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

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

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

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

The post was originally uncovered by Adam Ma’anit.

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

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

You can sign the petition here.

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

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

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

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

It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a “smear”, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That his latest show apparently includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for these venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.

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CAA launches petition calling on venues to stop hosting Roger Waters

Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a petition calling on venues to stop hosting Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd musician.

Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd musician, has a long history of baiting Jews, which he has now taken to the next level.

Venues must not platform his hate. You can sign the petition here.

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

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

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

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

It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is used as a “smear”, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That his latest show apparently includes a visual equation of Israelis to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for these venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.

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CAA writes to cinema chain calling for the cancellation of Roger Waters film screenings

Campaign Against Antisemitism has written to a leading cinema chain calling for it to cancel its screenings of Roger Waters’ new film.

Our letter to Everyman Cinemas, which is due to screen Roger Waters: This is Not A Drill, Live from Prague, comes in the wake of the former Pink Floyd musician reportedly beginning a recent concert in Berlin by announcing that he is not antisemitic, shortly before making comparisons between the Nazis to Israel.

At one point during the concert, various names are displayed on large screens. A journalist at the concert reported that Anne Frank’s name was prominently displayed, alongside the statement that her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Jewish” was “death”.

In an identical format, the name Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was shot last year, was displayed next to text that states her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Palestinian” was “death”.

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

His announcement that he is not an antisemite arrived in the wake of a court ruling which stated that the city of Frankfurt, which made headlines after it labelled Mr Waters “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world,” was not able to cancel his concert.

This is not the first time that Mr Waters has felt the need to proclaim that he is not antisemitic.

Last year, we reported that Mr Waters repeatedly denied being an antisemite whilst also breaching the Definition on an episode of the podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

Throughout the podcast, Mr Waters, who has a long record of baiting Jews, claimed he has repeatedly been accused of being an antisemite due to his anti-Israel position. 

Joe Rogan, the podcast’s host, seemingly agreed with Mr Waters, saying: “By calling you an antisemite, they just stop the conversation dead in its tracks cause that’s an indefensible position.”

“Exactly. And you’re not allowed to say ‘I’m not’,” Mr Waters replied. 

Going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David emblazoned on its side, he said: “‘Oh, you once put the Star of David on the side of a pig in a show.’ Yeah but I also put the hammer and sickle, and the crescent, and whatever, and a dollar sign. 

“‘Yeah, but you put the…,’ well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.” 

In an apparent conflation between the Jewish people and the State of Israel, Mr Waters then stated: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day.

“So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”

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

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

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

In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed” and that American leaders are puppets of a Jewish billionaire and that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for the latter remark.

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

Concerningly, Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is ‘smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That his show apparently includes a visual equation of Israel to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for these venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

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Roger Waters begins concert by announcing he is not antisemitic before making comparison between Nazis to Israel

Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd musician, reportedly began a recent concert in Berlin by announcing that he is not antisemitic, shorty before making comparisons between the Nazis to Israel.

At one point during the concert, various names are displayed on large screens. A journalist at the concert reported that Anne Frank’s name was prominently displayed, alongside the statement that her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Jewish” was “death”.

In an identical format, the name Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist who was shot last year, was displayed next to text that states her “punishment” for the “crime” of “being Palestinian” was “death”.

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

His announcement that he is not an antisemite arrived in the wake of a court ruling which stated that the city of Frankfurt, which made headlines after it labelled Mr Waters “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world,” was not able to cancel his concert.

This is not the first time that Mr Waters has felt the need to proclaim that he is not antisemitic.

Last year, we reported that Mr Waters repeatedly denied being an antisemite whilst also breaching the Definition on an episode of the podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

Throughout the podcast, Mr Waters, who has a long record of baiting Jews, claimed he has repeatedly been accused of being an antisemite due to his anti-Israel position. 

Joe Rogan, the podcast’s host, seemingly agreed with Mr Waters, saying: “By calling you an antisemite, they just stop the conversation dead in its tracks cause that’s an indefensible position.”

“Exactly. And you’re not allowed to say ‘I’m not’,” Mr Waters replied. 

Going on to address a past concert in which he unveiled a balloon pig with a Star of David emblazoned on its side, he said: “‘Oh, you once put the Star of David on the side of a pig in a show.’ Yeah but I also put the hammer and sickle, and the crescent, and whatever, and a dollar sign. 

“‘Yeah, but you put the…,’ well, it’s a symbol of an oppressive state. I am lumping you in but it’s not just you.” 

In an apparent conflation between the Jewish people and the State of Israel, Mr Waters then stated: “But that is just me criticising the policies of your government and I’m afraid the Star of David does represent the nation that is committing the crime of apartheid every day, and murdering Palestinians every day. Men women and children, every single day.

“So yeah, I did [put the Star of David on the side of a pig], and I’m unapologetic about it.”

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

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

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

In 2020, the musician said that Zionism needs to be “removed” and that American leaders are puppets of a Jewish billionaire and that Israel teaches America how to “murder the blacks”. He later apologised for the latter remark.

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

Concerningly, Mr Waters is due to perform on several upcoming dates in the United Kingdom.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It says something about Roger Waters that he incessantly needs to insist that he is not an antisemite. He has a penchant for breaching the International Definition of Antisemitism, has claimed that antisemitism is ‘smear sword wielded at behest of the Israeli Government’, and has a long history of baiting Jews. That his show apparently includes a visual equation of Israel to Nazis, which extends his record of making such comparisons, is all the more reason for these venues to steer clear of him. Artistic freedom does not justify hate.”

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Switzerland agrees to erect monument to commemorate Nazi victims 

Switzerland has agreed to erect a monument to commemorate the victims of the Nazis.

The Swiss Federal Council has committed the equivalent of £2.2 billion to fund the memorial, which will be situated in Bern, its capital. 

The Swiss Federal Council stated: “The Federal Council considers it an important task to keep alive the memory of the consequences of National Socialism, namely the Holocaust and the fate of the six million Jews who were killed and all other victims of the National Socialist regime. 

“The country was not an island of the righteous fighting back against barbarism, so this monument must stand in the federal capital, where the political decisions were made. Switzerland left the borders permeable to trade and closed them to people. Taking responsibility for it means facing the past -— and remembering.” 

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

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“People should know they can do incredible things”: ‘A Small Light’ Executive Producer and Director Susanna Fogel on creating the series

Susanna Fogel, an award-winning director, screenwriter, and one of the creators behind the biographical drama A Small Light, a National Geographic miniseries streaming on Disney+, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she spoke on her experiences of creating the series.

A Small Light takes a look at the remarkable real-life heroism of Miep Gies, the woman responsible for hiding Anne Frank’s family, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer in the Secret Annex during the Holocaust.

Ms Fogel, the series’ Executive Producer and multi-episode Director, said that “a big point of the series is just to keep telling that story so that we can’t forget it.”

Expressing concerns over how many people remain unaware of the diarist’s story, Ms Fogel said: “I think if you’re Jewish, you can’t forget it anyway because it’s constantly part of your upbringing and your historical knowledge of yourself…The Diary of Anne Frank was something that we all read in school when I was growing up, but now I know that that’s not the case, and a lot of people don’t know. Or, a lot of people come to the Anne Frank House and don’t know who she was now. We were told by the people at the Anne Frank House that there are a lot of people who walk in and don’t know the story.

“We have this responsibility, and if the responsibility is an entertaining, immersive miniseries, that’s fine. It’s still just telling that story and making sure that people know that it happened so that they can’t deny that it happened.”

When asked what she hoped people would take away from the series, the director said she hopes that “people just become aware of what happened, whatever that means to them,” going on to say that anyone can make a difference in dire situations.

“I think people should know that they can do incredible things. Anyone can,” she said, echoing the sentiments of Ms Gies, the series’ protagonist.

Ms Fogel would also speak in detail on the personal process that the cast and crew of the series underwent.

She said: “The process of understanding what these people went through, the stakes of what they did, reading books about them, visiting the Terezin concentration camp – which was near where we were filming in Prague – all of these things that people did, retracing Miep’s steps, the things that Bel [Powley] did and the rest of the actors did…I think the actors really undertook those types of preparation in a solitary way. It’s a very personal, solitary thing that everybody kind of did in their independent study way.”

Ms Fogel added that preparation was also conducted as a group.

“When we were together, we really focussed on building those relationships. What is the human bond between these people? Developing the humanity and the warmth and the light and the humour, that’s the thing that we worked on as a group, because that’s the thing that we really wanted to make sure was coming through in the show.”

Speaking further on the relationship between those involved, she said: “The truth is that we all kind of became a family on the set. Everybody got along really well…there was a certain amount of just, living in this world is so dark, that we had to find the moments of levity in the day.”

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

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

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

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Event featuring author Bret Easton Ellis reportedly sees walk-outs after allegedly saying Kanye West is not an antisemite 

An event featuring the author Bret Easton Ellis reportedly saw walk-outs after he allegedly said that rapper Kanye West, who has publicly professed his adoration for Adolf Hitler, was not an antisemite. 

Mr Ellis is reported to have said: “Kanye now is no different from the Kanye I met in 2013. He is outrageous, he is provocative. I don’t believe he is an antisemite.

“He is a destroying artist. He wants to live in a world that is completely free. He just wants to say ‘f*** you’ to everybody.”

Members of the audience in attendance at the Westminster UnHerd Club’s event reportedly then walked out.

Mr West made headlines following a series of antisemitic comments last year, which resulted in Adidas cutting ties with the rapper after Campaign Against Antisemitism launched a petition garnering nearly 200,000 signatures in a matter of days. 

