in the acknowledgment of the contribution that Jewish people have made to Colombian society.

There has been a Jewish community in Colombia since the Spanish colonisation of South America. This included the people known as Marranos, Spanish Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity during the Middle Ages but who continued to practice Judaism in secret.

In the 21st century, there are between 4,500 and 5,500 Jews living in Colombia, making up less than 0.01% of a total population of over 50 million.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Colombia joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

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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Argentine politician sued after equating Zionists with Nazis and calling for destruction of Jewish state

Argentina’s Jewish community has launched legal action against a far-Left Argentine politician over a series of reported statements which community figures allege to be antisemitic, including an equation of Zionists with Nazis and an assertion that “the genocidal State of Israel” should be “destroyed to rebuild the state of Palestine.”

In tweets in May, Alejandro Bodart, the Secretary General of the Socialist Workers Movement (MST), posted a meme saying “Zionists = Nazis”. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

The Jewish community’s umbrella organisation DAIA said that it was launching legal proceedings because Mr Bodart’s alleged posts on Twitter violated both Argentina’s anti-discrimination laws and the International Definition of Antisemitism and represented an “attack on peaceful, democratic coexistence.”

MST is a Trotskyist faction that is part of a wider far-left grouping which has four deputies in the Argentine parliament.

In his response, Mr Bodart rejected “demands” for him to “ratify or delete” the posts, saying neither he “nor the MST” would “ratify or rectify anything” for the DAIA “or any other Zionist entity.” He went on charge that “seeking to silence” any “critical voice” “reaffirms” the “political conviction” that “authoritarianism is an intrinsic component of Zionism.”

After the legal action was launched, Mr Bodart took to Twitter to thank his supporters “for all the solidarity” given to him “in the face of Zionist threats.” These “seek to silence those of us who denounce the atrocities of the State of Israel,” he claimed. But he would “continue to defend the heroic struggle of the Palestinian 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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CAA and British Ambassador to Mexico discuss antisemitism in different countries

Jon Benjamin, the British Ambassador to Mexico, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he discussed the varying rates of antisemitism in countries around the world.

Mr Benjamin, who has represented the United Kingdom in several countries throughout his 36-year-long diplomatic career, said: “My experience of antisemitism around the world varies so hugely. It has something to do with whether there is or isn’t a Jewish community in the country concerned. Early on, I was posted to Indonesia, there are effectively no Jewish people in Indonesia. I’ve been in other countries where the Jewish minority is very small, such as in Turkey.

“And there is always a difference between whether people are basing whatever views they have, favourable or negative, on personal interaction or a more abstract notion of a people, or religion or ethnic group, however they define it, which they don’t actually interact with themselves.”

Mr Benjamin went on to note that “perceptions of Israel…of the Middle East, in general, have a lot to do with how Jewish people are perceived in various parts of the world.

“There is always a spike of antisemitism when there is a spike in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, or Hizballah, or in the intifada periods…there’s always some sort of relationship.”

An intifada is a rebellion or uprising, but the Palestinian intifadas were characterised by acts of terrorism targeting Jews.

Speaking on his current country of residence, Mr Benjamin said: “I’m very struck here in Mexico, [when] I’ve met with the leaders of the Jewish community…and they themselves say that they think the Jewish community here in Mexico may be 40 to 50,000 strong in terms of its size, suffers less antisemitism than any other sizeable Jewish community almost anywhere in the world. 

“It doesn’t mean there’s none, and again, it can be linked to what’s going on in the Middle East itself. But it was very pleasing to me in my first meeting with them to hear them say that broadly speaking, they don’t suffer huge waves of antisemitism.”

Throughout the interview, Mr Benjmain touched upon a wide variety of topics which included the incident in which West Ham fans reportedly chanted “I’ve got a foreskin haven’t you, f***ing Jew” to a visibly Jewish man on a flight, how he first became involved in the fight against antisemitism and why he believes that travelling can help combat prejudice.

The podcast with Mr Benjamin can be listened to here, or watched in its entirety here.

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

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

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Mexican couple celebrates Nazi-themed wedding on anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s nuptials

A couple from Mexico have reportedly celebrated their wedding by hosting a Nazi-themed ceremony on the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s marriage to Eva Braun.

