It has been reported that Canada plans to criminalise Holocaust denial in a bid to deal with increasing antisemitism.
The Canadian government is said to be debating a law that would make it illegal to either publicly deny that the Holocaust took place at all or to justify it or trivialise details about it, including the number of Jews killed. The law will not, however, apply to what people say in private conversations.
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.
Canada now follows a number of mainly European countries that have passed laws banning Holocaust denial including Austria in 1947 (amended 1992), Belgium in 1995, the Czech Republic in 2001, France in 1990, Germany in 1985, and Greece in 2014.
There is, however, no mention of the penalties to be faced by perpetrators of Holocaust denial, though one version of the bill proposes a two-year jail sentence.
Other countries have imposed harsh penalties on those who violated these laws, including well-known Holocaust deniers and revisionists like French presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen (fined three times between 1987 – 2016), French Holocaust revisionist Robert Faurisson (fined €7,500 and given three months’ probation), and Ernst Zündel, Horst Mahler, and David Irving, who were all handed lengthy jail terms by German courts.
The bill is justified as Canadian MPs and anti-hate groups have expressed their concerns about rising antisemitism in the country.
Vice-President of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Richard Marceau said: “Jewish Canadians comprise one per cent of the Canadian population yet are the target of 62 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes. We live in a time of rising antisemitism.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
The University of Essex has inexplicably determined that protestors who chanted the “from the river to the sea” slogan as part of campus anti-Israel protests were not engaging in antisemitic conduct.
The slogan was chanted by activists opposed to a speaking engagement in October 2021 at the University’s Conservative Society by the former head of British armed forces in Afghanistan, Col. Richard Kemp.
Joe Wigoder, a third year politics student at the University of Essex, lodged an official complaint with the University about the chanting outside the event, but his complaint was rejected. University Registrar and Secretary Bryn Morris, on behalf of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, wrote in an e-mail to Mr Wigoder that “it was not found that antisemitic behaviour took place” during the protest, and that “no evidence was found that chants had been used to specifically deny the state of Israel…or express hatred of Jews.”
The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has previously said that the slogan “from the river to the sea” is antisemitic and, given its popularity with Hamas and its supporters, its use could be reported to the police.
Mr Wigoder said: “It is incredibly disappointing to read this disheartening news and see the University yet again abandoning their promises to Jewish students. Time after time, the university attempts to sweep antisemitism under the rug, and it leaves us feeling completely unsafe on campus. I have been chasing this complaint for months and this is an upsetting conclusion.”
An investigation into the conduct of an Ohio State University professor who allegedly used an antisemitic slur in one of her classes has resulted in no long-term disciplinary consequences for the academic.
Jackie Buell, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences specialising in sports nutrition, was accused of using the phrase “Jew down” in an October 2021 class discussion about haggling over prices while making purchases in Mexico. The phrase alludes to an antisemitic stereotype of Jewish people as excessively frugal.
Though the University suspended Prof. Buell from teaching classes in the Spring 2022 semester and directed her to take anti-discrimination training for the next twelve months, the investigation found that she did not breach the University’s non-discrimination and harassment policy. Her conduct has instead been officially described as “inappropriate”.
The University’s Office of Institutional Equity reportedly found Prof. Buell’s behaviour “offensive, concerning and inappropriate,” but decided that her comments did not interfere with or deny any student’s ability to access educational facilities at the University.
Prof. Buell is expected to demonstrate a certain level of growth following her training before she is permitted to begin teaching again.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
It has been reported that a solicitor from Ayrshire has denied posting allegedly antisemitic comments on social media, but has been handed a fine by the Law Society of Scotland.
Criminal defence lawyer Neil McPherson, 64, is reported to have compared Auschwitz to Paisley, thirteen miles west of Glasgow. Mr McPherson is alleged to have written in a Facebook post that the concentration camp was like the Scottish town “but without the social problems.”
Mr McPherson is said to have claimed that the posts were written by someone else. The Law Society of Scotland’s professional conduct committee, however, found that it was “more likely than not” that the solicitor made the comparison, posted under another Facebook user’s photograph of a visit to Auschwitz.
Mr McPherson has been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay a further £100 to Arnon Nachmani, a Scottish-Israeli lawyer who was born in Paisley and who lost family in the Holocaust, who stumbled across the comments some months after they were posted.
Mr Nachmani said he would donate the money to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem.
Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.
The Police Department in Lakewood, New Jersey, has released details of an allegedly antisemitic attack that took place on Friday 8th April.
Dion Marsh, 27, is accused of taking part in a series of incidents throughout Lakewood. All of Marsh’s alleged victims are said to be Orthodox Jews.
Mr Marsh reportedly assaulted a driver and stole his car before running over someone else, stabbing a third victim in the chest, and striking a fourth with the vehicle in nearby Jackson Township.
All four victims are reported to have been injured in the incident, the latter two critically. Mr Marsh has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and bias intimidation, as well as carjacking and weapons charges.
The ADL’s New York/New Jersey Regional Director is reported to have said: “More needs to be done to prevent violence against the Jewish community, and in particular visibly identifiable Jews in Ocean County and across our region. Jews should not be afraid to go about their business without living in fears that they will be targeted for violence.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
New data published by the New York City Police Department shows that antisemitic hate crimes rose by 92% in March 2022 compared to a year ago.
23 antisemitic hate crimes were reported in New York in March 2022. In March 2021, the police recorded eleven such incidents.
These findings reflect those of previous months: February 2022 saw a 400% increase in antisemitic incidents compared to February 2021 (56 compared to eleven the year before), while January showed almost 300% additional antisemitic hate crimes year on year.
While the NYPD recorded increases in hate crimes aimed at Muslims, people based on their ethnic origin in general, and based on the victim’s sexual orientation, the number of incidents with Asian or Hispanic victims went down.
Taking all reported incidents into account, the data reveals that there were more antisemitic hate crimes than those experienced by any other group except Asian-Americans.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
The Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) has condemned antisemitic messages discovered written in the bathroom of the law building at the Paris Nanterre University.
The graffiti includes a Star of David with “MEDIA” written on top, phrases such as “Hitler, you’re the best”, and other slogans that evoke the concept of Jewish control over the media.
“This antisemitism, unabashed, assumed, in front of thousands of students and in the total indifference, it is every day,” reported the UEJF president Samuel Lejoyeux to Le Figaro Étudiant. “It’s complicated to be a Jewish student…we are constantly brought back to the question of Israel, to the conspiracy that whites dominate everything, and that Jews are ‘super whites”.
“We condemn in the strongest terms and in an absolute manner”, responded Philippe Gervais-Lambony, president of the university “any antisemitic and racist act”. The university then reported that it was cleaning the graffiti and launching an investigation.
According to a survey commissioned by UEJF in 2019, 45% of Jewish and non-Jewish respondents have witnessed antisemitism at school.
In February, a report by France’s Jewish Community Security Service said that antisemitic incidents in France had skyrocketed by 75% in 2021.
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.
Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, has today written to the Charity Commission calling together with Campaign Against Antisemitism for a statutory inquiry into the National Union of Students (NUS).
In his letter, Mr Halfon wrote to “voice my dismay at the actions and behaviour of the National Union of Students and its trustees, in regards to their treatment of Jewish students and the Jewish community’s concerns regarding antisemitism. Together with Campaign Against Antisemitism…I politely request that the Commission launch a Section 46 inquiry, pursuant to the 2011 Charities Act into the NUS and look forward to receiving your response.”
Mr Halfon enclosed a dossier of evidence by Campaign Against Antisemitism detailing how NUS has failed Jewish students. He wrote that he is “particularly concerned about the enclosed dossier of antisemitic events that have taken place within the NUS over the past several years — and which come following decades of concerning trends — which was prepared by CAA.”
The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read below.
Mr Halfon made particular reference in his letter to the recent scandal involving the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, who was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference last month. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event.
As the scandal erupted, Mr Halfon excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by his committee.
This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. Prior to the election, she apologised for one such tweet.
As the dossier produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism observes, “Despite [its] ostensible and much-vaunted commitment to anti-racism, NUS has a long record of controversy in relation to Jewish students and antisemitism, dating back decades.
The dossier notes that antisemitism on campus has surged to record levels, with CST recording a 191% increase in antisemitic incidents on campus in 2021, and that Campaign Against Antisemitism’s latest Antisemitism Barometer found that an overwhelming 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
“NUS’s blind spot when it comes to inclusion of Jewish students and openness to their concerns is significant, giving rise not only to a failure of representation but also to a toleration of hostility to the needs of Jewish students within NUS and even instances of outright antisemitism. The result is tangible harm to Jewish students,” the dossier explains. “As an organisation, NUS is failing in its objective to represent and advocate for all students, and, as a charity, it is failing to act for the benefit of the public.”
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Shaima Dallali’s election as NUS President only a week after the Lowkey scandal is the last straw. It follows decades of similar indications that this union does not even aspire to represent Jewish students. At a time of surging racism against Jews on campus and almost universal concern in the Jewish community about antisemitism in universities, we are grateful to Robert Halfon for referring NUS to the Charity Commission for a statutory inquiry on the strength of our dossier of evidence. NUS must now answer for failing to represent Jewish students and failing to live up to its legal commitment to act for the public benefit.”
A Jewish man who was wrongfully convicted of arson in 1983 and has spent the last 39 years trying to clear his name has been vindicated.
Barry Jacobson’s lawyers, who were supported by the ADL and the Innocence Project, announced on Tuesday 5th April that a court ruled that the jury was biased, and that the case has been dismissed.
Mr Jacobson was sentenced to six months in prison and received a fine of $10,000 after being found guilty of setting a fire at his home in Richmond, Massachusetts in 1983, though only served one month. The conviction caused him to lose his real estate licenses in Massachusetts and New York, which proved to be detrimental to his job in the commercial real estate business.
Mr Jacobson stated that “for nearly 40 years I have been haunted by this wrongful conviction.”
He continued: “Time and again it has affected my career, my business, my family and my community. It has been beyond painful. It is an experience I would not wish on anyone.”
Bob Cordy, Mr Jacobson’s attorney, said that the prosecution and jury deliberations were both affected by antisemitism. The prosecution, Mr Cordy said, relied on a racist stereotype where they believed that Mr Jacobson set the fire for insurance money.
In a sworn statement from one juror, he referred to Mr Jacobson as “one of those New York Jews who think they can come up here and get away with anything.”
Mr Jacobson’s lawyers were aware of antisemitism on the jury months after the verdict, but despite mentioning it in their appeals, there was no vindication.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
The notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz has been found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.
The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.
At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”
Summing up, Judge Nina Tempia said that the defendant “was making up evidence” as she went along, and she did not accept Ms Chabloz’s claim that her song was about the controversial activist Tommy Robinson, describing that suggestion as “ludicrous”. Instead, Judge Tempia said, “I have not doubt” that the song related to Jews. She further noted that, given Ms Chabloz’s previous convictions, she “knew exactly what she was doing” and that she had a propensity to commit these types of offences.
The prosecution asked the court to take into account that the whole Jewish community was a victim in this crime. Sentencing is due to take place next week, and Ms Chabloz’s incomplete report of her previous sentences may be considered an aggravating factor.
Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.
Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome this verdict against Alison Chabloz, who has dedicated herself to spreading her hateful views about Jews. As a repeat offender, she must face a sentence with real teeth in order to bring an end to her rampage of anti-Jewish racism which has continued relentlessly for far too long, paused only by stints in prison that our effortsbrought about.”
Ms Chabloz was originally facing a charge of incitement to racial hatred under the Public Order Act, but this was reduced to an offence under s.127 of the Communications Act.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
The Prime Minister of Peru has claimed that remarks appearing to praise Hitler were misunderstood and has offered to apologise in person to the Israeli ambassador.
Anibal Torres reportedly praised the Nazi leader for turning Germany into the “first economic power in the world”, a comment met with protest by both the Israeli and German embassies.
The 79-year-old Prime Minister made the remark in Huancayo, an Andean town at the centre of ongoing protests over the economic situation in the country. Mr Torres praised Hitler’s and Mussolini’s infrastructure policies, saying: “On one occasion Hitler visited the north of Italy, and Mussolini shows him a highway built from Milan to Brescia, Hitler saw this and went to his country and filled it with highways, airports and turned Germany into the first economic power in the world. We have to make an effort, make sacrifices to improve our roads.”
The Israeli Embassy said that “Regimes of death and terror cannot be a sign of progress,” adding: “Hitler was responsible for the death of six million Jews, to praise him is an offense to the victims of that world tragedy.”
The German embassy said: “Adolf Hitler was a fascist and genocidal dictator, in whose name the worst war of all time was carried out from Germany and the genocide of six million Jews was committed. Against this backdrop, Hitler is not the right reference as an example of any kind.”
A Peruvian legislator who had lived in Germany for two decades demanded that Mr Torres apologise to the German people, while Peru’s Jewish Association observed that this was not the first time that politicians in the country had comments of this sort, insisting that “the seriousness of these expressions do not merit explanations or half apologies.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Sir Keir Starmer has apologised again for how Jewish members of the Labour Party and the community more generally were treated under his antisemitic predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
In his first interview with a Jewish newspaper since his election as Labour leader exactly two years ago, Sir Keir did not apologise for his own role backing Mr Corbyn. Sir Keir also declined to tell the JC whether he believed that Mr Corbyn is antisemitic.
The interview came following numerous expulsions and suspensions of Labour officeholders at the local level.
In Plymouth, Cllr Chaz Singh, the Chair of the Council’s Equalities Working Group, has come under fire for allegedly retweeting a post by a local firm of beekeepers directed at the local ward councillors, which said: “You’re lucky, if you get to see yours! We have three, and they’re as much use as Anne Frank’s drum kit!” The tweet was in reference to a local dispute about sewage. Cllr Singh was criticised by his colleagues for apparently using social media to amplify an offensive analogy to a victim of the Holocaust, and in particular for doing so given his position at the Council and purported status as a champion of diversity.
In Dudley, Cllr Zafar Islam was reportedly suspended from Labour after months of inaction by the Party following a complaint.
The complaint by Labour Against Antisemitism, submitted in September 2021, detailed Cllr Islam’s social media activity, where he claims a “witch-hunt” has taken place against Labour politicians critical of Israel, among other inflammatory remarks.
In London, the former Chair of the Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party, Pete Firmin, has reportedly been automatically expelled from Labour over alleged support for factions that have been proscribed by the Party.
In Wales, a former leader of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, has been revealed not to have left Labour after 46 years of his own accord, but rather because he was expelled following disciplinary action. Cllr Hedley McCarthy had reportedly been accused of ‘liking’ antisemitic posts on social media, which he denied, saying that he has “a proven track record of opposing racism of all forms, including antisemitism.”
However, a Labour Party spokesman reportedly said: “Hedley McCarthy was expelled from the Labour Party in January 2022 following the conclusion of an internal disciplinary investigation into antisemitic social media activity. It is therefore incorrect for Hedley McCarthy to claim that he resigned from membership of the Labour Party.”
The local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) reportedly claimed that it had not been aware of the expulsion, relying instead on Cllr McCarthy’s claim that he had left of his own accord. Cllr McCarthy said in response: “I want to apologise to my former colleagues in the Labour group and the CLP for not informing them of the suspension or the eviction letter.” He added that he had been concerned about the confidentiality of the disciplinary process, apparently having been warned that any breach could result in further disciplinary action. “In any case, I left the group in November and didn’t see that the letter was relevant to them by then,” he said, adding: “I am sorry now that I didn’t speak out about these ridiculous accusations.”
The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
In an open letter to the NUS leadership this week, the Lancaster University Students’ Union said that it was “deeply disappointed and hurt by the way the Jewish community have been engaged with and treated this year,” making specific reference to the recent scandal involving the inflammatory rapper and activity Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey.
The letter went on to say that “Our Jewish students have legitimate issues and questions about decisions made by the NUS leadership, which we feel need to be addressed,” in regard to the Lowkey affair, in which the controversial figure was invited to headline the NUS’s centenary conference and the concerns of Jewish students’ were dismissed before media pressure brought about Mr Dennis’ withdrawal from the event.
The letter further noted that “NUS has an uncomfortable history with antisemitism,” and that it is “disconcerting” that individuals who have in the past been “embroiled in allegations of antisemitism” and were disqualified from office “ever felt welcome at all.”
Observing that “Antisemitism is a major issue within the student movement” and that NUS “keep[s] failing the Jewish community,” the letter lamented that “Too many Jewish activists have been pushed out of the student movement, from fear, anxiety, hostility, an environment that encourages antisemitic dialogue, and blatant antisemitic comments and/or actions.”
“The Jewish community,” the letter continued, “has been let down time and time again,” and its authors “look forward to seeing a clear communication of the changes you will make,” as “the Lancaster University Students’ Union Full Time Officer team will not sit back and watch the community go through endless trauma caused by NUS.”
Meanwhile, at Durham University, the Students’ Union put out a statement at the end of March affirming that “Jewish students have legitimate questions about decisions made by NUS in planning their National Conference, and the poor response that came when those decisions were challenged. There has been, unambiguously, a failure to recognise the risk and the reality of antisemitism.”
The statement insisted that “We can only bring about the changes we want to education and society if we do it collectively, through NUS. We’re stronger together. But when some students are excluded from NUS, we are all made weaker.” It concluded by saying that “When we’re at NUS Conference this week, we’ll insist that the NUS leadership recognise the problems they’ve created. We trust in their ability to reflect, and to make changes in partnership with Jewish students and their representatives. We’ll hold them accountable for making our national student movement welcoming for Jewish students.”
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.
AConservative councillor who was suspended from the Party last year over social media posts, before being permitted to re-join, has resigned from the Thomas Deacon Education Trust.
The Trust has confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that Ishfaq Hussain was appointed a trustee of the Thomas Deacon Education Trust on 20th September 2021 and that he subsequently stepped down as a trustee on 3rd March 2022. The reasons for his resignation are not spelled out.
Cllr Hussain had apologised for sharing antisemitic tropes on Facebook. In one Facebook post, he accused the “Saudi regime” of being “long standing puppets of America and Israel,” and went on to label them “a trilogy of zionists.” He then remarked that “Islam doesn’t breed terrorists the zionist trilogy do.” Mr Hussain also shared a video that was captioned: “The Jews in Israel are not true Jews.”
Cllr Hussain had also captioned his profile picture: “This person does not recognise the State of Israel.” He also reportedly claimed that “Zionism is one of the worst afflictions on the world” and made other inflammatory comments about “Zionists”.
In his apology, Mr Hussain said: “I recognise Israel’s right to exist and wholeheartedly support a two-state solution. I deeply regret that my frustration at events in Israel and Palestine led me to suggest otherwise. Some of my previous language was ill-judged and offensive. It also echoed antisemitic tropes in ways I had not fully understood. However strongly we feel, we should never let our emotions get the better of us. By doing so, I allowed myself to become part of the problem. I am truly sorry.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
Responding to a comment that her Government included two ministers from the Scottish Greens (the Scottish branch of the Green Party), which was described as having “out-Corbyned Corbyn”, the First Minister and SNP leader told the assembly of 250 Scottish Jews: “I am not able to speak for another political party. But I do speak for and am accountable for every minister in my Government. My Government is a signatory to the IHRA [International] Definition of Antisemitism and all ministers have to be clear that they sign up to that and accept that — and that includes the two Green ministers. There is no tolerance in my government for antisemitism or discrimination, prejudice, racism of any kind. I want to assure you of that very, very clearly.”
Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism helped to expose the Scottish Greens’ controversial record in relation to antisemitism.
Ms Sturgeon also praised Jewish students, whom she had met recently, for their frankness in discussing the discrimination that they had faced on campus. “I want to make this point very forcibly,” she said, “So long as anyone feels discriminated against, we as a Government have more work to do.”
The First Minister also spoke about Holocaust education, saying: “As generations pass, it is vital that future generations understand what happened. However, understanding the Holocaust is not the same as understanding what it’s like for Jewish communities in countries across the world today.”
On the subject of antisemitism in politics, Ms Sturgeon conceded that the SNP had faced problems. Indeed, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s latest Antisemitism Barometer has shown that 39% of British Jews believe that the SNP is too tolerant of antisemitism.
As it happened, at around the same time, her Party was being urged to fire an SNP candidate in the upcoming local elections after it emerged that he had allegedly tweeted that it was “sickening that Israeli Jews bring up their kids to hate and kill,” using a photo of an American-Jewish family.
The picture in the seven-year-old post is of Bill Bernstein, a kippah-wearing former gun shop owner from Nashville, posing with his daughter Gertrude, both with guns.
Wullie Graham, who is standing in Pollok ward in south Glasgow, was accused by political rivals of having published an antisemitic post and his Party was called on to remove him as a candidate.
In a statement, the SNP said: “Mr Graham has apologised for a post in 2015 that he readily admits was stupid and indefensible. He has taken steps to reach out to the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities as he seeks to make amends and learn from this.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
Three teenagers armed with a sword, a crowbar and a knife allegedly threatened a group of Jewish boys on New York’s Upper West Side.
The teenagers, ranging in ages from twelve to sixteen, allegedly threatened the group of six Jewish boys on the evening of Saturday 2nd April. The teenagers reportedly said that they wanted to “get them” because they were Jewish and proceeded to follow the boys home before running away.
Gale Brewer, the NYC Council Member who represents the district, condemned the incident as a “horrible antisemitic attack” on a Facebook post.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
It has been reported that a man performed a Nazi salute at a Jewish woman on the London Underground when he saw that she was wearing a Ukrainian pin-badge.
Charlotte Saloman, 37, was travelling between Paddington and Baker Street on 5th April when the incident took place. Ms Saloman was first alerted to the potential danger when she noticed a man whom she believes to have been in his early 30s boarding the train and who soon began staring at her and her badge.
Ms Salomon said: “He sat opposite me and stared at my pin. Then he stood up, did a halfway-up arm salute, and moved further down the carriage. At first, I was puzzled, then I realised what the gesture was. I made eye contact with another passenger. They looked confused as well.”
Ms Salomon, Deputy Chair of the Saffron Walden Conservatives Association, was on her way to the House of Lords to take part in an event about women fighting antisemitism.
After sharing her account of the incident on Twitter, Ms Salomon received messages of support, but others contained offensive sentiments, including one that read “Heil Hitler” followed by a swastika.
It has been reported that the police are now investigating this incident.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
A far-right political party has won seven seats in Hungary’s general election.
Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) won 6.7% of the vote in the election, which means that it is now not only in Parliament for the first time, but it has also become Hungary’s third-largest party.
Our Homeland was founded in 2018 after a split with the nationalist Jobbik party, which first came to Europe-wide attention in the 2009 European Parliament elections. The President of the European Jewish Congress has described Jobbik as an “unashamedly neo-Nazi party” and, elsewhere, the Party has been referred to as an “antisemitic organisation”. Jobbik’s use of well-known antisemitic canards about Jewish financial control has been called “overt antisemitism” and antisemitic rhetoric has even been described as Jobbik’s “trademark”.
The Party has, however, spent the last seven years recasting itself as a moderate conservative party.Our Homeland was formed by former Jobbik members unhappy with this rebranding exercise.
Though Rabbi Shlomó Köves, Chief Rabbi of the Orthodox EMIH-Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities, has described Hungary as one of the safest places for Jews to live in Europe, the emergence of Our Homeland as an electoral force has drawn concern from Hungary’s 100,000-strong Jewish community.
However, Rabbi Köves also made a point of saying that in the past, both Jobbik and Our Homeland “openly had racism and antisemitism on their agenda.”
“Both at this point are not openly making antisemitic statements, but they’re very dangerous. And the real problem that I see is that since the left joined Jobbik [to oppose Fidesz], if in the future anyone else in the government would want to cooperate with Mi Hazank — not that it seems necessary for any reason — but it would be very hard to argue why they shouldn’t do it.
“Throughout this whole [opposition building] process there’s been a legitimisation of these extreme-right neo-Nazi groups.”
Our Homeland’s criticisms of globalisation have been described as being “spiced up” with antisemitic conspiracy theories, including references to a “global elite”, the Jewish Hungarian financier George Soros, and the Rothschild banking dynasty.
Hungary’s controversial long-time Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and his national-conservative Fidesz Party, won Sunday’s election, increasing its vote by about twenty points and gaining two parliamentary seats. This marks Mr Orbán’s fourth successive term as Prime Minister, his fifth in total.
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.
The family of a French Jewish man who was fatally wounded after being hit by a tram has said that antisemitism may have played a role in the incident.
While Mr Jeremy Cohen’s death in February was initially treated as a traffic accident, new video footage released by the family appears to show a gang of men attacking Mr Cohen, 31, prompting him to flee for safety without noticing the tram.
Mr Cohen is believed to have been wearing his kippah, or skullcap, during the attack, and the family have now called upon the police to reopen the investigation into his death as they feel his visible Jewish identity played a role in his attackers’ motivation.
It was reportedly only when the family started asking questions, handing out fliers in post boxes throughout the neighbourhood and urging witnesses to come forward, that someone eventually came forward with the crucial video footage that showed that the victim was being attacked moments before his death.
The victim’s father, Gerald Cohen, said: “Why is the family the one who needs to bring the evidence to police investigators? If we hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have known the truth. We want justice for our son Jeremy.”
The footage of Mr Cohen was released to the public this past Monday, which was also the anniversary of the murder of Sarah Halimi, a 74-year-old Jewish woman living in Paris who was murdered in 2017 by her twenty-seven-year-old Muslim neighbour, Kobili Traoré. Mr Traoré tortured Ms Halimi before throwing her out of a window, yelling “Allah Akbar,” “I killed the shaitan,” which is an Arabic word for ‘devil’ or ‘demon’, along with antisemitic vitriol.
In a disgraceful decision last year, France’s Court of Cassation ruled that Ms Halimi’s killer could not stand trial due to being high on cannabis whilst committing the murder.
Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism held a rally outside of the French Embassy in solidarity with French Jews opposing the Court of Cassation’s unjust ruling, joining simultaneous rallies around the world.
A few months later, it was announced that a French Parliamentary commission of inquiry would be established in order to investigate the murder of Sarah Halimi. However, in January of this year, the inquiry was closed. The results of the 67,000 word report found that police had arrived on the scene before Ms Halimi was killed but waited outside of her apartment during the entire incident, apparently unable to hear her screams. The report shockingly concluded that the officers, judges and psychiatrists involved in the case had done everything by the book.
This led to a disagreement between those on the committee itself, with the report only being passed on a seven to five vote, with Meyer Habib, the French Parliamentarian who formed the commission, accusing police and fellow lawmakers of lying and engaging in a cover-up.
In February, a report by France’s Jewish Community Security Service said that antisemitic incidents in France had skyrocketed by 75% in 2021.
Last year, the murderer of French Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll was sentenced to life in prison.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
A neo-Nazi activist and rapper from Austria has been handed a ten-year jail sentence by a Vienna court.
The 37-year-old artist, who recorded music under the name ‘Mr Bond’, was found guilty of glorifying Nazi ideology. This is a crime in Austria under the country’s 1947 Verbotsgesetz (Prohibition Act), which not only banned the far-right paramilitary organisations that flourished even after the defeat of the Nazi regime, but made it illegal to deny, condone or try to justify the Holocaust.
Mr Bond’s music was based on the appropriation of existing rap songs, to which he gave new lyrics with Nazi and antisemitic themes. One such song was used by the assailant of the October 2019 attack outside a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle, in which two people died. The murderer, Stephan Balliet, filmed his crime and put it on the internet, soundtracked by Mr Bond’s song.
Mr Bond was described as “particularly dangerous” by the court. In the same trial, his brother was sentenced to four years in prison for running an antisemitic website.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
It has been reported that the director of the Jewish community in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk has been stabbed by an attacker shouting antisemitic statements.
Igor Perelman was reportedly stabbed three times while out for a walk in the centre of the city.
Vitaliy Kamozin, Chief Operating Officer of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, stated that Mr Perelman’s wounds have been treated and he is recovering from the attack. Mr Kamozin said: “There were antisemitic statements, but the motive is not yet clear.” The incident is apparently being examined by the police.
The Russian war on Ukraine has elicited a plethora of Nazi comparisons and is witnessing actual neo-Nazi soldiers on the battlefield.
President Putin of Russia justified his war on Ukraine in part by claiming that he needed to “denazify” the country, a stance that was reinforced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and apparently also adopted by China. Mr Lavrov also compared the United States to Hitler, stating: “Napoleon and Hitler, they had the objective to have the whole of Europe under their control…Now Americans have got Europe under their control. And we see the situation has really demonstrated what role the EU is playing in the context of the global situation. They are just fulfilling a role. So we see, like in Hollywood, there is absolute evil and absolute good and this is unfortunate.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Councillors in the northern Bavarian town of Bayreuth have voted to give new names to two streets once dedicated to noted antisemites.
One was named after the bishop, Hans Meiser, the first Landesbischof (Regional Bishop) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria from 1933 to 1955. Bishop Meisner, boasting a huge following among Bavarian Protestants, was said to have had Nazi ties and once wrote that there was something “corrosive, caustic, dissolving about the Jewish mind”. It has been renamed Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Straße in honour of the anti-Nazi theologian.
Hans-von-Wolzogen-Straße, named after the friend and biographer of the antisemitic composer Richard Wagner, is now to be called Friedelind-Wagner-Straße. Friedelind Wagner, the composer’s granddaughter, escaped Nazi Germany to the United States in 1941 after being implicated in anti-Nazi propaganda. Baron von Wolzogen, believed to have shared the composer’s antisemitic views, was the editor of the publication Bayreuther Blätter, which published antisemitic material, from 1878-1938.
Richard Wagner lived in Bayreuth from 1873 until his death in 1883. The Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Opera House) was constructed especially for the purpose of showing Wagner’s operas. His villa, Wahnfriend, was converted into a museum dedicated to his life and work after the Second World War.
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.
YouTube has bowed to pressure and finally removed a channel from its platform that allegedly inspired the Texas hostage-taker, as the platform is accused by a moderator of ignoring his warnings.
After weeks of pressure, including in particular from the JC, the social media network has removed the channels belonging to Israr Ahmed and Wagdy Ghoniem, which boasted 3.5 million subscribers between them.
Malik Faisal Akram, the Briton who took four hostages at the Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville before being shot dead by the FBI, was reportedly obsessed with two hardline Pakistani clerics popular on YouTube, one of whom was Israr Ahmed. Mr Ahmed had 2.7 million subscribers on the social media network and was particularly popular with Mr Akram, according to the JC. On his videos, he reportedly called Jews “the ultimate source of evil [and] the biggest agents of Satan”, adding that they “control the banking system of the world.” In another video, entitled “History of the Jews”, Dr Ahmed claimed that Jews had been acting against humanity for over 2,000 years. “The name of Jews became an expletive,” he said. “They became akin to pigs.”
Testimony from moderator-turned-whistleblower and counter-terrorism expert, Khaled Hassan, reportedly prompted the company to act. Mr Hassan, who worked for Crisp, a content moderation firm contracted to YouTube, repeatedly raised the issue of antisemitism on YouTube, according to the JC. This included flagging Mr Ahmed’s channel and that of the Egyptian Jihadist and Muslim Brotherhood leader Wagdy Ghoniem, who is banned in the UK.