  • On 7th October 2022, he posted on Instagram: “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
  • Two days later he tweeted: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”

On an episode of the Drink Champs podcast, aired on 16th October 2022, Mr West:

  • Said: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they can’t drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
  • Demanded: “I want all the Jewish children to look at they daddy and say ‘Why is Ye mad at us?’”
  • Stated that was “Me Too-ing the Jewish culture. I’m saying y’all gotta stand up and admit to what y’all been doing, and y’all just got away with it for so long, that y’all ain’t even realise what y’all doing.”
  • Referred throughout the interview to “Jewish business secrets”, “Jewish Zionists”, and stated how Jewish people in the entertainment industry “will take one of us, the brightest of us, that can really feed a whole village, and they’ll take us and milk us until we die.”
  • Claimed that he had been “blocked out” by “the Jewish media”.
  • Said: “Jewish people have owned the Black voice, whether it’s through us wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt, or it’s all of us being signed to a record label, or having a Jewish manager, or being signed to a Jewish basketball team, or doing a movie on a Jewish platform like Disney.”
  • Doubled down on his tweet about “going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”, claiming that he “is Jewish also”, adding: “We’re not just Black. We are Jew [sic], just like the Jewish people…I can’t be an antisemite.”
  • Claimed that he responded to being invited to a Holocaust museum by saying: “I want you to visit Planned Parenthood. That’s our Holocaust museum.” 
  • Complained about being photographed in public, saying: “You get used to being screwed by the Jewish media.” 
  • Said: “A thing that a Jewish person will always say is they’ll say ‘This is mine’. Something that a Black person built, or any company built, they’ll be like ‘This is mine now’.”
  • Referencing fellow rapper Ice Cube, who was criticised for sharing an antisemitic image, said: “You really influenced me to get on this antisemite vibe, and I’m here to finish the job.” (Ice Cube has refuted this claim and distanced himself from Ye.)

In an interview on CUOMO on the NewsNation network, aired on 18th October 2022, Mr West:

  • Said: “I don’t like the term ‘antisemitic’. It’s been a term that’s allowed people, specifically in my industry, to get away with murder.”
  • Made comments referring to the “Jewish underground media mafia”. 
  • Claimed “Jewish people own the Black voice.”
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True-crime author Michael Benson speaks to CAA about Jewish mobsters and American Nazis

Michael Benson, the true-crime author of the book Gangsters vs. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in WW2 Era America, in which he tells the incredible, real-life story of how Jewish gangsters disrupted Nazi gatherings in the United States during the late 1930s, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about his latest book.

Speaking on his decision to portray the Jewish gangsters in his book as heroes, Mr Benson said: “I feel no qualms whatsoever about the morality of my book. The gangsters are the good guys. The Nazis are the bad guys. There are very few shades of grey…I believe even really, really bad men can do great things.”

The author added that he learned throughout the course of writing his book that in 1930s America, “all racism, all bigotry was mainstream,” and that as long as a member from a particular minority group was not in the room at the time, discussing that group in racist fashion was widely accepted.

With the rise of Nazism and pro-Hitler groups, like the German American Bund and the Silver Legion of America, Jewish Americans began to worry. Antisemitic flyers had begun to pop-up, and antisemites started to feel emboldened, with violent attacks on Jews increasing. 

“The story takes place at a time when hate speech laws were not even thought of,” Mr Benson said. “What the Bundists were doing was they were committing cultural slander, and in their pamphlets cultural libel, but there were no laws against that.”

After one particular incident in which members of the Bund marched down the streets of New York carrying antisemitic banners, the Jewish judge, Nathan D. Perlman, decided to take matters into his own hands.

“[Judge Perlman] doesn’t call Mayor La Guardia, he doesn’t call his congressman, he doesn’t call the commissioner or police. He calls the number one Jewish gangster in the world, probably of all time, Meyer Lansky,” the author explained.

Lansky, along with his childhood friend and fellow gangster Bugsy Siegel, embarked on a mission to disrupt Nazi gatherings.

Similar events would transpire across the country in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles.

“In America, in 1938, the Jewish men win every single time,” said Mr Benson.  

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

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

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

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Matty Healy appears to perform Nazi salute on stage

The frontman of The 1975 band appeared to do a Nazi salute while marching on the spot on stage at a performance during the group’s current tour.

Matty Healy reportedly made the gesture during the song “Love it if we made it”, as he sang the lyrics: “Thank you, Kanye, very cool.”

The reference was to Kanye West, also known as Ye, who has recently been embroiled in a high-profile antisemitism scandal.

Some fans described the gesture as having been in poor taste, while others believed it was meant satirically as a criticism of Mr West.

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Sold-out crowd arrives for “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Campaign Against Antisemitism hosted a first-of-its-kind sold-out event this past Thursday evening which featured the Jewish author Ben M. Freeman.

The event, “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”, attracted a room full of Jewish young professionals to an east London venue to watch a live interview with Mr Freeman, followed by a question and answers session.

Mr Freeman is a Scottish, gay, Jewish author, activist and educator whose latest book, Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, is the second instalment of his seminal manifesto of the modern Jewish Pride movement that has taken the Jewish world by storm.

During the discussion, the educator spoke extensively on antisemitism and how it affects modern Jewish life.

“We cannot be defined by what is done to us,” he said. “We have to define ourselves via our experiences, our identity, our history, our story.

Addressing how antisemitic stereotypes and tropes have led to some Jews viewing their bodies in a negative light, Mr Freeman said: “Antisemitism is a racism…there are many groups that are racialised, and we are one of them…we have to understand that the way that we are treated, that way that we are perceived, the stories that are told about us, they impact us.

“People are told, ‘Oh, you don’t look Jewish,’ and we’re meant to take that as a compliment…the fact that we perceive it as a compliment is deeply, deeply worrying, and is a tragedy for our community.”

Last year, Mr Freeman appeared on an episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, where he spoke about the importance of having a basic understanding of history and why it is vital in tackling antisemitism. 

The podcast with Mr Freeman can be listened to here, or watched here.

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Award-winning French Jewish filmmaker Amanda Sthers reveals she left France due to antisemitism

Amanda Sthers, the award-winning French author, playwright, and filmmaker whose critically acclaimed work has earned her the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the Government of France, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she has revealed that she left her home country due to antisemitism.

Ms Sthers, herself a Jewish person in the public eye, is no stranger to experiences of antisemitism.

“I always feel that every time there is a very strong increase [in] antisemitic incidents, democracy’s in danger,” she said.

According to France’s Jewish Community Security Service, antisemitic incidents in France skyrocketed by 75% in 2021. 

Additionally, last year saw three reported murders of French Jews. Eyal Haddad, 34, from the town of Longperrier, north-east of Paris, was said to have been brutally murdered with an axe before the alleged perpetrator reportedly attempted to burn his face and bury the body, while Rene Hadjaj, 90, was allegedly defenestrated from an apartment block in Lyon.

Jeremy Cohen, 31, was fatally wounded after being hit by a tram. At first, Mr Cohen’s death was treated as a traffic accident, until video footage released by the family appeared to show a group of men attacking Mr Cohen, who is believed to have been wearing his kippah, or skullcap, prompting him to flee for safety without noticing the tram. He was then taken to the hospital but did not survive his injuries.

Our host asked Ms Sthers: “How concerned are you about antisemitism in France right now? Is it something you think about?”

“Yeah. I think about it so much that I left,” the filmmaker responded. “I left seven years ago. I live in LA now, and I have a hard time feeling at home in France anymore. And it’s very heartbreaking…it’s really hard for me because I can feel in the air that there’s something really hateful.”

While Ms Sthers acknowledges the ongoing threat of far-right groups, she believes that the recent spike in antisemitism is partly due to emerging conspiracy theories about Jews and Islamist ideology.

She continued: “France is not a safe place for Jewish people anymore, and I don’t understand how the government doesn’t want to say more about it…they are putting the entire nation in danger by not trying to keep Jews safe in their country. And I’m saying in ‘their country’, I still have a passport but I just don’t feel that it’s my country anymore.”

Commenting on how life is different for her in the United States, she noted how she felt as though her Judaism was not “a question that you had to avoid.”

“I remember the first time they [said] ‘Oh, you’re Jewish!’, it was not the same tone that was used in France.”

However, Ms Sthers was mindful to point out that, for Jewish people, “it’s not heaven in the States, either.”

“Lately, it’s changing. I think the pandemic increased [the amount of] antisemitic incidents, increased a lot of paranoia. Every time there’s a crisis, antisemitism is increasing,” she said.

Ms Sthers also pointed to the antisemitic statements made by rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. 

Despite the increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States, Ms Sthers’ experiences in France have led her to feel safer in her new home.

“I remember in Paris, I was always telling my sons, ‘Don’t mention your bar mitzvah when we’re in the taxi, just be careful, just stay low-profile,’ because I was afraid for them,” she disclosed.

Throughout the interview, Ms Sthers also discussed a variety of other topics, including her award-winning film Holy Lands, how to tackle antisemitism through art, and her experience of working with the late Jewish film icon, James Caan.

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

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

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

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“Why should I have to change everything about myself?” Jewish rapper Westside Gravy on refusing to cower to antisemitism and anti-Black racism

Westside Gravy, a rapper and producer who uses his music to address antisemitism, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke candidly about the discrimination he faces, and his refusal to back down from it. 

“A lot of times, there’s a conversation about the talk that Black parents have with their Black children regarding how to interact if you’re getting profiled or harassed by anyone, really, but especially people talk about it when it comes to issues of police brutality,” the rapper said. “And there’s also a similar thing that to do with being Jewish, publicly identifying as Jewish.

“There’s times that I’ve been harassed and had things yelled at me for being identifiable as a Jewish man,” he revealed. “You should be able to go out and not hide aspects of your identity that are immutable…you can’t change them, you can’t hide them, or else you’re hiding a part of yourself. And at the same time, it’s about being conscious of whatever situation you’re in.”