The nuptials took place in the east-central state of Tlaxcala, 73 miles east of the capital, Mexico City, on 29th April, the 77th anniversary of Hitler’s wedding.

Photos appeared to show the groom dressed as a Nazi SS officer, while the bride is seen perched on top of a Volkswagen Beetle. The choice of car is symbolic: the Volkswagen Beetle was designed and developed by the Nazi state in the 1930s as the “People’s Car” – the Nazis used the epithet Volks– (People’s) for many of their consumer products. The couple chose to emphasise the significance of this choice by having the car painted in camouflage colouring, covered in a Nazi flag, and given a fake license plates with the insignia of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary organisation headed by Heinrich Himmler.

Mexican media sources have also claimed that the couple named their children after well-known Nazis. Their son Reinhard is allegedly named after the Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia and one of the architects of the Holocaust, Reinhard Heydrich. Their daughter, Hanna, is apparently named after a Hitler-admirer and pilot of the same name, believed to be one of the last people to see the dictator alive.

The groom is reported to have said that “I understand that for many people, Hitler represents genocide, racism and violence. People, on the other hand, make judgements without having all of the facts. Hitler was a vegetarian who rescued his country from famine and returned to his people the lands lost during World War I. His friends and family adored him. We were led to believe that Hitler was a racist, but he came to greet Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics.”

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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Waves of protest after Prime Minister of Peru praises Hitler

The Prime Minister of Peru has claimed that remarks appearing to praise Hitler were misunderstood and has offered to apologise in person to the Israeli ambassador.

Anibal Torres reportedly praised the Nazi leader for turning Germany into the “first economic power in the world”, a comment met with protest by both the Israeli and German embassies.

The 79-year-old Prime Minister made the remark in Huancayo, an Andean town at the centre of ongoing protests over the economic situation in the country. Mr Torres praised Hitler’s and Mussolini’s infrastructure policies, saying: “On one occasion Hitler visited the north of Italy, and Mussolini shows him a highway built from Milan to Brescia, Hitler saw this and went to his country and filled it with highways, airports and turned Germany into the first economic power in the world. We have to make an effort, make sacrifices to improve our roads.”

The Israeli Embassy said that “Regimes of death and terror cannot be a sign of progress,” adding: “Hitler was responsible for the death of six million Jews, to praise him is an offense to the victims of that world tragedy.”

The German embassy said: “Adolf Hitler was a fascist and genocidal dictator, in whose name the worst war of all time was carried out from Germany and the genocide of six million Jews was committed. Against this backdrop, Hitler is not the right reference as an example of any kind.”

A Peruvian legislator who had lived in Germany for two decades demanded that Mr Torres apologise to the German people, while Peru’s Jewish Association observed that this was not the first time that politicians in the country had comments of this sort, insisting that “the seriousness of these expressions do not merit explanations or half apologies.

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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Brazilian podcaster Bruno Aiub fired after calling for launch of Nazi Party in Brazil

A Brazilian podcaster has been fired and could potentially face criminal charges after he called for the launch of a Nazi Party in Brazil.

Bruno Aiub, a 31-year-old podcaster with a following of 3.6 million on YouTube and 1 million on Twitch, said on his podcast Flow, where he interviews politicians, that “I think there should be a Nazi party recognised by law” and that “the radical left has much more space than the radical right.”

He further stated that “If someone wants to be anti-Jewish, I think they have a right to be.”

Estudio Flow, the producer of the podcast, has since removed the video from social media and fired Mr Aiub from his position as host of the podcast.

Other people who have been interviewed on the podcast in the past have asked for their interviews also to be removed from social media, while Estudio Flow also lost several sponsors and the rights to broadcast football matches of the Football Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Following the incident, Mr Aiub apologised and argued that his comments were made when he was “totally drunk”.

The public prosecutor’s office reported that it may order an investigation into the “alleged offence of apologising for Nazism”. This includes not only Mr Aiub’s comments but also comments by centrist MP Kim Kataguiri, who reportedly claimed that Germany had “made a mistake by criminalising the Nazi Party.”

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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Mexican teacher dressed as Hitler while another tells her pupils a “What is the difference between a pizza and a Jew?” joke

Two Mexican schools have been rocked by antisemitism controversies in recent days.