Mr Hassan’s report to YouTube warned that Mr Ahmed’s videos “pose[d] a serious risk of inciting hatred against Jews [and] a realistic possibility of leading to real-world violence” and was submitted in October last year, but was reportedly ignored. In January, Mr Akram targeted the Colleyville synagogue after watching Mr Ahmed’s videos, according to his friends and acquaintances.
YouTube reportedly said that, “upon review, we removed the channels belonging…to Israr Ahmad for violating our hate speech policies, and a further eleven videos have been removed as either a result of this circumvention or for violating our Violent Extremism and hate speech policies.”
Mr Ghoniem’s channel had been taken down “for circumvention of our terms of service,” according to the technology company. This came after Mr Hassan’s report had pointed out that he “has been on the list of extremists banned from entering the UK for inciting terrorism since 2009,” has been wanted on terrorism charges in America since 2004, and an Egyptian court had convicted him for leading a terrorist cell in 2014.
Mr Hassan’s report recounted how Mr Ghoneim had falsely claimed that Egypt’s President “is secretly a Jewish person working on advancing the interests of Israel while causing harm to Egypt’s economy and national security”. Mr Hassan claimed that the failure to remove Mr Ghoneim’s videos amounted to “promoting radical ideologies and enabling radical/terrorist groups to recruit members into their ranks.”
Although YouTube’s publicly-stated policy is that all “hate speech” that promotes “violence or hatred against individuals or groups” based on race or religion “is not allowed” and will be “removed,” Mr Hassan told that JC that he believed this policy to be a “sham”.
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.
Speaking at a conference held at the Tottenham Hotspur Football Stadium, Lord Wolfson said that there is no conflict between the British Government’s embrace of the Definition and its commitment to freedom of speech, maintaining that “It’s calumny to say that the fight against antisemitism in some way shuts down free speech, it simply doesn’t.”
Lord Wolfson said that the Definition had no implications for freedom of speech, making a clear distinction between free speech and hate speech. He said that “Antisemitism is hate speech, and all democracies have drawn a line between free speech and hate speech. There are things you cannot say because they are defamatory, and there are things you cannot say because they are racist.”
The Under-Secretary for Justice even said that he disapproves of the word “antisemitism”, preferring “anti-Jewish racism”. There are, he said, some people who fail to see that antisemitism is a problem, despite their vocal commitment to anti-racism in all its forms.
He also explained that those who have attempted to claim that the Definition prevents criticism of Israel are wrong because there is a difference between criticising the policies enacted by the Israeli government and applying a double standard to Israel, singling it out for criticism in a way that would not be done to another country.
In July 2017, Campaign Against Antisemitism published an opinion of expert counsel on the adoption of the Definition. David Wolfson QC (now Lord Wolfson) and Jeremy Brier, who acted pro bono, drew up the nine-page opinion. The opinion includes a detailed assessment of the definition itself, considers the application of the Definition in difficult cases, and contains useful advice for politicians and public bodies, such as universities, which are considering using the Definition.
The opinion states that: “The Definition is a clear, meaningful and workable definition. The Definition is an important development in terms of identifying and preventing antisemitism, in particular in its modern and non-traditional forms, which often reach beyond simple expressions of hatred for Jews and instead refer to Jewish people and Jewish associations in highly derogatory, veiled terms (e.g. ‘Zio’ or ‘Rothschilds’). Public bodies in the United Kingdom are not ‘at risk’ in using this Definition. Indeed, this Definition should be used by public bodies on the basis that it will ensure that the identification of antisemitism is clear, fair and accurate. Criticism of Israel, even in robust terms, cannot be regarded as antisemitic per se and such criticism is not captured by the Definition. However, criticisms of Israel in terms which are channels of expression for hatred towards Jewish people (such as by particular invocations of the Holocaust or Nazism) will in all likelihood be antisemitic.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has also produced a primer on the relationship between the International Definition of Antisemitism and freedom of speech.
An “alarming number” of recent bomb threats directed at Jewish community centres and synagogues in one month across the United States was a sharp reminder that “the Jewish community remains a top target for hate crimes in the United States.”
The warning came from the Secure Community Network (SCN), a Jewish communal security organisation, which noted in a press release issued in late March that since the beginning of the month there had been eighteen reported bomb threats directed at Jewish community centres (JCCs) and synagogues in nine states.
SCN said that it was “actively working with community leaders and law enforcement agencies” over the “recent wave of bomb threats against Jewish facilities nationwide.”
FBI officials have stated that investigations into the threats were active and remained a high priority.
The SCN comments came as the New York Jewish Week reported that the Staten Island JCC had briefly evacuated its premises following a bomb threat, while the JCC of Indianapolis also revealed that it had recently received a bomb threat.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
The University of Connecticut has been forced to deal with an incident in which a Jewish student received antisemitic abuse for removing anti-Zionist material that she found in the University library.
Natalie Shclover discovered a series of illustrations of the map of Israel contrasted with the image of a strangled child and a photograph of University President Radenka Maric placed on the walls and strewn on the floor of the Homer Babbidge Library at the University’s Storrs campus.
The flyers were reportedly produced as part of ongoing criticism of Ms Maric for taking a trip to Israel to support Connecticut’s collaboration with higher education institutions there. Soon after the trip was announced, the University’s social media channels were overwhelmed with comments calling Israelis “greedy” and calls for “another Intifada”.
When Ms Shclover and her boyfriend Zacharia El-Tayyeb learned that, because the flyers were on the ground, they are legally thought of as “public property”, the couple went back to the library to dispose of them. This led to an altercation with four other students.
One of the students filmed the exchange on her cellphone and is reported to have said “Even though you’re a Jew, you still have to respect us.” It is alleged that the other students called her a “f***ing b****”, a “f***ing Zionist”, and a “white supremacist”.
Both Ms Shclover and Mr El-Tayyeb were harrassed on the University’s Yik Yak feed – a social media platform that allows users to post messages anonymously to anyone within a five mile radius – and Ms Shclover was dismissed from The Chordials, a student a capella society of which she was President.
Radenka Maric condemned the antisemitic remarks and wrote a message to the University community contextualising the incident in terms of “the combustible combination of religion, cultural identity, politics, history, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”
Ms Shclover said: “I think it fell painfully short of addressing the harassment that Zach and I endured, and calling it the ‘library incident’ is very arbitrary. We’ve had emails and communications from administrative bodies at UConn condemning acts of racism, Islamophobia, and even acts of antisemitism in years past, and I don’t understand why an issue surrounding Israel or Palestine would be treated any differently.
“I know that this is a greater issue, one that the Jews and Zionist on this campus are afraid to talk about because they fear what happened to me might happen to them, and I don’t blame them. UConn is not going to thrive if every Jewish student on this campus feels the way they do now, which is unsafe, unprotected, and unheard. UConn will not thrive as a space that is inclusive for everyone but the 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.
German football club Borussia Dortmund has hosted a conference aimed at tackling antisemitism in world football.
The club organised the event in collaboration with the German Football League, the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the World Jewish Congress.
Problems with the far-right loom large in Borussia Dortmund’s history. Though it does not distinguish the club from many other German organisations at the time, the club’s chairman in the 1930s was a member of the Nazi Party. During the 1980s, the club’s fanbase included the Borussenfront, a far-right faction who would regularly target Dortmund’s Turkish population and sing songs about sending fans of arch-rivals Schalke to Auschwitz.
During a 2013 Champions League match with Ukraine’s Shaktar Donetsk, a group of far-right Dortmund fans launched themselves at fan representative Jens Volke and Thilo Danielsmeyer, the leader of the Dortmund Fan Project, a group founded in 1988 to combat xenophobia and racism and promote tolerance and inclusion. Mr Volke was struck in the face when he confronted three neo-Nazis chanting far-right slogans. Mr Danielsmeyer was followed into a toilet and then beaten.
For some time, Borussia Dortmund appeared reluctant to recognise the problem of far-right activism and antisemitism among a minority of its fans.
Recently, however, the club has made strenuous efforts to challenge this culture, and reach out to the Jewish community. The club’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, Daniel Lörcher, said that making “clear statements against antisemitism” had a huge impact on the city’s Jews, who now feel that their home town is “against antisemitism and is open for Jewish people.”
Tottenham Hotspur also hosted a conference this week that includes tackling antisemitism on its agenda, after the event was moved from Chelsea Football Club in light of recent 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.
A new survey has revealed a “concerning” level of antisemitism among New Zealanders.
The Antisemitism Survey of New Zealand, conducted online by Curia Research and published by the New Zealand Jewish Council, asked more than 1,000 citizens whether or not they agreed with eighteen statements deemed to be antisemitic. 63 percent of those asked agreed with at least one statement while six percent agreed with nine or more statements.
The survey charted four broad trends: the New Zealand public’s knowledge about the Holocaust; reception of “classical” antisemitic statements relating to Jewish power, money, and loyalty; “anti-Israel” antisemitism, such as comparisons between the policies of the Israeli Government and those of the Nazis; and what the report characterised as miscellaneous antisemitism, comprising statements about how societies should treat “Zionists”, the relationship between Jews and “white privilege” and Jewish indigeneity to Israel.
The survey found that 21 percent of people believed two or more “classical” antisemitic statements, such as “Jews have too much power in international financial markets”, while six percent held a staggering nine or more antisemitic views.
Seven percent agreed with the assertion that Israel does not have the right to exist as a majority Jewish state. Questions regarding the Holocaust revealed that only 42 percent correctly identified that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, but that seventeen percent confessed to knowing “virtually nothing” about it, while six percent thought that the Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves.
Deborah Hart, Board Chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, said: “Misinformation about the Holocaust – or Holocaust distortion – is a form of antisemitism. It minimises the suffering of a great number of Jewish families and the murder of their loved ones.”
Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Further concerns have been raised after more troubling tweets from the newly-elected President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Shaima Dallali, have surfaced.
This most recent batch of tweets has come to light mere days after we reported that Ms Dallali was forced to apologise when, in 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, the then-hopeful NUS candidate tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.”
Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.
Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”
Shortly after her apology, it came to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter reportedly included other inflammatory messages as well, including one from 2018 in which she said: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.
Other alleged tweets expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party. On 17th November 2020, Ms Dalalli wrote a response to Mr Corbyn’s readmission to the Labour Party, saying that “He should never have been suspended in the first place.” A few months later, on 5th January 2021, Ms Hallami tweeted that “Jeremy Corbyn was too good for this godforsaken country.” At present, these tweets have not yet been deleted, though it has been reported that several others have.
However, a new set of historic tweets from Ms Dallali has now come to light, one of which includes the antisemitic “From the river to the sea” chant. The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Additionally, Ms Dallali reportedly referred to a preacher who condemned actions taken by Hamas as a “dirty Zionist” and has also raised money for the controversial activist group CAGE which, while it does not advocate violence, has previously been criticised for promoting problematic or extreme views, which they deny.
Ms Dallali also allegedly said that the cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has been described as an “Islamist theologian”, was the “moral compass for the Muslim community at large”. In January 2009, Mr al-Qaradawi said on Al-Jazeera TV that he would “shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews.” In a sermon that took place in that same month, he again spoke of Jewish people and called upon God to “kill them, down to the very last one.”
In a 2010 interview on BBC Arabic, Mr Yusuf al-Qaradawi reportedly said: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.”
Replying to UJS’s tweet about the “bridges broken” over the past few weeks in regard to NUS’ booking of the controversial rapper Lowkey, Ms Dallali said that her hands “are outstretched to all students and staff that work in our movement, including Jewish students, and would love to arrange a meeting once I’m in office,” though in the past, she has lashed out at UJS over Twitter, accusing them of having “a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists.” In that same tweet, she added: “You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”
It has been reported that four members of a neo-Nazi gang who shared antisemitic material with each other via the social media platform Telegram have been convicted under anti-terrorism and firearms legislation.
Concerns have previously been raised over the alleged increase in neo-Nazi content on Telegram. Last year, the far-right group Patriotic Alternative was found to have created neo-Nazi channels dedicated to sharing vile messages, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and images glorifying Hitler.
Samuel Whibley, 29, Daniel Wright, 29, Liam Hall, 31, and Mr Hall’s girlfriend Stacey Salmon, 29, were convicted of fifteen offences, including counts relating to the encouragement of terrorism and the publication and dissemination of materials related to it, as well as firearms offences.
The jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard that all four defendants shared antisemitic videos, memes, and images, including material celebrating Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Ms Hall confessed to finding material online in which Jews were alleged to control the media and banks, as well as to watching videos made by neo-Nazis in an attempt to see “both sides of the argument” about Hitler.
The court heard that the group communicated with each other using a public Telegram channel set up by Mr Whibley under the name Oaken Hearth. This was, jurors heard, used as “a gathering place for British white nationalists.” Mr Whibley then audited prospective members, who had to prove they were white by taking a selfie before answering questions about their involvement in neo-Nazi groups.
Mr White joined the chat using the name “Gott Mit Uns”, words found on the belts of Nazi soldiers during the Second World War.
The group also shared racist material aimed at Black people, while Mr Whibley reportedly praised Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant, Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik, and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Mr Justice Spencer will sentence all four defendants at a later date.
In October, a teenage neo-Nazi was been jailed for eleven years after using Telegram to plot terrorist acts.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.
In 2020, members of the proscribed National Action group were sentenced to prison, having engaged, amongst other activities, in far-right stickering and recruitment campaigns.
Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to monitor and report on far-right stickering campaigns, including by the far-right Hundred Handers group.
A Manchester-based Jewish lawyer who won £26,500 in compensation on the grounds of religious discrimination has still not been paid, reportedly leading to a severe decline in his mental health.
According to court documents, NNE Law Limited, run by Ali Nazokkar, dismissed litigation executive Philip Bialick after he took a pre-arranged break for the Passover festival in April 2020.
Mr Bialick began his employment at the firm in January 2020, booking annual leave a month later in anticipation of the festival in April. In March, the UK entered its first pandemic lockdown, but the firm claimed that, “since the courts are not closed…our line of work is considered essential,” and therefore that he should attend work. Two days later, Mr Bialick fell ill and self-isolated, in accordance with NHS guidance.
His isolation period ended on 8th April, when he expected to go on leave to observe the festival. But NNE reportedly said that he should return to work on 9th April, the second day of Pesach.
Mr Bialick explained that he had booked time off for religious reasons and could not come to work but, the next day, the firm asserted that it had no alternative but to terminate his contract.
Though it is reported that Mr Bialick and Mr Nazzokar were friends of long-standing, their relationship is said to have deteriorated due to these events.
However, it is understood that Mr Bialick has still not received the financial compensation owed to him. Mr Bialick is reported to have said that his mental health has declined and that he has faced serious financial difficulties since his dismissal, though he has since been hired by a rival firm. This has been compounded by the fact that he has not yet received any of the money that he is owed.
A spokesperson for NNE Law said: “I would like to advise that the reason the judgement has not yet been satisfied is due to an application having been made for a stay of execution of the order as there are grounds for appeal which are currently being pursued.”
Speaking frankly about the state of his mental health, Mr Bialick said: “It was really bad. I had no money at all. I went pretty much off the rails. My mental health deteriorated massively. I didn’t know where to turn.
“I was really upset and angry about how they treated me. I was desperate at the time as there was no work so I applied for an employment tribunal straight away. Since then I’ve been chasing them and instructed bailiffs.”
“I have lost a lot of money. I’m getting to the point now where I’m desperate. I’m waiting for this money to come through and if it doesn’t I’m in trouble,” he said.
Dr Efraim Zuroff, the Chief Nazi Hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he said that he believes anti-vaccination protesters who wear yellow Stars of David are trivialising the Holocaust.
Much of the rhetoric that has emerged from anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists has compared lockdowns to the Holocaust. These crude and inflammatory comparisons have included protesters donning yellow stars bearing the word “Unvaccinated”, a comparison that has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Such symbolism is reminiscent of the kind of insignia Jews in Germany and occupied Europe were forced to wear by the Nazis. Those wearing such items in 2021 do so in order to compare the persecution of the Jewish people with protective measures sanctioned by governments and other administrative bodies in order to deal with the pandemic. Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
“It’s Holocaust trivialisation,” Dr Zuroff said. “In other words, to, in a sense, turn the Holocaust into a far more trivial event than it was in fact.”
He continued: “It’s very ironic but in a certain sense, I have to say that there’s a small silver lining here which goes to prove the success of the people who have devoted their lives to promoting Holocaust education, Holocaust research, Holocaust commemoration. In other words, the Holocaust has become the ultimate tragedy, and that’s why everyone who has a cause wants to connect that cause or to claim that it’s similar to the Holocaust…related to the Holocaust, because that’s the most effective tool.”
However, Dr Zuroff went on to lament the negative effect that wearing the yellow star has on the Holocaust.
“It’s a horrible thing because it basically turns the Holocaust into something much, much more minor than it actually was.”
Throughout the interview, Dr Zuroff touched upon a wide variety of topics which included highlights from his storied career, the details of ongoing trials of alleged Nazi war criminals, and explained the difference between Holocaust denial and distortion.
The podcast with Dr Zuroff 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.
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.
A pig’s head and an antisemitic epithet were reportedly left outside the Moscow apartment of a respected Russian journalist.
Alexei Venediktov, the Editor of the Echo of Moscow radio station, took to social media to report the incident, posting one photograph of a pig’s head with a wig on, lying on the floor by his front door, and another picture of a Ukrainian coat of arms fixed to the door itself with an antisemitic slur attached to it.
Echo of Moscow was formed towards the end of the Soviet Union, and since then has been a significant representative of the new freedoms granted as part of the policy of Glasnost (openness) instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union, as part of a campaign to increase government transparency, allowing citizens to publicly discuss problems with the communist system, and potential solutions, for the first time.
Later, Mr Veneditkov, who has Jewish heritage, revealed a still from CCTV footage outside his apartment building. It appears to show a figure posing as a food delivery worker arriving at his front door. However, Mr Venediktov said that the food company in question contacted him and explained that the uniform seen in the video has been out of use for several years.
Mr Venediktov expressed his concern on the social media platform Telegram, writing: “This in the country that defeated fascism. Why not just fix a six-pronged star to my apartment door?”
In addition to the antisemitic element, this incident is also the latest example of the Russian Government’s crackdown on independent media.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
It has been reported that a man woke up his Jewish neighbours at 4:00 by knocking on their door and yelling antisemitic abuse.
The man was said to have shouted: “I will kill you all, Hitler should come back.”
The alleged incident took place on 19th March and is understood to have occurred in the Stamford Hill area of North London on the morning of the Jewish Sabbath and lasted for approximately one hour.
It was also alleged that, yesterday, the same man told a six-year-old girl: “Get inside, I will kill you”, before threatening to burn her house down.
Both incidents were reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4735 28/03/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.
It has been reported that teenagers in Stamford Hill have targeted Jewish homes.
Stamford Hill Shomrim have reported that the vandals had thrown stones at Jewish homes and children playing in gardens from garage roofs on Knightland Road.
Anybody with information should call Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number 4608254/22.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.
Reality television star and property developer Dawn Ward has been found not guilty after she was accused of shouting antisemitic abuse at two Jewish brothers and slapping one of them in the face.
The 48-year-old Real Housewives of Cheshire star was accused of going on a “rant” at brothers Jake and Sam Jacobs at London Euston station after having “too many glasses of wine” at the Ritz hotel with her agent.
A jury heard that, on 29th October 2019, Ms Ward overheard the brothers asking aloud why their trains were delayed. She is alleged to have demanded of them: “Why do you lot always complain?”
Prosecutor George Wedge acknowledged that Ms Ward was referring to the Jacobs’ Jewish identity. Ms Ward, however, claimed that she had no idea that the Jacobs brothers or Sam Jacobs’s girlfriend Samantha Eisner, were Jewish.
Inner London Crown Court heard that the brothers chose to overlook Ms. Ward’s comments, only for her allegedly to become violent. She is alleged to have called Jake Jacobs a “fat c***” and a “Jewish p***k” and slapped him in the face. She also allegedly referred to Ms Eisner as a “little disease.”
Ms Ward has been cleared of two counts of racially and religiously aggravated harassment, causing alarm or distress.
After being cleared of two counts of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and one count of possessing cocaine, Ms Ward is reported to have said: “I am still prone to tears and crying as I write this post. I don’t believe I will ever truly get over this…Anybody who remotely knows me knows I stand for equality of race, religion and sexuality and I will continue to live my life to these values and raise my children to do the same.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
A Jewish man from the Netherlands is reported to have been the victim of multiple antisemitic attacks, but claims that his complaints have been ignored by Dutch authorities.
Kevin Ritstier, 34, from the town of Wijchen in the east of the country, says that he has been repeatedly attacked by a street gang sometimes numbering up to fifteen young men.
Mr Ristier says the harassment originated when the men targeted him after seeing him returning home from a Bar Mitzvah celebration wearing items of traditional Jewish religious clothing, including a kippah and a tallit, or prayer shawl.
This rapidly turned into a campaign of harassment in which the men pounded on Mr Ritstier’s front door and made antisemitic remarks, including “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” (a common chant among Dutch football fans) and “Cancer Jew”.
Mr Ristier has also been physically harmed. After one assault, his leg was slashed and he was left bruised and suffering from a split lip.
He added that his numerous formal complaints to the police, lodged after each incident, have led nowhere, claiming that the authorities have ignored each one and that he has been made to feel like he has been bothersome.
The police have reportedly said that criminal proceedings have not been taken against any members of the gang due to lack of evidence, but insist that Mr Ristier’s complaints are being taken “very seriously”.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
It has now been reported publicly that, last month,the University of Bristol’s Appeal Panel upheld the University’s decision last year to terminate the employment of David Miller, which took place one month after Campaign Against Antisemitism brought a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution, amidst an outcry from the Jewish community and its institutions.
Our legal case against the University concerned alleged unlawful harassment on the basis of Jewish ethnicity and Judaism, amounting to breaches of the Equality Act 2010, as well as breaches of contract. We launched proceedings in late August and the University swiftly realised that it was putting itself in legal jeopardy by sustaining Prof. Miller’s employment at the institution.
A number of brave students at the University stepped forward to act as complainants in the litigation. We also wish to thank Asserson Law Offices, led by senior partner Trevor Asserson, and barristers Derek Spitz of One Essex Court and Benjamin Gray of Littleton Chambers.
The lawsuit related to Prof. Miller’s speech on a Zoom webinar in February last year in which he said that the “Zionist Movement” is “the enemy” that must be engaged, that it is “the enemy of world peace,” and that those associated with Zionism, including Jewish students on Bristol campus, “must be directly targeted”. Taken together, the implication of Prof. Miller’s remarks is that all decent people who support “world peace” should view Bristol Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students, and Jewish people, including those who identify with those bodies, and the vast majority of Jewish students as an “enemy” that must be “directly targeted”.
He also said that interfaith work between Jewish and Muslim groups is “a trojan horse for normalising Zionism in the Muslim community”. He also claimed that Jewish students, by virtue of being Zionist, “encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”.
Prof. Miller has a long record of inflammatory statements about the Jewish community.
Bristol had come under increasing pressure from the Jewish community, which was united in its disgust at Prof. Miller’s comments and the drawn-out investigation that the University was conducting with no apparent end in sight. But the University failed to act for months. Prof. Miller’s statements and the University’s failure to condemn them and take swift action against him were the subject of a great deal of attention from the Jewish community as well as hundreds of academics and Parliament, including a written question by Lord Austin and an intervention from Robert Halfon MP. Prof. Miller was also defended by an array of controversial ‘usual suspects’ whose interventions did nothing for his collapsing credibility.
We thank others in the Jewish community, MPs and academics for the pressure that they brought to bear on the University of Bristol.
The legal claim that we spearheaded contended that Prof. Miller’s statements sought to create a hostile environment for Jewish students. It further alleged that the University was liable for Prof. Miller’s conduct, and was further liable in its own right, for unlawful conduct in breach of the Equality Act, and for its breach of its contract with students.
Other than a final call for prospective claimants, we minimised the public profile of the case in order to protect the identities of the brave student claimants who not only believed that enough is enough but that, in order for things to change, they must also act on that belief. We are enormously grateful to them for their courage. Despite the lower public profile of the case, the University was in no doubt about our intentions and resolve. A month after the launch of the lawsuit, Prof. Miller was fired for gross misconduct.
In a statement exemplifying just why Prof. Miller has no place on a university campus, the Support David Miller campaign said this week: “Support David Miller – a volunteer-led anti-racism campaign, composed of academics, students and independent researchers – has repeatedly expressed concerns that the University of Bristol’s disciplinary processes have been compromised by assets of a hostile foreign state. The State of Israel and its assets in the UK seek to eliminate all critics of Zionism from UK university campuses. Zionism is the racist ideology that professes a G-d-given right of European and other Jewish colonisers to occupy and seize Palestinian land, homes and resources. Professor Miller has been subjected to this censorship campaign because of his research showing that Zionist campaign groups have funded and promoted Islamophobia in the UK and abroad.”
Prof. Miller, who has indicated his intention to appeal the University’s latest decision to the Employment Tribunal, said: “I’ve been targeted by a pernicious witch-hunt, led by known assets of the State of Israel in the UK and funded by the dirty money of pro-Israel oligarchs. This is an attempt at entryism and political intimidation. The University of Bristol has wilted under this new wave of McCarthyism. The University treated this appeal as a mere formality, with a pre-determined outcome. I’ll be challenging the University’s perverse decision at an Employment Tribunal, to help stop our fundamental rights of free expression and academic freedom being further corroded at the behest of a hostile and illegitimate foreign regime.”
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This ruling is a further vindication of the courageous Jewish students on whose behalf we brought proceedings against the University of Bristol last year. Following the launch of our lawsuit and an outcry from across the Jewish community, it was clear to the University that it would be held to account in court and had to act to protect Jewish students in accordance with the law, and David Miller was fired within a month. Universities across the country should be warned that we will do whatever it takes to defend Jewish students from racists on campus by upholding their rights in court where necessary.”
The case was the latest step by Campaign Against Antisemitism to defend the rights of individual Jewish students. We believe that universities and students’ unions must be robustly held to account when they fail to defend Jewish students or when they allow their lecturers to discriminate against or harass them.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
The Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has proscribed the Labour Left Alliance, reportedly due to the faction’s stance on antisemitism.
Labour Left Alliance is a member-based group with close links to Labour Against the Witchhunt and Labour In Exile Network, which were among four groups banned by the NEC last July. Labour Against the Witchhunt has since disbanded, with its members focusing their energies on other groups instead.
Twenty members of the NEC voted in favour of the proscription of Labour Left Alliance at yesterday’s full meeting, while eleven voted against.
The ban on another group, Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, was divided on the same lines, while the vote to ban Socialist Labour Network was split nineteen to eleven. The latter two groups are not believed to have been proscribed in connection with antisemitism.
A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The NEC has decided that these organisations are not compatible with Labour’s rules, or our aims and values.”
The Labour MP and Corbyn ally, Clive Lewis, tweeted: “Proscription lists; mass expulsions; the centralisation of power. It’s naive to think the ‘crisis of democracy’ and the slide to authoritarianism afflicting western polities won’t affect our own political institutions.”
However, the NEC declared that there are no plans to proscribe another controversial pro-Corbyn group, Momentum. It is reported that NEC papers read: “Custom and practice also establishes that the definition of a ‘political organisation’ does not include organisations that are compatible with the aims and values of the Labour Party…This includes networks of members, such as Sikhs for Labour or the Labour Muslim Network; single issue campaigns, such as Labour for a Green New Deal; and ginger groups, such as Labour First, Momentum, and Progress.”
A meeting earlier this month of Labour Left Alliance featured questions from Tony Greenstein and Gerry Downing, both of whom have been expelled from the Labour Party. Mr Downing was a founder of Labour Against the Witchhunt, and at this meeting he referenced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Jewish identity and declared his support for Russia in its invasion of its neighbour. Tina Werkmann, who was chairing the meeting, then said about Mr Downing’s comments: “About Zelenskyy being Jewish I think this is a very dodgy territory to go down it’s not his Jewishness that is the problem it’s that he’s a Zionist and he works with fascists. Zionism and fascists they can work very well together and they have done in the past and they go hand in hand in Britain as well. So that’s not an issue. But I don’t think we need to peddle antisemitism crap here in this section.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism: “We commend the NEC for banning Labour Left Alliance, which is another important step in the fight against antisemitism and antisemitism-denial in the Labour Party. It is regrettable that Momentum has been given a new lease on life, however, which risks the Party looking like it only goes after low hanging fruit. We have always been clear that this process would take years, and yesterday’s NEC vote shows that progress is being made, but slowly.”
The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first trains taking the country’s Jews to Auschwitz, the National Council of the Slovak Republic has officially denounced the transport and appealed to remaining survivors and their relatives for forgiveness.
Slovakia was originally the eastern province of the first Czechoslovak Republic, formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918. After Hitler annexed the Sudetenland in the wake of the 1938 Munich Agreement, Slovakia seceded from Czechoslovakia, becoming the Slovak Republic.
This state would, in turn, become a Nazi satellite state following the racial policies of the Third Reich, in which Slovakian Jews were robbed of their human and civil rights. Eventually, 70,000 of them were sent to Nazi concentration camps in two waves, the first from March to October 1942 and the second from September 1944 to March 1945. The vast majority of the Jews reported to these camps would be murdered.
Slovak parliamentarians also observed a minute’s silence in honour of the victims.
The only party that did not take part in the vote on the resolution was the openly neo-Nazi People’s Party Our Slovakia. Party leader Marian Kotleba is a vocal supporter of Jozef Tiso, President of the Slovak Nazi puppet state. Mr Kotleba has called Jews “devils in human skin” and promoted the “Zionist Occupied Government” conspiracy theory. Other party members have been charged with Holocaust denial, a criminal offence in Slovakia, on several occasions.
In the 2020 Slovakian parliamentary elections, People’s Party Our Slovakia won seventeen of the 150 available seats with a vote share of 7.97%. The Party reportedly has almost no support in any of the country’s major cities, including the capital Bratislava.
On 5th April 2020, Marian Kotleba was given a six-month suspended sentence for harbouring neo-Nazi sympathies. The appeals court did, however, dismiss an earlier ruling convicting Mr Kotleba of the illegal use of neo-Nazi symbols, for which he had been sentenced to four years and four months in prison.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Community leaders in Sarasota have expressed anger over antisemitic flyers distributed in the Florida town twice in recent weeks.
The flyers – placed in Ziplock bags, weighted with rice – were placed on driveways of Jewish homes. The first batch, in mid-February, blamed the Jewish community for COVID-19. In the second tranche, some flyers again blamed Jews for COVID-19, while, according to the Sarasota Police Department, others blamed Jews for the war in Ukraine, claiming: “Every single aspect of the Ukraine-Russia War is Jewish.”