The California native, who now lives in Israel, broke down the meaning behind some of his lyrics. In his song, Wish You Would 2, he raps: “Why do I gotta be the one to pay the price and change my life? It just ain’t right to trade my sight and see myself through hatred’s eyes.”

“There’s a couple times I’ve written lines, I’m like ‘This sums up everything I’m trying to say,’” he explained, before delving into the theory of “double consciousness”. 

He explained: “There’s this idea that originated, even talking specifically about the Black experience, that if you’re walking around, you have to be conscious not only of who you are as a person but also how you’re perceived…I get perceived as all sorts of things just because of stereotypes, unfair stereotypes of other people.

“I was trying to play on that, and at the same time, humanise what it means to be a Jewish person because I’m speaking from a first-person perspective of ‘Why should I have to change everything about myself?’”

The rapper went on to explain that he feels that “when we have these stereotypes put on us, they’re not as a result of someone’s individual thought. They’re a result of a whole, huge movement of hatred against our people, that infects a bunch of people to hold these stereotypes and negative prejudices against us.”

Wearing a kippah (skullcap) is important to Westside Gravy, as he states: “I’d always wear a kippah when I was going to synagogue, or praying, or at Shabbat, and I started to do it on a daily basis.”

He explains that he never wears his kippah as a means of spiting antisemites, but more so because “it doesn’t feel right for me to change that or to hide it about myself, because it’s a part of me the same way as anything else you see about me – my skin colour, my hair texture, my facial features – are a part of me.” 

The musician, however, is certainly not afraid of antisemites, even going so far as to mock them in his song Benjamins Baby, a reference to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who previously suggested that Jewish people buy political support when she tweeted “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”, referencing a song about a $100 bill and AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group.

The satirical song, in which the rapper subversively embodies the character of the antisemitic stereotype of a powerful Jewish politician, also references former KKK leader David Duke and the antisemitic hate preacher, Louis Farrakhan.

The song was written following Westside Gravy’s witnessing of how politicians would blame the opposite parties for committing acts of antisemitism, whilst wilfully ignoring it when it occurred in their own movement. 

“It’s very irresponsible to not recognise the fact that antisemitism is not a political movement. It’s not something that’s tied to a political party or a political ideology, it’s a form of hatred that infects all sorts of different political leaders,” he said. “Look at someone like David Duke, who is on the far-right. Look at someone like Louis Farrakhan who, though his values are not congruent with actual, left-wing values, is often praised by people on the far-left.”

Westside Gravy astutely observed that “the things that they say about Jewish people – ‘Jewish extremist Zionists’ – are identical. The dehumanisation is identical. The tropes that they use about Jews and money, whether it’s from the right wing or the left wing, are identical tropes.

“It’s important for us as Jewish people to recognise that our civilisation, our culture, our history, predates all these political parties that are trying to blame the other side for antisemitism.” 

Throughout the interview, Westside Gravy also discussed a variety of other topics including antisemitism in hip-hop, his musical inspirations, and his ability to rap in several languages.

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

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

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

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CAA announces new event: “An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has announced an event scheduled for the new year, titled: “CAA presents…An evening with Ben M. Freeman”

Tickets can be purchased here.

Ben M. Freeman is a Scottish, gay, Jewish author, activist and educator whose latest book, Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride, is the second instalment of his seminal manifesto of the modern Jewish Pride movement that has taken the Jewish world by storm.

There will be a conversation followed by a Q&A and book signing.

The event will be held at a Shoreditch location (to be revealed on the day) on 19th January, running from 19:30 to 21:30.

Earlier this year, Mr Freeman appeared on an episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, where he spoke about the importance of having a basic understanding of history and why it is vital in tackling antisemitism. 

Speaking on his passion for studying history, Mr Freeman told our host that “I was always able to view history from a bird’s-eye perspective, and I don’t know why that is…it’s just the way my mind works. So, for me, that means I’m able to spot patterns.

“That’s why I can look at Paul [the Apostle], and then Marx, and then things that were said later on, things that are said today, and then draw a connection.”

Mr Freeman said that looking at common themes between historical events can better explain the events behind antisemitic incidents and “tell us why”. 

“So much of the commentary on Jew-hatred is just commentary, it’s just people describing what happened. ‘This person said this, that person said this,’ and for me, we have to get to the ‘why’, and the ‘why’ is not going to be answered in 2022, it’s going to be answered looking back in history to thousands of years ago.”

The podcast with Mr Freeman can be listened to here, or watched here.

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“Unlike anything I’ve experienced”: Jewish artist describes relentless online harassment

Roots Metals, a jeweller, artist, and writer who uses her considerable online platform to educate her followers on antisemitism and Jewish history, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she disclosed some of the online harassment that she has faced.

Roots Metals said: “Someone made a tweet implying that I use a ‘Nazi font’ and I am sending secret, white-supremacist dog whistles through the word count of my posts. And it went viral, and with that just came so much abuse. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced until this point.”

The jeweller further admitted that the harassment grew to such an extent that she was forced to call a Jewish organisation for help. 

“It got really, really bad. It’s still bad. Hopefully, it dies down soon, but it’s just been awful,” she said. 

Asked whether she had advice for other Jewish activists who also tackle antisemitism online, she said: “I would say if you want to start [fighting antisemitism online], I don’t recommend putting your face out there, but it’s too late for me. I would definitely feel safer if I were anonymous.

“I would definitely take precautions. I would not tell people where I live. I would keep my name out of there and as far as other things you can do, I would definitely exercise very strong boundaries. If someone is being antisemitic, just block. Some people you can’t reason with.”

Roots Metals further added that initially, she found the allegations of her appropriating Nazi iconography ridiculous to the point of being amusing.

“When I first saw it, I laughed, because I was like, ‘This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.’ And then it went viral. Then it wasn’t so funny anymore.”

Throughout the interview, Roots Metals also discussed why the spread of anti-Zionism on university campuses concerns her, antisemitism in her native country of Costa Rica, and how she infuses Jewish themes into her art and writing.

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

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

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

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Success for CAA as London venue cancels appearance from notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz

A venue in South London has cancelled a scheduled appearance from the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz, following action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

The Tea House Theatre, whose events have courted controversy in the past, promoted the “Year-End Review in Speech and Song” event on Twitter and Instagram, writing that Ms Chabloz “will talk about her own experiences in being cancelled”.

Lambeth’s Vauxhall Ward condemned the event, tweeting: “Shameful that @theatre_tea here in Vauxhall would welcome someone with such abhorrent views. The right to free speech is not a right to platform, and we hope they will reconsider this event.”

It added: “Antisemitism has no place in Vauxhall.”

Labour Party MP Florence Eshalomi, representing Vauxhall, expressed similar sentiments, writing: “This is worrying – #Vauxhall is a vibrant diverse constituency. I hope the venue in question will reconsider- free speech should not be a platform for people to share any form of hate, racism, discrimination or antisemitism.”

However, it has now been announced that while the event hosted by conspiracy theorist Ian Fantom will go ahead, Ms Chabloz will no longer be appearing.

Speaking to the JC, Tea House Theatre owner Harry Iggulden said: “I’ve looked now into her history a bit more, I understand a bit more of who she is and quite what a repugnant human being she is, and found myself in the position of this horrible person coming to my house.

“I put my colours to the mast a long time ago about being a free speech house, and sometimes I have to let people who I don’t agree with, speak in my house. But there are limits. And last couple of days, I’ve been weighing those limits.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are pleased that convicted Holocaust-denier Alison Chabloz will no longer be appearing at this venue. We have worked for a number of years to repeatedly send Ms Chabloz to prison over her attempts to spread her antisemitic vitriol. Her landmark conviction following a private prosecution that we initiated was the first conviction over Holocaust denial in this country. It is prudent of the venue to have heeded our call for her to be denied a platform, and we are grateful to Vauxhall Ward councillors and local MP Florence Eshalomi for their support.

“However, the venue’s continued platforming of Ian Fantom, a senior figure in the notorious Keep Talking group, who has had long affiliations with promoters of antisemitic conspiracy theories, is worrying. If the Theatre is serious about creating a safe environment for Jews, it will think twice about hosting an event organised by him.”

Earlier this year, Ms Chabloz was found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

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

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

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

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

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

She is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America, and is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism produced a video detailing the complete history of our legal battle with Ms Chabloz, which you can watch in full here.

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London venue shamelessly set to host notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz

A venue in South London is shamelessly set to host the notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz and conspiracy theorist Ian Fantom this week.

The Tea House Theatre, whose events have courted controversy in the past, promoted the “Year-End Review in Speech and Song” event on Twitter and Instagram, writing that Ms Chabloz “will talk about her own experiences in being cancelled”.

Lambeth’s Vauxhall Ward condemned the event, tweeting: “Shameful that @theatre_tea here in Vauxhall would welcome someone with such abhorrent views. The right to free speech is not a right to platform, and we hope they will reconsider this event.”

It added: “Antisemitism has no place in Vauxhall.”

Labour Party MP Florence Eshalomi, representing Vauxhall, expressed similar sentiments, writing: “This is worrying – #Vauxhall is a vibrant diverse constituency. I hope the venue in question will reconsider- free speech should not be a platform for people to share any form of hate, racism, discrimination or antisemitism.”

Earlier this year, Ms Chabloz was found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.

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

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

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

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

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

She is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America, and is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.

Earlier this year, Campaign Against Antisemitism produced a video detailing the complete history of our legal battle with Ms Chabloz, which you can watch in full here.

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Far-right music festival cancelled in Scotland

A far-right music festival which was scheduled to have taken place in Bathgate, Scotland has been cancelled.

The festival, which was called a “Nazi event” by anti-racist activists, was set to go ahead this weekend. 