In one secondary school, a history teacher allegedly dressed up as Hitler and instructed pupils to perform Nazi salutes. She also allegedly produced a doll of the Nazi leader, according to a pupil. It is understood that Jewish pupils complained to the teacher and school administration but were ignored.

Elsewhere, at Mexico City’s Centre for Higher Studies of San Angel University (CESSA), a teacher joked to her class: “What is the difference between a pizza and a Jew? A pizza doesn’t scream when it’s put into the oven.”

In a recording of the Zoom class, several students can reportedly be seen laughing at Irene García Méndez’s joke. The only pupil to protest was a Jewish pupil, who reportedly said: “Your joke is in too bad taste. Yes, and I’m telling you the truth as a Jew, I find your joke in too bad taste.”

The teacher has been dismissed by CESSA, which said in a statement: “Her offensive statements should be regarded as her personal views and do not reflect our institutional values. We offer an apology to our students, alumni, professors, and collaborators, as well as to the Jewish community and to all the people offended by these out of place comments.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project. 

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Outrage after Iranian official wanted in connection with deadly AMIA bombing is invited to inauguration of Nicaraguan President

Nicaragua is facing outrage after an Iranian official wanted in connection with the deadly AMIA bombing attended the swearing-in of controversial President Daniel Ortega for a fourth term following an election widely viewed as rigged.

Mohsen Rezaee, a Vice President of Iran and two-time former Presidential candidate, attended the ceremony this week despite being wanted by Interpol for his role in the bombing of the AMIA Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in 1994.

Mr Rezaee was the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps at the time of the AMIA bombing, which he is believed to have masterminded and which killed 86 people and injured hundreds. The United States has designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

Mr Rezaee has been wanted by Interpol since 2007.

The Organisation of American States’ antisemitism envoy, the Brazilian lawyer Fernando Lottenberg, called for Nicaragua to abide by its duties as a member of Interpol, saying: “I repudiate the presence of the Vice President of Iran at the inauguration of Daniel Ortega in Managua. Mohsen Rezaee is under a red alert from Interpol. Nicaragua, as a member of Interpol, should soon comply with it.”

Argentina has its own arrest warrant out for Mr Rezaee, and the country’s Foreign Ministry said that “his presence in Managua constitutes an affront to Argentine justice and to the victims of the brutal terrorist attack against the AMIA.” 

During his visit, Mr Rezaee also met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

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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Brazilian neo-Nazis’ New Year’s Eve plans to attack Jewish and black people thwarted by authorities 

In a joint effort between the Brazilian and United States authorities, four suspects alleged to be members of a neo-Nazi gang have been arrested in Brazil. 

The individuals had reportedly planned to carry out a series of targeted attacks on Jewish and black residents in São Paulo over New Year’s Eve, but after being warned of the plans back in May by Brazil-based Homeland Security Investigations agents, the authorities managed to intercept the attacks. 

Homeland Security Investigations Brasilia Acting Attaché Patrick Chen said: “Through continued investigative collaboration, members of dangerous antisemitic and neo-Nazi cells were apprehended before they caused a possible mass casualty event. The success of Operation Bergónis a prime example of the importance of international partnerships in dismantling criminal organizations that threaten public safety and innocent lives.”

HSI Brasilia also said that the alleged neo-Nazi members used websites in the United States to “to call for violence against Jewish and black” residents in Brazil.

Authorities produced 31 search warrants which allowed them to discover and seize homemade bombs, weapons and documents containing attack plots and Nazi paraphernalia.

In a statement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations said: “The individuals in question were part of neo-Nazi cell that were planning attacks against public areas, such as schools, as well as hate crimes against Jewish and black civilians.”

One of the suspects, a 43-year-old man who worked as security in the city of Campinas, told authorities of his plans to denote explosives during the New Year’s Eve celebration. The man was said to have recruited members to bomb a nuclear plant in the Rio de Janeiro municipality of Angra dos Reis.

The suspect reportedly identified himself as Matheus Hades NS and told the authorities in a recorded confession that “there is so much wrong in the world that I can’t take it anymore,” adding that he wanted to “kill and then commit suicide” but that he would spare anyone “as long as they are good, honest, hardworking people. With the rest, I don’t worry.”