Speaking at a rally in Sarasota after the first batch of flyers were discovered in February, the Director of the American Jewish Committee said that the hatred in the flyers did not reflect the town. “This group does not speak for Sarasota, which time and again has stood up against all manifestations of antisemitism,” he said. “It makes me feel determined to say hate…against anyone will not win.”
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.
A student politician who was forced to apologise for tweeting an Islamist chant threatening Jews has been elected President of the National Union of Students (NUS).
Last week, it was revealed that the then-hopeful NUS candidate Shaima Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.”
Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.
Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”
It has now come to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter also included other inflammatory messages, including one last May allegedly saying that “organisations like UJS [the Union of Jewish Students] have a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists. You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”
Another alleged tweet from 2018 read: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.
Other alleged tweets expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party. On 17th November 2020, Ms Dalalli wrote a response to Mr Corbyn’s readmission to the Labour Party, saying that “He should never have been suspended in the first place.” A few months later, on 5th January 2021, Ms Hallami tweeted that “Jeremy Corbyn was too good for this godforsaken country.” At present, these tweets have not yet been deleted, though it has been reported that several others have.
Last week, the Chair of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon MP, excoriatedNUS for failing to send a representative to attend his recent hearing, particularly given that the hearing took place just days after a scandal involving the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, who was due to headline the union’s centenary conference. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdraw from the event.
In an attempt at an apology, NUS grotesquely alleged that “Whilst we welcome genuine political debate, we’ve been sad to see the use of harassment and misinformation against Lowkey.” Swiping at Mr Halfon, NUS has asserted that “MPs and education leaders are accountable to us not the other way round,” declared that “Old school bullying culture is never acceptable including at Government committees [sic],” and that “Elected student leaders aren’t required to take endless levels of abuse in their roles.”
Concerns were also raised about the outgoing President of NUS and one of her Vice Presidents.
NUS’s handling of Jewish concerns over the booking of Lowkey was discussed on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Shaima Dallali’s election as NUS President only a week after the Lowkey scandal is just the latest indication that this union does not even aspire to represent Jewish students. She has not even taken office and has already had to apologise for one historic antisemitic tweet while rapidly deleting many other inflammatory social media posts. If she wishes to show that she personally has learned a lesson and seeks to lead a truly inclusive union, she should commit to meeting with Jewish students and educate herself on their concerns and also announce that NUS under her leadership will recommit to the International Definition of Antisemitism. If she cannot bring herself to do that in short order, the Government should end its enormous grant to NUS.”
Authorities in California’s Orange County are recommending hate crime charges against a woman who was allegedly dressed as a Nazi SS officer and is alleged to have yelled antisemitic comments at a man who tried to get her to remove her swastika armband.
According to a photo taken by a member of the public, the woman was dressed in an all-black outfit similar to that of a Nazi SS officer and wearing the armband while walking around outside a community centre in Laguna Woods, Orange County.
A man confronted the woman, who allegedly responded with antisemitic comments. According to a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, a “physical altercation” ensued as several people – including a man in his 80s – tried to remove the woman’s armband. Police attended the incident.
Subsequently, the district attorney’s office was asked to recommend that charges against the woman should include hate crime.
The following day, the Mayor of Laguna Woods, Carol Moore, released a statement saying that the city was outraged by the incident. “The city of Laguna Woods stands firmly against antisemitism, bigotry and hate in all its forms, fully and without exception,” the statement read, adding that the conduct “alleged in the disturbance” was “abhorrent, inexcusable, and antithetical to the character and values of our community” and that “any delay” in the public response was intended to “allow the investigation to conclude.”
City Councilman Noel Hatch, who said that he had lived in the area for 25 years and had seen “no indication that there is anything like this brewing,” described it as “a solo act” that was “not germane to any concern” that there was “something brewing here in Laguna Woods village.”
The incident came a month after antisemitic fliers were distributed in the Orange County districts of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Cypress. A report released in 2021 by the Orange County Human Relations Commission found that, in 2020, hate crimes in the county increased by 35%.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Bill HCR 5030, the short title of the bill named “Recognising the growing problem of antisemitism in the United States”, was adopted unanimously in the Kansas Senate with 38 “Yea” votes.
Gavriela Geller, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau, American Jewish Committee in Kansas is reported to have said: “We can’t fight what we can’t define. The adoption of the definition is a crucial step towards combating rising Jew-hatred.”
The 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed that less than one percent of Kansas adults identified as Jewish. In 2017, the Jewish population of Kansas was reported to be 17,300. This has not meant, however, that the midwestern state has been free of antisemitic incidents.
In April 2014, 73-year-old Frazier Glenn Miller Jr, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan and known neo-Nazi, was convicted of murder after killing three people in a shooting spree at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Kansas City and the Jewish retirement community Village Shalom, both in Overland Park, Kansas. Mr Miller was sentenced to death, but died in prison in 2021 while awaiting execution.
Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Since then, numerous local councils, universities and sport associations in the United Kingdom have adopted the Definition, as have several national governments and myriad municipalities and associations around the world.
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.
Two Austrian men who publicised myths about coronavirus vaccinations by wearing Stars of David have reportedly been convicted of violating the Alpine republic’s strict anti-Nazi laws.
The two men, who have both refused to be vaccinated, had worn yellow felt stars bearing the word “Ungeimpft” (unvaccinated) at anti-vaccination demonstrations held in Vienna.
A court in Vienna heard that the defendants, known as “Mr K”, 50, and “Mr B”, 34, pled not guilty to infringing upon Austria’s 1947 Verbotsgesetz (Prohibition Act), which not only banned Nazi paramilitary organisations, but made it illegal to publish or broadcast denials or minimisation of the Holocaust. Austria’s Jewish community has recently argued that these laws should be extended to ban the utilisation of Holocaust-related imagery and slogans in order to push anti-vaccination conspiracy theories.
Much of the rhetoric that has emerged from anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists has compared lockdowns to the Holocaust. These crude and inflammatory comparisons have included protesters donning yellow stars bearing the word “Unvaccinated”, a comparison that has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Such symbolism is reminiscent of the kind of insignia that Jews in Germany and occupied Europe were forced to wear by the Nazis. Those wearing such items in 2021 do so in order to compare the persecution of the Jewish people with protective measures sanctioned by the German federal government in order to deal with the pandemic. Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
The judge handed both men fifteen-month suspended sentences and three years’ probation.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
The publication of the 2021 Antisemitism Report by the Berlin Attorney General’s Office has reportedly sparked concerns among authorities in the German capital.
The annual report, which has recorded rising antisemitism in recent years, states that there have been two main trends in antisemitic discourse over the last twelve months: coronavirus conspiracy theories and incidents apparently inspired by developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Much of the rhetoric that has emerged from anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists has compared lockdowns to the Holocaust. These crude and inflammatory comparisons have included Berliners donning yellow stars bearing the word “Unvaccinated”, a comparison that has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Such symbolism is reminiscent of the kind of insignia Jews in Germany and occupied Europe were forced to wear by the Nazis. Those wearing such items in 2021 do so in order to compare the persecution of the Jewish people with protective measures sanctioned by the German federal government in order to deal with the pandemic. Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
The report also contains a section on antisemitic incidents relating to Israel. It states that these kinds of incidents are inspired by the intensification of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group. Protests and demonstrations against Israel resulted, it says, in “many anti-Jewish and anti-Israel incidents.” In response to the spike in antisemitic incidents, Germany banned the Hamas flag in June.
The report clearly shows a growing antisemitism problem in the German capital. In 2021, Berlin authorities dealt with up to 661 cases motivated by antisemitism, including “antisemitic animosities, insults, threats and physical attacks.” This marks an increase from 417 such incidents in 2020 and 386 in 2019. This follows a similar report put out by the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS), a Berlin-based agency that reports and documents antisemitic incidents throughout Germany. The RIAS study revealed that there had been 522 antisemitic incidents registered in Berlin between January and June 2021 – a period that includes the elevated tensions between Israel and Hamas – marking a seventeen percent year-on-year increase, and the highest number of such incidents since 2018.
Chief Prosecutor Claudia Vanoni said of the most recent report that “In 2021, the year of the 1700th anniversary of Jewish life in Germany, antisemitism was omnipresent as well.”
We reported last year that the German Government will pay €35 million to combat antisemitism. German Education and Research Minister Anja Karliczek said: “This is the highest number [of antisemitic incidents] in the last couple of years. There’s reason for worry that this is only the tip of the iceberg and that the unreported number of daily attacks on Jews is substantially higher.”
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.
The defendant in a criminal case that resulted from first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism has been handed an absurdly lenient sentence today at Southwark Crown Court which we are appealing to the Attorney General’s Office, which has the power to refer sentences for certain offences, which she believes to be unduly lenient, to the Court of Appeal.
The eighteen-month sentence, suspended for two years, was the culmination of first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism to unmask an anonymous antisemitic online troll.
When the defendant was unmasked as a result of our litigation, we realised that he was a repeat offender with a long history of obsessive antisemitic harassment. He had committed the offences, for which he was today sentenced, whilst apparently already subject to a suspended sentence for other antisemitic offences. This would appear to demonstrate his contempt for the supposedly deterrent suspended sentences that he had already been handed.
Nonetheless, instead of going directly to prison, the defendant, Nicholas Nelson, 32, was instead ordered to undertake just 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 220 hours of unpaid community service. He must also pay a modest victim surcharge and is subject to a restraining order.
Handing down the suspended sentence, referring to Mr Nelson’s “horrible tirades”, Judge Charles Gratwicke said that the defendant was “not the person you were two or three years ago.” However, he accepted that “Nobody sitting here in this courtroom who has read the newspaper can feel anything but revulsion, sickness and downright anger at the type of hate that you engaged in.”
Mr Nelson had pleaded guilty at Peterborough Crown Court in January to racially aggravated harassment under section 31(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and with sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety under 1(1)(a) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, after he repeatedly sent abusive antisemitic e-mails and messages to Oscar-nominated Jewish writer Lee Kern and hateful messages to communications strategist Joanne Bell, and harassing a staff member at the Board of Deputies, a Jewish charity, over the telephone.
Mr Kern contacted Campaign Against Antisemitism, which funded a case on his behalf led by Mark Lewis, the esteemed lawyer who is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The abusive communications came from accounts that Mr Nelson had worked hard to make anonymous. Victims of abuse from anonymous accounts usually have nowhere to go, because only rarely will the police track down the sender, and the cost of private action is usually beyond victims’ means.
However, a new legal initiative devised by Campaign Against Antisemitism together with counsel breaks through that barrier. It has enabled us to identify the anonymous troll by obtaining a special kind of court order which has its origins in the pharmaceutical industry and has never before been used to unmask an anonymous abuser sending antisemitic messages. The court order requires an internet service provider to disclose details of the owner of an online account so that legal proceedings can be issued.
We used this legal device to identify Mr Nelson and criminal proceedings were commenced, leading to him pleading guilty. Mr Nelson had called for another Holocaust, called Mr Kern Shylock, spoke of Jews being used for gun practice, called Jewish women whores, shared obscene sexual fantasies involving Hitler, and glorified the proscribed genocidal antisemitic terror group, Hamas.
Mr Nelson, who lives in Cambridgeshire and was a vigorous supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, also previously sent abusive messages to two Jewish women Labour MPs, branding one a “vile useless c***” and the other a “traitor” who should “end yourself”. At the end of 2018 he pleaded guilty to the same charge and was given a twenty-week suspended sentence for twelve months and ordered to complete 160 hours unpaid work. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications of an offensive nature to two other Labour MPs, one of whom is Jewish and the other is an active campaigner against antisemitism. In addition to the charges that Mr Nelson pleaded guilty to today in relation to Mr Kern and Ms Bell, Mr Nelson also pleaded guilty to harassing a member of staff at the Board of Deputies over the telephone.
Mr Kern said: “I have noted the immediacy with which custodial sentences have been handed out for first time offenders who have engaged in other forms of racism. Yet here we have a repeat offender who has embarked upon an unparalleled campaign of hatred against Jews and has been spared prison again and again. Why are antisemitic hate crimes not deemed as criminal as those of other forms of racism? What exactly does it take for a person found guilty of repeated racially motivated crimes against Jews to actually go to prison? This is a disgrace and an embarrassment and sends a clear signal to Britain’s Jews that when it comes to receiving justice, they don’t count.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Today’s sentence is deeply disappointing. Nicholas Nelson has, for years, obsessively harassed Jews and sent them violent and obscene messages day after day. Instead of sending him to prison where he belongs, Judge Gratwicke has spared a man who deserves no leniency. We are now referring this absurd sentence to the Attorney General’s Office.
“Though the sentence has been regrettable, the fact that Mr Nelson was convicted proves the efficacy of our new legal device to unmask internet trolls who hide behind anonymous e-mail addresses in order to abuse Jewish victims. This game-changing approach is the most significant development in the legal fight against online hate in years. We have been grateful for the cooperation of the police and prosecutors. We will continue to devise innovative legal mechanisms to protect the Jewish community and deliver justice to victims of antisemitism, including in ways previously thought impossible.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Organisers of this year’s annual St Patrick’s Day parade in Boston were left feeling “disgusted” after it was discovered that a far-right group wearing items featuring neo-Nazi symbolism and holding a banner saying “Keep Boston Irish” had attended.
The twenty-strong group, reportedly the Nationalist Social Club (NSC), who is known for engaging with mainstream public events, was seen wearing green clothes and baseball caps. They remained anonymous through the use of face-masks bearing the number 131 (code for ACA, or anti-communist action) and sunglasses.
Though confined to small, self-organising chapters mostly inside the United States, the organisation is known for spreading white supremacism. They maintain an overtly military theme, regarding themselves as combatants against a “Jewish-controlled” social and political system that aims at “white genocide”.
One member of the group was spotted holding a flag with the Celtic cross (a black flag with a white “plus” sign inside a circle). This Irish Christian symbol is often appropriated by white supremacist groups.
A joint statement co-written by City Council President Ed Flynn, Councillor Michael Flaherty, state Senator Nick Collins, state Representative David Biele, US Representative Stephen Lynch, and Suffolk County clerk of civil courts Michael Donovan said: “We are disgusted by reports of outside hate groups descending into Boston for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade yesterday. Their ideology is repugnant and contrary to an event that celebrates our proud immigrant history and is enjoyed by children, families, and people of all ethnicities and backgrounds.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Woo stated: “It was deeply disturbing to see this display at a local celebration of culture and heritage, as we work to heal and build community through our recovery. With the growing intensity of white supremacist groups nationally, we are working closely with law enforcement at all levels – Boston will not tolerate hate crimes, and we will not be intimidated in our work to build a city for everyone.”
Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a spokesman for Boston police, stated that the police were aware of the group’s presence and that they would be conducting follow-up investigations.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Two teenagers have been found guilty of carrying out a hate crime against a rabbi and sentenced in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Seventeen-year-old Tucker Bachman and fourteen-year-old Case Leckbee have been found guilty of criminal mischief when they defaced Rabbi Mendy Greenberg’s home, spray-painting the word “Jew’s” on his driveway, destroying his mailbox, and smashing his car window.
Mr Bachman and Mr Leckbee were reportedly sentenced to community service and a curfew. They also have to attend a Neighbourhood Accountability Board with their parents or guardian, at which Rabbi Greenberg will be present.
State Attorney Amira Fox said: “These juveniles will face their consequences immediately from the community they injured. They will learn of the impact of their senseless behaviour by meeting with leaders of the Jewish community and, together, the community will determine how best to repair the harm.”
Rabbi Greenberg is reported to have said: “I’m not looking for punishment, I’m looking for rehabilitation. For something to be rectified, for a wrong to be righted.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
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 Frankalleged 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.
After a representative from the National Union of Students (NUS) failed to attend a hearing of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, the controversial union is coming under fire on several fronts.
The Chair of the Committee, Robert Halfon MP, excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend his hearing on Tuesday, particularly given that the hearing took place just days after a scandal involving the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, who was due to headline the union’s centenary conference. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdraw from the event.
In an attempt at an apology, NUS grotesquely alleged that,“Whilst we welcome genuine political debate, we’ve been sad to see the use of harassment and misinformation against Lowkey.” Swiping at Mr Halfon, NUS has asserted that “MPs and education leaders are accountable to us not the other way round,” declared that “Old school bullying culture is never acceptable including at Government committees [sic],” and that “Elected student leaders aren’t required to take endless levels of abuse in their roles.”
Mr Halfon has expressed his deep dissatisfaction with NUS’s handling of this crisis and its record.
However, fresh revelations about NUS are prompting yet more concern.
An investigation by the Jewish News has concluded that “NUS leaders have quietly dropped a commitment to the International Definition of Antisemitism.” The investigation noted that the outgoing NUS President, Larissa Kennedy, ‘liked’ a tweet celebrating the passage of a resolution calling on Queen Mary University of London and its students’ union to adopt the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition. It also observed that references to the Definition on the NUS website have all but disappeared, despite a statement by the union in 2020 declaring that “NUS is in full support of all efforts to tackle antisemitism and has adopted the [International] Definition of Antisemitism.”
The newspaper also claimed that Sara Khan, an ally of Ms Kennedy’s who was promoted to the new Vice-President Liberation and Equality position, allegedly posted on Twitter: “Is it kind of… antisemitic to homogenise all Jews into an ‘ethnoreligion’? like, both erasing Palestinian Jews, & letting white supremacist/settler Jews off the hook?” In a further post, she allegedly said that she “did some learning” and had concluded that “Judaism as an ethnoreligion refers to the shared heritage of all Jews as identity is passed down through maternal lineage but this is not the same as being a single ethnic group.” She then reportedly wondered: “Imagine thinking the billions of Muslims whether South Asian or Arabic or Eastern European were the same ethnic group. I can’t.” According to the report, Ms Khan also regularly spells “Israel” as “Isra*l”.
Ms Kennedy and Ms Khan allegedly also “played a leading role” in “facilitating” a launch event for last year’s online NUS Decolonialise Education campaign at which Mr Dennis delivered the keynote speech. The report points out numerous inflammatory aspects of this campaign.
Approached by the Jewish News for comment on the allegations in its report and for clarification on whether NUS was still committed to the International Definition of Antisemitism, a spokesperson for the union reportedly said: “Thanks for e-mailing. We won’t be commenting on this.”
Meanwhile, an NUS presidential candidate favoured to win the election to replace Ms Kennedy has been forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. Shaima Dallali tweeted the words ““Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud” in 2012.
The “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud” chant, translated in English as “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning”, is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.
Ms Dallali, who is the President of the City University London students’ union, issued a statement yesterday, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”
Last year, prior to Ms Dallali’s enture as President, City University students’ union organised a controversial campus-wide referendum on the International Definition of Antisemitism after reportedly failing to consult Jewish students.
These NUS scandals come after Campaign Against Antisemitism published polling earlier this month in its latest Antisemitism Barometer showing that a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
A member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is reported to have tried to hold a Zoom meeting about the relationship between Israel and Jews in the diaspora, only for him to become a target for references to Hitler and the Nazis.
Zoombombing is when people join a Zoom video call with the intention of derailing it. This usually involves spewing antisemitic, racist, or otherwise hateful rhetoric.
Alon Tal, a member of the Blue and White party, organised the open-access online event, entitled “How Israel can better represent Jews around the world?” for the evening of Sunday 20th March.
Soon after the gathering began, however, several people joined in and began filling the screen with offensive language. They also wrote “Hitler was right” and plaudits for other Nazi leaders in Zoom’s chat function. Mr Tal was then forced to cancel the call, which has been rescheduled for the evening of Sunday 27th March.
Quoting the Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Mr Tal is reported to have said: “We will continue to strengthen our partnerships with our friends around the world. And most importantly, we will have no fear at all.”
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.
The Prime Minister has called for “irreversible change” after branding British universities too “tolerant of casual or indeed systematic antisemitism”.
Boris Johnson was responding to a question by Andrew Percy MP in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Mr Percy, who is the co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism, said: “Sadly, in my role as chair of the all-party group against antisemitism, the news is not so positive. We have recently heard from Jewish students who are suffering record antisemitic attacks on university campuses, including allegations of their work being marked down by their own professors. This is completely outrageous, and one would expect the National Union of Students to be on their side, but instead of helping the students it has been inviting somebody who is engaged in antisemitic conspiracy theories—a rapper—to a conference. Will the Prime Minister do everything in his power to ensure that campuses are a safe place for British Jewish students?”
Mr Johnson responded: “Our universities have, for far too long, been tolerant of casual or indeed systematic antisemitism. I hope that everybody understands the need for change—for rapid and irreversible change—but it is also important that we have an antisemitism taskforce devoted to rooting out antisemitism in education at all levels.”
We commend Mr Percy for drawing attention to this issue, and the Prime Minister for his commitment to tackling the problem.
The exchange comes shortly after Campaign Against Antisemitism published polling in its latest Antisemitism Barometer showing that a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
A controversial councillor infamous for joking about “Jew process” and who was expelled from the Labour Party has now been welcomed to the Green Party.
Jo Bird,who re-joined the Labour Party in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn was running for the Party’s leadership, has a long history of controversy relating to Jews, including renaming ‘due process’ in the Labour Party as “Jew process”, for which she was suspended; supporting the expelled Labour activist Marc Wadsworth, who was thrown out of the Party after a confrontation with Jewish then-MP Ruth Smeeth; and worrying about the “privileging of racism against Jews, over and above — as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism.”
Elected to Wirral Council in August 2018, Cllr Bird is a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and she has described Labour’s institutional antisemitism as based on mere “accusations, witch-huntery and allegations without evidence”.
Cllr Bird appears to have been expelled from the Labour Party for her association with the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt. Cllr Bird said on Facebook: “I’m delighted to say that the Labour Party have expelled me today. They say its [sic] for speaking at a meeting (more than three years ago) and signing a petition (early 2020) – organised by Labour Against the Witchthunt, which they banned only four months ago. I’m not free from the Labour Party’s hostile environment, where Jewish people like me are 31 times more likely to be investigated for talking about the racism we face.” She concluded by stating that “this racist Labour party is so different to the Party I joined in 2015. The Labour Party is dying as a vehicle for social justice.”
Cllr Pat Cleary, who leads the now six-strong contingent of Green councillors on Wirral Council, said in a statement this week that “hardworking people like Jo are very welcome in the Green Party.”
The move comes just after Campaign Against Antisemitism published new polling that shows that a majority of British Jews believe that the Green Party is too tolerant of antisemitism, making it only the second party, after Labour, to cross that threshold.
Recently, the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was deniedmembership of the Green Party, while inflammatory former Deputy Leader, Shahrar Ali, was dropped as the Party’s Spokesperson for Policing and Domestic Safety, but not over allegations of antisemitism, which have dogged him in the past.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
The controversial columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, has deployed the Livingstone Formulation yet again, asserting that “These days, any criticism of Israel is deemed ‘antisemitic’.”
Ms Brown made the claim in a column this week for the i newspaper on Israel’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The “Livingstone Formulation”, named by sociologist David Hirsch after the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is used to describe how allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.
Late last year, Ms Brown made a similar claim, arguing in an article that “any criticism of the state [of Israel] is deemed antisemitic by apologists and diehard allies, and suggesting that this is motivating a “purge” of Labour Party members. In the article titled “The UN is warning of spiralling violence, yet the West has forgotten the Palestinians” for the i newspaper, Ms Alibhai-Brown also wrote that “a report from Jewish Voice for Labour accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of purging Jewish members who call Israel to account.”
That was not Ms Alibhai-Brown’s first offence of this nature either. The year before, she replied to journalist Stephen Bush’s reaction to being appointed to lead a Jewish charity’s review of racial inclusivity in the Jewish community by tweeting: “maybe ask them about the Palestinians.” The review was concerned with British Jews and was unrelated to Israel, a distinction that Ms Alibhai-Brown is apparently incapable of apprehending.
Newspapers and television broadcasters who host Ms Alibhai-Brown must think again before giving a platform to someone who takes such positions.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism 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].
The journalist and broadcaster Angela Epstein appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she revealed that her son was nearly assaulted by three men after they had seen him wearing his skullcap, or kippah.
When Ms Epstein was asked by our host whether she was surprised that polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that a shocking 46% of British Jews said that they do not display visible signs of their Judaism due to antisemitism, she replied that she was not.
“Antisemitism is the oldest hatred documented in terms of people’s disregard, hatred, dislike for cultures that they feel are alien to them,” Ms Epstein said. “I completely understand why in certain circumstances, loathe as we are to admit it considering our history, that people would want to not display their Jewish credentials.”
Ms Epstein went on to reveal that the issue of Jewish visibility was a personal one to her after her son was nearly attacked.
“One of my kids was rounded upon by three Arab-speaking men when he was travelling recently in Europe. They were staying in the same place…the night before they had seen him and he wasn’t wearing his kippah and they were perfectly friendly. And the next day, when they saw him and he was, they rounded upon him,” Ms Epstein said.
She added: “Fortunately, the German police were very good and they have since been arrested.”
Ms Epstein stated that the incident was an example of what happens “when you display your Judaism in certain situations,” adding: “There are lots of people who are amenable and reasonable but equally, it’s an age-old hatred and we still haven’t found out why they don’t like us.”
Throughout the interview, Ms Epstein touched upon a wide variety of topics, including her Jewish Ukrainian heritage, how her last name can sometimes conjure unwanted connotations, and what it means to be a Jewish mother.
The podcast with Ms Epstein 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.
A synagogue in Farmington Hills, Michigan, received a telephone call on 18th March from someone who claimed to have planted a pipe bomb at the synagogue.
The Temple Adat Shalom building was evacuated, and police and police dogs sent in to search for the device.No bomb was found, and the incident was described as a “cruel hoax designed to terrorise our communities,” by Rabbi Aaron Bergman in an e-mail to the congregation.
The hoax threat came the day after the conclusion of a Jewish festival that celebrates a biblical attempt to wipe out the Jewish people.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Reports have surfaced that swastikas have been spray-painted on a building in Peterborough.
A Twitter user posted photographs of the graffiti on the social media platform, adding that he tried to report the incident to the police but was not able to because the wall was not his property.
Mr Griffiths speculated that the property may belong to Cross Keys Homes, Peterborough’s largest provider of independent living accommodation tailored to the needs of elderly and vulnerable residents.
In an exchange over Twitter with Cambridgeshire Police, Mr Griffiths was informed that the crime can be reported online, only for him to reportedly find the link broken and himself unable to report damage done to a property that did not belong to him.
This is not the first such incident to be reported in recent months in the area. In December, we reported that local residents had conveyed their outrage after swastika graffiti was found on walls in a nearby shopping centre.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Jewish people in Edgware have reportedly been pelted with eggs in public over the last two weekends.
According to the Community Security Trust, there have been several reports of such incidents.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously reported on occupants of a car hurling eggs at recognisably-Jewish Edgware residents, and the words “Hail Hitler, f*** Jews” scrawled on the wheelie bin of an Edgware workplace owned by a Jewish businessman.
CST has asked for witnesses and victims to come forward. Anybody who has any information that might help the investigation is asked to report to the police on 101 and CST on 0800 032 3263.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
West Midlands Police are reportedly looking into a video that appears to show football fans singing a song targeting Jewish people on a Birmingham train.
The video, uploaded to Twitter by Tottenham Hotspur fan @N17_SAUL, appears to show Arsenal supporters singing on their way to a fixture with Aston Villa on Saturday 19th March.
The song, which refers to the Jewish religious practice of circumcision in the context of Arsenal’s rivalry with Tottenham, ends with the words “f****** Jew.”
One fan is then reported as saying “Love that one,” amid the laughter of other members of the group.
A spokesman from Tottenham Hotspur is reported to have said: “Antisemitism in any form is wholly unacceptable and we support all efforts to kick it out of the game. We hope that those individuals conducting this vile chant are identified and dealt with in the strongest way possible.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.
Following the revelation by LBC’s Theo Usherwood that the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, would be headlining the National Union of Students’ (NUS) centenary conference, Campaign Against Antisemitism and other Jewish groups expressed outrage that a union meant to represent all students, including Jews, would consider the inflammatory activist to be a suitable keynote speaker. NUS has now reportedly confirmed that Mr Dennis will not be appearing at the conference.
Mr Dennis is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A month-long investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst PSC supporters on social media. Mr Dennis has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as “antisemitic”, spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism, has reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson, defended the disgraced academic David Miller, and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn.
More recently, Mr Dennis has reportedly claimed that the “mainstream media” has “weaponised the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stave off” inquiries about far-right groups in Ukraine. He has also appeared on the disgraced former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012. Mr Dennis has appeared alongside the disgraced academic David Miller.
When Jewish students raised concerns about the choice of act for the union’s conference, NUS reportedly advised them that they could use an “existing safe space” which was to be “designated for students who are sensitive to loud noise” during Mr Dennis’ performance. In response to worries about how Jewish students would react if the performance went ahead, NUS reportedly replied that it was more concerned about the reaction from other students if it were cancelled.
However, after pressure, NUS insisted that Mr Dennis would only be headlining the “Liberation Conference”, due to run for two days immediately following the National Conference and intended to “bring together Black*, Disabled, LGBT+, Trans and Women Students together to build communities of activists and plan our campaigning work.” After further pressure, NUS has reportedly removed Ms Dennis from the programme completely.
The controversial Labour Party MP, Zarah Sultana, will still be appearing at NUS’s National Conference. Labour has yet to investigate an outstanding complaint against Ms Sultana by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
When Mr Dennis’ appearance was first publicised, Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “NUS knows exactly what it is doing by headlining Lowkey. He has previously described Israel as a ‘racist endeavour’ in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as ‘antisemitic’, spoken of the ‘Zionist lobby’ in the context of global capitalism, reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn as well as Jew-baiting conspiracists including David Miller.
“Headlining such a person is bad enough, but telling appalled Jews to go and stand in the corner whilst everyone else dances is segregationist and disgusting. Instead of showing solidarity with Jews, NUS is literally casting Jews aside. This is sickening hypocrisy from a union that proclaims itself to be ‘anti-racist’.”
A Connecticut woman was arrested on 12th March for arson and burglary after being accused of setting fires in a synagogue and a church.
Kimorah Parker, 30, allegedly broke into Tephereth Israel Synagogue on 11th March and started a fire that caused “fairly extensive” damage. She has also been accused of setting fire to St Matthew’s Lutheran Church.
Local police are investigating the arson with the assistance of the FBI.
The FBI released a statement in which it said: “Local police have arrested a suspect well-known to them and retain the lead over the ongoing investigations. No other incidents have been reported since the arrest. The FBI will continue to coordinate with local law enforcement and, pending further evidence collection, will determine whether federal charges are appropriate.”
A Tephereth Israel Synagogue congregation member called the incident “devastating,” adding: “We don’t know why the person who started the fire did this…we know she chose a church and a synagogue, so it wasn’t specifically Jewish; we don’t know a motive.
“It’s devastating, because that building holds a lot of memories for me and my family…I’m hoping that [the] building itself is still structurally sound and that they can repair it.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expressed outrage after it was reported that the National Union of Students (NUS) responded to Jewish complaints about an inflammatory rapper headlining the union’s centenary conference by suggesting that the Jewish students literally segregate themselves.