The organisers of the event were reported to be the far-right group Blood & Honour, who are believed to be active in working with musicians whose lyrics promote white supremacy.

One band that was scheduled to appear was the group Mistreat, a band from Finland whose songs are said to contain violent lyrics and have been photographed performing in front of swastika flags.

The festival’s cancellation arises following condemnation from politicians, including representatives from the SNP and the Liberal Democrats. 

Martyn Day, the SNP MP for Linlithgow & East Falkirk, said that “There is no place for such abhorrent hatred in Scotland,” while Sally Pattle, a Liberal Democrat councillor on West Lothian council, added that she found the event “deeply concerning” and said that the festival’s organisers had “a history of spewing far-right bile and hatred and no one wants their brand of ideological nonsense in our area, or anywhere else for that matter.”

Advocacy group Hope Not Hate said of the incident: “It looks like the organisers have been well and truly spooked and are moving to a back-up venue.”

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

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Theatre company pulls production of Romeo and Juliet set in Nazi Germany

A theatre company has cancelled a production of Romeo and Juliet which was to be set in Nazi Germany.

The adaptation from London’s Icarus Theatre Collective was billed to present Romeo Montague as a member of the Hitler Youth, while Juliet Capulet would be a Jewish girl.

The description read: “In defiance of their entire society and in secrecy from their closest friends, hopeful young lives burn amidst a cataclysmic backdrop of impending war. Sun and moon shine down on star-crossed lovers as a Jewish girl falls for a member of Nazi Youth and the boy questions everything he was taught to believe.”

However, it transpired that an apparent error resulted in the casting notice omitting any mention of Jewish people, contrary to Director Max Lewendel’s initial draft.

Upon this coming to light, Mr Lewendel stated: “Our first draft had it, we don’t know how it went wrong. We are correcting that as soon as possible. That is absolutely not what was intended, and apologies to anyone that was understandably affected by this.”

When questioned on why an adaptation of the play involving Jews and Nazis was conceived of in the first place, Mr Lewendel said: “It’s the increasing fascism in the world today that has kind of become a trend in my work. 

“I gained some comfort that the idea could be accepted when I saw things like ‘Jojo Rabbit’, and it shows this young boy – younger than Romeo – who’s been indoctrinated but doesn’t really understand what he’s been indoctrinated against.”

The Theatre then said that following the error, it was no longer working with the Casting Director alleged to have been responsible for the change in the draft.

However, it has since announced that it would now be dropping the project altogether. In a statement released on Twitter earlier today, it said: “We apologise and are deeply sorry for the offense and pain we caused to the Jewish community. 

“As a company led by a Jewish Artistic Director who knows the pain of losing family in the Holocaust, we recognise that we’ve made mistakes that have resulted in the Jewish community and Jewish artists feeling excluded and being hurt.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are glad to hear that an apology has been issued after it was revealed that a casting notice for a play about Jews and Nazis did not mention Jewish people.

“We still struggle to think how this production could be anything but tasteless. It is staggering that anyone would find this play about morally-equivalent feuding families to be an appropriate way to explore Nuremberg-era persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany.”

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Hitler painting shredded by Jimmy Carr for Channel 4 television programme reportedly a fake

A painting by Adolf Hitler that was reportedly purchased by Channel 4 with a view to letting comedian Jimmy Carr destroy it in a new television programme has been deemed a fake. 

The concept of the programme, titled Jimmy Carr Destroys Art, is to let an audience decide on whether artwork from “problematic” artists should be destroyed following a debate surrounding the ethics of separating the art from the artist.  

The other artists include Pablo Picasso, Rolf Harris and sexual abuser Eric Gill.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: “Jimmy Carr Destroys Art is a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the limits of free expression in art, and whether work by morally despicable artists still deserves to be seen. It speaks directly to the current debate around cancel culture and is in a long tradition of Channel 4 programming that seeks to engage a broad audience with the biggest and thorniest ethical and cultural questions.

“In relation to the Hitler painting; the artwork, should the audience decide, will be shredded. Not torched.” 

However, Bart Droog, who has written extensively in fake paintings attributed to Hitler, has reportedly said that the piece of art in question is not a genuine painting by Hitler. 

“This is a clear fake. It doesn’t even resemble any known authentic Hitler watercolour.

“By seeking cheap publicity with sensational, bogus Hitler news, Channel 4 not only insults and hurts the Jewish community but does the same to all relatives of his victims.”

When asked if Channel 4 should have known the painting was fake, Mr Droog stated: “Yes, they would have known if they had employed a true expert. By buying a fake Hitler work and presenting it as authentic, Channel 4 not only sponsored criminals and inspired forgers to make more phony Hitlers, but also cooperated with the forgers in faking history itself.”

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: “The painting was bought from a reputable auction house which had authenticated it as genuine. It was made clear in the programme the painting may not be a genuine Hitler.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

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CAA launches petition calling on Adidas to drop partnership with Ye (aka Kanye West) following his repeated antisemitic outbursts

Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a petition calling on global retailer Adidas to drop its partnership with Ye (also known as Kanye West) following his repeated antisemitic outbursts.

The petition can be signed here.

Ye has posted brazen antisemitic statements in the past month on social media.

  • On 7th October 2022, he posted on Instagram: “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
  • Two days later he tweeted: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” 

On an episode of the Drink Champs podcast, aired on 16th October 2022, Ye:

  • Said: “The thing about me and Adidas is like, I can literally say antisemitic s*** and they can’t drop me. I can say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”
  • Demanded: “I want all the Jewish children to look at they daddy and say ‘Why is Ye mad at us?’”
  • Stated that was “Me Too-ing the Jewish culture. I’m saying y’all gotta stand up and admit to what y’all been doing, and y’all just got away with it for so long, that y’all ain’t even realise what y’all doing.”
  • Referred throughout the interview to “Jewish business secrets”, “Jewish Zionists”, and stated how Jewish people in the entertainment industry “will take one of us, the brightest of us, that can really feed a whole village, and they’ll take us and milk us until we die.”
  • Claimed that he had been “blocked out” by “the Jewish media”.
  • Said: “Jewish people have owned the Black voice, whether it’s through us wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt, or it’s all of us being signed to a record label, or having a Jewish manager, or being signed to a Jewish basketball team, or doing a movie on a Jewish platform like Disney.”
  • Doubled down on his tweet about “going death con [sic] 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”, claiming that he “is Jewish also”, adding: “We’re not just Black. We are Jew [sic], just like the Jewish people…I can’t be an antisemite.”
  • Claimed that he responded to being invited to a Holocaust museum by saying: “I want you to visit Planned Parenthood. That’s our Holocaust museum.” 
  • Complained about being photographed in public, saying: “You get used to being screwed by the Jewish media.” 
  • Said: “A thing that a Jewish person will always say is they’ll say ‘This is mine’. Something that a Black person built, or any company built, they’ll be like ‘This is mine now’.”
  • Referencing fellow rapper Ice Cube, who was criticised for sharing an antisemitic image, said: “You really influenced me to get on this antisemite vibe, and I’m here to finish the job.” (Ice Cube has refuted this claim and distanced himself from Ye.)
  • In an interview on CUOMO on the NewsNation network, aired on 18th October 2022, Ye:
  • Said: “I don’t like the term ‘antisemitic’. It’s been a term that’s allowed people, specifically in my industry, to get away with murder.”
  • Made comments referring to the “Jewish underground media mafia”. 
  • Claimed “Jewish people own the Black voice.”

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, examples of antisemitism include “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions,” and “Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.”

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

Adidas must answer Ye’s question. It must denounce antisemitism and end its partnership with Ye.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “By continuing to align itself with a public figure who has revealed himself to be a virulent antisemite, Adidas would be demonstrating that it does not care about racism against Jews. Ye has claimed that he can ‘literally say antisemitic s*** and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?’ Adidas must answer Ye’s question: It must denounce antisemitism and end its partnership with Ye.”

The petition can be signed here.

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Channel 4 purchases Hitler painting for Jimmy Carr to potentially destroy in television programme

Channel 4 has reportedly purchased a painting by Adolf Hitler, with a view to letting comedian Jimmy Carr potentially destroy it in a new television programme. 

The programme, titled Jimmy Carr Destroys Art, will see an audience decide on whether artwork from “problematic” artists should be destroyed following a debate surrounding the ethics of separating the art from the artist.  

The other artists include Pablo Picasso, Rolf Harris and sexual abuser Eric Gill.

Ian Katz, Channel 4’s Director of Programming, said: “There are advocates for each piece of art. So you’ve got an advocate for Hitler. There’ll be someone arguing not for Hitler, but for the fact that his moral character should not decide whether or not a piece of art exists or not.”

Mr Katz said that if the audience were to decide that the painting by Hitler should not be destroyed, it would not be placed in the Channel 4 boardroom and would be “appropriately” disposed of.

In a statement, Channel 4 said: “Jimmy Carr Destroys Art is a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the limits of free expression in art, and whether work by morally despicable artists still deserves to be seen. It speaks directly to the current debate around cancel culture and is in a long tradition of Channel 4 programming that seeks to engage a broad audience with the biggest and thorniest ethical and cultural questions.

“In relation to the Hitler painting; the artwork, should the audience decide, will be shredded. Not torched.” 

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Holocaust is still within living memory and must be treated with the utmost respect. Using artwork from Adolf Hitler, the murderous dictator responsible for the deaths of six millions Jewish men, women and children, as a prop for an entertainment show risks disrespecting the memories of the victims, which is something that Channel 4 would do well to bear in mind. While we welcome debate surrounding the moral and ethical issues surrounding the art of Adolf Hitler, it must be done soberly and tastefully.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

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Royal Court Theatre faces torrent of abuse over new play highlighting antisemitism

The Royal Court Theatre is facing a torrent of abuse for putting on a play highlighting antisemitism, according to the JC.