The other three alleged members were arrested in the São Paulo city of Suzano and the Rio de Janeiro municipalities of Campos dos Goytacazes and Valença.

In October, a man in Brazil accused of Holocaust denial and pedophilia was reportedly found with a stash of Nazi memorabilia worth £2.5 million. 

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.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Oxford University under fire for inviting defender of David Miller and critic of International Definition of Antisemitism to deliver lecture on “equality and diversity”

The University of Oxford is under fire for inviting a defender of the disgraced academic David Miller and critic of the International Definition of Antisemitism to deliver lecture on “equality and diversity”.

Tariq Modood, the founder and Director of the University of Bristol’s Research Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, delivered the Oxford Law Faculty’s Annual Equality and Diversity Lecture, titled “Islamophobia and the Struggle for Recognition,” last week.

In March, Prof. Modood defended his then-Bristol colleague, David Miller, reportedly saying: “I think the empirical research that David is doing is not antisemitic and is valuable for hunting down evidence that displays the linkages between various organisations and funders in this country, the U.S. and Israel that are not just promoting their own views. Of course they have a right to do that, but they’re having the effect of making it difficult for people in this country, including academics, to speak up at conferences for the Palestinian cause without incurring the charge of antisemitism and therefore putting one’s career and reputation at risk.”

He also reportedly criticised the International Definition of Antisemitism, asserting that it was “mixing up anti-Zionism and anti-Israel with antisemitism”.

David Miller was fired by the University of Bristol over comments he had made about Jewish students, a month after Campaign Against Antisemitism commenced a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution.

The incident came just weeks after Oxford became embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that the University had accepted a donation from the Mosley family trust and was intending to honour the family name.

Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “It is extraordinary that a vocal supporter of the disgraced academic David Miller and an opponent of the International Definition of Antisemitism should be invited to lecture on equality and diversity. In the midst of the deep controversy surrounding the acceptance of donations from the Mosley family trust and attempts to honour the name of Britain’s foremost fascist family, one would have expected the University of Oxford to be particularly sensitive to Jewish concerns at this time. Instead, the University has yet again shown contempt towards Jewish students.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.

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

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President of Colombia condemns police cadets who dressed up as Nazis in ceremony to honour Germany

The President of Colombia has condemned police cadets who dressed up as Nazis in a ceremony meant to honour Germany.

President Iván Duque said on Friday that “any apology for Nazism is unacceptable,” after images emerged last week showing the Simón Bolívar police academy in Tuluá displaying Nazi flags and other items and cadets were seen wearing swastika armbands. One cadet also appeared to have put on a Hitler moustache.

“I condemn any demonstration that uses or refers to symbols associated with those responsible for the Jewish Holocaust,” Mr Duque wrote on Twitter. He said that all those responsible would be held to account, with the head of the academy already dismissed.

The event was reportedly organised as part of an “international week” aimed at “strengthening the knowledge of our police students”.

The ambassadors of Israel and Germany urged Colombia to do more to educate people about the Holocaust.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.

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Man accused of Holocaust denial and pedophilia found with £2.5 million stash of Nazi memorabilia in Brazil 

A man accused of Holocaust denial and pedophilia has reportedly been found with a stash of Nazi memorabilia worth £2.5 million in Brazil. 

The Nazi items were allegedly discovered in a raid of the man’s home when police served him with an arrest warrant. The man has been accused of raping a minor and abusing other children at his home in western Rio de Janeiro.

The man was also charged with illegal possession of a weapon and racial discrimination.

The items reportedly included Nazi uniforms, images of Adolf Hitler, periodicals, Nazi insignia, flags and medals of the Third Reich at his home, as well as guns and ammunition from the era.

Luis Armond, the lead detective on the case, said that the individual is “a smart guy and articulate, but he’s a Holocaust denier, he’s homophobic, he’s a pedophile and he says he hunts homosexuals.” He added: “I’m no doctor, but he seems to me an insane psychopath. This is something that is totally unusual and shocking.”

Following the raid, police are said to be investigating the suspect’s connection to a number of far-right groups.

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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Argentinian Jews to appeal judge’s dismissal of case against Former President Kirchner over AMIA cover-up

The Argentinian Jewish community has resolved to appeal last week’s judicial decision to dismiss the case against former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over her alleged role in a cover-up of Iran’s involvement in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community centre.