Jewish students reportedly expressed concern after learning that the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, would be headlining a conference of a union ostensibly meant to represent them.
Mr Dennis is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A month-long investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst PSC supporters on social media. Mr Dennis has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as “antisemitic”, spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism, has reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson, defended the disgraced academic David Miller, and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn.
More recently, Mr Dennis has reportedly claimed that the “mainstream media” has “weaponised the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stave off” inquiries about far-right groups in Ukraine. He has also appeared on the disgraced former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012. The disgraced academic David Miller has appeared alongside Mr Dennis.
When Jewish students raised concerns about the choice of act for the union’s conference, NUS reportedly advised them that they could use an “existing safe space” which was to be “designated for students who are sensitive to loud noise” during Mr Dennis’ performance. In response to worries about how Jewish students would react if the performance went ahead, NUS reportedly replied that it was more concerned about the reaction from other students if it were cancelled.
The controversial Labour Party MP, Zarah Sultana, will also be appearing at the event, it has been reported. Labour has yet to investigate an outstanding complaint against Ms Sultana by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “NUS knows exactly what it is doing by headlining Lowkey. He has previously described Israel as a ‘racist endeavour’ in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as ‘antisemitic’, spoken of the ‘Zionist lobby’ in the context of global capitalism, reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn as well as Jew-baiting conspiracists including David Miller.
“Headlining such a person is bad enough, but telling appalled Jews to go and stand in the corner whilst everyone else dances is segregationist and disgusting. Instead of showing solidarity with Jews, NUS is literally casting Jews aside. This is sickening hypocrisy from a union that proclaims itself to be ‘anti-racist’.”
Reality television star and property developer Dawn Ward is alleged to have shouted antisemitic abuse at two Jewish brothers and slapped one of them in the face, a court has heard.
The 48-year-old Real Housewives of Cheshire star is accused of being under the influence of alcohol when she went on a “rant” at brothers Jake and Sam Jacobs at London Euston station.
Jurors heard that, on 29th October 2019, Ms Ward overheard the brothers asking aloud why their trains were delayed. She is alleged to have demanded of them: “Why do you lot always complain?”
Prosecutor George Wedge acknowledged that Ms Ward was referring to the Jacobs’ Jewish identity.
Inner London Crown Court heard that the brothers chose to overlook Ms. Ward’s comments, only for her allegedly to become violent. She is alleged to have called Jake Jacobs a “fat c***” and a “Jewish p***k” and slapped him in the face. She also allegedly said to them: “Shut up, you f***ing disease.”
The brothers then informed the police and Ms Ward was arrested before authorities allegedly discovered cocaine on her person.
Ms Ward has denied aggravated intentional harassment and possession of the illegal drug.
Jake Jacobs is reported to have said: “For a long time, it made me really sad, because what my parents and grandparents have gone though it’s brought it all back. I couldn’t believe in this current climate; I was naive to think it doesn’t happen. But when it happens to you it really affected me for a long period of time.”
The trial continues.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Late last year, a spokesperson, when asked why the University had not yet adopted the Definition, said that the University “takes an active and vocal lead in countering racism and discrimination,” and that a working group considering the findings of a race equality review conducted in May was due to report at the end of 2021.
The adoption comes as Campaign Against Antisemitism publishes polling in its latest Antisemitism Barometer showing that a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
Rabbi Yaakov Baruch, the rabbi of Indonesia’s only synagogue, Shaar HaShamayim, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism to discuss why he feels compelled to create education on the Holocaust for his country.
Rabbi Baruch discussed how, in partnership with Israel’s Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, he created Indonesia’s first ever Holocaust exhibition. His motivation behind the creation partly stemmed from his desire to commemorate his own relatives who were killed during the Holocaust, stating that his grandmother lost 40 relatives. Rabbi Baruch also wants to educate Indonesians about the Holocaust, which he believes is desperately needed.
Rabbi Baruch said that he believes that many Indonesians are still either ignorant of the atrocities of the Holocaust or think that it may have not occurred at all, with some even posting swastikas and images of Adolf Hitler to their social media accounts. He revealed that many visitors to his Holocaust exhibition thanked him for his work, saying that they never imagined that such events could have taken place. Rabbi Baruch said: “Many Indonesians don’t know about [the Holocaust], and [those] who know the Holocaust know mostly from Holocaust denial groups.”
Rabbi Baruch told our host that during a televised appearance in Indonesia, he was confronted by a Holocaust denier. “When I was on local TV talking about the Holocaust museum…he said that the Holocaust is a hoax on live TV. It so destroyed my heart. But what I can do is, I can tell him that this is not a hoax, that’s why I’m doing this.”
Despite this, however, Rabbi Baruch is pleased that the exhibition has largely received positive feedback from locals of all backgrounds, including the local government, though some Muslim groups had criticised it and accused Rabbi Baruch’s exhibition of attempting to normalise relations with Israel. However, this has not deterred him.
“I tell them what we do is nothing to do with the conflict in the Middle East…the Holocaust happened before the State of Israel, before the [creation] of Indonesia, even. I just want to share the history,” he says.
The podcast with Rabbi Baruch 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.
The European Union has reportedly put a stop to €214million of annual aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) following concerns about antisemitic materials in PA textbooks.
Oliver Varhelyi, Hungary’s EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, suggested that any aid received by the PA come on the condition that “antisemitism and incitement” are removed from educational material used by PA schools. Mr Varhelyi has a record of concern on this issue.
It has been reported that the blocking of the funds was spurred by the publication of a 200-page report by the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in 2021, which cited numerous examples of exhortation to violence against, and demonisation of, Jews and Israelis.
One religious studies textbook reportedly requires students to inquire into “repeated attempts by the Jews to kill the prophet [Muhammad].” Another textbook makes a connection between Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib, aunt and companion of the Prophet Muhammad – who, according to both Quranic and biographical sources, beat a Jew to death with a club during the Battle of the Trench in 627AD – to a question about how relentlessly brave women are when confronted with “Jewish Zionistic occupation.” Beirut-born Dalal Mughrabi, who belonged to the Fatah faction of the PLO, also features in these teaching materials. Ms Mughrabi was involved in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in which she and her associates murdered 38 Israelis, including thirteen children, before being killed by security forces. PA textbooks often refer to her as a feminist icon. Similar examples of incitement are reportedly evident across the curriculum, including in science and mathematics books as well as humanities texts.
The European Parliament has previously raised concerns about antisemitic incitement in PA textbooks as well.
Haaretz reports that the issue is now in the hands of the European Commission, which will make a decision on the future of the funding, since neither Mr Varhelyi’s initial proposal passed nor could a the fourteen-country majority be mustered to overrule.
In 2020, Norway cut its funding to the PA over similar concerns, and the UK has done so as well, reportedly for other reasons.
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.
State politics in Idaho have been rocked by at least two incidents of Republican politicians indulging the far-right.
First, Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin reportedly appeared on stage via video link with members of the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), led by known Holocaust-denier and far-right leader Nick Fuentes, who has often used antisemitic language and tropes.
The appearance came as a surprise to Rabbi Dan Fink, head of Boise’s Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel, who had recently received a letter from Ms McGeachin asking him to collaborate on an antisemitism task force.
Rabbi Fink expressed his worries about the militias who form the core of McGeachin’s support: “My first thought was, you’ve got to be kidding me. It seems like you’re missing the point with what we’re dealing with locally.”
Then, it emerged that, separately, Dan Bell, the Youth Chairman for a Republican Committee in Western Idaho, had sought to encourage Republicans to switch parties in order to elect the far-right activist Dave Reilly to a leadership position in the Democrat Party in order to discredit it.
Mr Reilly reportedly attended the deadly white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is claimed to have said that “all Jews are dangerous” and that “Jews pretend to be white when it’s expedient for them.” He has previously run unsuccessfully for an Idaho school board.
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.
A new survey of French Jews has found that 85 precent believe that antisemitism is widespread in their country.
The survey was published by IFOP, a French international polling and market research firm.
The survey also found that 64 percent of the overall French population believes that antisemitism is widespread.
According to the survey, 68 percent of French Jews have faced antisemitic harassment or abuse. Twenty percent of French Jews have reported being the victims of at least one antisemitic physical assault. It was noted that attacks were more likely if the victim was wearing a religious symbol.
Around 30 percent of people polled said that “Jews are richer than the average French person,” while 37 percent believed that Jews had “too much influence in the French economy and financial system.”
It is over 65-year-olds who are more likely to have antisemitic prejudices according to the survey.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
The Executive Director of the human rights activist organisation Amnesty USA has come under fire for reportedly claiming that Israel “shouldn’t exist as Jewish state”, before trying to clarify his remarks.
The Jewish Insider reported that Paul O’Brien made the comments in a speech given to the Washington DC-based Woman’s National Democratic Club.
His speech was reported to have included claims about what most American Jews think of Israel and what kind of country they want the Jewish state to be, citing and querying existing polling data.
Mr O’Brien reportedly asserted that the majority of American Jews would prefer Israel to be a “safe Jewish space” organised around “core Jewish values” rather than a Jewish state.
Although Mr O’Brien said that Amnesty International, which has recently and controversially characterised Israel as an “apartheid state”, acknowledges that Israel exists and holds no official opinion about the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, he is reported to have said: “I believe my gut tells me that what Jewish people in this country want is to know that there’s a sanctuary that is a safe and sustainable place that the Jews, the Jewish people can call home…I think they can be convinced over time that the key to sustainability is to adhere to what I see as core Jewish values, which are to be principled and fair and just in creating that space.”
The Executive Director of pro-Israel group Zioness said to Jewish Insider that “It is disturbing that Amnesty, which ostensibly exists to advance global human rights, could so casually deny the inalienable rights of safety and sovereignty to a nation as persecuted as the Jewish people.”
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, tweeted that: “It is clear that [Amnesty International’s] true vision is a Middle East without Israel as a Jewish state.”
Mr O’Brien then took to Twitter to “clarify” his remarks. He argued that the Jewish Insider had taken his comments “out of context”, claiming that he was not referring to the existence of the Jewish state, but specifically to Israel’s 2018 Nation State law, which defined Israel as “the nation-state of the Jewish people.”
Jewish Insider later published the full audio recording and transcript of Mr O’Brien’s speech, defending its reportage of his comments.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Denmark has become the latest country to develop an official action plan to tackle antisemitism for students in schools.
In a statement published by Eurydice, the European Union’s network for Europe-wide analysis and information about education systems and policies, Danish policymakers state that they have advanced fifteen initiatives to improve young people’s understanding and knowledge of the Holocaust and antisemitism.
Of the initiatives about antisemitism research and prevention, protection of Jews and Jewish institutions, information for how to deal with antisemitic incidents, and issues surrounding foreign policy, the Eurydice statement specifies five: compulsory education about the Holocaust at all levels of the Danish education system, from primary to secondary school pupils; expanding efforts towards Holocaust remembrance; ensuring teachers understand the harms caused by ostracising pupils based on their background; broadening interreligious dialogue between young people; and providing students with more information about the life and culture of Danish Jews.
These initiatives aim to let pupils know how to fight antisemitism within a broader framework based on mutual tolerance and recognising how what they say and do may well have negative consequences for others. They also encourage educational institutions to make sure that students acquire the knowledge and skills to fight antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories.
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.
Ukranian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has been the target of an article by an Iranian pro-government media outlet that reportedly relies on antisemitic tropes.
The long article, circulated by the Fars News Agency, uses what The Jerusalem Post calls a “word salad” of typical antisemitic notions. Mr Zelenskyy is accused of Jewish “immorality”, including hedonism, greed, corruption and malign political influence through the control of Ukrainian oligarchs, Donald Trump, and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who is described as “one of Zelensky’s most influential role models.”
Mr Zelenskyy is accused in the article of being not only a “hedonistic Jew” but an amoral “follower of the school of hedonism, which legitimises the attainment of pleasure in any way possible, and this school has spread to all aspects of his existence.”
The article also emphasises Mr Zelenskyy’s Jewish heritage and brands him a “Zionist”, an epithet of abuse in official Iranian outlets. Mr Zelenskyy is said to have “thanked the Zionist regime for its support of his country.”
Mr Zelenskyy’s is accused of having “deep ties to Jewish officials and the rich, such as George Soros.” Mr Soros is a Jewish financier who is often the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
From there, the Fars News Agency article makes a bizarre leap into the realms of conspiracy theory by connecting Zelensky and Ukraine’s need for financial and military aid not only to the former American president and George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, but to Jeffrey Epstein. The article describes how Epstein was “one of Zelensky’s most influential role models. The abuse of women and illicit sexual relations is a powerful tool in the hands of managers who try to achieve their goal by any means possible.”
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.
Troy A. Miller, CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters, said: “Fighting antisemitism is a key issue for believers, and it’s very important that our understanding of the issue reflects cultural realities.
“An accurate and contemporary definition of antisemitism helps us to recognise and combat this form of hatred wherever it emerges.”
It was reported that South Korea adopted the Definition last year. Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.
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.
The State of Pennsylvania was found to have more white supremacist propaganda than any other state, with antisemitic incidents in general being recorded at 150% higher than it was in 2015.
A report showed that in 2021, 473 instances of white supremacist propaganda were distributed, almost doubling the previous year’s findings for the State. 24 of these incidents occurred in Pittsburgh.
Many of these incidents were reported to have come from Patriot Front, a national white supremacist group, who are said to be responsible for 82% of the propaganda incidents in the whole of the United States. Reportedly, members of the group must meet a distribution quota to remain within the group.
The second-highest level of white supremacist propaganda was found in the State of Virginia with a recorded 375 examples.
The findings were published in ADL’s annual assessment.
Last month, we reported that Pennsylvania police launched an investigation after graves in three separate cemeteries were vandalised with swastikas. Photographs uploaded to Twitter show large, orange swastikas spray-painted on headstones in Montgomery County.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Authorities are investigating antisemitic and racist graffiti found at a school in Massachusetts.
The graffiti was found on bathroom walls at Natick High School on 8th March.
Anna Nolin, the Natick School District Superintendent, wrote in an email that “Natick Public Schools and the Natick Police Department do not stand for this type of behaviour. This behaviour is inappropriate, not aligned with our core values, and will not be tolerated. We will hold students or others involved fully accountable.”
This incident happened only a few weeks after “social justice training” was held for Natick School District personnel.
The discovery comes just a month after antisemitic, racist and anti-gay graffiti was discovered in a girls’ bathroom at Holten Richmond Middle School in nearby Danvers.
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.
It has been reported that antisemitic vandalism was discovered outside of a Toronto high school.
Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird said that the reported antisemitic graffiti that was found outside of Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute was a “hateful act of vandalism” that was “very similar to recent incidents”, adding that police are investigating.
The vandalism appears to be a part of a wave of antisemitic incidents sweeping across Toronto and Greater Toronto schools.
Last week, we reported that a church in downtown Toronto and a school in the Greater Toronto area were also targets of antisemitic vandalism. Days prior, antisemitic graffiti had been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.
Other recent reports include the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools in a short span of time.
Additionally, on 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.” On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
UK media regulator Ofcom has sanctioned London-based radio station Rinse FM after they aired a song that was deemed to have contained “antisemitic hate speech.”
On 12th July 2020, Rinse FM’s presenter introduced the song “Better in Tune with the Infinite” by Jay Electronica as “one of my absolute favourites”. A complaint was then made over the following lyrics: “The synagogues of Satan might accuse or jail me. Strip, crown, nail me, brimstone hail me…To the lawyers, to the sheriffs, to the judges. To the debt holders and the law makers. [Bleeped] you, sue me, bill me.”
In their report, published on 19th July 2021, Ofcom stated that it referred to the International Definition of Antisemitism in making their assessment, citing the following paragraph: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The regulator deemed the lyrics to have negative connotations containing antisemitic tropes, stating: “In our view, the UK listeners would be likely to understand the phrase ‘synagogues of Satan’ to be a reference to the Jewish place of worship, and that it makes an explicit association between Jewish place of worship and Satan. We considered that UK listeners would have understood this association to suggest that Jewish people are evil or worship the Devil, which is a well-established antisemitic trope.
“Immediately following the reference to the ‘synagogues of Satan’ were the lyrics ‘Strip, crown, nail me, brimstone hail me’ which we considered to be a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In our view, the juxtaposition of the lyrics may have evoked for UK listeners the antisemitic allegation that Jewish people are collectively responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
“These words were later followed by the lyrics ‘To the lawyers, to the sheriffs, to the judges. To the debt holders and the law makers’, whom the artist addresses with ‘[Bleep] you, sue me, bill me’. In the context of the preceding lines and in particular, reference to the phrase ‘synagogues of Satan’, we considered that some UK listeners may have interpreted these references to be references to the Jewish community.”
Ofcom initially made its decision about Rinse FM’s airing of the song in July 2021. The radio station responded in October that year claiming that it was not always possible for an under-resourced station to “nip in the bud” any material that might be considered “controversial”. This was, however, rejected in the regulator’s most recent ruling, which said: “We consider that Rinse FM was treated fairly during the investigation process and in line with Ofcom’s procedures for investigating breaches of content standards for television and radio. During the investigation process, the licensee made representations in response to Ofcom’s request for formal comments [and] it was given the opportunity to respond to Ofcom’s preliminary view on the breaches”.
This is not the first time the rapper was accused of antisemitism. In 2020, he was criticised over the lyrics: “And I bet you a Rothschild I get a bang for my dollar…The synagogue of Satan want me to hang by my collar.”
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].
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has informed Campaign Against Antisemitism that it has appointed bailiffs to obtain £10,000 from the disgraced antisemitic aristocrat Pier Portman.
The Hon. Piers Portman, the youngest living son of the 9th Viscount Portman and heir to 110 acres of West End real estate, was sentenced in October 2021 to four months in prison and ordered to pay over £20,000 after being found guilty of calling Gideon Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, “Jewish scum” in a confrontation at a courthouse in 2018. Mr Portman was denied leave to appeal in December.
When Mr Portman was originally sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, His Honour Judge Gregory Perrins said that Mr Portman has “strongly-held antisemitic beliefs”, and that he had “deliberately targeted Mr Falter because of his role in prosecuting Alison Chabloz.” Ms Chabloz is an antisemite who has been repeatedly imprisoned following work by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
In scathing sentencing remarks, HHJ Perrins told Mr Portman: “You said you’re an honourable British gentleman. You’re anything but.”
HHJ Perrins then imprisoned him for four months, with the possibility of release on licence after two months, and ordered him to pay a £10,000 fine, make an additional £10,000 compensatory payment to the victim, Mr Falter, and pay court costs.
Mr Falter intends to donate the entire £10,000 to Campaign Against Antisemitism when the bailiffs obtain it from Mr Portman.
Mr Portman, 50, was prosecuted after approaching Mr Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 14th June 2018 following the sentencing of Alison Chabloz, a notorious Holocaust denier and antisemite. Campaign Against Antisemitism had brought a private prosecution against Ms Chabloz which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took over, and which ultimately led to a conviction and landmark legal precedent. Mr Falter had testified against Ms Chabloz, who has since been repeatedly sent to prison over her antisemitic statements, including denying the Holocaust and claiming that Holocaust survivors had invented their suffering for financial gain.
Mr Portman followed Mr Falter out of the courtroom and confronted him in the lobby of the court building, where an enraged Mr Portman came close to Mr Falter and said: “I’m Piers Portman. I have written to you before. Come after me, you Jewish scum. Come and persecute me. Come and get me.”
Mr Portman was referring to a 1,527-word e-mailed screed previously sent to Campaign Against Antisemitism in which he denounced his former wife and her divorce lawyer, Baroness Fiona Shackleton each as a “greedy, grasping and lying manipulator of the system that happens to be Jewish.” He accused his former wife of “playing the Talmud inspired ‘Tyrant posing as a victim.’” Noting in the e-mail that he had a “Harrow Public School education”, Mr Portman defended the term “Holohoax”, writing that “I fail to see how the fabricated word has anything to do with hating anyone. Surely it is merely an expression created by people that believe they have been lied to,” and questioning how the terms “Jew” and “Jewboy” could be antisemitic.
He concluded his e-mail by taunting Campaign Against Antisemitism to “Come and pick on me…come and have a do with me…come and perform your charity on me.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image: Piers Portman, right, leaves Southwark Crown Court with conspiracy theorist Matthew Delooze
The Russian war on Ukraine has elicited a plethora of Nazi comparisons and is witnessing actual neo-Nazi soldiers on the battlefield. The war has also divided opinion within the far-right globally, as discussed on this week’s episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
President Putin of Russia justified his war on Ukraine in part by claiming that he needed to “denazify” the country, a stance that was reinforced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and apparently also adopted by China. Mr Lavrov also compared the United States to Hitler, stating: “Napoleon and Hitler, they had the objective to have the whole of Europe under their control…Now Americans have got Europe under their control. And we see the situation has really demonstrated what role the EU is playing in the context of the global situation. They are just fulfilling a role. So we see, like in Hollywood, there is absolute evil and absolute good and this is unfortunate.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has compared Mr Putin to Hitler and described the invasion of his country as “pure Nazism”. The comparisons drew condemnation from Yad Vashem Israel’s Holocaust museum, for “trivilisation” of the Holocaust.
The Holocaust references became particularly acute when reports emerged of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center being hit by a Russian missile aiming for a nearby Kyiv television mast. Mr Zelenskyy then called for Jewish people around the world to speak out against the Russian invasion, saying: “For any normal person who knows history, Babyn Yar is a special part of Kyiv, a special part of Europe…It is a place of prayer and a place of remembrance for the 100,000 people killed by the Nazis…Who do you think you are, to make it a target for your missiles?” It subsequently emerged that the Memorial had not been damaged.
While war inevitably gives rise to unpleasant and inflammatory rhetoric, the presence of actual neo-Nazis on the battlefield has been a greater cause for alarm. In particular, attention has been drawn to Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, a neo-Nazi militia that formed during the 2014 War in the Donbas and has since been subsumed into the Ukrainian National Guard, putting neo-Nazi troops on the Government’s payroll. In 2020, Facebook came under pressure following the revelation that a network of 80,000 white supremacists was operating on its platform In more than 40 neo-Nazi websites, where merchandise sales were funding the Azov Battalion and the Misanthropic Division, another far-right Ukrainian group. One of the Azov Battalion’s Facebook pages at the time was reportedly called “Gas Chambers”, and visitors were directed to websites featuring imagery of white skinheads standing next to murdered Jews and black people.
Marking International Women’s Day, NATO tweeted a message of solidarity with Ukrainian women, only to delete the tweet after observers noticed that a female soldier in one of the images was displaying a neo-Nazi sun symbol on her uniform.
All this being said, the Azov Battalion ran in Ukraine’s 2019 election but won only two percent of the vote, which is markedly lower than far-right gains in other Eastern European countries. Indeed, Ukraine voted overwhelmingly to elect Volodymyr Zelenskyy as President, a Jewish man whose family was partially wiped out during the Holocaust.
On the Russian side, it was reported that the Russian President hired the Wagner Group, a collective of mercenaries who have been described as a private paramilitary organisation, to assassinate Mr Zelenskyy. The head of the group is Dmitry Utkin, a reported neo-Nazi. Photographs of Mr Utkin show Nazi SS tattoos on his shoulders and a Nazi-style eagle, or Reichsadler, on his chest.
In addition to those on the ground, the global far-right has also been divided in its stance on the war. Some on the far-right have expressed regret that two “white” nations are engaged in a “brother war”, with sympathy shown for Ukrainian civilians. Others are backing Ukraine, and the Azov Battalion in particular, inferring that if the Battalion is opposing Mr Putin, he must be the real enemy. Yet others are siding with Russia, which is viewed by its far-right supporters as the saviour of the white race, in contrast to Ukraine, which has supposedly been heading towards self-destruction through efforts to integrate with Western, liberal Europe.
One thing that the far-right does agree on, predictably, is that the Jews (or, as they are sometimes more subtly described in these circles, “globalists”) have masterminded the war. Whether it is because Mr Zelenskyy is Jewish (as are, for that matter, several senior Ukrainian politicians), or because Mr Putin is supposedly in thrall to Jewish oligarchs, the far-right agrees that the Jews are to blame. For example, Nick Griffin, the former leader of the BNP, posted on his Telegram channel: “#IStandWithRussia against NATO and those Jesus referred to as the Synagogue of Satan,” while the former KKK leader David Duke too has said that the war is a conspiracy by Jews to kill non-Jews.
Full analysis of this topic is available in Episode 15 of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
A church in downtown Toronto and a school in the Greater Toronto area are the latest targets of antisemitic vandalism in what appears to be a wave of incidents in the Toronto area.
Two schools in the town of Newmarket were reportedly defaced with antisemitic, anti-Black and LGBTQ-phobic graffiti. Police stated that they had been called in to Newmarket High School after anti-Black graffiti was found in a boy’s bathroom stall and were called back in two days later regarding carvings found in the school that were deemed antisemitic and LGBTQ-phobic.
The following day, police were called in to Huron Heights Secondary School regarding graffiti in the boy’s bathroom that “included a number of drawings, profanities and male genitalia as well as some possibly anti-Black and antisemitic graffiti that has been partially scribbled over.”
Police said that in all instances, the graffiti was quickly removed.
It was also reported that police are investigating after the Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto was vandalised with antisemitic and homophobic graffiti.
The Church released a statement in response to the incident in which it said: “Sadly, these acts have grown in frequency over the past years, with our building a regular target. Metropolitan takes action to quickly remove all graffiti, at considerable expense to the church.
“Above all, Metropolitan stands as an affirming church in downtown Toronto with a long history of support for the LGBTQ community. Likewise, Jesus’ teaching to ‘love your neighbour’ is our driving mission and we are therefore dedicated to standing up to antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
These reports follow last week’s in which antisemitic graffiti had been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.
Other recent reports include the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.
On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.” On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
The multi-award-winning author and scholar of Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Dr Dara Horn, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where, among other topics, she discussed her mixed feelings towards Holocaust education.
Dr Horn said: “In the United States, there was this idea in the Jewish community about 30 or 40 years ago that Holocaust education was going to prevent antisemitism…you had the opening of this massive Holocaust museum in Washington, you started having mandatory curricular about the Holocaust in schools and other Holocaust memorials opening around the United States, you started having Hollywood movies about this, and a lot of that came from the Jewish community.
“The idea was that people would go to these museums or learn about this in school. They’d learn where hatred can lead, what the world did to the Jews and they would then stop hating Jews. It wasn’t a ridiculous idea but 30 years later and what’s interesting is there’s much higher levels of antisemitism now in the United States than there were 30 years ago, so maybe we should reevalute this?”
Dr Horn continued: “What it’s come to mean is that Holocaust education is the only education that people have about antisemitism and so what that has come to mean is that antisemitism consists of murdering six million Jews.”
Referring to her newest book, People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present, Dr Horn says: “I list a bunch of things that aren’t the Holocaust, and I list everything from trolling Jews on social media to expelling entire Jewish communities from entire countries and seizing all their assets, which of course happened in many, many countries in the Islamic world in the twentieth century. I was like, ‘all of those things are not Holocaust, none of them are a big deal!’”
“When somebody is trolling you on social media and they’re photoshopping your face into a gas chamber, the problem is not that that person doesn’t know about the Holocaust. It’s not an education problem,” Dr Horn added.
During the discussion with our host, Dr Horn also discussed her reaction to the Colleyville synagogue attack, why she decided to learn Talmud and whether Yiddish is making a comeback.
The podcast with Dr Horn 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.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has released a statement condemning antisemitism.
The statement comes after several recent incidents, including swastika graffiti found in the bathrooms in University accommodation; public harassment in which antisemitic slurs were allegedly shouted at a student on Langdon Street, where many of the University’s fraternity houses and student residences are located; and a student who claims to have been harassed for their supposedly “Jewish” appearance.
These are not the only incidents to have taken place on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, however. Recent years have seen University authorities investigate several instances of antisemitic graffiti on campus, including one occasion in which the University of Wisconsin Police Department is reported to have investigated antisemitic graffiti on the popular Robert E. Gard Storyteller’s Circle, and another where neo-Nazi symbols were daubed in green paint on the walls of a University bookstore.
In their statement, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor and Chief Diversity Officer LaVar Charleston said: “Antisemitism is wrong and it will not be tolerated at UW-Madison. We are working to support all community members and increasing our educational efforts to prevent bias incidents from happening in the future. We are committed to creating a campus where everyone feels valued and knows they belong.”
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.
A sixteen-year-old student at Illinois’ Springfield High School has reportedly been arrested and charged with a hate crime for antisemitic writings.
The male student was arrested by the school resource officer on Wednesday at Springfield High School and was also charged with disorderly conduct involving threats to a school and criminal defacement of property.
The student had a hearing on Monday and is being detained at Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center. Officials are waiting for the results of the student’s psychological assessment.
In response to the incident, a statement released by the Jewish Federation of Springfield said: “The Jewish community here in Springfield, like Jewish communities everywhere, deplores any manifestation or expression of antisemitism. Hostility to Jews as a group, negative stereotyping of Jews, and scapegoating of Jews as responsible for the various ills of society have a long and unfortunate history and have had very sad and tragic consequences over the course of Jewish history.
“We regard any expression of antisemitism, racism, or hate directed against any group in our community with deep concern and remain vigilant about the implicit threat not only to ourselves and to other communities that might be targeted, but also to the fabric of a diverse, pluralistic and democratic society.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
A member of the public discovered a yellow star sticker with the letter “J” in the middle appended to a cash machine at a post office on London Road in Sheffield this week.
The discovery, reported to Campaign Against Antisemitism, came within two weeks of the appearance of antisemitic graffiti, including swastikas and references to Hitler and the Nazis, in a popular park.
The graffiti, discovered by a local runner on a pathway in Boleshill Park, Crookes, is believed to have been written using ash from a fire.
The runner reportedly said “It wasn’t actually paint, but they lit a fire and used the ash to make the graffiti. I rubbed it with my foot, thinking it was white paint but it started to come out.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
The American School in London has reportedly been downgraded by Ofsted, the schools regulator, after a recent controversy over diversity education and a staff meeting that sparked antisemitism allegations.
The report, seen by the JC, apparently observes that pupils at Britain’s most expensive school “spend much time repeatedly considering identity (including analysing their own characteristics) rather than learning, for example, geographical knowledge,” and that older pupils at the St John’s Wood school felt “underprepared” because “the middle-school humanities curriculum…leads to a focus on social issues rather than subject knowledge and skills.”
The headteacher of the school – which counts several famous alumni and children of numerous celebrities – resigned at the end of last year, well short of the end of her ten-year term, after complaints were made by parents about the content of diversity education at the school, both to the media and directly to Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Concerns centred around the teaching of “critical race theory” and other controversial ideas, including “white privilege”. Campaign Against Antisemitism received concerning reports about the school apparently teaching that Jews are part of a privileged elite. A “Privilege Power” chart was reportedly disseminated, which appeared to show Jews just below Protestants and Catholics at the upper end of the “Spirituality-Religion” segment of the chart.
The introduction of racially-segregated after-school clubs reportedly upset numerous parents, many of whom are American.