Jonathan Freedland’s new play, Jews. In Their Own Words, examines the history of antisemitism while also drawing material from interviews and real-life experiences.  

The play, created in response to the increase in antisemitism, also discusses Royal Court’s Rare Earth Mettle controversy.

The theatre, which is considered to be a significant cultural voice but has a history of controversy relating to the Jewish community, received backlash after a play late last year, Rare Earth Mettle, from writer Al Smith and director Hamish Pirie, used the name “Hershel Fink” for the character of a greedy Silicon Valley billionaire.

The theatre issued two apologies when the controversy first arose in November 2020, with questions raised over how the character came to have such a name and the failure of senior figures at the theatre either to notice the problem or to respond properly to concerns raised earlier in the process by Jewish colleagues.

The character’s name was shortly thereafter changed and the incident was described by theatre critic and JC columnist Kate Maltby as an act of “unconscious bias” on Podcast Against Antisemitism. 

It has now emerged that the Theatre has been on the receiving end of antisemitic comments following the staging of Mr Freedland’s play, which has included abusive phone calls to its staff and a series of complaints to its switchboard and social media channels.

Mr Freedland told the JC: “As soon as that piece of mine appeared in the Guardian — setting out what the play was about — the trolls were out in force, not only on social media, filling up the Royal Court’s timeline, but in real life, harassing the theatre’s box office staff with phone calls, many of them abusive.”

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Chart-topping Hasidic Jewish rapper says his way of fighting antisemitism is “to be proudly Jewish”

Moshe Reuven, a chart-topping Hasidic hip-hop artist, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about his journey of breaking antisemitic stereotypes as an identifiably Jewish musician.

As well as having his debut single top international charts, he recently collaborated with Julian Marley, son of the legendary reggae musician Bob Marley, on a single. He described the experience of working with Mr Marley as “surreal”, and a “huge blessing”. When asked about the compatibility between the two artists, the Hasidic hip-hop star said that it “makes a lot of sense” due to how, in his view, the “spirituality of Hasidism” can be harmonised with the “sort of spirituality people think of” when it comes to the younger Marley. 

The rapper revealed that he got into hip-hop music in his youth. “I didn’t grow up religious,” he said, adding that “part of being a kid in the secular world, hip-hop is pop culture…more people listen to it than any other genre”. 

The musician’s religious journey drove him to get into creating music, as he found the content that characterised mainstream hip-hop music was “treif”, meaning not kosher, and in his view, “not teaching the right morals”. 

He describes his musical journey as part of “bringing myself into Hasidism, Torah, and how I’m relating to what I know is right”. 

In previous instances, hip-hop music has contained antisemitic lyrics. Earlier this year, the UK media regulator Ofcom sanctioned London-based radio station Rinse FM after they aired a Jay Electronica song that was deemed to have contained “antisemitic hate speech.”

In recent times, musician Nick Cannon apologised for alleged antisemitic comments and claimed to make an effort to educate himself, while the rapper Wiley has only continued to double down on the severity of the antisemitic tweets that he posted in July 2020.

Commenting on the dichotomy between the two, the Jewish rap star said that “it’s sad that someone took the other approach” and that this “shows the two options a person has if they make such a mistake”.

He said that people can “grow up with the wrong information” and repeat “what someone they look up to says” without reflecting on its wider potential to offend, adding that sometimes animosity “isn’t a general ‘we hate the Jews’ and sometimes it is”, but that either case is problematic if it ends up in widely distributed song lyrics.

He went on to condemn the horrific antisemitic attacks taking place against identifiable Jews in both London and New York, asking of the assailants: “Are you a big dude for doing that to someone? That’s some innocent guy that wouldn’t hurt anyone, and you’re going to punch him in the face? How ridiculous is that?”

Throughout the interview, the rapper stressed how being “proudly Jewish”, in his view, is the best way to fight antisemitism, and the importance of being “strong in our culture”.  

He added that it was important to “be proud of who you are” and lamented the fact that some Jews would feel embarrassed to be Jewish due to the judgment of others.

“It’s a very special thing to be Jewish,” he concluded.

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

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

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

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Artist with history of inflammatory social media posts about Jews granted exhibition in London art space

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

Anna Laurini, whose works are also featured on the website of the online art marketplace, Saatchi Art, is exhibiting her work in the show, “All this Energy”, at a North London cafe. 

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

In a Facebook post, Ms Laurini appears to have shared an article from what appears to be the publication, Palestine Voice, which seems to have featured Ms Laurini in a 2020 edition. Ms Laurini captioned the post with the words “From the river to the sea”, part of the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

This chant only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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British contestant on Israeli reality TV programme says antisemitism made him leave the UK

A British contestant on an Israeli reality TV show has said that antisemitism forced him to leave the United Kingdom.

The singer, Josh Brennan, who was gaining an increasing following in the UK, and who has performed in venues across the country, appeared on the programme Rising Star.

Mr Brennan received overwhelming support from the judges and the audience, but revealed that he had moved to Israel due to an antisemitic incident he experienced on the streets of London.

Mr Brennan said that “someone walked past me while I was wearing a Magen David [Star of David] necklace. Someone shoves me, spits to my feet and says to me, ‘you and your family belong in the [gas] chambers.’”

In a video clip from the show, the viewer can hear both the judges and the audience gasp in shock when Mr Brennan tells his story.

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

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2021 showed that over two thirds of British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.

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“Find other Jews you can talk to”: Meet the Jewish actors calling out antisemitism

Dan Wolff and Sam Thorpe-Spinks, two Jewish actor-producers, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where they shed light on the antisemitism they experienced at drama school that now serves as inspiration for their upcoming play.

Their play, Emanate Presents: A Night of New Jewish Writing, features six, stand-alone short scenes. Mr Wolff and Mr Thorpe-Spinks supplied the writers, directors and actors with the questions “How do we define ourselves as Jewish?” and “How is that changing?” as prompts.

Playing at London’s Kiln Theatre on 8th and 9th of August, the production was created as a response to the duo’s experiences of antisemitism, examples of which included being asked if they were going to pick pennies up off of the floor and being told that “the Jews run New York”.

Speaking on the discrimination they faced at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Mr Wolff stated that much of the antisemitism was not the fault of the School specifically but rather caused by their peers, adding that he viewed it as more of a higher education issue.

Mr Thorpe-Spinks admitted that the two felt frustrated in the fact that being two of the only Jews in their year made calling out antisemitism difficult, and often resulted in them not saying anything at all. 

“We didn’t talk about it much, and I don’t know why it is. Recently, having this chance to talk to you and talk to the School, we suddenly start saying things and we go, ‘Oh, actually that wasn’t okay’. 

For some reason, I thought, ‘You get little jokes and that’s just part of it’, but actually when you start saying it, you go ‘No, why should we have had to put up with that? Why didn’t we speak out or make a formal complaint?’ Not just in drama school but in rehearsal rooms, professional rooms…the moment you do start talking about it, sometimes for the first time, you hear yourself and you go ‘Wow, I was going to be okay with that’.”

“And what happens is,” Mr Wolff added, “with each little remark, it chips away at something inside of you. It chips away, essentially, at your sense of pride of being Jewish. And with each little thing, it gets stripped away and it gets poked at and it gets damaged, so then you start to internalise it and you start to go ‘Well, the jokes are sort of true…we’re the butt of the joke and it’s sort of okay because someone has to be.’ 

“It’s an accumulative process that happens over years and years and years where you internalise it and you get to a point where you start to not hear it. It’s terrifying, the idea you become numb to the sense of discrimination. So I suppose we’re trying to thaw out the numbness in a way with this project. It’s about a defrosting of this internalised antisemitism.”

Mr Wolff explained how a core tenet of acting is being able to trust the actor that you are performing with, and that if that actor says something antisemitic, it becomes impossible to fully trust in them, which results in the work suffering.

“Essentially, what happens is you go ‘I’m with you in this space and I’m with the work but I fundamentally cannot be myself and I cannot be truly open because there is a part of me that is so integral to me that you cannot accept,” Mr Wolff said.

When asked for what advice they would give to Jews in the acting industry who may be experiencing antisemitism but aren’t sure what to do, the actor said: “Find other Jews that you can talk to and you can say, ‘This happened and I’m not sure about that,’ and more often than not, someone else can go ‘That is antisemitism,’ or ‘That’s not okay’. 

“Just try and talk as much as possible. And if you can, call it out. You’d probably be surprised that people are willing to listen. If I could say something to myself ten years ago, I would say call it out more.”

Mr Thorpe-Spinks explained that he found it easier to call out antisemitism once he began tracing his familial roots back, which offered him an appreciation of his Jewish heritage, allowing him to feel emboldened enough to say something.

“It made me understand who I am a bit more, and was proud of who I am, and I think that sense of empowerment would make it easier to call things out,” he said. “For a lot of my childhood, I was Sam who was technically Jewish but wasn’t interested, and maybe when I experienced antisemitism, I would not have associated myself with it, to be honest. But because I have discovered my ancestry, I suddenly go ‘I am proud of what they went through and of who I am’, and I think there’s a real empowerment to that kind of self-discovery.” 

Throughout the interview, the duo touched upon a variety of other issues, including whether non-Jews can play Jewish characters and last year’s incident in which the Royal Court Theatre came under intense scrutiny after the greedy billionaire character in its play Rare Earth Mettle was given the name Herschel Fink.

The podcast with Mr Wolff and Mr Thorpe-Spinks can be listened to here, or watched here.

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

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

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Rapper apologises for wearing anti-fascist t-shirt with confusingly prominent swastika at music festival

A British rapper has apologised after he was filmed wearing a t-shirt featuring the word “destroy” over a very prominent swastika.