The terror attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AIMA) building in Buenos Aires on 18th July 1994 killed 85 people and wounded hundreds.

Last Thursday, a judge in the Argentine capital dismissed the case against Ms Kirchner, who is a former President and is currently serving as Vice President in the administration of President Alberto Fernandez, her former chief of staff.

In 2018, a federal judge ruled that Kirchner, the former foreign minister and other aides would be tried in connection with a 2013 agreement with Iran that whitewashed the Islamic Republic’s involvement in the bombing.

The existence of the pact was exposed by Alberto Nisman, the federal prosecutor leading the AMIA investigation who was found murdered in his Buenos Aires apartment in January 2015 just before he filed a formal complaint against the Kirchner government over the agreement. Ms Kirchner falsely portrayed his death as a suicide, and questions have long lingered over whether any of the defendants might have been implicated in the assassination.

The head of the Argentine umbrella Jewish organisation DAIA said that “We continue to demand justice and the bringing of the accused to trial,” and pledged that DAIA would appeal the decision.

The Jewish community has long been frustrated and intimidated in its search for justice in the bombing.

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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Hundreds of Jewish graves smashed in Argentina

It has been reported that hundreds of Jewish graves have been smashed in Argentina.

The desecration that occurred at Buenos Aires’ Tablada Cemetery was discovered this past Sunday, only days before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The vandalism at the Jewish cemetery located in La Matanza, an eastern district of the Argentine capital, was condemned by AMIA, the umbrella of Jewish communities in Argentina.

The organisation also criticised the “neglect and lack of control” by law enforcement around the cemetery, and reiterated previous wishes of enhanced security to prevent other potential crimes. According to AMIA, robberies were also committed in addition to vandalism.

Police are investigating, but have not yet confirmed the motivation behind the act.

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’ll enter synagogues and kill everyone”: online hackers in Brazil disrupt Jewish mourning ceremony with violent threats and images of Hitler

Online hackers in Brazil reportedly disrupted a shiva, a period of mourning following a funeral, for a Jewish school principal by issuing violent threats and posting Nazi imagery.

The hackers allegedly told the mourners: “I’ll enter synagogues and kill everyone,” as well as “Death to Jews,” “I’ll explode,” “Sieg Heil” and “dirty Jews”. In addition to this, they also reportedly used images of Adolf Hitler, Nazi symbols and slogans, loud music and pornography.

The shiva was held on Sunday over Google Meet to honour Dora Fraifeld, a school principal at Rio de Janeiro’s Eliezer Max school. In response to the disruption, the online shiva of about 50 mourners was terminated and restarted on a separate link.

In an email to families from Eliezer Max, the school wrote: “As the intention was to reach a larger audience, the link was disclosed on our social networks and this lapse allowed the invaders easy access to the event.”

On social media, Alberto Klein, President of the Rio Jewish federation, said that “Authorities from federal, state and municipal circles must take a stand against antisemitism and the persecution of minorities.”

Brazilian authorities are said to be investigating the incident. Rio State Deputy Atila Nunes, who is understood to be a long-time activist against religious discrimination, has filed a formal complaint in the Rio State Assembly.

In a similar incident last year, a virtual Zoom shiva for a grieving husband mourning his late wife was disrupted by neo-Nazis broadcasting antisemitic messages and images of swastikas and Hitler.

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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Argentina condemns Iran over promotion of man allegedly to linked to fatal Jewish community centre attack

Argentina has strongly condemned the nomination by Iran of Ahmad Vahidi to be the new interior minister.

Mr Vahidi is a former head of Quds, the paramilitary wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard. In that role, Mr Vahidi is a leading suspect in the planning of the 1994 terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in which 85 died and hundreds more were seriously wounded.

Argentina’s Foreign Ministry described the news as “an affront to Argentine justice and to the victims of the brutal terrorist attack.” The Foreign Ministry also reiterated that Mr Vahidi was wanted by the Argentine courts which considered him to be “a key participant in the decision-making and planning” of the AMIA attack.

Mr Vahidi is one of four Iranians who – since 2007 – have been the subject of an Interpol Red Alert for their alleged role in the 1994 bombing. Iran denies any involvement in the attack and refuses to allow its officials to be investigated. 