In addition, allegations arose about a staff meeting in which the words “Nazi”, “swastika”, “Hitler” and “skinheads” were used by faculty members during what was described as a heated conversation about how some parents have reacted to the diversity curriculum.
The school denied that the inflammatory terms were used to describe parents but did not clarify in what context the terms were used. A spokesperson for the school did concede that remarks made during the meeting “could cause offence to the community,” with numerous Jewish families sending their children to the school.
Concerningly, the school’s statement noted that “There were questions asked about whether the response to racism is always as strong and immediate as the response to antisemitism.” This suggestion by one teacher, apparently in connection with parents, caused offence among colleagues, who passed on their concerns to parents and trustees.
Although the headteacher has resigned, concerns remain that the culture and curriculum are the product of wider thinking among senior staff.
Do you or your friends/family have stories of schoolteachers or pupils facing antisemitism at schools in the UK? Contact us at [email protected] or call +44 (0)330 822 0321.
A Manchester-based Jewish lawyer who was fired after not going to work on Pesach is due to receive around £26,500 in compensation.
According to court documents, NNE Law Limited dismissed Philip Bialick after he took a pre-arranged break for the Passover festival in April 2020.
Mr Bialick began his employment at the firm in January 2020, booking annual leave a month later in anticipation of the festival in April. In March, the UK entered its first pandemic lockdown, but the firm claimed that, “since the courts are not closed…our line of work is considered essential,” and therefore that he should attend work. Two days later, Mr Bialick fell ill and self-isolated, in accordance with NHS guidance.
His isolation period ended on 8th April, when he expected to go on leave to observe the festival. But NNE reportedly said that he should return to work on 9th April, the second day of Pesach.
Mr Bialick explained that he had booked time off for religious reasons and could not come to work but, the next day, the firm asserted that it had no alternative but to terminate his contract.
Speaking at the employment tribunal, Judge Leach said: “We accept that the dismissal had a devastating impact on him and that he was affected mentally and emotionally.”
He added: “As for taking into account that this was a one-off act, the effect of the discriminatory treatment was to dismiss the claimant without notice or pay in lieu of notice. Whilst it was a one-off act, it was a serious one, effectively the most serious sanction an employer could impose on an employee for refusing to attend work on Passover High Holiday.”
It has been reported that a Jewish couple were confronted by a man performing the Nazi salute in North London.
CCTV footage shows a visibly Jewish man and woman walking down the street when a man walking in the opposite direction appears to perform the salute before walking off.
The incident took place in Clapton Common and was reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3759 08/02/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
A series of antisemitic flyers have been distributed around neighbourhoods in Palo Alto, California, prompting concern from local community leaders and law enforcement.
The flyers claim that certain named American federal officials and politicians are Jewish and blame them for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The flyers were placed in plastic bags and weighed down with rice to stop them from being displaced by the wind before being placed in the front yards and porches of houses and apartment complexes. They are believed to have been distributed by the antisemitic Goyim Defence League (GDL), led by Jon Minadeo II
The GDL is a group is responsible for stunts such as visiting a Chabad centre to claim that “these Jewish terrorists” were behind 9/11, and hanging a banner on a Los Angeles overpass reading “Honk if you know the Jews want a race war.” Last year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. Recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.
Jeff Schwartz, teacher and Mitzvah Director at the Congregation Kol Emeth synagogue expressed his concerns about the flyer’s use of antisemitic themes, saying: “When you see a swastika on a building or something similar, it just hits you right in the heart. We know [antisemitism] is always there, but you don’t really believe it until you see something like this.”
We reported last month that the FBI was investigating antisemitic flyers, also connected with the GDL, that were deposited in the driveways of members of the Colleyville synagogue where a British Islamist recently took four people hostage.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
It has been reported that a Jewish woman and a six-year-old child were screamed at by a man in North London, prompting them to run for safety.
The man reportedly shouted “F*** Jews” to the woman and child and stood in close proximity to the two.
The incident took place at a bus stop in Stamford Hill and was reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 7322 05/03/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Antisemitic graffiti has been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.
Police are investigating the acts of vandalism which they believe were carried out on separate dates spanning the last two months.
Reports say that on 9th January, black spray paint was found on signs at Simonston Park, on 12th January, blue spray paint was found on a private school that is understood to be Metro International Secondary Academy, a building that formerly served a synagogue, located across the street on Simonston Boulevard, and on 19th February, blue spray paint was found, again, on the same school building.
York Regional Police said: “Investigators believe that these incidents are hate motivated and are asking any witnesses, anyone with information or video surveillance footage in that area, to please come forward.”
This latest report comes days after the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students in the area performing Nazi salutes.
Constable Alex Li of the Toronto Police Service said: “These are being treated as hate-motivated and our Hate Crime Unit is fully engaged…Due to the similarities in each incident, investigators are exploring whether they are linked.”
The schools involved were Central Technical High School, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Antisemitic graffiti was also reportedly found on the playground of Regal Road Junior Public School.
The reports of graffiti are the latest in what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.
On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.”
On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher.
On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
A poster of a Jewish MP in Australia was defaced with a swastika and an Adolf Hitler moustache recently.
The election poster of Josh Burns, who represents Australia’s Labour Party and is the Federal Member of Parliament for the Melbourne division of Macnamara, was vandalised with a black marker. On his forehead, a swastika was drawn, along with a kippah, Hitler moustache and beard.
Mr Burns said: “It was obviously very disappointing to see this kind of ugly graffiti in the heart of our local community, but I was overwhelmed with the support I received from parliamentary colleagues on both sides of the political divide, and from people across the nation.
“There’s no place for the swastika in Australia and there’s no place for antisemitism or any form of racism in this country. The ugly actions of a small few will only galvanise us to keep fighting against antisemitism, racism and extremism.”
Mr Burns posted the photograph to his Facebook profile, writing: “I’m not putting this up for sympathy – to be honest, I’ve got thicker skin than that. But I’m putting this graffiti up as a reminder that there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed. And because democracy is precious and needs defending.
“Elections can be brutal and sometimes politics in Australia is not practised at the highest level. I get that. But being able to freely express one’s political views, peacefully and respectfully, is an essential part of Australia.”
“It will be cleaned today and we will continue on with a full day of campaigning,” he added. “With even more determination and focus to help shape and build our wonderful, democratic Australia.”
Last year, State of Victoria announced that it was expected to become the first Australian state to ban the display of Nazi symbols.
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.
A woman’s alleged repeated taunting of Jewish schoolgirls with her dog has reportedly led to an injury.
It was reported that the woman routinely and intentionally scares the schoolgirls with her dog when the children leave the school at the end of the day, recently prompting one girl to run away and injure her foot in the process. It is understood that, rather than taking the dog for a walk, the woman travels by bus to the school, alights, approaches the children, gives the dog more slack on the leash so that it can get closer to the children, and, after terrorising them, she returns to the bus and goes home. This has reportedly occurred on multiple occasions.
This latest incident occurred on Amhurst Park and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4605853/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has said that antisemitic crimes rose by 400% in February.
Last month, police recorded 56 hate crimes against Jewish people, compared with 11 in February 2021. Additionally, fifteen incidents were recorded in January compared with four in January of last year. The statistics reflected an overall increase in New York crime.
One such incident in February occurred when the words ‘F*** Jews’ were spray-painted three times on a newly opened Israeli restaurant named Miriam on the Upper West Side in New York City on Thursday 17th February. This antisemitic incident occurred at the same time as the Mayor, Eric Adams, was scheduled to hold a meeting to address the increase of antisemitic incidents across the city.
A separate incident was addressed by Mayor Adams after he lambasted “disgusting” graffiti targeting Jewish people that was found scrawled on the window of a Queens dental office. A photograph shows the word “JEWS” scrawled across a window with a profanity preceding it. The graffiti was reportedly discovered by a rabbi on Saturday, after the Jewish Sabbath had ended, who then reported it to the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
Mayor Adams said in a tweet: “This would be disgusting anytime but it’s especially outrageous as we come to the end of Shabbos. We won’t let this vicious hatred go unanswered in our city.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Police are investigating antisemitic graffiti reportedly found in Derbyshire.
The graffiti was said to have been found in an underpass to Gosforth Lane in Dronfield.
A spokesperson for Dronfield Police Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “Unfortunately, it would appear that some people still think it acceptable to engage in anti-social, criminal damage in Dronfield in the guise of graffiti.
“More disturbingly is the fact that this graffiti is offensive and contains antisemitic comments. This is totally unacceptable and any identified offenders will be dealt with by way of a robust response as this crime is motivated by hatred.”
The Council of the European Union has developed new “conclusions” in the fight against antisemitism.
The Council, which is composed of the heads of government of each member state of the EU, has passed a resolution to treat antisemitism as something different from other kinds of racism, inviting member states to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism. commit to urging social media companies to “rapidly detect, assess and remove illegal online hate speech of a racist and antisemitic nature”, increase security at Jewish institutions, strengthen the powers of law enforcement to tackle antisemitic hate crime, and implement various other measures.
The document calls on the European Commission to treat “the fight against all forms of racism and antisemitism as priorities of the European Union.”
The resolution comes after the European Commission published a strategy to tackle antisemitism for the first time last year.
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.
Kentucky Republicans have become embroiled in numerous antisemitism controversies in recent days, while a Democratic candidate for Senate in Louisiana has drawn condemnation for praising the antisemitic hate preacher, Louis Farrakhan.
In Kentucky, a Republican lawmaker has sparked outrage after claiming that a pill used to induce abortion was developed during WWII under the name Zyklon B, which was the gas used to eterminate Jews during the Holocaust. He reportedly added that the man “who developed [the pills] was a Jew” and that they were created “because [Jewish people are] making money on it.” Representative Danny Bentley then went into a discussion of the intimate lives of Jewish women, “since we brought up the Hebrew family today.” Although the pill was indeed developed by a Jewish pharmacist, that was in the 1980s and had no connection at all to the Holocaust.
Mr Bentley later apologised, saying: “Last week we received a heartbreakingly sad reminder that antisemitism still exists in our society and I apologise if my comments today caused similar pain or any doubt that I stand with the Jewish community against hatred.” He added: “My intention was to speak as a pharmacist to the history of RU-486 and respond to a proposed amendment. I clearly should have been more sensitive with my comments.”
The controversy came shortly after a pair of Republican lawmakers, also in Kentucky, apologised for using an overtly antisemitic term during another recent legislative committee meeting.
Representative Walker Thomas used the phrase “Jew them down” during a discussion over the price of leases in an area devastated by tornadoes, while Senator Rick Girdler repeated it, but immediately withdrew it. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Mr Thomas asked if the state could “Jew them down on the price,” while Mr Girdler, who co-chairs the committee, repeated Mr Thomas’ question before quickly correcting himself, according to the report.
The news outlet later reported that both lawmakers apologised for using the phrase, which is redolent of the antisemitic trope that Jewish people are cunning and miserly.
“I sincerely regret using that term,” said Mr Thomas, noting that “this is not who I am” nor “what my faith leads me to be.” It was, he said, “a phrase I have heard throughout my life, but this experience has provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the impact that words have and the fact that we must be smarter today than we were yesterday.”
The outlet reported that Mr Girdler said that he was sorry if he “had offended anyone,” and had no “hate or malice” in his heart for anyone in the Jewish community.
While apologies were welcome, said Melanie Maron Pell, from the local office of the American Jewish Committee, there were many words and phrases to use “without succumbing to derogatory references” to Jews. An elected official “wilfully using” such a phrase, she said, was “contributing to the spread of a classic antisemitic trope.” Ms Pell added that “elected officials must be among the first to recognise the harm” such “derogatory terms can cause, especially when antisemitism is on the rise in the United States.”
Meanwhile, it has emerged that a Democratic candidate in Louisiana, who is challenging incumbent Republican Senator John Neely Kennedy, appeared on Louis Farrakhan’s spokesperson’s podcast in 2020, lavishing praise on Mr Farrakhan, who is the leader of the controversial Nation of Islam, and describing himself as a “long-time supporter” of the antisemitic hate preacher.
Gary Chambers Jr, the local activist running for Senate, appeared on Dr Ava Muhammad’s podcast. Dr Muhammed is reportedly the national spokesperson for Mr Farrakhan, who has compared Jews to termites and called them “wicked”.
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.
Nicholas Wayne Sherman, 34, was sentenced on 1st March to 180 days of incarceration in Sacramento County Jail for leaving antisemitic leaflets at a synagogue and an elementary school in Carmichael, California, in October 2021.
He left “Aryan Nations” flyers on the doorsteps of homes and at the elementary school in Carmichael, many of which had swastikas drawn or printed on them.
Later that month, Mr Sherman tied papers to a menorah and a metal fence at the synagogue. These papers included antisemitic comments such as “Hitler was right” and photos of Adolf Hitler.
Mr Sherman was arrested in December 2021 and pleaded no contest to his charges. Eleven other misdemeanour charges were filed against him, although all were dismissed.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Antisemitic graffiti has reportedly been found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students in the area performing Nazi salutes.
Constable Alex Li of the Toronto Police Service said: “These are being treated as hate-motivated and our Hate Crime Unit is fully engaged…Due to the similarities in each incident, investigators are exploring whether they are linked.”
The schools involved were Central Technical High School, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Antisemitic graffiti was also reportedly found on the playground of Regal Road Junior Public School.
The reports of graffiti are the latest in what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.
On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.”
On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher.
On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
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Canada set to ban Holocaust denial
It has been reported that Canada plans to criminalise Holocaust denial in a bid to deal with increasing antisemitism.
The Canadian government is said to be debating a law that would make it illegal to either publicly deny that the Holocaust took place at all or to justify it or trivialise details about it, including the number of Jews killed. The law will not, however, apply to what people say in private conversations.
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.
Canada now follows a number of mainly European countries that have passed laws banning Holocaust denial including Austria in 1947 (amended 1992), Belgium in 1995, the Czech Republic in 2001, France in 1990, Germany in 1985, and Greece in 2014.
There is, however, no mention of the penalties to be faced by perpetrators of Holocaust denial, though one version of the bill proposes a two-year jail sentence.
Other countries have imposed harsh penalties on those who violated these laws, including well-known Holocaust deniers and revisionists like French presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen (fined three times between 1987 – 2016), French Holocaust revisionist Robert Faurisson (fined €7,500 and given three months’ probation), and Ernst Zündel, Horst Mahler, and David Irving, who were all handed lengthy jail terms by German courts.
The bill is justified as Canadian MPs and anti-hate groups have expressed their concerns about rising antisemitism in the country.
Vice-President of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Richard Marceau said: “Jewish Canadians comprise one per cent of the Canadian population yet are the target of 62 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes. We live in a time of rising antisemitism.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
University of Essex inexplicably finds no antisemitism in students’ “From the River to the Sea” chant
The University of Essex has inexplicably determined that protestors who chanted the “from the river to the sea” slogan as part of campus anti-Israel protests were not engaging in antisemitic conduct.
The slogan was chanted by activists opposed to a speaking engagement in October 2021 at the University’s Conservative Society by the former head of British armed forces in Afghanistan, Col. Richard Kemp.
Joe Wigoder, a third year politics student at the University of Essex, lodged an official complaint with the University about the chanting outside the event, but his complaint was rejected. University Registrar and Secretary Bryn Morris, on behalf of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, wrote in an e-mail to Mr Wigoder that “it was not found that antisemitic behaviour took place” during the protest, and that “no evidence was found that chants had been used to specifically deny the state of Israel…or express hatred of Jews.”
The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has previously said that the slogan “from the river to the sea” is antisemitic and, given its popularity with Hamas and its supporters, its use could be reported to the police.
Mr Wigoder said: “It is incredibly disappointing to read this disheartening news and see the University yet again abandoning their promises to Jewish students. Time after time, the university attempts to sweep antisemitism under the rug, and it leaves us feeling completely unsafe on campus. I have been chasing this complaint for months and this is an upsetting conclusion.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Ohio State University Professor alleged to have used “Jew down” slur avoids long-term disciplinary consequences
An investigation into the conduct of an Ohio State University professor who allegedly used an antisemitic slur in one of her classes has resulted in no long-term disciplinary consequences for the academic.
Jackie Buell, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences specialising in sports nutrition, was accused of using the phrase “Jew down” in an October 2021 class discussion about haggling over prices while making purchases in Mexico. The phrase alludes to an antisemitic stereotype of Jewish people as excessively frugal.
Though the University suspended Prof. Buell from teaching classes in the Spring 2022 semester and directed her to take anti-discrimination training for the next twelve months, the investigation found that she did not breach the University’s non-discrimination and harassment policy. Her conduct has instead been officially described as “inappropriate”.
The University’s Office of Institutional Equity reportedly found Prof. Buell’s behaviour “offensive, concerning and inappropriate,” but decided that her comments did not interfere with or deny any student’s ability to access educational facilities at the University.
Prof. Buell is expected to demonstrate a certain level of growth following her training before she is permitted to begin teaching again.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Lawyer fined after reportedly writing that Scottish town is like Auschwitz “but without the social problems”
It has been reported that a solicitor from Ayrshire has denied posting allegedly antisemitic comments on social media, but has been handed a fine by the Law Society of Scotland.
Criminal defence lawyer Neil McPherson, 64, is reported to have compared Auschwitz to Paisley, thirteen miles west of Glasgow. Mr McPherson is alleged to have written in a Facebook post that the concentration camp was like the Scottish town “but without the social problems.”
Mr McPherson is said to have claimed that the posts were written by someone else. The Law Society of Scotland’s professional conduct committee, however, found that it was “more likely than not” that the solicitor made the comparison, posted under another Facebook user’s photograph of a visit to Auschwitz.
Mr McPherson has been fined £2,000 and ordered to pay a further £100 to Arnon Nachmani, a Scottish-Israeli lawyer who was born in Paisley and who lost family in the Holocaust, who stumbled across the comments some months after they were posted.
Mr Nachmani said he would donate the money to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem.
Campaign Against Antisemitism continues its robust engagement with social media companies over the content that they enable to be published, and we continue to make representations to the Government in this connection.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.
Man charged with attempted murder following spree of antisemitic incidents in New Jersey
The Police Department in Lakewood, New Jersey, has released details of an allegedly antisemitic attack that took place on Friday 8th April.
Dion Marsh, 27, is accused of taking part in a series of incidents throughout Lakewood. All of Marsh’s alleged victims are said to be Orthodox Jews.
Mr Marsh reportedly assaulted a driver and stole his car before running over someone else, stabbing a third victim in the chest, and striking a fourth with the vehicle in nearby Jackson Township.
All four victims are reported to have been injured in the incident, the latter two critically. Mr Marsh has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and bias intimidation, as well as carjacking and weapons charges.
The ADL’s New York/New Jersey Regional Director is reported to have said: “More needs to be done to prevent violence against the Jewish community, and in particular visibly identifiable Jews in Ocean County and across our region. Jews should not be afraid to go about their business without living in fears that they will be targeted for violence.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: Lakewood Police Department
New York Police Department reveal 92% rise in antisemitic hate crime during March
New data published by the New York City Police Department shows that antisemitic hate crimes rose by 92% in March 2022 compared to a year ago.
23 antisemitic hate crimes were reported in New York in March 2022. In March 2021, the police recorded eleven such incidents.
These findings reflect those of previous months: February 2022 saw a 400% increase in antisemitic incidents compared to February 2021 (56 compared to eleven the year before), while January showed almost 300% additional antisemitic hate crimes year on year.
While the NYPD recorded increases in hate crimes aimed at Muslims, people based on their ethnic origin in general, and based on the victim’s sexual orientation, the number of incidents with Asian or Hispanic victims went down.
Taking all reported incidents into account, the data reveals that there were more antisemitic hate crimes than those experienced by any other group except Asian-Americans.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Union of Jewish Students of France condemns antisemitic graffiti at Paris Nanterre University
The Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) has condemned antisemitic messages discovered written in the bathroom of the law building at the Paris Nanterre University.
The graffiti includes a Star of David with “MEDIA” written on top, phrases such as “Hitler, you’re the best”, and other slogans that evoke the concept of Jewish control over the media.
“This antisemitism, unabashed, assumed, in front of thousands of students and in the total indifference, it is every day,” reported the UEJF president Samuel Lejoyeux to Le Figaro Étudiant. “It’s complicated to be a Jewish student…we are constantly brought back to the question of Israel, to the conspiracy that whites dominate everything, and that Jews are ‘super whites”.
“We condemn in the strongest terms and in an absolute manner”, responded Philippe Gervais-Lambony, president of the university “any antisemitic and racist act”. The university then reported that it was cleaning the graffiti and launching an investigation.
According to a survey commissioned by UEJF in 2019, 45% of Jewish and non-Jewish respondents have witnessed antisemitism at school.
In February, a report by France’s Jewish Community Security Service said that antisemitic incidents in France had skyrocketed by 75% in 2021.
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.
Robert Halfon MP and CAA refer NUS to Charity Commission for statutory inquiry
Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, has today written to the Charity Commission calling together with Campaign Against Antisemitism for a statutory inquiry into the National Union of Students (NUS).
In his letter, Mr Halfon wrote to “voice my dismay at the actions and behaviour of the National Union of Students and its trustees, in regards to their treatment of Jewish students and the Jewish community’s concerns regarding antisemitism. Together with Campaign Against Antisemitism…I politely request that the Commission launch a Section 46 inquiry, pursuant to the 2011 Charities Act into the NUS and look forward to receiving your response.”
Mr Halfon enclosed a dossier of evidence by Campaign Against Antisemitism detailing how NUS has failed Jewish students. He wrote that he is “particularly concerned about the enclosed dossier of antisemitic events that have taken place within the NUS over the past several years — and which come following decades of concerning trends — which was prepared by CAA.”
The full dossier on NUS, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, can be read below.
Mr Halfon made particular reference in his letter to the recent scandal involving the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, who was due to headline NUS’s centenary conference last month. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdrew from the event.
As the scandal erupted, Mr Halfon excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend a hearing held by his committee.
This scandal was immediately followed by the election of Shaima Dallali as NUS’s new President, despite her history of antisemitic tweets and other inflammatory social media posts. Prior to the election, she apologised for one such tweet.
As the dossier produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism observes, “Despite [its] ostensible and much-vaunted commitment to anti-racism, NUS has a long record of controversy in relation to Jewish students and antisemitism, dating back decades.
The dossier notes that antisemitism on campus has surged to record levels, with CST recording a 191% increase in antisemitic incidents on campus in 2021, and that Campaign Against Antisemitism’s latest Antisemitism Barometer found that an overwhelming 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
“NUS’s blind spot when it comes to inclusion of Jewish students and openness to their concerns is significant, giving rise not only to a failure of representation but also to a toleration of hostility to the needs of Jewish students within NUS and even instances of outright antisemitism. The result is tangible harm to Jewish students,” the dossier explains. “As an organisation, NUS is failing in its objective to represent and advocate for all students, and, as a charity, it is failing to act for the benefit of the public.”
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Shaima Dallali’s election as NUS President only a week after the Lowkey scandal is the last straw. It follows decades of similar indications that this union does not even aspire to represent Jewish students. At a time of surging racism against Jews on campus and almost universal concern in the Jewish community about antisemitism in universities, we are grateful to Robert Halfon for referring NUS to the Charity Commission for a statutory inquiry on the strength of our dossier of evidence. NUS must now answer for failing to represent Jewish students and failing to live up to its legal commitment to act for the public benefit.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
New York Jewish man has arson conviction vacated after 39 years due to jurors’ antisemitism
A Jewish man who was wrongfully convicted of arson in 1983 and has spent the last 39 years trying to clear his name has been vindicated.
Barry Jacobson’s lawyers, who were supported by the ADL and the Innocence Project, announced on Tuesday 5th April that a court ruled that the jury was biased, and that the case has been dismissed.
Mr Jacobson was sentenced to six months in prison and received a fine of $10,000 after being found guilty of setting a fire at his home in Richmond, Massachusetts in 1983, though only served one month. The conviction caused him to lose his real estate licenses in Massachusetts and New York, which proved to be detrimental to his job in the commercial real estate business.
Mr Jacobson stated that “for nearly 40 years I have been haunted by this wrongful conviction.”
He continued: “Time and again it has affected my career, my business, my family and my community. It has been beyond painful. It is an experience I would not wish on anyone.”
Bob Cordy, Mr Jacobson’s attorney, said that the prosecution and jury deliberations were both affected by antisemitism. The prosecution, Mr Cordy said, relied on a racist stereotype where they believed that Mr Jacobson set the fire for insurance money.
In a sworn statement from one juror, he referred to Mr Jacobson as “one of those New York Jews who think they can come up here and get away with anything.”
Mr Jacobson’s lawyers were aware of antisemitism on the jury months after the verdict, but despite mentioning it in their appeals, there was no vindication.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: ADL via The Times of Israel
Notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz found guilty of communications offence after action by CAA
The notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz has been found guilty of a communications offence after action by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The two-day trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court concerned a video of the scene in the classic Oliver Twist film when Fagin, a fictitious Jewish criminal (a character that has come under significant criticism over the past century for its antisemitic depiction), is explaining to his newest recruit how his legion of children followers pick pockets. Ms Chabloz uploaded the video and sings an accompanying song of her own about how Jews are greedy, “grift” for “shekels” and cheat on their taxes.
The video appeared to be either a bizarre fundraising effort for her mounting legal costs due to numerous charges she has faced, including several ongoing prosecutions in which Campaign Against Antisemitism has provided evidence, or an attempt at mockery of Campaign Against Antisemitism for pursuing her in the courts.
At court, Ms Chabloz tried to suggest that the video was part of a personal quarrel and that her racism is directed not at “Jews” but at “Zionists”. She expressed scepticism about the facts of the Holocaust on the stand, and replicated a racist Quennelle gesture, which she has performed in the past. She rather insightfully observed that “antisemitism is not a crime. If it was, the prisons would be full.”
Summing up, Judge Nina Tempia said that the defendant “was making up evidence” as she went along, and she did not accept Ms Chabloz’s claim that her song was about the controversial activist Tommy Robinson, describing that suggestion as “ludicrous”. Instead, Judge Tempia said, “I have not doubt” that the song related to Jews. She further noted that, given Ms Chabloz’s previous convictions, she “knew exactly what she was doing” and that she had a propensity to commit these types of offences.
The prosecution asked the court to take into account that the whole Jewish community was a victim in this crime. Sentencing is due to take place next week, and Ms Chabloz’s incomplete report of her previous sentences may be considered an aggravating factor.
Ms Chabloz is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier who has an extensive record of using social media to publicise her hatred for Jews and to convert others to her views about Jewish people. Following a private prosecution by Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was later continued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Ms Chabloz became the first person in Britain to be convicted over Holocaust denial in a precedent-setting case.
Ms Chabloz is fixated on the idea that the Holocaust did not occur, and that it was fabricated by Jews and their supporters as a vehicle for fraudulently extorting money in the form of reparations. This forms the basis for her second obsession, that Jews are liars and thieves who are working to undermine Western society. Ms Chabloz is also connected to far-right movements, at whose meetings she gives speeches and performs her songs, in the UK and North America. She is currently banned from entering France, where Holocaust denial is illegal.
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We welcome this verdict against Alison Chabloz, who has dedicated herself to spreading her hateful views about Jews. As a repeat offender, she must face a sentence with real teeth in order to bring an end to her rampage of anti-Jewish racism which has continued relentlessly for far too long, paused only by stints in prison that our effortsbrought about.”
Ms Chabloz was originally facing a charge of incitement to racial hatred under the Public Order Act, but this was reduced to an offence under s.127 of the Communications Act.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Waves of protest after Prime Minister of Peru praises Hitler
The Prime Minister of Peru has claimed that remarks appearing to praise Hitler were misunderstood and has offered to apologise in person to the Israeli ambassador.
Anibal Torres reportedly praised the Nazi leader for turning Germany into the “first economic power in the world”, a comment met with protest by both the Israeli and German embassies.
The 79-year-old Prime Minister made the remark in Huancayo, an Andean town at the centre of ongoing protests over the economic situation in the country. Mr Torres praised Hitler’s and Mussolini’s infrastructure policies, saying: “On one occasion Hitler visited the north of Italy, and Mussolini shows him a highway built from Milan to Brescia, Hitler saw this and went to his country and filled it with highways, airports and turned Germany into the first economic power in the world. We have to make an effort, make sacrifices to improve our roads.”
The Israeli Embassy said that “Regimes of death and terror cannot be a sign of progress,” adding: “Hitler was responsible for the death of six million Jews, to praise him is an offense to the victims of that world tragedy.”
The German embassy said: “Adolf Hitler was a fascist and genocidal dictator, in whose name the worst war of all time was carried out from Germany and the genocide of six million Jews was committed. Against this backdrop, Hitler is not the right reference as an example of any kind.”
A Peruvian legislator who had lived in Germany for two decades demanded that Mr Torres apologise to the German people, while Peru’s Jewish Association observed that this was not the first time that politicians in the country had comments of this sort, insisting that “the seriousness of these expressions do not merit explanations or half apologies.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Sir Keir Starmer apologises again for Corbyn years following numerous expulsions and suspensions of Labour officeholders at the local level
Sir Keir Starmer has apologised again for how Jewish members of the Labour Party and the community more generally were treated under his antisemitic predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
In his first interview with a Jewish newspaper since his election as Labour leader exactly two years ago, Sir Keir did not apologise for his own role backing Mr Corbyn. Sir Keir also declined to tell the JC whether he believed that Mr Corbyn is antisemitic.
The interview came following numerous expulsions and suspensions of Labour officeholders at the local level.
In Plymouth, Cllr Chaz Singh, the Chair of the Council’s Equalities Working Group, has come under fire for allegedly retweeting a post by a local firm of beekeepers directed at the local ward councillors, which said: “You’re lucky, if you get to see yours! We have three, and they’re as much use as Anne Frank’s drum kit!” The tweet was in reference to a local dispute about sewage. Cllr Singh was criticised by his colleagues for apparently using social media to amplify an offensive analogy to a victim of the Holocaust, and in particular for doing so given his position at the Council and purported status as a champion of diversity.
In Dudley, Cllr Zafar Islam was reportedly suspended from Labour after months of inaction by the Party following a complaint.
The complaint by Labour Against Antisemitism, submitted in September 2021, detailed Cllr Islam’s social media activity, where he claims a “witch-hunt” has taken place against Labour politicians critical of Israel, among other inflammatory remarks.
In London, the former Chair of the Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party, Pete Firmin, has reportedly been automatically expelled from Labour over alleged support for factions that have been proscribed by the Party.
In Wales, a former leader of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, has been revealed not to have left Labour after 46 years of his own accord, but rather because he was expelled following disciplinary action. Cllr Hedley McCarthy had reportedly been accused of ‘liking’ antisemitic posts on social media, which he denied, saying that he has “a proven track record of opposing racism of all forms, including antisemitism.”
However, a Labour Party spokesman reportedly said: “Hedley McCarthy was expelled from the Labour Party in January 2022 following the conclusion of an internal disciplinary investigation into antisemitic social media activity. It is therefore incorrect for Hedley McCarthy to claim that he resigned from membership of the Labour Party.”