Tyron Kaymone Frampton, known as Slowthai, justified his choice of the anti-fascist t-shirt, but also said that he is aware that it caused some fans confusion when he performed in it at the Osheaga Festival in Montreal.

One Twitter user expressed their dismay, writing that “Today at the Osheaga music fest, Slowthai performs wearing a swastika t-shirt. At what point does his manager, festival organisers, or stage managers step in and say this symbol of hate has no place at the festival, in Quebec, or in Canada?”

The rapper tweeted an apology, saying that “I’m sorry to anyone who is offended by me wearing an anti-fascist/anti-regime t-shirt and the use of the symbol it represents. I want you to know I stand firmly against antisemitism and fascism of any kind, something the t-shirt was meant to illustrate wth the word “destroy” above the symbol.”

The Osheaga Festival tweeted a statement which said that: “A performer appeared on stage Saturday wearing a controversial t-shirt displaying a swastika that caused confusion. The t-shirt denounces the regime. We sincerely apologise to anyone who may have misinterpreted this message and felt hurt.”

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Tampa students hold art exhibition in response to recent antisemitism surge

School students in Tampa, Florida, have organised an exhibition to raise awareness about antisemitism as a response to the area’s recent influx of anti-Jewish hatred.

The exhibition, entitled “Shine a Light”, was set up by the Tampa Jewish Community Centres and Federation, a month after three Tampa neighbourhoods were outraged by the appearance of antisemitic flyers, a problem that has been noted in several different cities across the United States.

Students studying in grades four to twelve were invited to submit works, accompanied by a description of their piece in writing, for the competition.

Those selected were chosen not only on the traditional basis of artistic expression, originality, and stylistic creativity, but how well they conveyed a message about fighting antisemitism and the emotional depth with which they did so.

One of the honorary judges, Mayor Jane Castor, said that “We need to remember lessons from history. Even in 2022, synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and Jewish people have been attacked. Community projects like ‘Shine a Light’ help in raising awareness about the human cost of antisemitism.”

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

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Bestselling author Stephen King calls Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera a “great man” during prank call

The bestselling author, Stephen King, has come under fire for appearing to praise the antisemitic Second World War-era Ukrainian nationalist leader and Nazi collaborator, Stepan Bandera, who played a key role in creating the conditions that made the Holocaust possible.

This came during a phone call with someone whom Mr King believed was current Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy.

During what turned out to be a prank call organised by the Russian comedy duo, Vovan and Lexus, Mr King, who is a vocal supporter of Ukraine, appeared to call Bandera a “great man”.

Mr King compared the “flaws” of American leaders George Washington and Thomas Jefferson with Bandera’s, saying that “On the whole, I think Bandera is a great man, and you’re a great man, and Viva Ukraine.”

The duo also encouraged Mr King to offer “Zelenskyy” a role in a new film of one of Mr King’s novels, and to comment on Ukraine’s Azov Batallion, which is known to have members with neo-Nazi sympathies.

As head of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, Stepan Bandera was responsible for drafting the Party’s “Minority Policy”, which included a line about how “Jews are to be isolated, removed from governmental positions in order to prevent sabotage…Those who are deemed necessary may only work under strict supervision and removed from their positions for slightest misconduct…Jewish assimilation is not possible.” 

During Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Bandera declared that Ukraine was henceforth an independent state led by Adolf Hitler. After Bandera wrote a proclamation that included the words “Glory to the heroic German army and its Führer, Adolf Hitler”, a series of attacks broke out against and Jews and Poles.

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

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Documenta art festival director resigns over antisemitism scandal

The Director of Documenta, the quinquennial art festival held in the German city of Kassel, has resigned after the fifteenth edition of the festival displayed works that contained inflammatory references toward Jews.

Director Sabine Schormann has agreed with Documenta’s supervisory board that her contract will be terminated and an interim director will be appointed in her stead.

After months of controversy and speculation about alleged antisemitism, Documenta 15 opened in June and featured the artwork People’s Justice (2002) by the Indonesian collective, Taring Padi, which includes images of soldiers who have pigs’ heads for faces and are labelled with the word “Mossad”, the Israeli intelligence agency, and what appears to be a caricature of a visibly Jewish person with sidelocks, smoking a cigar, accompanied by symbols of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary unit, on his hat.

Jewish groups in Germany and throughout the world had expressed their concerns about Documenta 15, which has been curated by the Indonesian art collective, ruangrupa, because they included another foreign collective, the Question of Funding, which supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, in the exhibition. Taring Padi were, however, not included in those initial complaints.

The organisers of Documenta initially placed a black drape over People’s Justice, which was later dismantled, but some Jewish groups complained that the festival’s organisers had not gone far enough to address the issue.

Antisemitic incidents in Germany have increased considerably. Campaign Against Antisemitism is reports on antisemitic incidents in Germany.

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Arab airlines to screen film about Portuguese Inquisition’s persecution of Jews

Airlines from a number of Arabic-speaking countries have acquired the rights to show a film about the Portuguese Inquisition in Porto.

Qatar Airways, Iraqi Airways, Kuwait Airways, Egyptair, Middle East Airlines from Lebanon, Syrian Airlines and others now have the rights to show 1618, a film about the Portuguese Inquisition in the city of Porto, which took place 120 years after Portuguese Jews were forcibly converted to Christianity or coerced into exile.

The film was produced by the Jewish community of Porto and sold to the air carriers as part of a program to combat antisemitism by telling the story of the city’s Jewish community.

1618 is about the lives of Porto’s so-called “New Christians” who were severed from the Judaism of their ancestors. In particular, it follows the story of 100 so-called “New Christians” who were imprisoned by the representatives of the Inquisition, which frightened the rest of the community into fleeing.

The film will be released in September 2022 with a premiere to be held in Porto.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the Middle East.

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Israeli Charedi woman creates immersive virtual reality film about Auschwitz

A Charedi woman from Israel has created an immersive virtual reality film that shows the viewer the horrors of Auschwitz.

Miriam Cohen was unable to go on a trip to Poland to see the death camp in person aged seventeen, and developed the film to document it for people who are not able to visit it.

A Triumph of Spirit offers 360-degree views of what Auschwitz looks like from the inside while the viewer is guided by a historian and researcher, Yisrael Goldwasser.

Now that large Charedi audiences in Israel have seen the film, there are plans to bring the film to the UK.

Ms Cohen said: “If we’re talking about religious girls, none of them watch movies. They don’t watch Holocaust movies, or stuff like this. They only read about the Holocaust and they imagine. And when they see this movie, suddenly their imagination and all they read about – it gets a form.”

With antisemitism increasing worldwide, Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news relating to antisemitism globally.

Image credit: Jewish News

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Documenta 15 art festival opens amid controversy about representations of Jews in Indonesian art collective’s work

After months of controversy, the fifteenth edition of the quinquennial contemporary art festival, Documenta, has opened in Kassel, Germany, amid controversy, including allegations that one of the artworks contains inflammatory representations of Jewish people.

The artwork, entitled People’s Justice (2002), was produced by the Indonesian collective, Taring Padi, and appears to show the violence committed by Indonesia’s Suharto dictatorship. However, the work also includes images of soldiers who have pigs’ heads for faces and are labelled with the word Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, and what appears to be a caricature of a visibly Jewish person with sidelocks, smoking a cigar, and with symbols of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary unit, on his hat.

Jewish groups in Germany and throughout the world had expressed their concerns about Documenta 15, which has been curated by the Indonesian art collective, ruangrupa, because they included another foreign collective, the Question of Funding, which supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, in the exhibition. Taring Padi were, however, not included in those initial complaints.

The organisers of Documenta initially placed a black drape over People’s Justice, but it has now been reported that the work will now be dismantled entirely.

Germany’s Minister of Culture, Claudia Roth, said that “human dignity, protection against antisemitism, racism, and misanthropy are the foundations of our coexistence and this is where artistic freedom finds its limits.” The President of Germany also urged the organisers to do more to address the allegations of antisemitism.

Antisemitic incidents in Germany have increased considerably. Campaign Against Antisemitism is reports on antisemitic incidents in Germany.

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Cardiff Council reconsidering sculpture of radio pioneer due to his role in “excluding Jewish scientists”

Cardiff Council is considering abandoning plans to erect a sculpture honouring radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi.

The announcement came after the Council became aware that Mr Marconi was a supporter of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and his exclusion of Jewish scientists in the academic world.

Mr Marconi, who is regarded as the “father of radio”, jointly won the Nobel Prize in 1909 for his pioneering work in wireless telegraphy. This included making discoveries that permitted messages to be sent by radio waves.

In 1897, Mr Marconi transmitted a radio signal across open sea off the Welsh coast, which is why the city of Cardiff intended to honour him with a four-metre high sculpture in the Cardiff Bay barrage area. This was, however, prior to the Council’s discovery of Mr Marconi’s fascist ideology.

In 2002, historian Annalisa Capristo unearthed documents that show that Marconi deliberately prevented Jewish scientists from joining the Academy of Italy during his time as its President. Mr Marconi had marked applications by Jews with an “E”, which refers to the Italian word Ebreo, meaning “Jew”.

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said: “Whilst Flat Holm Island is rightly famous as the site of the world’s first radio transmission over open sea, radio pioneer Marconi’s involvement with the Italian Fascist Party, and his role in excluding Jewish scientists from the Academy of Italy is less well-known and understood.

“Having been made aware of these matters, the project team will be contacting all funding partners immediately and beginning a review of the sculpture proposals to ensure that the fascinating history of Flat Holm Island is celebrated in a way that’s consistent with Cardiff’s values as a tolerant and welcoming city where equality and diversity is championed and celebrated.”

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Painter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors turns her experiences of antisemitism into art

Sharon Schurder, a London-based painter who uses her experiences of antisemitism as inspiration for her artwork, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she provided insight into her creative process.