If Mr Vahidi’s nomination by Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi is confirmed by parliament, this will be his second Cabinet post. He was Defence Minister from 2009 to 2013 and he has also served as chancellor of the Supreme University of National Defence.

The Foreign Ministry statement added: “The Argentine government once more requires the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to co-operate fully with the Argentine courts, permitting the persons accused of participating in the attack against AMIA to be tried.”

America’s Simon Wiesenthal Centre also expressed criticism of the appointment, describing it as “an insult to Argentina” and “a blow to the families” of the victims.

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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Presidential candidate accused of antisemitism defeated in Chilean primaries

A presidential candidate who has been accused of antisemitism has been defeated in the Chilean left-wing primaries, it was reported earlier this week.

Daniel Jadue, the Communist Party representative who was considered the frontrunner in the race, was defeated by Gabriel Boric in what has been viewed as an upset.

Mr Jadue has reportedly been dogged by allegations of antisemitism since his time at school, which extended to someone writing in his yearbook that the best “gift” he could be provided would be a “Jew to target”, as well as a joke prediction that he would “clean the city of Jews.”

During his time as the Mayor of Recoleta, Mr Jadue reportedly referred ot the Jewish community as the “Zionist community” and said: “I get along very well with Jews…I have some problems with Zionists.”

Mr Jadue also allegedly gave an interview where claimed that “the alternative media in the country are being bought by the Zionist community of Chile.”

In June, Chile’s Chamber of Deputies called upon Mr Jadue “to publicly and categorically deny the statements made in the biographical sketch of his school yearbook, which classifies him as antisemitic.” Mr Jadue responded by tweeting: “A country in the midst of a health and economic crisis, hundreds of deaths a day, families do not make ends meet. But right-wing MPs vote for me to explain what others wrote, in a school yearbook, 35 years ago! # Get Serious.”

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Brazilian political leader accuses Jews of sacrificing children

A Brazilian political leader has accused the Jews of sacrificing children.

Roberto Jefferson posted on Instagram: “Baal, Satanic deity, Canaanites and Jews sacrificed children to receive their sympathy. Today, history repeats itself.”

The comment is reminiscent of the classic blood libel against the Jews, and Instagram has removed the post.

Mr Jefferson leads the Labour Party (PTB), which holds twelve seats of the 513 in Brazil’s lower Chamber of Deputies.

The Brazilian Israelite Confederation described Mr Jefferson’s comment as “one of the vilest ways” to attack Jews, and he responded by calling them “morons”.

Mr Jefferson has previously been found to have been involved in a corruption scandal and barred from elected office until 2015.

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“Here comes Chaca in the street, killing Jews to make soap”: Argentine Jewish group to file complaint over antisemitic chants by football fans before match

A leading Argentine Jewish group is to file a complaint over antisemitic slurs heard chanted by football fans in the streets of the capital prior to a match.

The chants reportedly took place before a Buenos Aires derby between Atlanta, a team historically associated with the Jewish community, and Club Atletico Chacarita Juniors.

The complaint charges that around 1,000 of the Club Atletico Chacarita Juniors fans sang antisemitic chants after being unable to enter the stadium due to pandemic restrictions.

They reportedly chanted: “Here comes Chaca in the street, killing Jews to make soap.”

This is not the first time antisemitism has surfaced in clashes between the two clubs.

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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Head of Argentina’s Jewish community to receive police protection following threats related to cover-up of AMIA bombing that killed 85

The head of Argentina’s main Jewish umbrella body, which is involved in a judicial enquiry involving the country’s former president, is receiving police protection after he received a threatening letter.

Jorge Knoblovits, head of the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), received a letter at his office urging him to leave the country.

DAIA is party to a judicial complaint against the country’s former President and now Vice President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, that accuses her of colluding with Iran in impeding justice for the victims of the 1994 AMIA Jewish centre bombing, in which 85 people were killed and hundreds were injured.

Mr Knoblovits has previously received anonymous messages urging DAIA to remove itself from this judicial action, as well as threats over other issues such as Argentina declaring Hizballah a terrorist organisation. DAIA security advisors recommended requesting police assistance in response to this latest letter.