The local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) reportedly claimed that it had not been aware of the expulsion, relying instead on Cllr McCarthy’s claim that he had left of his own accord. Cllr McCarthy said in response: “I want to apologise to my former colleagues in the Labour group and the CLP for not informing them of the suspension or the eviction letter.” He added that he had been concerned about the confidentiality of the disciplinary process, apparently having been warned that any breach could result in further disciplinary action. “In any case, I left the group in November and didn’t see that the letter was relevant to them by then,” he said, adding: “I am sorry now that I didn’t speak out about these ridiculous accusations.”
The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
Students’ unions at Lancaster and Durham courageously act to sustain pressure on NUS
Students’ unions at Lancaster University and Durham University have taken action to sustain pressure on the National Union of Students (NUS) after a series of scandals rocked the national student body.
In an open letter to the NUS leadership this week, the Lancaster University Students’ Union said that it was “deeply disappointed and hurt by the way the Jewish community have been engaged with and treated this year,” making specific reference to the recent scandal involving the inflammatory rapper and activity Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey.
The letter went on to say that “Our Jewish students have legitimate issues and questions about decisions made by the NUS leadership, which we feel need to be addressed,” in regard to the Lowkey affair, in which the controversial figure was invited to headline the NUS’s centenary conference and the concerns of Jewish students’ were dismissed before media pressure brought about Mr Dennis’ withdrawal from the event.
The letter further noted that “NUS has an uncomfortable history with antisemitism,” and that it is “disconcerting” that individuals who have in the past been “embroiled in allegations of antisemitism” and were disqualified from office “ever felt welcome at all.”
Observing that “Antisemitism is a major issue within the student movement” and that NUS “keep[s] failing the Jewish community,” the letter lamented that “Too many Jewish activists have been pushed out of the student movement, from fear, anxiety, hostility, an environment that encourages antisemitic dialogue, and blatant antisemitic comments and/or actions.”
“The Jewish community,” the letter continued, “has been let down time and time again,” and its authors “look forward to seeing a clear communication of the changes you will make,” as “the Lancaster University Students’ Union Full Time Officer team will not sit back and watch the community go through endless trauma caused by NUS.”
Meanwhile, at Durham University, the Students’ Union put out a statement at the end of March affirming that “Jewish students have legitimate questions about decisions made by NUS in planning their National Conference, and the poor response that came when those decisions were challenged. There has been, unambiguously, a failure to recognise the risk and the reality of antisemitism.”
The statement insisted that “We can only bring about the changes we want to education and society if we do it collectively, through NUS. We’re stronger together. But when some students are excluded from NUS, we are all made weaker.” It concluded by saying that “When we’re at NUS Conference this week, we’ll insist that the NUS leadership recognise the problems they’ve created. We trust in their ability to reflect, and to make changes in partnership with Jewish students and their representatives. We’ll hold them accountable for making our national student movement welcoming for Jewish students.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
“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.
Conservative councillor who claimed America, Israel and Saudi Arabia are a “trilogy of Zionists” and that “Zionism is one of the worst afflictions on the world” resigns from Thomas Deacon Education Trust
A Conservative councillor who was suspended from the Party last year over social media posts, before being permitted to re-join, has resigned from the Thomas Deacon Education Trust.
The Trust has confirmed to Campaign Against Antisemitism that Ishfaq Hussain was appointed a trustee of the Thomas Deacon Education Trust on 20th September 2021 and that he subsequently stepped down as a trustee on 3rd March 2022. The reasons for his resignation are not spelled out.
Cllr Hussain had apologised for sharing antisemitic tropes on Facebook. In one Facebook post, he accused the “Saudi regime” of being “long standing puppets of America and Israel,” and went on to label them “a trilogy of zionists.” He then remarked that “Islam doesn’t breed terrorists the zionist trilogy do.” Mr Hussain also shared a video that was captioned: “The Jews in Israel are not true Jews.”
Cllr Hussain had also captioned his profile picture: “This person does not recognise the State of Israel.” He also reportedly claimed that “Zionism is one of the worst afflictions on the world” and made other inflammatory comments about “Zionists”.
In his apology, Mr Hussain said: “I recognise Israel’s right to exist and wholeheartedly support a two-state solution. I deeply regret that my frustration at events in Israel and Palestine led me to suggest otherwise. Some of my previous language was ill-judged and offensive. It also echoed antisemitic tropes in ways I had not fully understood. However strongly we feel, we should never let our emotions get the better of us. By doing so, I allowed myself to become part of the problem. I am truly sorry.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
Nicola Sturgeon reiterates her Government’s commitment to International Definition of Antisemitism while SNP candidate comes under fire for allegedly breaching it
Nicola Sturgeon has reiterated her Government’s commitment to the International Definition of Antisemitism, even as one of her Party’s candidates in upcoming local elections has been accused of breaching it.
Responding to a comment that her Government included two ministers from the Scottish Greens (the Scottish branch of the Green Party), which was described as having “out-Corbyned Corbyn”, the First Minister and SNP leader told the assembly of 250 Scottish Jews: “I am not able to speak for another political party. But I do speak for and am accountable for every minister in my Government. My Government is a signatory to the IHRA [International] Definition of Antisemitism and all ministers have to be clear that they sign up to that and accept that — and that includes the two Green ministers. There is no tolerance in my government for antisemitism or discrimination, prejudice, racism of any kind. I want to assure you of that very, very clearly.”
Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism helped to expose the Scottish Greens’ controversial record in relation to antisemitism.
Ms Sturgeon also praised Jewish students, whom she had met recently, for their frankness in discussing the discrimination that they had faced on campus. “I want to make this point very forcibly,” she said, “So long as anyone feels discriminated against, we as a Government have more work to do.”
The First Minister also spoke about Holocaust education, saying: “As generations pass, it is vital that future generations understand what happened. However, understanding the Holocaust is not the same as understanding what it’s like for Jewish communities in countries across the world today.”
On the subject of antisemitism in politics, Ms Sturgeon conceded that the SNP had faced problems. Indeed, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s latest Antisemitism Barometer has shown that 39% of British Jews believe that the SNP is too tolerant of antisemitism.
As it happened, at around the same time, her Party was being urged to fire an SNP candidate in the upcoming local elections after it emerged that he had allegedly tweeted that it was “sickening that Israeli Jews bring up their kids to hate and kill,” using a photo of an American-Jewish family.
The picture in the seven-year-old post is of Bill Bernstein, a kippah-wearing former gun shop owner from Nashville, posing with his daughter Gertrude, both with guns.
Wullie Graham, who is standing in Pollok ward in south Glasgow, was accused by political rivals of having published an antisemitic post and his Party was called on to remove him as a candidate.
In a statement, the SNP said: “Mr Graham has apologised for a post in 2015 that he readily admits was stupid and indefensible. He has taken steps to reach out to the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities as he seeks to make amends and learn from this.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
Teenagers threaten Jewish boys with a sword and crowbar in New York
Three teenagers armed with a sword, a crowbar and a knife allegedly threatened a group of Jewish boys on New York’s Upper West Side.
The teenagers, ranging in ages from twelve to sixteen, allegedly threatened the group of six Jewish boys on the evening of Saturday 2nd April. The teenagers reportedly said that they wanted to “get them” because they were Jewish and proceeded to follow the boys home before running away.
Gale Brewer, the NYC Council Member who represents the district, condemned the incident as a “horrible antisemitic attack” on a Facebook post.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Jewish woman wearing Ukrainian pin badge confronted with Nazi salute on the London Underground
It has been reported that a man performed a Nazi salute at a Jewish woman on the London Underground when he saw that she was wearing a Ukrainian pin-badge.
Charlotte Saloman, 37, was travelling between Paddington and Baker Street on 5th April when the incident took place. Ms Saloman was first alerted to the potential danger when she noticed a man whom she believes to have been in his early 30s boarding the train and who soon began staring at her and her badge.
Ms Salomon said: “He sat opposite me and stared at my pin. Then he stood up, did a halfway-up arm salute, and moved further down the carriage. At first, I was puzzled, then I realised what the gesture was. I made eye contact with another passenger. They looked confused as well.”
Ms Salomon, Deputy Chair of the Saffron Walden Conservatives Association, was on her way to the House of Lords to take part in an event about women fighting antisemitism.
After sharing her account of the incident on Twitter, Ms Salomon received messages of support, but others contained offensive sentiments, including one that read “Heil Hitler” followed by a swastika.
It has been reported that the police are now investigating this incident.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Far-right ‘Our Homeland’ Party becomes third-largest party in Hungarian Parliament
A far-right political party has won seven seats in Hungary’s general election.
Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland) won 6.7% of the vote in the election, which means that it is now not only in Parliament for the first time, but it has also become Hungary’s third-largest party.
Our Homeland was founded in 2018 after a split with the nationalist Jobbik party, which first came to Europe-wide attention in the 2009 European Parliament elections. The President of the European Jewish Congress has described Jobbik as an “unashamedly neo-Nazi party” and, elsewhere, the Party has been referred to as an “antisemitic organisation”. Jobbik’s use of well-known antisemitic canards about Jewish financial control has been called “overt antisemitism” and antisemitic rhetoric has even been described as Jobbik’s “trademark”.
The Party has, however, spent the last seven years recasting itself as a moderate conservative party. Our Homeland was formed by former Jobbik members unhappy with this rebranding exercise.
Though Rabbi Shlomó Köves, Chief Rabbi of the Orthodox EMIH-Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities, has described Hungary as one of the safest places for Jews to live in Europe, the emergence of Our Homeland as an electoral force has drawn concern from Hungary’s 100,000-strong Jewish community.
However, Rabbi Köves also made a point of saying that in the past, both Jobbik and Our Homeland “openly had racism and antisemitism on their agenda.”
“Both at this point are not openly making antisemitic statements, but they’re very dangerous. And the real problem that I see is that since the left joined Jobbik [to oppose Fidesz], if in the future anyone else in the government would want to cooperate with Mi Hazank — not that it seems necessary for any reason — but it would be very hard to argue why they shouldn’t do it.
“Throughout this whole [opposition building] process there’s been a legitimisation of these extreme-right neo-Nazi groups.”
Our Homeland’s criticisms of globalisation have been described as being “spiced up” with antisemitic conspiracy theories, including references to a “global elite”, the Jewish Hungarian financier George Soros, and the Rothschild banking dynasty.
Hungary’s controversial long-time Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and his national-conservative Fidesz Party, won Sunday’s election, increasing its vote by about twenty points and gaining two parliamentary seats. This marks Mr Orbán’s fourth successive term as Prime Minister, his fifth in total.
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.
Family of French Jewish man killed by tram says antisemitism played a role in his death
The family of a French Jewish man who was fatally wounded after being hit by a tram has said that antisemitism may have played a role in the incident.
While Mr Jeremy Cohen’s death in February was initially treated as a traffic accident, new video footage released by the family appears to show a gang of men attacking Mr Cohen, 31, prompting him to flee for safety without noticing the tram.
Mr Cohen is believed to have been wearing his kippah, or skullcap, during the attack, and the family have now called upon the police to reopen the investigation into his death as they feel his visible Jewish identity played a role in his attackers’ motivation.
It was reportedly only when the family started asking questions, handing out fliers in post boxes throughout the neighbourhood and urging witnesses to come forward, that someone eventually came forward with the crucial video footage that showed that the victim was being attacked moments before his death.
The victim’s father, Gerald Cohen, said: “Why is the family the one who needs to bring the evidence to police investigators? If we hadn’t done that we wouldn’t have known the truth. We want justice for our son Jeremy.”
The footage of Mr Cohen was released to the public this past Monday, which was also the anniversary of the murder of Sarah Halimi, a 74-year-old Jewish woman living in Paris who was murdered in 2017 by her twenty-seven-year-old Muslim neighbour, Kobili Traoré. Mr Traoré tortured Ms Halimi before throwing her out of a window, yelling “Allah Akbar,” “I killed the shaitan,” which is an Arabic word for ‘devil’ or ‘demon’, along with antisemitic vitriol.
In a disgraceful decision last year, France’s Court of Cassation ruled that Ms Halimi’s killer could not stand trial due to being high on cannabis whilst committing the murder.
Last year, Campaign Against Antisemitism held a rally outside of the French Embassy in solidarity with French Jews opposing the Court of Cassation’s unjust ruling, joining simultaneous rallies around the world.
The speeches can be watched in full on our YouTube channel.
A few months later, it was announced that a French Parliamentary commission of inquiry would be established in order to investigate the murder of Sarah Halimi. However, in January of this year, the inquiry was closed. The results of the 67,000 word report found that police had arrived on the scene before Ms Halimi was killed but waited outside of her apartment during the entire incident, apparently unable to hear her screams. The report shockingly concluded that the officers, judges and psychiatrists involved in the case had done everything by the book.
This led to a disagreement between those on the committee itself, with the report only being passed on a seven to five vote, with Meyer Habib, the French Parliamentarian who formed the commission, accusing police and fellow lawmakers of lying and engaging in a cover-up.
In February, a report by France’s Jewish Community Security Service said that antisemitic incidents in France had skyrocketed by 75% in 2021.
Last year, the murderer of French Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll was sentenced to life in prison.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Far-right Austrian rapper sentenced to ten years in jail for glorifying Nazi ideology
A neo-Nazi activist and rapper from Austria has been handed a ten-year jail sentence by a Vienna court.
The 37-year-old artist, who recorded music under the name ‘Mr Bond’, was found guilty of glorifying Nazi ideology. This is a crime in Austria under the country’s 1947 Verbotsgesetz (Prohibition Act), which not only banned the far-right paramilitary organisations that flourished even after the defeat of the Nazi regime, but made it illegal to deny, condone or try to justify the Holocaust.
Mr Bond’s music was based on the appropriation of existing rap songs, to which he gave new lyrics with Nazi and antisemitic themes. One such song was used by the assailant of the October 2019 attack outside a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle, in which two people died. The murderer, Stephan Balliet, filmed his crime and put it on the internet, soundtracked by Mr Bond’s song.
Mr Bond was described as “particularly dangerous” by the court. In the same trial, his brother was sentenced to four years in prison for running an antisemitic website.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Ukrainian Jewish community leader stabbed in apparent antisemitic attack
It has been reported that the director of the Jewish community in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk has been stabbed by an attacker shouting antisemitic statements.
Igor Perelman was reportedly stabbed three times while out for a walk in the centre of the city.
Vitaliy Kamozin, Chief Operating Officer of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, stated that Mr Perelman’s wounds have been treated and he is recovering from the attack. Mr Kamozin said: “There were antisemitic statements, but the motive is not yet clear.” The incident is apparently being examined by the police.
The Russian war on Ukraine has elicited a plethora of Nazi comparisons and is witnessing actual neo-Nazi soldiers on the battlefield.
President Putin of Russia justified his war on Ukraine in part by claiming that he needed to “denazify” the country, a stance that was reinforced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and apparently also adopted by China. Mr Lavrov also compared the United States to Hitler, stating: “Napoleon and Hitler, they had the objective to have the whole of Europe under their control…Now Americans have got Europe under their control. And we see the situation has really demonstrated what role the EU is playing in the context of the global situation. They are just fulfilling a role. So we see, like in Hollywood, there is absolute evil and absolute good and this is unfortunate.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Streets once named after prominent antisemites in Bayreuth given new names
Councillors in the northern Bavarian town of Bayreuth have voted to give new names to two streets once dedicated to noted antisemites.
One was named after the bishop, Hans Meiser, the first Landesbischof (Regional Bishop) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria from 1933 to 1955. Bishop Meisner, boasting a huge following among Bavarian Protestants, was said to have had Nazi ties and once wrote that there was something “corrosive, caustic, dissolving about the Jewish mind”. It has been renamed Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Straße in honour of the anti-Nazi theologian.
Hans-von-Wolzogen-Straße, named after the friend and biographer of the antisemitic composer Richard Wagner, is now to be called Friedelind-Wagner-Straße. Friedelind Wagner, the composer’s granddaughter, escaped Nazi Germany to the United States in 1941 after being implicated in anti-Nazi propaganda. Baron von Wolzogen, believed to have shared the composer’s antisemitic views, was the editor of the publication Bayreuther Blätter, which published antisemitic material, from 1878-1938.
Richard Wagner lived in Bayreuth from 1873 until his death in 1883. The Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Opera House) was constructed especially for the purpose of showing Wagner’s operas. His villa, Wahnfriend, was converted into a museum dedicated to his life and work after the Second World War.
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.
After pressure, YouTube finally removes channel that allegedly inspired Texas hostage-taker as platform accused of ignoring warnings by moderator
YouTube has bowed to pressure and finally removed a channel from its platform that allegedly inspired the Texas hostage-taker, as the platform is accused by a moderator of ignoring his warnings.
After weeks of pressure, including in particular from the JC, the social media network has removed the channels belonging to Israr Ahmed and Wagdy Ghoniem, which boasted 3.5 million subscribers between them.
Malik Faisal Akram, the Briton who took four hostages at the Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville before being shot dead by the FBI, was reportedly obsessed with two hardline Pakistani clerics popular on YouTube, one of whom was Israr Ahmed. Mr Ahmed had 2.7 million subscribers on the social media network and was particularly popular with Mr Akram, according to the JC. On his videos, he reportedly called Jews “the ultimate source of evil [and] the biggest agents of Satan”, adding that they “control the banking system of the world.” In another video, entitled “History of the Jews”, Dr Ahmed claimed that Jews had been acting against humanity for over 2,000 years. “The name of Jews became an expletive,” he said. “They became akin to pigs.”
Testimony from moderator-turned-whistleblower and counter-terrorism expert, Khaled Hassan, reportedly prompted the company to act. Mr Hassan, who worked for Crisp, a content moderation firm contracted to YouTube, repeatedly raised the issue of antisemitism on YouTube, according to the JC. This included flagging Mr Ahmed’s channel and that of the Egyptian Jihadist and Muslim Brotherhood leader Wagdy Ghoniem, who is banned in the UK.
Mr Hassan’s report to YouTube warned that Mr Ahmed’s videos “pose[d] a serious risk of inciting hatred against Jews [and] a realistic possibility of leading to real-world violence” and was submitted in October last year, but was reportedly ignored. In January, Mr Akram targeted the Colleyville synagogue after watching Mr Ahmed’s videos, according to his friends and acquaintances.
YouTube reportedly said that, “upon review, we removed the channels belonging…to Israr Ahmad for violating our hate speech policies, and a further eleven videos have been removed as either a result of this circumvention or for violating our Violent Extremism and hate speech policies.”
Mr Ghoniem’s channel had been taken down “for circumvention of our terms of service,” according to the technology company. This came after Mr Hassan’s report had pointed out that he “has been on the list of extremists banned from entering the UK for inciting terrorism since 2009,” has been wanted on terrorism charges in America since 2004, and an Egyptian court had convicted him for leading a terrorist cell in 2014.
Mr Hassan’s report recounted how Mr Ghoneim had falsely claimed that Egypt’s President “is secretly a Jewish person working on advancing the interests of Israel while causing harm to Egypt’s economy and national security”. Mr Hassan claimed that the failure to remove Mr Ghoneim’s videos amounted to “promoting radical ideologies and enabling radical/terrorist groups to recruit members into their ranks.”
Although YouTube’s publicly-stated policy is that all “hate speech” that promotes “violence or hatred against individuals or groups” based on race or religion “is not allowed” and will be “removed,” Mr Hassan told that JC that he believed this policy to be a “sham”.
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.
Justice Minister Lord Wolfson defends the International Definition of Antisemitism, saying that it’s “Calumny to say that the fight against antisemitism shuts down free speech”
Justice Minister Lord Wolfson has defended the International Definition of Antisemitism against claims that it shuts down free speech.
Speaking at a conference held at the Tottenham Hotspur Football Stadium, Lord Wolfson said that there is no conflict between the British Government’s embrace of the Definition and its commitment to freedom of speech, maintaining that “It’s calumny to say that the fight against antisemitism in some way shuts down free speech, it simply doesn’t.”
Lord Wolfson said that the Definition had no implications for freedom of speech, making a clear distinction between free speech and hate speech. He said that “Antisemitism is hate speech, and all democracies have drawn a line between free speech and hate speech. There are things you cannot say because they are defamatory, and there are things you cannot say because they are racist.”
The Under-Secretary for Justice even said that he disapproves of the word “antisemitism”, preferring “anti-Jewish racism”. There are, he said, some people who fail to see that antisemitism is a problem, despite their vocal commitment to anti-racism in all its forms.
He also explained that those who have attempted to claim that the Definition prevents criticism of Israel are wrong because there is a difference between criticising the policies enacted by the Israeli government and applying a double standard to Israel, singling it out for criticism in a way that would not be done to another country.
In July 2017, Campaign Against Antisemitism published an opinion of expert counsel on the adoption of the Definition. David Wolfson QC (now Lord Wolfson) and Jeremy Brier, who acted pro bono, drew up the nine-page opinion. The opinion includes a detailed assessment of the definition itself, considers the application of the Definition in difficult cases, and contains useful advice for politicians and public bodies, such as universities, which are considering using the Definition.
The opinion states that: “The Definition is a clear, meaningful and workable definition. The Definition is an important development in terms of identifying and preventing antisemitism, in particular in its modern and non-traditional forms, which often reach beyond simple expressions of hatred for Jews and instead refer to Jewish people and Jewish associations in highly derogatory, veiled terms (e.g. ‘Zio’ or ‘Rothschilds’). Public bodies in the United Kingdom are not ‘at risk’ in using this Definition. Indeed, this Definition should be used by public bodies on the basis that it will ensure that the identification of antisemitism is clear, fair and accurate. Criticism of Israel, even in robust terms, cannot be regarded as antisemitic per se and such criticism is not captured by the Definition. However, criticisms of Israel in terms which are channels of expression for hatred towards Jewish people (such as by particular invocations of the Holocaust or Nazism) will in all likelihood be antisemitic.”
The full opinion can be accessed here.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has also produced a primer on the relationship between the International Definition of Antisemitism and freedom of speech.
Jewish community is “top target for hate crimes” says security organisation after surge in bomb threats
An “alarming number” of recent bomb threats directed at Jewish community centres and synagogues in one month across the United States was a sharp reminder that “the Jewish community remains a top target for hate crimes in the United States.”
The warning came from the Secure Community Network (SCN), a Jewish communal security organisation, which noted in a press release issued in late March that since the beginning of the month there had been eighteen reported bomb threats directed at Jewish community centres (JCCs) and synagogues in nine states.
SCN said that it was “actively working with community leaders and law enforcement agencies” over the “recent wave of bomb threats against Jewish facilities nationwide.”
FBI officials have stated that investigations into the threats were active and remained a high priority.
The SCN comments came as the New York Jewish Week reported that the Staten Island JCC had briefly evacuated its premises following a bomb threat, while the JCC of Indianapolis also revealed that it had recently received a bomb threat.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
“Even though you’re a Jew, you still have to respect us”: University of Connecticut student subjected to antisemitic abuse
The University of Connecticut has been forced to deal with an incident in which a Jewish student received antisemitic abuse for removing anti-Zionist material that she found in the University library.
Natalie Shclover discovered a series of illustrations of the map of Israel contrasted with the image of a strangled child and a photograph of University President Radenka Maric placed on the walls and strewn on the floor of the Homer Babbidge Library at the University’s Storrs campus.
The flyers were reportedly produced as part of ongoing criticism of Ms Maric for taking a trip to Israel to support Connecticut’s collaboration with higher education institutions there. Soon after the trip was announced, the University’s social media channels were overwhelmed with comments calling Israelis “greedy” and calls for “another Intifada”.
When Ms Shclover and her boyfriend Zacharia El-Tayyeb learned that, because the flyers were on the ground, they are legally thought of as “public property”, the couple went back to the library to dispose of them. This led to an altercation with four other students.
One of the students filmed the exchange on her cellphone and is reported to have said “Even though you’re a Jew, you still have to respect us.” It is alleged that the other students called her a “f***ing b****”, a “f***ing Zionist”, and a “white supremacist”.
Both Ms Shclover and Mr El-Tayyeb were harrassed on the University’s Yik Yak feed – a social media platform that allows users to post messages anonymously to anyone within a five mile radius – and Ms Shclover was dismissed from The Chordials, a student a capella society of which she was President.
Radenka Maric condemned the antisemitic remarks and wrote a message to the University community contextualising the incident in terms of “the combustible combination of religion, cultural identity, politics, history, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”
Ms Shclover said: “I think it fell painfully short of addressing the harassment that Zach and I endured, and calling it the ‘library incident’ is very arbitrary. We’ve had emails and communications from administrative bodies at UConn condemning acts of racism, Islamophobia, and even acts of antisemitism in years past, and I don’t understand why an issue surrounding Israel or Palestine would be treated any differently.
“I know that this is a greater issue, one that the Jews and Zionist on this campus are afraid to talk about because they fear what happened to me might happen to them, and I don’t blame them. UConn is not going to thrive if every Jewish student on this campus feels the way they do now, which is unsafe, unprotected, and unheard. UConn will not thrive as a space that is inclusive for everyone but the 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.
Borussia Dortmund football club take a stand against antisemitism in football
German football club Borussia Dortmund has hosted a conference aimed at tackling antisemitism in world football.
The club organised the event in collaboration with the German Football League, the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the World Jewish Congress.
Problems with the far-right loom large in Borussia Dortmund’s history. Though it does not distinguish the club from many other German organisations at the time, the club’s chairman in the 1930s was a member of the Nazi Party. During the 1980s, the club’s fanbase included the Borussenfront, a far-right faction who would regularly target Dortmund’s Turkish population and sing songs about sending fans of arch-rivals Schalke to Auschwitz.
During a 2013 Champions League match with Ukraine’s Shaktar Donetsk, a group of far-right Dortmund fans launched themselves at fan representative Jens Volke and Thilo Danielsmeyer, the leader of the Dortmund Fan Project, a group founded in 1988 to combat xenophobia and racism and promote tolerance and inclusion. Mr Volke was struck in the face when he confronted three neo-Nazis chanting far-right slogans. Mr Danielsmeyer was followed into a toilet and then beaten.
For some time, Borussia Dortmund appeared reluctant to recognise the problem of far-right activism and antisemitism among a minority of its fans.
Recently, however, the club has made strenuous efforts to challenge this culture, and reach out to the Jewish community. The club’s Head of Corporate Responsibility, Daniel Lörcher, said that making “clear statements against antisemitism” had a huge impact on the city’s Jews, who now feel that their home town is “against antisemitism and is open for Jewish people.”
Tottenham Hotspur also hosted a conference this week that includes tackling antisemitism on its agenda, after the event was moved from Chelsea Football Club in light of recent 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.
New Zealand survey reveals majority of public believe at least one antisemitic statement and widespread ignorance about the Holocaust
A new survey has revealed a “concerning” level of antisemitism among New Zealanders.
The Antisemitism Survey of New Zealand, conducted online by Curia Research and published by the New Zealand Jewish Council, asked more than 1,000 citizens whether or not they agreed with eighteen statements deemed to be antisemitic. 63 percent of those asked agreed with at least one statement while six percent agreed with nine or more statements.
The survey charted four broad trends: the New Zealand public’s knowledge about the Holocaust; reception of “classical” antisemitic statements relating to Jewish power, money, and loyalty; “anti-Israel” antisemitism, such as comparisons between the policies of the Israeli Government and those of the Nazis; and what the report characterised as miscellaneous antisemitism, comprising statements about how societies should treat “Zionists”, the relationship between Jews and “white privilege” and Jewish indigeneity to Israel.
The survey found that 21 percent of people believed two or more “classical” antisemitic statements, such as “Jews have too much power in international financial markets”, while six percent held a staggering nine or more antisemitic views.
Seven percent agreed with the assertion that Israel does not have the right to exist as a majority Jewish state. Questions regarding the Holocaust revealed that only 42 percent correctly identified that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, but that seventeen percent confessed to knowing “virtually nothing” about it, while six percent thought that the Jews brought the Holocaust on themselves.
Deborah Hart, Board Chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, said: “Misinformation about the Holocaust – or Holocaust distortion – is a form of antisemitism. It minimises the suffering of a great number of Jewish families and the murder of their loved ones.”
Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: Sussex Friends of Israel
Further concerns raised after revelation that newly-elected NUS President reportedly praised cleric who called for Jews to be killed
Further concerns have been raised after more troubling tweets from the newly-elected President of the National Union of Students (NUS), Shaima Dallali, have surfaced.
This most recent batch of tweets has come to light mere days after we reported that Ms Dallali was forced to apologise when, in 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, the then-hopeful NUS candidate tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.”
Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.
Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”
Shortly after her apology, it came to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter reportedly included other inflammatory messages as well, including one from 2018 in which she said: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.
Other alleged tweets expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party. On 17th November 2020, Ms Dalalli wrote a response to Mr Corbyn’s readmission to the Labour Party, saying that “He should never have been suspended in the first place.” A few months later, on 5th January 2021, Ms Hallami tweeted that “Jeremy Corbyn was too good for this godforsaken country.” At present, these tweets have not yet been deleted, though it has been reported that several others have.
However, a new set of historic tweets from Ms Dallali has now come to light, one of which includes the antisemitic “From the river to the sea” chant. The chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a State of Palestine — and is thus an attempt to deny Jews, uniquely, the right to self-determination, which is a breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Additionally, Ms Dallali reportedly referred to a preacher who condemned actions taken by Hamas as a “dirty Zionist” and has also raised money for the controversial activist group CAGE which, while it does not advocate violence, has previously been criticised for promoting problematic or extreme views, which they deny.
Ms Dallali also allegedly said that the cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has been described as an “Islamist theologian”, was the “moral compass for the Muslim community at large”. In January 2009, Mr al-Qaradawi said on Al-Jazeera TV that he would “shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews.” In a sermon that took place in that same month, he again spoke of Jewish people and called upon God to “kill them, down to the very last one.”
In a 2010 interview on BBC Arabic, Mr Yusuf al-Qaradawi reportedly said: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.”
Replying to UJS’s tweet about the “bridges broken” over the past few weeks in regard to NUS’ booking of the controversial rapper Lowkey, Ms Dallali said that her hands “are outstretched to all students and staff that work in our movement, including Jewish students, and would love to arrange a meeting once I’m in office,” though in the past, she has lashed out at UJS over Twitter, accusing them of having “a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists.” In that same tweet, she added: “You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Neo-Nazi gang members who shared antisemitic material convicted of terror and firearm offences
It has been reported that four members of a neo-Nazi gang who shared antisemitic material with each other via the social media platform Telegram have been convicted under anti-terrorism and firearms legislation.
Concerns have previously been raised over the alleged increase in neo-Nazi content on Telegram. Last year, the far-right group Patriotic Alternative was found to have created neo-Nazi channels dedicated to sharing vile messages, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and images glorifying Hitler.
Samuel Whibley, 29, Daniel Wright, 29, Liam Hall, 31, and Mr Hall’s girlfriend Stacey Salmon, 29, were convicted of fifteen offences, including counts relating to the encouragement of terrorism and the publication and dissemination of materials related to it, as well as firearms offences.
The jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard that all four defendants shared antisemitic videos, memes, and images, including material celebrating Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Ms Hall confessed to finding material online in which Jews were alleged to control the media and banks, as well as to watching videos made by neo-Nazis in an attempt to see “both sides of the argument” about Hitler.
The court heard that the group communicated with each other using a public Telegram channel set up by Mr Whibley under the name Oaken Hearth. This was, jurors heard, used as “a gathering place for British white nationalists.” Mr Whibley then audited prospective members, who had to prove they were white by taking a selfie before answering questions about their involvement in neo-Nazi groups.
Mr White joined the chat using the name “Gott Mit Uns”, words found on the belts of Nazi soldiers during the Second World War.
The group also shared racist material aimed at Black people, while Mr Whibley reportedly praised Christchurch mosque shooter Brenton Tarrant, Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik, and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Mr Justice Spencer will sentence all four defendants at a later date.
In October, a teenage neo-Nazi was been jailed for eleven years after using Telegram to plot terrorist acts.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.
In 2020, members of the proscribed National Action group were sentenced to prison, having engaged, amongst other activities, in far-right stickering and recruitment campaigns.
Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to monitor and report on far-right stickering campaigns, including by the far-right Hundred Handers group.
Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing Northeast
Jewish lawyer owed £26,500 payout in religious discrimination case reportedly “desperate” after still not being paid after four months
A Manchester-based Jewish lawyer who won £26,500 in compensation on the grounds of religious discrimination has still not been paid, reportedly leading to a severe decline in his mental health.
According to court documents, NNE Law Limited, run by Ali Nazokkar, dismissed litigation executive Philip Bialick after he took a pre-arranged break for the Passover festival in April 2020.
Mr Bialick began his employment at the firm in January 2020, booking annual leave a month later in anticipation of the festival in April. In March, the UK entered its first pandemic lockdown, but the firm claimed that, “since the courts are not closed…our line of work is considered essential,” and therefore that he should attend work. Two days later, Mr Bialick fell ill and self-isolated, in accordance with NHS guidance.
His isolation period ended on 8th April, when he expected to go on leave to observe the festival. But NNE reportedly said that he should return to work on 9th April, the second day of Pesach.
Mr Bialick explained that he had booked time off for religious reasons and could not come to work but, the next day, the firm asserted that it had no alternative but to terminate his contract.
Though it is reported that Mr Bialick and Mr Nazzokar were friends of long-standing, their relationship is said to have deteriorated due to these events.
However, it is understood that Mr Bialick has still not received the financial compensation owed to him. Mr Bialick is reported to have said that his mental health has declined and that he has faced serious financial difficulties since his dismissal, though he has since been hired by a rival firm. This has been compounded by the fact that he has not yet received any of the money that he is owed.
A spokesperson for NNE Law said: “I would like to advise that the reason the judgement has not yet been satisfied is due to an application having been made for a stay of execution of the order as there are grounds for appeal which are currently being pursued.”
Speaking frankly about the state of his mental health, Mr Bialick said: “It was really bad. I had no money at all. I went pretty much off the rails. My mental health deteriorated massively. I didn’t know where to turn.
“I was really upset and angry about how they treated me. I was desperate at the time as there was no work so I applied for an employment tribunal straight away. Since then I’ve been chasing them and instructed bailiffs.”
“I have lost a lot of money. I’m getting to the point now where I’m desperate. I’m waiting for this money to come through and if it doesn’t I’m in trouble,” he said.
Image credit: Google
Anti-vaccination protesters trivialise the Holocaust by wearing yellow stars, says Nazi-hunter Dr Efraim Zuroff
Dr Efraim Zuroff, the Chief Nazi Hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where he said that he believes anti-vaccination protesters who wear yellow Stars of David are trivialising the Holocaust.
Much of the rhetoric that has emerged from anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists has compared lockdowns to the Holocaust. These crude and inflammatory comparisons have included protesters donning yellow stars bearing the word “Unvaccinated”, a comparison that has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Such symbolism is reminiscent of the kind of insignia Jews in Germany and occupied Europe were forced to wear by the Nazis. Those wearing such items in 2021 do so in order to compare the persecution of the Jewish people with protective measures sanctioned by governments and other administrative bodies in order to deal with the pandemic. Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
“It’s Holocaust trivialisation,” Dr Zuroff said. “In other words, to, in a sense, turn the Holocaust into a far more trivial event than it was in fact.”
He continued: “It’s very ironic but in a certain sense, I have to say that there’s a small silver lining here which goes to prove the success of the people who have devoted their lives to promoting Holocaust education, Holocaust research, Holocaust commemoration. In other words, the Holocaust has become the ultimate tragedy, and that’s why everyone who has a cause wants to connect that cause or to claim that it’s similar to the Holocaust…related to the Holocaust, because that’s the most effective tool.”
However, Dr Zuroff went on to lament the negative effect that wearing the yellow star has on the Holocaust.
“It’s a horrible thing because it basically turns the Holocaust into something much, much more minor than it actually was.”
Throughout the interview, Dr Zuroff touched upon a wide variety of topics which included highlights from his storied career, the details of ongoing trials of alleged Nazi war criminals, and explained the difference between Holocaust denial and distortion.
The podcast with Dr Zuroff 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.
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.
Russian journalist’s apartment vandalised with pig’s head and antisemitic slur
A pig’s head and an antisemitic epithet were reportedly left outside the Moscow apartment of a respected Russian journalist.
Alexei Venediktov, the Editor of the Echo of Moscow radio station, took to social media to report the incident, posting one photograph of a pig’s head with a wig on, lying on the floor by his front door, and another picture of a Ukrainian coat of arms fixed to the door itself with an antisemitic slur attached to it.
Echo of Moscow was formed towards the end of the Soviet Union, and since then has been a significant representative of the new freedoms granted as part of the policy of Glasnost (openness) instituted by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union, as part of a campaign to increase government transparency, allowing citizens to publicly discuss problems with the communist system, and potential solutions, for the first time.
Later, Mr Veneditkov, who has Jewish heritage, revealed a still from CCTV footage outside his apartment building. It appears to show a figure posing as a food delivery worker arriving at his front door. However, Mr Venediktov said that the food company in question contacted him and explained that the uniform seen in the video has been out of use for several years.
Mr Venediktov expressed his concern on the social media platform Telegram, writing: “This in the country that defeated fascism. Why not just fix a six-pronged star to my apartment door?”
In addition to the antisemitic element, this incident is also the latest example of the Russian Government’s crackdown on independent media.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
“I will kill you all, Hitler should come back”: Man in Stamford Hill knocks on neighbours’ door yelling abuse at 4am on Jewish Sabbath
It has been reported that a man woke up his Jewish neighbours at 4:00 by knocking on their door and yelling antisemitic abuse.
The man was said to have shouted: “I will kill you all, Hitler should come back.”
The alleged incident took place on 19th March and is understood to have occurred in the Stamford Hill area of North London on the morning of the Jewish Sabbath and lasted for approximately one hour.
It was also alleged that, yesterday, the same man told a six-year-old girl: “Get inside, I will kill you”, before threatening to burn her house down.
Both incidents were reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4735 28/03/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.
Teenagers throw stones at Jewish homes and children in Stamford Hill
It has been reported that teenagers in Stamford Hill have targeted Jewish homes.
Stamford Hill Shomrim have reported that the vandals had thrown stones at Jewish homes and children playing in gardens from garage roofs on Knightland Road.
Anybody with information should call Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number 4608254/22.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.
Reality TV star Dawn Ward cleared of antisemitism charges
Reality television star and property developer Dawn Ward has been found not guilty after she was accused of shouting antisemitic abuse at two Jewish brothers and slapping one of them in the face.
The 48-year-old Real Housewives of Cheshire star was accused of going on a “rant” at brothers Jake and Sam Jacobs at London Euston station after having “too many glasses of wine” at the Ritz hotel with her agent.
A jury heard that, on 29th October 2019, Ms Ward overheard the brothers asking aloud why their trains were delayed. She is alleged to have demanded of them: “Why do you lot always complain?”
Prosecutor George Wedge acknowledged that Ms Ward was referring to the Jacobs’ Jewish identity. Ms Ward, however, claimed that she had no idea that the Jacobs brothers or Sam Jacobs’s girlfriend Samantha Eisner, were Jewish.
Inner London Crown Court heard that the brothers chose to overlook Ms. Ward’s comments, only for her allegedly to become violent. She is alleged to have called Jake Jacobs a “fat c***” and a “Jewish p***k” and slapped him in the face. She also allegedly referred to Ms Eisner as a “little disease.”
Ms Ward has been cleared of two counts of racially and religiously aggravated harassment, causing alarm or distress.
After being cleared of two counts of causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and one count of possessing cocaine, Ms Ward is reported to have said: “I am still prone to tears and crying as I write this post. I don’t believe I will ever truly get over this…Anybody who remotely knows me knows I stand for equality of race, religion and sexuality and I will continue to live my life to these values and raise my children to do the same.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Dutch Jewish man claims police are ignoring campaign of harassment despite chants of “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” and “Cancer Jew” by assailants
A Jewish man from the Netherlands is reported to have been the victim of multiple antisemitic attacks, but claims that his complaints have been ignored by Dutch authorities.
Kevin Ritstier, 34, from the town of Wijchen in the east of the country, says that he has been repeatedly attacked by a street gang sometimes numbering up to fifteen young men.
Mr Ristier says the harassment originated when the men targeted him after seeing him returning home from a Bar Mitzvah celebration wearing items of traditional Jewish religious clothing, including a kippah and a tallit, or prayer shawl.
This rapidly turned into a campaign of harassment in which the men pounded on Mr Ritstier’s front door and made antisemitic remarks, including “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” (a common chant among Dutch football fans) and “Cancer Jew”.
Mr Ristier has also been physically harmed. After one assault, his leg was slashed and he was left bruised and suffering from a split lip.
He added that his numerous formal complaints to the police, lodged after each incident, have led nowhere, claiming that the authorities have ignored each one and that he has been made to feel like he has been bothersome.
The police have reportedly said that criminal proceedings have not been taken against any members of the gang due to lack of evidence, but insist that Mr Ristier’s complaints are being taken “very seriously”.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
University of Bristol’s Appeal Panel upholds termination of David Miller’s employment
It has now been reported publicly that, last month, the University of Bristol’s Appeal Panel upheld the University’s decision last year to terminate the employment of David Miller, which took place one month after Campaign Against Antisemitism brought a lawsuit on behalf of current students against the institution, amidst an outcry from the Jewish community and its institutions.
Our legal case against the University concerned alleged unlawful harassment on the basis of Jewish ethnicity and Judaism, amounting to breaches of the Equality Act 2010, as well as breaches of contract. We launched proceedings in late August and the University swiftly realised that it was putting itself in legal jeopardy by sustaining Prof. Miller’s employment at the institution.
A number of brave students at the University stepped forward to act as complainants in the litigation. We also wish to thank Asserson Law Offices, led by senior partner Trevor Asserson, and barristers Derek Spitz of One Essex Court and Benjamin Gray of Littleton Chambers.
The lawsuit related to Prof. Miller’s speech on a Zoom webinar in February last year in which he said that the “Zionist Movement” is “the enemy” that must be engaged, that it is “the enemy of world peace,” and that those associated with Zionism, including Jewish students on Bristol campus, “must be directly targeted”. Taken together, the implication of Prof. Miller’s remarks is that all decent people who support “world peace” should view Bristol Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students, and Jewish people, including those who identify with those bodies, and the vast majority of Jewish students as an “enemy” that must be “directly targeted”.
He also said that interfaith work between Jewish and Muslim groups is “a trojan horse for normalising Zionism in the Muslim community”. He also claimed that Jewish students, by virtue of being Zionist, “encourage Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism”.
Prof. Miller has a long record of inflammatory statements about the Jewish community.
Bristol had come under increasing pressure from the Jewish community, which was united in its disgust at Prof. Miller’s comments and the drawn-out investigation that the University was conducting with no apparent end in sight. But the University failed to act for months. Prof. Miller’s statements and the University’s failure to condemn them and take swift action against him were the subject of a great deal of attention from the Jewish community as well as hundreds of academics and Parliament, including a written question by Lord Austin and an intervention from Robert Halfon MP. Prof. Miller was also defended by an array of controversial ‘usual suspects’ whose interventions did nothing for his collapsing credibility.
We thank others in the Jewish community, MPs and academics for the pressure that they brought to bear on the University of Bristol.
The legal claim that we spearheaded contended that Prof. Miller’s statements sought to create a hostile environment for Jewish students. It further alleged that the University was liable for Prof. Miller’s conduct, and was further liable in its own right, for unlawful conduct in breach of the Equality Act, and for its breach of its contract with students.
Other than a final call for prospective claimants, we minimised the public profile of the case in order to protect the identities of the brave student claimants who not only believed that enough is enough but that, in order for things to change, they must also act on that belief. We are enormously grateful to them for their courage. Despite the lower public profile of the case, the University was in no doubt about our intentions and resolve. A month after the launch of the lawsuit, Prof. Miller was fired for gross misconduct.
In a statement exemplifying just why Prof. Miller has no place on a university campus, the Support David Miller campaign said this week: “Support David Miller – a volunteer-led anti-racism campaign, composed of academics, students and independent researchers – has repeatedly expressed concerns that the University of Bristol’s disciplinary processes have been compromised by assets of a hostile foreign state. The State of Israel and its assets in the UK seek to eliminate all critics of Zionism from UK university campuses. Zionism is the racist ideology that professes a G-d-given right of European and other Jewish colonisers to occupy and seize Palestinian land, homes and resources. Professor Miller has been subjected to this censorship campaign because of his research showing that Zionist campaign groups have funded and promoted Islamophobia in the UK and abroad.”
Prof. Miller, who has indicated his intention to appeal the University’s latest decision to the Employment Tribunal, said: “I’ve been targeted by a pernicious witch-hunt, led by known assets of the State of Israel in the UK and funded by the dirty money of pro-Israel oligarchs. This is an attempt at entryism and political intimidation. The University of Bristol has wilted under this new wave of McCarthyism. The University treated this appeal as a mere formality, with a pre-determined outcome. I’ll be challenging the University’s perverse decision at an Employment Tribunal, to help stop our fundamental rights of free expression and academic freedom being further corroded at the behest of a hostile and illegitimate foreign regime.”
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This ruling is a further vindication of the courageous Jewish students on whose behalf we brought proceedings against the University of Bristol last year. Following the launch of our lawsuit and an outcry from across the Jewish community, it was clear to the University that it would be held to account in court and had to act to protect Jewish students in accordance with the law, and David Miller was fired within a month. Universities across the country should be warned that we will do whatever it takes to defend Jewish students from racists on campus by upholding their rights in court where necessary.”
The case was the latest step by Campaign Against Antisemitism to defend the rights of individual Jewish students. We believe that universities and students’ unions must be robustly held to account when they fail to defend Jewish students or when they allow their lecturers to discriminate against or harass them.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Labour’s NEC proscribes Labour Left Alliance, reportedly due to its stance on antisemitism
The Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) has proscribed the Labour Left Alliance, reportedly due to the faction’s stance on antisemitism.
Labour Left Alliance is a member-based group with close links to Labour Against the Witchhunt and Labour In Exile Network, which were among four groups banned by the NEC last July. Labour Against the Witchhunt has since disbanded, with its members focusing their energies on other groups instead.
Twenty members of the NEC voted in favour of the proscription of Labour Left Alliance at yesterday’s full meeting, while eleven voted against.
The ban on another group, Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, was divided on the same lines, while the vote to ban Socialist Labour Network was split nineteen to eleven. The latter two groups are not believed to have been proscribed in connection with antisemitism.
A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “The NEC has decided that these organisations are not compatible with Labour’s rules, or our aims and values.”
The Labour MP and Corbyn ally, Clive Lewis, tweeted: “Proscription lists; mass expulsions; the centralisation of power. It’s naive to think the ‘crisis of democracy’ and the slide to authoritarianism afflicting western polities won’t affect our own political institutions.”
However, the NEC declared that there are no plans to proscribe another controversial pro-Corbyn group, Momentum. It is reported that NEC papers read: “Custom and practice also establishes that the definition of a ‘political organisation’ does not include organisations that are compatible with the aims and values of the Labour Party…This includes networks of members, such as Sikhs for Labour or the Labour Muslim Network; single issue campaigns, such as Labour for a Green New Deal; and ginger groups, such as Labour First, Momentum, and Progress.”
A meeting earlier this month of Labour Left Alliance featured questions from Tony Greenstein and Gerry Downing, both of whom have been expelled from the Labour Party. Mr Downing was a founder of Labour Against the Witchhunt, and at this meeting he referenced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Jewish identity and declared his support for Russia in its invasion of its neighbour. Tina Werkmann, who was chairing the meeting, then said about Mr Downing’s comments: “About Zelenskyy being Jewish I think this is a very dodgy territory to go down it’s not his Jewishness that is the problem it’s that he’s a Zionist and he works with fascists. Zionism and fascists they can work very well together and they have done in the past and they go hand in hand in Britain as well. So that’s not an issue. But I don’t think we need to peddle antisemitism crap here in this section.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism: “We commend the NEC for banning Labour Left Alliance, which is another important step in the fight against antisemitism and antisemitism-denial in the Labour Party. It is regrettable that Momentum has been given a new lease on life, however, which risks the Party looking like it only goes after low hanging fruit. We have always been clear that this process would take years, and yesterday’s NEC vote shows that progress is being made, but slowly.”
The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
Image credit: Harry’s Place
Slovakian Parliament commemorates victims of the Holocaust
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first trains taking the country’s Jews to Auschwitz, the National Council of the Slovak Republic has officially denounced the transport and appealed to remaining survivors and their relatives for forgiveness.
Slovakia was originally the eastern province of the first Czechoslovak Republic, formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918. After Hitler annexed the Sudetenland in the wake of the 1938 Munich Agreement, Slovakia seceded from Czechoslovakia, becoming the Slovak Republic.
This state would, in turn, become a Nazi satellite state following the racial policies of the Third Reich, in which Slovakian Jews were robbed of their human and civil rights. Eventually, 70,000 of them were sent to Nazi concentration camps in two waves, the first from March to October 1942 and the second from September 1944 to March 1945. The vast majority of the Jews reported to these camps would be murdered.
Slovak parliamentarians also observed a minute’s silence in honour of the victims.
The only party that did not take part in the vote on the resolution was the openly neo-Nazi People’s Party Our Slovakia. Party leader Marian Kotleba is a vocal supporter of Jozef Tiso, President of the Slovak Nazi puppet state. Mr Kotleba has called Jews “devils in human skin” and promoted the “Zionist Occupied Government” conspiracy theory. Other party members have been charged with Holocaust denial, a criminal offence in Slovakia, on several occasions.
In the 2020 Slovakian parliamentary elections, People’s Party Our Slovakia won seventeen of the 150 available seats with a vote share of 7.97%. The Party reportedly has almost no support in any of the country’s major cities, including the capital Bratislava.
On 5th April 2020, Marian Kotleba was given a six-month suspended sentence for harbouring neo-Nazi sympathies. The appeals court did, however, dismiss an earlier ruling convicting Mr Kotleba of the illegal use of neo-Nazi symbols, for which he had been sentenced to four years and four months in prison.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Antisemitic Florida flyers blame Jews for Ukraine War and COVID-19
Community leaders in Sarasota have expressed anger over antisemitic flyers distributed in the Florida town twice in recent weeks.
The flyers – placed in Ziplock bags, weighted with rice – were placed on driveways of Jewish homes. The first batch, in mid-February, blamed the Jewish community for COVID-19. In the second tranche, some flyers again blamed Jews for COVID-19, while, according to the Sarasota Police Department, others blamed Jews for the war in Ukraine, claiming: “Every single aspect of the Ukraine-Russia War is Jewish.”
Speaking at a rally in Sarasota after the first batch of flyers were discovered in February, the Director of the American Jewish Committee said that the hatred in the flyers did not reflect the town. “This group does not speak for Sarasota, which time and again has stood up against all manifestations of antisemitism,” he said. “It makes me feel determined to say hate…against anyone will not win.”
This is just the latest of many incidents of antisemitic flyers being distributed across the United States.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
NUS elects President who tweeted antisemitic chant and said that Jeremy Corbyn should never have been suspended from Labour Party
A student politician who was forced to apologise for tweeting an Islamist chant threatening Jews has been elected President of the National Union of Students (NUS).
Last week, it was revealed that the then-hopeful NUS candidate Shaima Dallali was forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. In 2012, during an escalation of tensions between Israel and the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas, Ms Dallali tweeted the words “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud.”
Translated into English, this chant means “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” It is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.
Ms Dallali issued a statement on 23rd March, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”
Ms Dallali is currently the President of the City, University of London students’ union. Last year, prior to Ms Dallali’s tenure as President, the union organised a controversial campus-wide referendum on the International Definition of Antisemitism after reportedly failing to consult Jewish students.
It has now come to light that Ms Dallali’s output on Twitter also included other inflammatory messages, including one last May allegedly saying that “organisations like UJS [the Union of Jewish Students] have a history of bullying pro-Palestine sabbs [sabbatical officers] and activists. You speak one word of solidarity and they’re after you. UJS and their likes need to be called out.”
Another alleged tweet from 2018 read: “So your special forces invade the Gaza Strip, attempt to kidnap a Hamas commander, kill him and others. Then cry about Hamas being the terrorists. Makes perfect sense. #GazaUnderAttack.” Hamas is an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation that is proscribed in the UK.
Other alleged tweets expressed support for Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party. On 17th November 2020, Ms Dalalli wrote a response to Mr Corbyn’s readmission to the Labour Party, saying that “He should never have been suspended in the first place.” A few months later, on 5th January 2021, Ms Hallami tweeted that “Jeremy Corbyn was too good for this godforsaken country.” At present, these tweets have not yet been deleted, though it has been reported that several others have.
Last week, the Chair of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon MP, excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend his recent hearing, particularly given that the hearing took place just days after a scandal involving the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, who was due to headline the union’s centenary conference. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdraw from the event.
In an attempt at an apology, NUS grotesquely alleged that “Whilst we welcome genuine political debate, we’ve been sad to see the use of harassment and misinformation against Lowkey.” Swiping at Mr Halfon, NUS has asserted that “MPs and education leaders are accountable to us not the other way round,” declared that “Old school bullying culture is never acceptable including at Government committees [sic],” and that “Elected student leaders aren’t required to take endless levels of abuse in their roles.”
Concerns were also raised about the outgoing President of NUS and one of her Vice Presidents.
NUS’s handling of Jewish concerns over the booking of Lowkey was discussed on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Shaima Dallali’s election as NUS President only a week after the Lowkey scandal is just the latest indication that this union does not even aspire to represent Jewish students. She has not even taken office and has already had to apologise for one historic antisemitic tweet while rapidly deleting many other inflammatory social media posts. If she wishes to show that she personally has learned a lesson and seeks to lead a truly inclusive union, she should commit to meeting with Jewish students and educate herself on their concerns and also announce that NUS under her leadership will recommit to the International Definition of Antisemitism. If she cannot bring herself to do that in short order, the Government should end its enormous grant to NUS.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Hate crime charge urged for woman in SS-style clothing and swastika armband
Authorities in California’s Orange County are recommending hate crime charges against a woman who was allegedly dressed as a Nazi SS officer and is alleged to have yelled antisemitic comments at a man who tried to get her to remove her swastika armband.
According to a photo taken by a member of the public, the woman was dressed in an all-black outfit similar to that of a Nazi SS officer and wearing the armband while walking around outside a community centre in Laguna Woods, Orange County.
A man confronted the woman, who allegedly responded with antisemitic comments. According to a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, a “physical altercation” ensued as several people – including a man in his 80s – tried to remove the woman’s armband. Police attended the incident.
Subsequently, the district attorney’s office was asked to recommend that charges against the woman should include hate crime.
The following day, the Mayor of Laguna Woods, Carol Moore, released a statement saying that the city was outraged by the incident. “The city of Laguna Woods stands firmly against antisemitism, bigotry and hate in all its forms, fully and without exception,” the statement read, adding that the conduct “alleged in the disturbance” was “abhorrent, inexcusable, and antithetical to the character and values of our community” and that “any delay” in the public response was intended to “allow the investigation to conclude.”
City Councilman Noel Hatch, who said that he had lived in the area for 25 years and had seen “no indication that there is anything like this brewing,” described it as “a solo act” that was “not germane to any concern” that there was “something brewing here in Laguna Woods village.”
The incident came a month after antisemitic fliers were distributed in the Orange County districts of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Cypress. A report released in 2021 by the Orange County Human Relations Commission found that, in 2020, hate crimes in the county increased by 35%.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: ADL
State of Kansas adopts the International Definition of Antisemitism
The Kansas state Legislature has reportedly adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Bill HCR 5030, the short title of the bill named “Recognising the growing problem of antisemitism in the United States”, was adopted unanimously in the Kansas Senate with 38 “Yea” votes.
Gavriela Geller, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau, American Jewish Committee in Kansas is reported to have said: “We can’t fight what we can’t define. The adoption of the definition is a crucial step towards combating rising Jew-hatred.”
The 2014 Pew Religious Landscape Survey showed that less than one percent of Kansas adults identified as Jewish. In 2017, the Jewish population of Kansas was reported to be 17,300. This has not meant, however, that the midwestern state has been free of antisemitic incidents.
In April 2014, 73-year-old Frazier Glenn Miller Jr, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan and known neo-Nazi, was convicted of murder after killing three people in a shooting spree at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Kansas City and the Jewish retirement community Village Shalom, both in Overland Park, Kansas. Mr Miller was sentenced to death, but died in prison in 2021 while awaiting execution.
Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the International Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street. Since then, numerous local councils, universities and sport associations in the United Kingdom have adopted the Definition, as have several national governments and myriad municipalities and associations around the world.
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.
Austrian anti-vaccination protesters who wore Stars of David sentenced in court
Two Austrian men who publicised myths about coronavirus vaccinations by wearing Stars of David have reportedly been convicted of violating the Alpine republic’s strict anti-Nazi laws.
The two men, who have both refused to be vaccinated, had worn yellow felt stars bearing the word “Ungeimpft” (unvaccinated) at anti-vaccination demonstrations held in Vienna.
A court in Vienna heard that the defendants, known as “Mr K”, 50, and “Mr B”, 34, pled not guilty to infringing upon Austria’s 1947 Verbotsgesetz (Prohibition Act), which not only banned Nazi paramilitary organisations, but made it illegal to publish or broadcast denials or minimisation of the Holocaust. Austria’s Jewish community has recently argued that these laws should be extended to ban the utilisation of Holocaust-related imagery and slogans in order to push anti-vaccination conspiracy theories.
Much of the rhetoric that has emerged from anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists has compared lockdowns to the Holocaust. These crude and inflammatory comparisons have included protesters donning yellow stars bearing the word “Unvaccinated”, a comparison that has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Such symbolism is reminiscent of the kind of insignia that Jews in Germany and occupied Europe were forced to wear by the Nazis. Those wearing such items in 2021 do so in order to compare the persecution of the Jewish people with protective measures sanctioned by the German federal government in order to deal with the pandemic. Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
The judge handed both men fifteen-month suspended sentences and three years’ probation.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Chief Prosecutor’s report shows “omnipresent” antisemitism in Berlin
The publication of the 2021 Antisemitism Report by the Berlin Attorney General’s Office has reportedly sparked concerns among authorities in the German capital.
The annual report, which has recorded rising antisemitism in recent years, states that there have been two main trends in antisemitic discourse over the last twelve months: coronavirus conspiracy theories and incidents apparently inspired by developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Much of the rhetoric that has emerged from anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists has compared lockdowns to the Holocaust. These crude and inflammatory comparisons have included Berliners donning yellow stars bearing the word “Unvaccinated”, a comparison that has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Such symbolism is reminiscent of the kind of insignia Jews in Germany and occupied Europe were forced to wear by the Nazis. Those wearing such items in 2021 do so in order to compare the persecution of the Jewish people with protective measures sanctioned by the German federal government in order to deal with the pandemic. Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
The report also contains a section on antisemitic incidents relating to Israel. It states that these kinds of incidents are inspired by the intensification of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group. Protests and demonstrations against Israel resulted, it says, in “many anti-Jewish and anti-Israel incidents.” In response to the spike in antisemitic incidents, Germany banned the Hamas flag in June.
The report clearly shows a growing antisemitism problem in the German capital. In 2021, Berlin authorities dealt with up to 661 cases motivated by antisemitism, including “antisemitic animosities, insults, threats and physical attacks.” This marks an increase from 417 such incidents in 2020 and 386 in 2019. This follows a similar report put out by the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS), a Berlin-based agency that reports and documents antisemitic incidents throughout Germany. The RIAS study revealed that there had been 522 antisemitic incidents registered in Berlin between January and June 2021 – a period that includes the elevated tensions between Israel and Hamas – marking a seventeen percent year-on-year increase, and the highest number of such incidents since 2018.
Chief Prosecutor Claudia Vanoni said of the most recent report that “In 2021, the year of the 1700th anniversary of Jewish life in Germany, antisemitism was omnipresent as well.”
We reported last year that the German Government will pay €35 million to combat antisemitism. German Education and Research Minister Anja Karliczek said: “This is the highest number [of antisemitic incidents] in the last couple of years. There’s reason for worry that this is only the tip of the iceberg and that the unreported number of daily attacks on Jews is substantially higher.”
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.
CAA appeals to Attorney General as Nicholas Nelson handed absurdly lenient sentence following antisemitic harassment
The defendant in a criminal case that resulted from first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism has been handed an absurdly lenient sentence today at Southwark Crown Court which we are appealing to the Attorney General’s Office, which has the power to refer sentences for certain offences, which she believes to be unduly lenient, to the Court of Appeal.
The eighteen-month sentence, suspended for two years, was the culmination of first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism to unmask an anonymous antisemitic online troll.
When the defendant was unmasked as a result of our litigation, we realised that he was a repeat offender with a long history of obsessive antisemitic harassment. He had committed the offences, for which he was today sentenced, whilst apparently already subject to a suspended sentence for other antisemitic offences. This would appear to demonstrate his contempt for the supposedly deterrent suspended sentences that he had already been handed.
Nonetheless, instead of going directly to prison, the defendant, Nicholas Nelson, 32, was instead ordered to undertake just 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 220 hours of unpaid community service. He must also pay a modest victim surcharge and is subject to a restraining order.
Handing down the suspended sentence, referring to Mr Nelson’s “horrible tirades”, Judge Charles Gratwicke said that the defendant was “not the person you were two or three years ago.” However, he accepted that “Nobody sitting here in this courtroom who has read the newspaper can feel anything but revulsion, sickness and downright anger at the type of hate that you engaged in.”
Mr Nelson had pleaded guilty at Peterborough Crown Court in January to racially aggravated harassment under section 31(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and with sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety under 1(1)(a) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, after he repeatedly sent abusive antisemitic e-mails and messages to Oscar-nominated Jewish writer Lee Kern and hateful messages to communications strategist Joanne Bell, and harassing a staff member at the Board of Deputies, a Jewish charity, over the telephone.