Ms Schurder revealed how she experienced antisemitism on more than one occasion whilst taking public transport, which led her to feel unsafe to the degree that she felt no other option but to take taxis to work.

“I’m Orthodox, so I had a little siddur with me, so it’s pretty obvious that I was Jewish. And someone tried to send me a picture through AirDrop…I didn’t open it because it was just a guy behind me laughing away so I kind of knew it was going to be something. And he was saying stuff, like ‘blah blah blah, Jewish, blah blah blah’.”

Ms Schurder added that on another journey, someone yelled “you’re killing babies” at her, and in a separate incident whilst waiting on a platform at Borehamwood and Elstree train station, a man screamed at Ms Schurder and her children: “Go chat with Netanyahu…you don’t belong here.”

“I’m a grandchild of Holocaust survivors,” Ms Schurder revealed, “so I’m probably always cognisant of ‘are we really welcome, are we really wanted?’

“It’s London, that can’t be happening, that you can’t just travel normally on public transport. It was unnecessary and terrifying.” 

When asked about the process behind turning her experiences into art, Ms Schurder said: “My aim in every painting is to make people look at that painting and make them stop and think….that activism, trying to be pumped into the paint. 

“There is a lot of meaning behind it. In my art, it’s very value-based…for me, it’s a lot about combatting antisemitism with a very strong Jewish pride.”

Throughout the interview, Ms Schurder touched upon a wide variety of topics which included discussing her grandfather, a Holocaust survivor who also painted, the story of how she began painting, and what it was like being featured in British Vogue.

The podcast with Ms Schurder can be listened to here, or watched in its entirety here.

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

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

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Celebrated author who implied Jews were paedophiles and wrote “Are Goyim meant to be slaves of Jews?” is asked to speak at university

Pulitzer prize-winning author Alice Walker, who has previously garnered media attention for her inflammatory comments and support for conspiracy theories, is set to speak at San Diego Community College for the investiture ceremony for its new chancellor.

Ms Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983 for her novel The Colour Purple. She is, however, also known to have made inflammatory comments about Jews, one example of which can be seen in her poem “To Study the Talmud”. Excerpts from Ms Walker’s poem reads:

“Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews, and not only
“That, but to enjoy it?
“Are three year old (and a day) girls eligible for marriage and intercourse?
“Are young boys fair game for rape?
“Must even the best of the Goyim (us, again) be killed?”

While also receiving little scrutiny from the press about her views due to the forthcoming publication of her journals, Ms Walker has been asked to speak at the investiture of San Diego Community College’s new chancellor, Carlos O. Cortez.

Ms Walker has also voiced her support for the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, citing with approval his books Human Race Get off Your Knees: The Lion Sleeps No More, which states that the world is secretly run by shape-shifting reptilian humanoids and “Rothschild Zionists”, and And the Truth Shall Set You Free, which promotes the antisemitic conspiracy theories contained in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and questions whether the Holocaust happened.

The author reportedly described Mr Icke’s work as “a curious person’s dream come true” and denied that there was anything antisemitic or anti-Jewish about its content.

Mr Icke uses social media, his books and his stage performances to incite hatred. His preaching is so absurd that since the 1990s he has been dismissed as a crank, but because he is dismissed, there has been no major opposition to him and he has built up a following of thousands upon thousands of disciples whom he has persuaded to adamantly believe that the world is in the grip of a conspiracy run by the “Rothschild Zionists”. His repertoire includes conspiracy myths and tropes classified as antisemitic according to the International Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by the British Government. Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully persuaded some venues to pull out of hosting his events.

After years of pressure from Campaign Against Antisemitism, Mr Icke was banned from most social media platforms.

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

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Singer who called Hitler a “good guy” and the Holocaust a “profitable hoax” disinvited from benefit concert

It has been reported that a rock concert in Tucson, Arizona has dropped a band from its bill due to an antisemitic website run by its frontman.

The “Whole Enchilada” benefit concert, held on 16th April at the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, was supposed to feature a number of popular local bands, including veteran outfit Chuck Wagon and the Wheels.

However, the attention of the organisers was drawn to the band’s lead singer, Chuck Maultsby, whose website allegedly contains numerous antisemitic posts, including examples of Holocaust denial, posts supporting Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, and rationalisations for the concentration camps in which millions of Jews were interned and murdered.

Mr Maultsby’s material consists of over 250 pages of conspiracy theories blaming the coronavirus pandemic on Jews, claims that the Jews planned the 9/11 attacks on New York City, and celebrations of Adolf Hitler, who Mr Maultsby says was a “good guy”.

Along with justifications for the actions of notorious Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele, who, according to Mr Maultsby, saved the lives of tens of thousands of “inmates” at the death camp through his “tireless efforts”, the website explains how Jews are responsible for the deaths of former American President John F. Kennedy and US Army General George S. Patton, as well as announcing that the diary of Anne Frank is a “hoax”.

Mr Maultsby also describes the Holocaust in such terms, asking in one post from 2017: “Is the Holocaust a Hoax? Short Answer: OF COURSE. Within five minutes, any intelligent, open-minded person can be convinced that the Holocaust gassings of World War II are a profitable hoax.”

Mr Maultbsy’s website is reportedly no longer available at its original location, but has apparently been archived in several places. The site does still, however, show memes with Hitler’s photograph, myths about a “white genocide” orchestrated by Jews, and a self-published book that its author claims to have been banned on Amazon. One such meme reads: “If you think I am evil, it means you have never did any research but you are fully brainwashed by the Jewish written History [sic].”

Chuck Wagon and the Wheels were subsequently disinvited from the concert, and some members of the Tucson music scene denounced the singer.

David Slutes, the entertainment director for Hotel Congress, said: “It’s harder than you think to move quickly on something like this, even when it’s obviously the right thing to do. Everyone feels embarrassed, guilty and bad about it. But learning about the depth of Chuck’s insanity was rough. I have worked for this Jewish-run business for 25 years and they are like extended family. This was not going to work for any of us.”

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

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Creator of first ever video game about the Holocaust aims to educate future generations on the Shoah

Luc Bernard, a video game developer and the creator of the first video game about the Holocaust, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about how video games could be an instrumental resource in teaching young people about the Shoah.

Mr Bernard, whose grandmother assisted children who arrived in the United Kingdom on the Kindertransport, an initiative in 1938-39 to rescue nearly 10,000 Jewish children from Europe, described his motivation in the creation of his game, The Light in the Darkness.

“Some don’t believe video games can be educational. That’s something I disagree with,” he said. “The problem is, no one has thought about what is the next step, or how do we continue education in new ways? Because I think education is trying to get the digital generation to adapt to them, rather than trying to adapt to the digital generation.”

Pointing to the successes of previous artforms in providing Holocaust education after meeting initial resistance, Mr Bernard said: “Comic books were viewed as insane at one point until Maus came out. Films were kind of viewed like, ‘I don’t know, man,’ until Shoah came out, and Schindler’s List. Video games need to be able to tackle the subject because we’re the number one form of entertainment, and I think rather than discourage game developers towards doing it, we should actually be able to guide game developers and encourage them to make these games, because then there would be more awareness.” 

The story of the game revolves around Polish Jews in France during the Holocaust, Mr Bernard told our host. “You follow a Polish Jewish family in France, so you get to play, more like interact and experience, the story from France before the occupation, up to the occupation, antisemitism rising…we’re kind of going through every single step.

“What I really wanted to do is actually have you become attached to these characters, get to see who they were, get to live their life, rather than just go automatically into the bad things, because you know how film is, you want people to become attached emotionally so it has a bigger impact on the viewer, or on the player…also, in between scenes, you will have an option to listen to survivor testimonies, French survivors. You’ll be able to see the similarities to compare what they went through to what that current scene is showing.”

Asked whether ‘video game’ is an accurate title for The Light in the Darkness, Mr Bernard said that “it could be called several things,” including “an interactive story” or “an educational video game.” 

Despite Mr Bernard referring to The Light in the Darkness as a ‘game’, he clarified that he has removed the player’s ability to make choices within the game to mirror the reality of the Holocaust for Jewish people. “If I made choice-based things, it would make it seem like Jews could have saved themselves. There’s so many factors to the Holocaust [and] why it happened. The fact that loads of countries closed their doors, didn’t allow refugees in. How, as the Jews were trying to get to what was British Palestine back then, Britain closed it down. How Britain only allowed 10,000 children on the Kindertransport. All those things are pretty much out of everyone’s control and I know some people [whose] mothers had to give them up just so they could live. If I made it choice-based so that it could affect the story, it would just make it seem like people had a choice and that’s why I really just had to eliminate that, and that’s again what makes it very weird for a video game. It’s very different to anything else I’ve ever done before.”

Mr Bernard chose to set the game in France under the Vichy Government. “What makes the Vichy government so interesting is that it was France that deported the Jews, it was France that decided to deport the children. France went full-on collaboration and they weren’t Nazis – they were bad people, and they had the same intent as the Nazis – and setting it in France shows how it wasn’t just the Nazis that did this, and how everyday people can become hateful.

“I think when people will play it, they’ll be like ‘wait, this was the French Government that did this? It was the French policeman that rounded them up?’, then they’ll actually realise the extent to how bad the Holocaust was because a lot of people just think it was just the Nazis. And, no, it was Europe. Europe did this.”

Mr Bernard, who is himself French, said “I actually love France, but it also means you have to address the dark, historical past of your country.” 

The Light in the Darkness is expected to be released later this year for Xbox and Windows, with other platforms also under consideration.

Throughout the interview, Mr Bernard touched upon a wide variety of topics which included his own Jewish background, why the far-right has infiltrated video games, and how other video games have traditionally fallen short in how they depict Nazis.