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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Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre removes antisemitic books in bid to reduce racial hatred

Latin America’s largest online retailer, Mercado Libre, is removing from sale antisemitic merchandise, including books such as Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

In February the Buenos Aires-based retailer revealed that it had signed an agreement with the Latin American branch of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) to fight antisemitism. As part of a joint strategy, both organisations will work to identify other publications that incite racial hatred, as well removing from sale items such as Nazi memorabilia.

Operating throughout Latin America, Mercado Libre is more popular in the region than e-commerce giant Amazon. The agreement with the WJC affects its operations in all of its markets.

Jacobo Cohen Imach, a Mercado Libre Senior Vice President, said that the agreement was “another step towards the eradication of racial hatred and antisemitism.”

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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AMIA bombing suspect acquitted by Argentinian court

A suspect in the 18th July 1994 terror attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AIMA) building in Buenos Aires was acquitted in a recent verdict delivered by three federal judges on 23rd December 2020.

Carlos Telleldín was accused of providing the van and car bomb used in the attack, which killed 85 people and left more than 300 injured.

Mr Telleldín serve ten years in prison for his involvement. Argentine courts, however, nullified the original sentence after it was discovered that he had allegedly accepted a bribe to participate in the attack.

The second trial began in 2019, almost a decade after several Jewish groups argued that the evidence collected before the illegal payment must remain valid.

The AMIA President reassured the wider Jewish community that the organisation intends to appeal the court’s decision to ensure justice is achieved.

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Rio unveils Holocaust Memorial

A Holocaust memorial has been inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 Overlooking Sugarloaf Mountain, the memorial comprises a 72-foot tower with the Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill”, at its base. Beneath the tower is an interactive exhibition area.

Government officials and Jewish communal representatives, including Brazil’s Secretary of Communications Fabio Wajngarten, attended the inauguration on 13th December. Mr Wajngarten, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, represented President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil’s Supreme Court president, Judge Luiz Fux – himself the grandson of Jewish refugees from Bulgaria – quoted Elie Wiesel saying: “indifference is the greatest danger for humankind.”

The memorial will work with other major institutions abroad and is expected to host exhibitions. The cornerstone was laid in 2017 by Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella, who said that Rio had been “magnified, dignified, ennobled, and redeemed” with the creation of the memorial.

Some 35,000 of Brazil’s 120,000-member Jewish community live in Rio.

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Argentine rugby trio suspended for racist tweets, then reinstated

Just two days after three players from Argentina’s national rugby team were suspended for antisemitic and other racist tweets posted a decade ago, they have been reinstated.

The offensive messages, directed at Jews, Black people and immigrants from other South American countries, were made in 2011 and 2012 by team captain Pablo Matera, Guido Petti and Santiago Socino.

The tweets came to light last week, after which all three players were suspended. But two days later they were reinstated .

In one of the messages, Mr Socino named a soccer team from the Jewish neighbourhood of Villa Crespo, and using a slang expression that references killing Jews to make soap, he wrote: “What a mess could be in Villa Crespo if Hitler were alive [sic].”  In another tweet, Mr Socino mocked circumcision and made reference to the stereotype of Jews being mean.

Mr Matera spoke of “running over Blacks” with his car and was offensive about Bolivians and Paraguayans.

After the offensive tweets became public, the Argentina Rugby Union opened disciplinary proceedings and said: “The Argentina Rugby Union condemns any instance of hate speech and considers it unacceptable that anyone expressing those views would represent our country.” Mr Matera was also stripped of the captaincy.

Two days later, however, following pressure from other members of the national team and other Argentine rugby clubs, the Argentina Rugby Union reinstated the players, who were allowed to play in the match against Australia on 5th December.

Following a meeting of the Rugby body and the Jewish community, the union’s website said that a Jewish organisation had offered to assist with education “to raise awareness” around discrimination and prejudice.

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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Argentine Football Association adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

The Argentine Football Association (AFA), which governs all Argentinian club activity, adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism on 8th October in a move to combat discrimination in the sport. The two-time World Cup winner Argentina is the first national football association to have adopted the Definition.

In the previous day the University of Buenos Aires, with more than 300,000 students, also adopted the Definition.

In recent years, the country’s football culture has come under criticism for several antisemitic controversies. In 2018, fans of the Atlanta team, a Buenos Aires club that is home to a large Jewish neighbourhood and has featured many Jewish players, were targets for chants that stated, “killing the Jews to make soap”, a reference to the claim that the Nazis made soap out of the dead bodies of Jewish victims.