The podcast with Mr Bernard can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox. Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, The Sunday Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Boston Couple to Create “Powerful Museum” About the Holocaust in the City

A couple from Boston say they have bought a building with the aim of creating the city’s first museum dedicated to the Holocaust.

Co-founders of the Holocaust Legacy Foundation, Jodi Kipnis and Todd Ruderman, explained that they have bought a building on Tremont Street in the centre of the city to house the project.

Though Boston already hosts the New England Holocaust Memorial, erected in the centre of the city in 1995, just one mile from Ms Kipnis and Mr Ruderman’s proposed museum, this new venture would be the city’s first indoor museum about the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators.

The announcement comes after a rise in antisemitic incidents in and around Boston, including swastika graffiti found at a Boston high school, amongst other incidents in schools across Massachusetts, and the presence of the neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club at the recent St Patrick’s Day parade.

Ms Kipnis and Mr Ruderman have expressed their concern about young people’s lack of knowledge about the Holocaust. 

Ms Kipnis said: “The timeless and timely lessons of the Holocaust have never been more urgently needed. In order for the Holocaust to remain relevant to new generations, Holocaust Legacy Foundation is taking the opportunity to create a powerful museum for all of New England.”

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

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“You have to be annoyed about something to joke about it. What annoys me? Antisemitism”: Comedian Elon Gold on using comedy as a weapon against Jew-hatred

The comedian and actor Elon Gold appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he spoke about how he uses comedy to tackle antisemitism.

Speaking on his approach to discussing antisemitism in his comedy, Mr Gold stated that his priority is to consider whether his material is funny and whether he is making “the right point”. 

Describing what constitutes “the right point”, Mr Gold clarified: “If it comes from my heart and from my anger about antisemitism.”

“All of comedy is complaining, and I realised that a few years ago. You have to be annoyed about something to joke about it and to want to deride it, mock it, ridicule it, but first, it has to annoy you. So what annoys me? Antisemitism. It annoys the crap out of me and I’m angry about it because it’s not funny at all, but now I have to find the funny because that’s my job and I happen to be obsessed with finding the funny in hate, because when you do that, when you find the funny in hate, you get to expose the ignorance of bigotry. And you get to mock these bigots.”

Mr Gold outlined what this approach looks like by providing an example of one of his comedy routines that touches upon the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally. “One of my favourite new bits that I’ve been doing lately is mocking those idiots who went to the rallies with the tiki torches going around going ‘the Jews will not replace us.’” Mr Gold joked: “‘And I’m like, ‘the Jews will not replace you? We don’t want to replace you, we just want to put braces on you. Replace you? We just want to manage your portfolio.’”

Discussing why he feels the routine is so impactful, he says that it’s because “It’s got these funny jokes but it’s making a point. Here are these groups of morons walking around with tiki torches going ‘the Jews will not replace us’…what is that message, even? As it turns out, it’s about immigration and it’s a whole thing that it’s their farkakta (nonsense) brains that they think there’s some global conspiracy of the Jews trying to replace them, but it’s all just nuts.

“So it’s my job now to mock these nut-jobs. And I do it from the right place. I know I’m in the right and they’re dead wrong. You can’t justify any sort of racism, homophobia…you’re not right.”

Turning to the subject of offence, Mr Gold has clearly given careful consideration to this issue. “There are bits that I do where I literally do a German accent. And that, you know…you talking about something that’s triggering. The last thing I ever want to do is… let’s say a Holocaust survivor is in the audience, or even the son or grandson of one. And to offend one of them would hurt me deeply. So of course, it’s not my intention to offend, but it is my intention to mock Nazis.”

Mr Gold went on to explain how he differentiates those who may take offence at different types of jokes, for example a dirty joke. “If you’re offended by that, that’s your problem. With antisemitism, with an area as sensitive as that, now we’re not talking about sex, we’re talking about something that people are getting killed over, to this day, and for thousands of years. And I do make it a point not to do any Holocaust jokes. There’s nothing funny about it, and that’s not even a topic I would ever want to bring up.

“However, if Whoopie Goldberg brings it up and says something idiotic like ‘the Holocaust isn’t about race,’ I’m gonna do jokes like ‘oh, the Holocaust isn’t about race? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what my great-grandparents heard in the camps.’” In a German accent, Mr Gold jokes: “By the way, this is not about race. This has nothing to do with race, you Jews are always jumping to conclusions!”

Mr Gold goes on to explain his thought behind the joke, saying: “I’m doing the accent, I’m mocking Nazis, but the joke isn’t, God-forbid on the victims. It’s not even on the Holocaust. It’s on Whoopie, and it’s on the Nazis. It’s on the bad guys. Whoopie’s not bad, she said something bad and wrong and it’s my job to correct it with jokes.”

“So to me, I have to say something about this. It’s an impulse, I can’t just ignore it. And by the way, when she said it, again, I wasn’t offended by it. I just said to myself ‘Oh, I have to correct that error.’ And my only weapon is jokes.”

Throughout the interview, Mr Gold touched upon a wide variety of topics which included opening up about an encounter of antisemitism that his family experienced, why he refuses to work on the Sabbath, and his recurring role in the most recent season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The podcast with Mr Gold can be listened to here, or watched here.

Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox. Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel, The Sunday Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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Glasgow museum displays works looted from Jews by the Nazis but refuses to identify which works

It has been reported that items displayed in the collection of a Glasgow museum may have been looted from their Jewish former owners by the Nazis.

The Burrell Collection, which dates back to acquisitions made by the wealthy shipowner Sir William Burrell in 1944, already knew that two works on display were stolen from their Jewish owners by the Nazis in the 1930s. Glasgow City Council even paid out a large amount of money in compensation to the works’ would-be heirs. 

However, Glasgow Museums curator Martin Bellamy has recently published a book, A Collector’s Life: William Burrell, which maintains that even more works than previously acknowledged can be proven to have belonged to Jewish owners who relinquished their treasures as part of the practice known as “forced sale”. 

This was part of the wider policy of “Aryanisation”, in which Jews in Germany and Austria were forced to register property or assets – including life insurance, stocks, furniture and works of art – valued above a certain amount. They also lost favourable financial incentives available to non-Jews, and were forced to be part of the highest tax bracket irrespective of their actual income. If they chose to leave the country, they were forced to hand over half of their assets and exchange what remained at the least favourable rate of exchange of their destination.

Glasgow Life, a charity that administers the 9,000-piece collection, has admitted that works acquired under these circumstances are on display. They do not, however, identify precisely which works were acquired in this manner.

Scottish historian Sir Tom Devine said: “As long as the provenance of these items is established by experts and curators, it should always be made public. The question the public will ask is, ‘What do they have to hide?’ I find the refusal rather curious. Curators of museums always want the truth to be out, and unvarnished at that.”

Speaking on behalf of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, Ephraim Borowksi said: “I suggest that the point to be made is that this isn’t a question of law, but morals. Given the scale of the Holocaust, there may be no surviving family members to make a formal legal claim. It’s up to public galleries to acknowledge the dubious history of items in their collection.”

The Burrell Collection, which has recently undergone a £70 million renovation, will open to the public on 5th April.

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Anne Frank betrayal book recalled after being refuted by historians

A book that claimed to expose the betrayer of Anne Frank has been removed from circulation after its findings were revealed to be unsound.

Prompted by research by Dutch historians, Canadian author Rosemary Sullivan’s The Betrayal of Anne Frank, published by the Amsterdam-based firm Ambo Anthos, will no longer be available.

The Betrayal of Anne Frank alleged that Arnold van den Bergh, a member of Amsterdam’s Jewish council – an administrative body forcibly established by the Nazis as part of their occupation of the Netherlands – led the police to the Frank family’s address at Westermarkt.

Campaign Against Antisemitism reported in February 2022 that Ms Sullivan’s book would no longer be printed until more work could be done to verify Ms Sullivan’s claims. However, after a 69-page report refuting the author’s findings, the publisher has now asked bookstores to return any stock they have already bought.

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

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

The Royal Court Theatre has published a report into last year’s Rare Earth Mettle controversy.

The theatre, which is considered to be a significant cultural voice but has a history of controversy relating to the Jewish community, received backlash after a play late last year, Rare Earth Mettle, from writer Al Smith and director Hamish Pirie, used the name “Hershel Fink” for the character of a greedy Silicon Valley billionaire.

The theatre issued two apologies when the controversy first arose in November 2020, with questions raised over how the character came to have such a name and the failure of senior figures at the theatre either to notice the problem or to respond properly to concerns raised earlier in the process by Jewish colleagues.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Nazi concentration camps recreated in popular children’s online game 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Publisher apologises over book claiming Jewish person betrayed Anne Frank

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The episode can be listened to here, or watched here.

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

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The episode can be listened to here, or watched here.

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

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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

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

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

The podcast with Ms Maltby can be listened to here, or watched here.

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

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The podcast with Lord Grade can be listened to here, or watched here.

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

Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can listen to the full podcast here.

Or you can watch the full interview here.

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

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

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

Campaign Against Antisemitism has today launched a new weekly podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Image credit: Christie’s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions is an example of antisemitism.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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French President inaugurates Dreyfus affair museum in Paris

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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National Gallery removes “antisemitic” artwork from online exhibition 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr Jones has denied all accusations of antisemitism.

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

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Antisemitism is being spread through video games, research shows

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Porn sites allow antisemitic content to remain despite being notified

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

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

Fighting Online Antisemitism is the group behind the shocking reports.

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

Image credit: Fighting Online Antisemitism via JTA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)” is an example of antisemitism.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Murals defaced with Nazi graffiti in Ukiah, California

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dr Offord is an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.

Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].

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

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

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

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

In another verse, Mr Morrison sings:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Bestselling author gets called out for antisemitic tropes in her books

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Image credit: Harry’s Place

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Bulgarian TV host apologises after allegedly denying Holocaust on air

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.