At a football game this year a rival Argentine player, Arnaldo González, made antisemitic gestures towards the rival Atlanta team. While leaving the field, the player placed his hand on his head to imitate a kippah and gestured to his genitals as fans jeered. The AFA decided to adopt the Definition as a direct response to rising antisemitism, particularly amongst spectators, in the sport.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has consistently backed the widespread adoption of the Definition internationally. The UK was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism, Lord Eric Pickles and others worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Since then, numerous other national governments –including Argentina’s – and institutions have followed suit.

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist us with this project.

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“Hate takes over the streets of Chile”: swastikas and antisemitic slogans seen in Chile march against a new constitution

Nazi symbols and antisemitic slogans were paraded in the streets of Chile during a march on 10th October in opposition to a new constitution for the South American nation.

The march took place in Las Condes, a municipality in the Santiago province. Some of the marchers protesting against the proposed new constitution wore Nazi symbols, made Hitler salutes and flew flags with swastikas.

Many wore shirts bearing the initials ATP, signifying support for the nationalist ATP movement whose slogan is “Chile for Chileans” and whose acronym stands for Aun Tenemos Patria (“We still have a homeland”). It states that it is “openly anti-globalist” and “against progressivism and its political correctness.”

In a tweet, Marcelo Isaacson, Executive Director of Comunidad Judia de Chile, the country’s umbrella Jewish organisation, asked: “Germany 1930? No, Chile Oct 2020. Hate takes over the streets of Chile.”

Since last year, there have been frequent protests calling for a new constitution to reduce inequality in Chile, but the nationalist ATP opposes a new constitution.

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: Simon Wiesenthal Center

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Google, Facebook and YouTube are “reducing hate speech”, according to Latin American report

Antisemitic content in Spanish is being significantly reduced by Google, Facebook and YouTube, according to a Latin American antisemitism watchdog.

A report on online antisemitism in Spanish by the Buenos Aires-based Observatorio Web (Web Observatory) stated that since 2016, antisemitic content resulting from a Spanish-language search for “Judio” (Jew), had dropped from nearly one third to 3%.

Observatorio Web was set up as a joint initiative of the Latin American branch of the World Jewish Congress and Argentina’s Jewish community, to monitor online antisemitism in Spanish. In its report, released on 25th September, it stated that in 2016, 30% of Spanish-language search-results for “Judio” contained antisemitic content. That figure was now down to about 3%. Meanwhile, it stated, the level of antisemitic content in the top ten results of a Google search for Judio had dropped by 50% over the past year alone.

On Facebook, where Spanish is the second most popular language, the report found that around 30% of the Spanish-language content mentioning Jews involved antisemitism. Within the antisemitic content, a majority mentioned Zionism or Israel, noted the report.

“Israel and Zionism are the vehicles for antisemitism online,” the report states. “This is a consolidated trend.”

In the case of YouTube, Observatorio Web identified 500 videos in Spanish espousing Holocaust denial, which YouTube has now taken down.

“The companies are starting to work against hate speech, but there is still a lot to do,” said Ariel Siedler, Director of Observatorio Web.

Recently, Facebook announced that it would ban QAnon conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial on its platforms.

It comes as researchers in Sweden claimed that 30 percent of comments and posts about Jews on social media included antisemitic rhetoric 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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Argentina becomes latest country to adopt International Definition of Antisemitism

Argentina has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds this decision at a time of rising antisemitism.

The decision was announced by Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which promised that the Definition will be used as “a tool to sanction and eliminate behaviors and attitudes based on hostility and prejudice, to reinforce prevention measures and to deepen the education of respect for pluralism.”

The UK was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism, Lord Eric Pickles and others worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Argentina joins a growing list of countries to use the Definition.

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Uruguay announces adoption of International Definition of Antisemitism

Uruguay has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.

The Government of Uruguay adopted the Definition in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and thus becomes the first country in South America to adopt the Definition.

Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds the decision, which demonstrates the Uruguayan Government’s solidarity with the Jewish community.

Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.

Uruguay joins a growing list of national governments and public bodies to use the Definition.

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

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