Mr Kern contacted Campaign Against Antisemitism, which funded a case on his behalf led by Mark Lewis, the esteemed lawyer who is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The abusive communications came from accounts that Mr Nelson had worked hard to make anonymous. Victims of abuse from anonymous accounts usually have nowhere to go, because only rarely will the police track down the sender, and the cost of private action is usually beyond victims’ means.
However, a new legal initiative devised by Campaign Against Antisemitism together with counsel breaks through that barrier. It has enabled us to identify the anonymous troll by obtaining a special kind of court order which has its origins in the pharmaceutical industry and has never before been used to unmask an anonymous abuser sending antisemitic messages. The court order requires an internet service provider to disclose details of the owner of an online account so that legal proceedings can be issued.
We used this legal device to identify Mr Nelson and criminal proceedings were commenced, leading to him pleading guilty. Mr Nelson had called for another Holocaust, called Mr Kern Shylock, spoke of Jews being used for gun practice, called Jewish women whores, shared obscene sexual fantasies involving Hitler, and glorified the proscribed genocidal antisemitic terror group, Hamas.
Mr Nelson, who lives in Cambridgeshire and was a vigorous supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, also previously sent abusive messages to two Jewish women Labour MPs, branding one a “vile useless c***” and the other a “traitor” who should “end yourself”. At the end of 2018 he pleaded guilty to the same charge and was given a twenty-week suspended sentence for twelve months and ordered to complete 160 hours unpaid work. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications of an offensive nature to two other Labour MPs, one of whom is Jewish and the other is an active campaigner against antisemitism. In addition to the charges that Mr Nelson pleaded guilty to today in relation to Mr Kern and Ms Bell, Mr Nelson also pleaded guilty to harassing a member of staff at the Board of Deputies over the telephone.
Mr Kern said: “I have noted the immediacy with which custodial sentences have been handed out for first time offenders who have engaged in other forms of racism. Yet here we have a repeat offender who has embarked upon an unparalleled campaign of hatred against Jews and has been spared prison again and again. Why are antisemitic hate crimes not deemed as criminal as those of other forms of racism? What exactly does it take for a person found guilty of repeated racially motivated crimes against Jews to actually go to prison? This is a disgrace and an embarrassment and sends a clear signal to Britain’s Jews that when it comes to receiving justice, they don’t count.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Today’s sentence is deeply disappointing. Nicholas Nelson has, for years, obsessively harassed Jews and sent them violent and obscene messages day after day. Instead of sending him to prison where he belongs, Judge Gratwicke has spared a man who deserves no leniency. We are now referring this absurd sentence to the Attorney General’s Office.
“Though the sentence has been regrettable, the fact that Mr Nelson was convicted proves the efficacy of our new legal device to unmask internet trolls who hide behind anonymous e-mail addresses in order to abuse Jewish victims. This game-changing approach is the most significant development in the legal fight against online hate in years. We have been grateful for the cooperation of the police and prosecutors. We will continue to devise innovative legal mechanisms to protect the Jewish community and deliver justice to victims of antisemitism, including in ways previously thought impossible.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image credit: JC
Neo-Nazi group present at Boston St Patrick’s Day parade
Organisers of this year’s annual St Patrick’s Day parade in Boston were left feeling “disgusted” after it was discovered that a far-right group wearing items featuring neo-Nazi symbolism and holding a banner saying “Keep Boston Irish” had attended.
The twenty-strong group, reportedly the Nationalist Social Club (NSC), who is known for engaging with mainstream public events, was seen wearing green clothes and baseball caps. They remained anonymous through the use of face-masks bearing the number 131 (code for ACA, or anti-communist action) and sunglasses.
Though confined to small, self-organising chapters mostly inside the United States, the organisation is known for spreading white supremacism. They maintain an overtly military theme, regarding themselves as combatants against a “Jewish-controlled” social and political system that aims at “white genocide”.
One member of the group was spotted holding a flag with the Celtic cross (a black flag with a white “plus” sign inside a circle). This Irish Christian symbol is often appropriated by white supremacist groups.
A joint statement co-written by City Council President Ed Flynn, Councillor Michael Flaherty, state Senator Nick Collins, state Representative David Biele, US Representative Stephen Lynch, and Suffolk County clerk of civil courts Michael Donovan said: “We are disgusted by reports of outside hate groups descending into Boston for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade yesterday. Their ideology is repugnant and contrary to an event that celebrates our proud immigrant history and is enjoyed by children, families, and people of all ethnicities and backgrounds.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Woo stated: “It was deeply disturbing to see this display at a local celebration of culture and heritage, as we work to heal and build community through our recovery. With the growing intensity of white supremacist groups nationally, we are working closely with law enforcement at all levels – Boston will not tolerate hate crimes, and we will not be intimidated in our work to build a city for everyone.”
Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a spokesman for Boston police, stated that the police were aware of the group’s presence and that they would be conducting follow-up investigations.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Teenagers in Florida sentenced after spray-painting the word “Jew’s” on rabbi’s driveway
Two teenagers have been found guilty of carrying out a hate crime against a rabbi and sentenced in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Seventeen-year-old Tucker Bachman and fourteen-year-old Case Leckbee have been found guilty of criminal mischief when they defaced Rabbi Mendy Greenberg’s home, spray-painting the word “Jew’s” on his driveway, destroying his mailbox, and smashing his car window.
Mr Bachman and Mr Leckbee were reportedly sentenced to community service and a curfew. They also have to attend a Neighbourhood Accountability Board with their parents or guardian, at which Rabbi Greenberg will be present.
State Attorney Amira Fox said: “These juveniles will face their consequences immediately from the community they injured. They will learn of the impact of their senseless behaviour by meeting with leaders of the Jewish community and, together, the community will determine how best to repair the harm.”
Rabbi Greenberg is reported to have said: “I’m not looking for punishment, I’m looking for rehabilitation. For something to be rectified, for a wrong to be righted.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: Lee County Sheriff’s Office
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.
NUS under fire on several fronts after failing to attend Education Committee hearing in wake of Lowkey scandal
After a representative from the National Union of Students (NUS) failed to attend a hearing of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, the controversial union is coming under fire on several fronts.
The Chair of the Committee, Robert Halfon MP, excoriated NUS for failing to send a representative to attend his hearing on Tuesday, particularly given that the hearing took place just days after a scandal involving the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, who was due to headline the union’s centenary conference. After initially dismissing the concerns of Jewish students, who pointed out the rapper’s inflammatory record, the union came under media scrutiny and eventually Mr Dennis withdraw from the event.
In an attempt at an apology, NUS grotesquely alleged that, “Whilst we welcome genuine political debate, we’ve been sad to see the use of harassment and misinformation against Lowkey.” Swiping at Mr Halfon, NUS has asserted that “MPs and education leaders are accountable to us not the other way round,” declared that “Old school bullying culture is never acceptable including at Government committees [sic],” and that “Elected student leaders aren’t required to take endless levels of abuse in their roles.”
Mr Halfon has expressed his deep dissatisfaction with NUS’s handling of this crisis and its record.
However, fresh revelations about NUS are prompting yet more concern.
An investigation by the Jewish News has concluded that “NUS leaders have quietly dropped a commitment to the International Definition of Antisemitism.” The investigation noted that the outgoing NUS President, Larissa Kennedy, ‘liked’ a tweet celebrating the passage of a resolution calling on Queen Mary University of London and its students’ union to adopt the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition. It also observed that references to the Definition on the NUS website have all but disappeared, despite a statement by the union in 2020 declaring that “NUS is in full support of all efforts to tackle antisemitism and has adopted the [International] Definition of Antisemitism.”
The newspaper also claimed that Sara Khan, an ally of Ms Kennedy’s who was promoted to the new Vice-President Liberation and Equality position, allegedly posted on Twitter: “Is it kind of… antisemitic to homogenise all Jews into an ‘ethnoreligion’? like, both erasing Palestinian Jews, & letting white supremacist/settler Jews off the hook?” In a further post, she allegedly said that she “did some learning” and had concluded that “Judaism as an ethnoreligion refers to the shared heritage of all Jews as identity is passed down through maternal lineage but this is not the same as being a single ethnic group.” She then reportedly wondered: “Imagine thinking the billions of Muslims whether South Asian or Arabic or Eastern European were the same ethnic group. I can’t.” According to the report, Ms Khan also regularly spells “Israel” as “Isra*l”.
Ms Kennedy and Ms Khan allegedly also “played a leading role” in “facilitating” a launch event for last year’s online NUS Decolonialise Education campaign at which Mr Dennis delivered the keynote speech. The report points out numerous inflammatory aspects of this campaign.
Approached by the Jewish News for comment on the allegations in its report and for clarification on whether NUS was still committed to the International Definition of Antisemitism, a spokesperson for the union reportedly said: “Thanks for e-mailing. We won’t be commenting on this.”
Meanwhile, an NUS presidential candidate favoured to win the election to replace Ms Kennedy has been forced to apologise for tweeting the words of an antisemitic chant. Shaima Dallali tweeted the words ““Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud” in 2012.
The “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud” chant, translated in English as “Jews, remember the battle of Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning”, is a classic Arabic battle cry referencing the massacre and expulsion of the Jews of the town of Khaybar in northwestern Arabia, now Saudi Arabia, in the year 628 CE.
Ms Dallali, who is the President of the City University London students’ union, issued a statement yesterday, saying: “Earlier today I was made aware of a tweet I posted ten years ago. During Israel’s assault on Gaza I referenced the battle of Khaybar in which Jewish and Muslim armies fought. I was wrong to see the Palestine conflict as one between Muslims and Jews. The reference made as a teenager was unacceptable and I sincerely and unreservedly apologise.”
Last year, prior to Ms Dallali’s enture as President, City University students’ union organised a controversial campus-wide referendum on the International Definition of Antisemitism after reportedly failing to consult Jewish students.
These NUS scandals come after Campaign Against Antisemitism published polling earlier this month in its latest Antisemitism Barometer showing that a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Israeli Knesset member’s virtual meeting zoombombed with antisemitic abuse
A member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is reported to have tried to hold a Zoom meeting about the relationship between Israel and Jews in the diaspora, only for him to become a target for references to Hitler and the Nazis.
Zoombombing is when people join a Zoom video call with the intention of derailing it. This usually involves spewing antisemitic, racist, or otherwise hateful rhetoric.
Alon Tal, a member of the Blue and White party, organised the open-access online event, entitled “How Israel can better represent Jews around the world?” for the evening of Sunday 20th March.
Soon after the gathering began, however, several people joined in and began filling the screen with offensive language. They also wrote “Hitler was right” and plaudits for other Nazi leaders in Zoom’s chat function. Mr Tal was then forced to cancel the call, which has been rescheduled for the evening of Sunday 27th March.
Quoting the Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Mr Tal is reported to have said: “We will continue to strengthen our partnerships with our friends around the world. And most importantly, we will have no fear at all.”
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.
Boris Johnson calls for “irreversible change” after branding British universities too “tolerant of casual or indeed systematic antisemitism”
The Prime Minister has called for “irreversible change” after branding British universities too “tolerant of casual or indeed systematic antisemitism”.
Boris Johnson was responding to a question by Andrew Percy MP in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Mr Percy, who is the co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism, said: “Sadly, in my role as chair of the all-party group against antisemitism, the news is not so positive. We have recently heard from Jewish students who are suffering record antisemitic attacks on university campuses, including allegations of their work being marked down by their own professors. This is completely outrageous, and one would expect the National Union of Students to be on their side, but instead of helping the students it has been inviting somebody who is engaged in antisemitic conspiracy theories—a rapper—to a conference. Will the Prime Minister do everything in his power to ensure that campuses are a safe place for British Jewish students?”
Mr Johnson responded: “Our universities have, for far too long, been tolerant of casual or indeed systematic antisemitism. I hope that everybody understands the need for change—for rapid and irreversible change—but it is also important that we have an antisemitism taskforce devoted to rooting out antisemitism in education at all levels.”
We commend Mr Percy for drawing attention to this issue, and the Prime Minister for his commitment to tackling the problem.
The exchange comes shortly after Campaign Against Antisemitism published polling in its latest Antisemitism Barometer showing that a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Controversial councillor who joked about “Jew process” and was expelled from Labour Party now joins Greens
A controversial councillor infamous for joking about “Jew process” and who was expelled from the Labour Party has now been welcomed to the Green Party.
Jo Bird, who re-joined the Labour Party in 2015 when Jeremy Corbyn was running for the Party’s leadership, has a long history of controversy relating to Jews, including renaming ‘due process’ in the Labour Party as “Jew process”, for which she was suspended; supporting the expelled Labour activist Marc Wadsworth, who was thrown out of the Party after a confrontation with Jewish then-MP Ruth Smeeth; and worrying about the “privileging of racism against Jews, over and above — as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism.”
Elected to Wirral Council in August 2018, Cllr Bird is a member of Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, and she has described Labour’s institutional antisemitism as based on mere “accusations, witch-huntery and allegations without evidence”.
Cllr Bird appears to have been expelled from the Labour Party for her association with the proscribed antisemitism-denial group, Labour Against the Witchhunt. Cllr Bird said on Facebook: “I’m delighted to say that the Labour Party have expelled me today. They say its [sic] for speaking at a meeting (more than three years ago) and signing a petition (early 2020) – organised by Labour Against the Witchthunt, which they banned only four months ago. I’m not free from the Labour Party’s hostile environment, where Jewish people like me are 31 times more likely to be investigated for talking about the racism we face.” She concluded by stating that “this racist Labour party is so different to the Party I joined in 2015. The Labour Party is dying as a vehicle for social justice.”
Cllr Pat Cleary, who leads the now six-strong contingent of Green councillors on Wirral Council, said in a statement this week that “hardworking people like Jo are very welcome in the Green Party.”
The move comes just after Campaign Against Antisemitism published new polling that shows that a majority of British Jews believe that the Green Party is too tolerant of antisemitism, making it only the second party, after Labour, to cross that threshold.
Recently, the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was denied membership of the Green Party, while inflammatory former Deputy Leader, Shahrar Ali, was dropped as the Party’s Spokesperson for Policing and Domestic Safety, but not over allegations of antisemitism, which have dogged him in the past.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has extensively documented alleged antisemitism among officers of the Green Party of England and Wales, including the Party’s former Equalities and Diversity Coordinator who now holds the International Coordinator portfolio, on which the Green Party has failed to act.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
“These days, any criticism of Israel is deemed ‘antisemitic’,” says inflammatory columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in her latest use of Livingstone Formulation
The controversial columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, has deployed the Livingstone Formulation yet again, asserting that “These days, any criticism of Israel is deemed ‘antisemitic’.”
Ms Brown made the claim in a column this week for the i newspaper on Israel’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The “Livingstone Formulation”, named by sociologist David Hirsch after the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is used to describe how allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.
Late last year, Ms Brown made a similar claim, arguing in an article that “any criticism of the state [of Israel] is deemed antisemitic by apologists and diehard allies, and suggesting that this is motivating a “purge” of Labour Party members. In the article titled “The UN is warning of spiralling violence, yet the West has forgotten the Palestinians” for the i newspaper, Ms Alibhai-Brown also wrote that “a report from Jewish Voice for Labour accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of purging Jewish members who call Israel to account.”
That was not Ms Alibhai-Brown’s first offence of this nature either. The year before, she replied to journalist Stephen Bush’s reaction to being appointed to lead a Jewish charity’s review of racial inclusivity in the Jewish community by tweeting: “maybe ask them about the Palestinians.” The review was concerned with British Jews and was unrelated to Israel, a distinction that Ms Alibhai-Brown is apparently incapable of apprehending.
Previously Ms Alibhai-Brown also expressed her opposition to the Labour Party’s adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, describing the fringe minority of Jewish individuals who agreed with her as “good Jews”.
Newspapers and television broadcasters who host Ms Alibhai-Brown must think again before giving a platform to someone who takes such positions.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism 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].
Broadcaster Angela Epstein reveals her son was rounded upon for wearing skullcap
The journalist and broadcaster Angela Epstein appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where she revealed that her son was nearly assaulted by three men after they had seen him wearing his skullcap, or kippah.
When Ms Epstein was asked by our host whether she was surprised that polling by Campaign Against Antisemitism showed that a shocking 46% of British Jews said that they do not display visible signs of their Judaism due to antisemitism, she replied that she was not.
“Antisemitism is the oldest hatred documented in terms of people’s disregard, hatred, dislike for cultures that they feel are alien to them,” Ms Epstein said. “I completely understand why in certain circumstances, loathe as we are to admit it considering our history, that people would want to not display their Jewish credentials.”
Ms Epstein went on to reveal that the issue of Jewish visibility was a personal one to her after her son was nearly attacked.
“One of my kids was rounded upon by three Arab-speaking men when he was travelling recently in Europe. They were staying in the same place…the night before they had seen him and he wasn’t wearing his kippah and they were perfectly friendly. And the next day, when they saw him and he was, they rounded upon him,” Ms Epstein said.
She added: “Fortunately, the German police were very good and they have since been arrested.”
Ms Epstein stated that the incident was an example of what happens “when you display your Judaism in certain situations,” adding: “There are lots of people who are amenable and reasonable but equally, it’s an age-old hatred and we still haven’t found out why they don’t like us.”
Throughout the interview, Ms Epstein touched upon a wide variety of topics, including her Jewish Ukrainian heritage, how her last name can sometimes conjure unwanted connotations, and what it means to be a Jewish mother.
The podcast with Ms Epstein 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.
Detroit synagogue targeted by bomb threat hoax on day after Jewish festival
A synagogue in Farmington Hills, Michigan, received a telephone call on 18th March from someone who claimed to have planted a pipe bomb at the synagogue.
The Temple Adat Shalom building was evacuated, and police and police dogs sent in to search for the device.No bomb was found, and the incident was described as a “cruel hoax designed to terrorise our communities,” by Rabbi Aaron Bergman in an e-mail to the congregation.
The hoax threat came the day after the conclusion of a Jewish festival that celebrates a biblical attempt to wipe out the Jewish people.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Swastikas daubed on Peterborough building three months after similar incident
Reports have surfaced that swastikas have been spray-painted on a building in Peterborough.
A Twitter user posted photographs of the graffiti on the social media platform, adding that he tried to report the incident to the police but was not able to because the wall was not his property.
Mr Griffiths speculated that the property may belong to Cross Keys Homes, Peterborough’s largest provider of independent living accommodation tailored to the needs of elderly and vulnerable residents.
In an exchange over Twitter with Cambridgeshire Police, Mr Griffiths was informed that the crime can be reported online, only for him to reportedly find the link broken and himself unable to report damage done to a property that did not belong to him.
This is not the first such incident to be reported in recent months in the area. In December, we reported that local residents had conveyed their outrage after swastika graffiti was found on walls in a nearby shopping centre.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Jewish people in Edgware reportedly pelted with eggs
Jewish people in Edgware have reportedly been pelted with eggs in public over the last two weekends.
According to the Community Security Trust, there have been several reports of such incidents.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously reported on occupants of a car hurling eggs at recognisably-Jewish Edgware residents, and the words “Hail Hitler, f*** Jews” scrawled on the wheelie bin of an Edgware workplace owned by a Jewish businessman.
CST has asked for witnesses and victims to come forward. Anybody who has any information that might help the investigation is asked to report to the police on 101 and CST on 0800 032 3263.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Police investigate football fans’ “f****** Jew” chant on train
West Midlands Police are reportedly looking into a video that appears to show football fans singing a song targeting Jewish people on a Birmingham train.
The video, uploaded to Twitter by Tottenham Hotspur fan @N17_SAUL, appears to show Arsenal supporters singing on their way to a fixture with Aston Villa on Saturday 19th March.
The song, which refers to the Jewish religious practice of circumcision in the context of Arsenal’s rivalry with Tottenham, ends with the words “f****** Jew.”
One fan is then reported as saying “Love that one,” amid the laughter of other members of the group.
A spokesman from Tottenham Hotspur is reported to have said: “Antisemitism in any form is wholly unacceptable and we support all efforts to kick it out of the game. We hope that those individuals conducting this vile chant are identified and dealt with in the strongest way possible.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that three in five British Jews believe that the authorities, in general, are not doing enough to address and punish antisemitism.
Success for Jewish students after Lowkey removed from NUS conference programme following outrage from CAA and other Jewish groups
Following the revelation by LBC’s Theo Usherwood that the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, would be headlining the National Union of Students’ (NUS) centenary conference, Campaign Against Antisemitism and other Jewish groups expressed outrage that a union meant to represent all students, including Jews, would consider the inflammatory activist to be a suitable keynote speaker. NUS has now reportedly confirmed that Mr Dennis will not be appearing at the conference.
Mr Dennis is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A month-long investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst PSC supporters on social media. Mr Dennis has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as “antisemitic”, spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism, has reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson, defended the disgraced academic David Miller, and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn.
More recently, Mr Dennis has reportedly claimed that the “mainstream media” has “weaponised the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stave off” inquiries about far-right groups in Ukraine. He has also appeared on the disgraced former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012. Mr Dennis has appeared alongside the disgraced academic David Miller.
When Jewish students raised concerns about the choice of act for the union’s conference, NUS reportedly advised them that they could use an “existing safe space” which was to be “designated for students who are sensitive to loud noise” during Mr Dennis’ performance. In response to worries about how Jewish students would react if the performance went ahead, NUS reportedly replied that it was more concerned about the reaction from other students if it were cancelled.
However, after pressure, NUS insisted that Mr Dennis would only be headlining the “Liberation Conference”, due to run for two days immediately following the National Conference and intended to “bring together Black*, Disabled, LGBT+, Trans and Women Students together to build communities of activists and plan our campaigning work.” After further pressure, NUS has reportedly removed Ms Dennis from the programme completely.
The controversial Labour Party MP, Zarah Sultana, will still be appearing at NUS’s National Conference. Labour has yet to investigate an outstanding complaint against Ms Sultana by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
When Mr Dennis’ appearance was first publicised, Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “NUS knows exactly what it is doing by headlining Lowkey. He has previously described Israel as a ‘racist endeavour’ in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as ‘antisemitic’, spoken of the ‘Zionist lobby’ in the context of global capitalism, reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn as well as Jew-baiting conspiracists including David Miller.
“Headlining such a person is bad enough, but telling appalled Jews to go and stand in the corner whilst everyone else dances is segregationist and disgusting. Instead of showing solidarity with Jews, NUS is literally casting Jews aside. This is sickening hypocrisy from a union that proclaims itself to be ‘anti-racist’.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Woman arrested on suspected arson of church and synagogue in New Britain, Connecticut
A Connecticut woman was arrested on 12th March for arson and burglary after being accused of setting fires in a synagogue and a church.
Kimorah Parker, 30, allegedly broke into Tephereth Israel Synagogue on 11th March and started a fire that caused “fairly extensive” damage. She has also been accused of setting fire to St Matthew’s Lutheran Church.
Local police are investigating the arson with the assistance of the FBI.
The FBI released a statement in which it said: “Local police have arrested a suspect well-known to them and retain the lead over the ongoing investigations. No other incidents have been reported since the arrest. The FBI will continue to coordinate with local law enforcement and, pending further evidence collection, will determine whether federal charges are appropriate.”
A Tephereth Israel Synagogue congregation member called the incident “devastating,” adding: “We don’t know why the person who started the fire did this…we know she chose a church and a synagogue, so it wasn’t specifically Jewish; we don’t know a motive.
“It’s devastating, because that building holds a lot of memories for me and my family…I’m hoping that [the] building itself is still structurally sound and that they can repair it.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
CAA outraged after NUS suggests Jewish students who feel excluded by rapper Lowkey headlining centenary conference should literally segregate themselves
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expressed outrage after it was reported that the National Union of Students (NUS) responded to Jewish complaints about an inflammatory rapper headlining the union’s centenary conference by suggesting that the Jewish students literally segregate themselves.
Jewish students reportedly expressed concern after learning that the rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey, would be headlining a conference of a union ostensibly meant to represent them.
Mr Dennis is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). A month-long investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst PSC supporters on social media. Mr Dennis has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as “antisemitic”, spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism, has reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson, defended the disgraced academic David Miller, and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn.
More recently, Mr Dennis has reportedly claimed that the “mainstream media” has “weaponised the Jewish heritage” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stave off” inquiries about far-right groups in Ukraine. He has also appeared on the disgraced former MP Chris Williamson’s show on Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news network whose British broadcasting licence was revoked by Ofcom in 2012. The disgraced academic David Miller has appeared alongside Mr Dennis.
When Jewish students raised concerns about the choice of act for the union’s conference, NUS reportedly advised them that they could use an “existing safe space” which was to be “designated for students who are sensitive to loud noise” during Mr Dennis’ performance. In response to worries about how Jewish students would react if the performance went ahead, NUS reportedly replied that it was more concerned about the reaction from other students if it were cancelled.
The controversial Labour Party MP, Zarah Sultana, will also be appearing at the event, it has been reported. Labour has yet to investigate an outstanding complaint against Ms Sultana by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “NUS knows exactly what it is doing by headlining Lowkey. He has previously described Israel as a ‘racist endeavour’ in direct and deliberate contravention of the International Definition of Antisemitism, described Zionism as ‘antisemitic’, spoken of the ‘Zionist lobby’ in the context of global capitalism, reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn as well as Jew-baiting conspiracists including David Miller.
“Headlining such a person is bad enough, but telling appalled Jews to go and stand in the corner whilst everyone else dances is segregationist and disgusting. Instead of showing solidarity with Jews, NUS is literally casting Jews aside. This is sickening hypocrisy from a union that proclaims itself to be ‘anti-racist’.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Reality TV star Dawn Ward allegedly calls Jewish brothers a “f***ing disease,” court hears
Reality television star and property developer Dawn Ward is alleged to have shouted antisemitic abuse at two Jewish brothers and slapped one of them in the face, a court has heard.
The 48-year-old Real Housewives of Cheshire star is accused of being under the influence of alcohol when she went on a “rant” at brothers Jake and Sam Jacobs at London Euston station.
Jurors heard that, on 29th October 2019, Ms Ward overheard the brothers asking aloud why their trains were delayed. She is alleged to have demanded of them: “Why do you lot always complain?”
Prosecutor George Wedge acknowledged that Ms Ward was referring to the Jacobs’ Jewish identity.
Inner London Crown Court heard that the brothers chose to overlook Ms. Ward’s comments, only for her allegedly to become violent. She is alleged to have called Jake Jacobs a “fat c***” and a “Jewish p***k” and slapped him in the face. She also allegedly said to them: “Shut up, you f***ing disease.”
The brothers then informed the police and Ms Ward was arrested before authorities allegedly discovered cocaine on her person.
Ms Ward has denied aggravated intentional harassment and possession of the illegal drug.
Jake Jacobs is reported to have said: “For a long time, it made me really sad, because what my parents and grandparents have gone though it’s brought it all back. I couldn’t believe in this current climate; I was naive to think it doesn’t happen. But when it happens to you it really affected me for a long period of time.”
The trial continues.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
University of Reading adopts the International Definition of Antisemitism
The University of Reading has reportedly adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Late last year, a spokesperson, when asked why the University had not yet adopted the Definition, said that the University “takes an active and vocal lead in countering racism and discrimination,” and that a working group considering the findings of a race equality review conducted in May was due to report at the end of 2021.
The adoption comes as Campaign Against Antisemitism publishes polling in its latest Antisemitism Barometer showing that a staggering 92% of British Jews believe that antisemitism in universities is a problem.
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
“He said the Holocaust is a hoax on live TV…it destroyed my heart”: Rabbi of Indonesia’s only synagogue on bringing Holocaust education to his country
Rabbi Yaakov Baruch, the rabbi of Indonesia’s only synagogue, Shaar HaShamayim, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism to discuss why he feels compelled to create education on the Holocaust for his country.
Rabbi Baruch discussed how, in partnership with Israel’s Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, he created Indonesia’s first ever Holocaust exhibition. His motivation behind the creation partly stemmed from his desire to commemorate his own relatives who were killed during the Holocaust, stating that his grandmother lost 40 relatives. Rabbi Baruch also wants to educate Indonesians about the Holocaust, which he believes is desperately needed.
Rabbi Baruch said that he believes that many Indonesians are still either ignorant of the atrocities of the Holocaust or think that it may have not occurred at all, with some even posting swastikas and images of Adolf Hitler to their social media accounts. He revealed that many visitors to his Holocaust exhibition thanked him for his work, saying that they never imagined that such events could have taken place. Rabbi Baruch said: “Many Indonesians don’t know about [the Holocaust], and [those] who know the Holocaust know mostly from Holocaust denial groups.”
Rabbi Baruch told our host that during a televised appearance in Indonesia, he was confronted by a Holocaust denier. “When I was on local TV talking about the Holocaust museum…he said that the Holocaust is a hoax on live TV. It so destroyed my heart. But what I can do is, I can tell him that this is not a hoax, that’s why I’m doing this.”
Despite this, however, Rabbi Baruch is pleased that the exhibition has largely received positive feedback from locals of all backgrounds, including the local government, though some Muslim groups had criticised it and accused Rabbi Baruch’s exhibition of attempting to normalise relations with Israel. However, this has not deterred him.
“I tell them what we do is nothing to do with the conflict in the Middle East…the Holocaust happened before the State of Israel, before the [creation] of Indonesia, even. I just want to share the history,” he says.
The podcast with Rabbi Baruch 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.
European Union halts aid to Palestinian Authority over antisemitism in school textbooks
The European Union has reportedly put a stop to €214million of annual aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) following concerns about antisemitic materials in PA textbooks.
Oliver Varhelyi, Hungary’s EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, suggested that any aid received by the PA come on the condition that “antisemitism and incitement” are removed from educational material used by PA schools. Mr Varhelyi has a record of concern on this issue.
It has been reported that the blocking of the funds was spurred by the publication of a 200-page report by the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research in 2021, which cited numerous examples of exhortation to violence against, and demonisation of, Jews and Israelis.
One religious studies textbook reportedly requires students to inquire into “repeated attempts by the Jews to kill the prophet [Muhammad].” Another textbook makes a connection between Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib, aunt and companion of the Prophet Muhammad – who, according to both Quranic and biographical sources, beat a Jew to death with a club during the Battle of the Trench in 627AD – to a question about how relentlessly brave women are when confronted with “Jewish Zionistic occupation.” Beirut-born Dalal Mughrabi, who belonged to the Fatah faction of the PLO, also features in these teaching materials. Ms Mughrabi was involved in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in which she and her associates murdered 38 Israelis, including thirteen children, before being killed by security forces. PA textbooks often refer to her as a feminist icon. Similar examples of incitement are reportedly evident across the curriculum, including in science and mathematics books as well as humanities texts.
The European Parliament has previously raised concerns about antisemitic incitement in PA textbooks as well.
Haaretz reports that the issue is now in the hands of the European Commission, which will make a decision on the future of the funding, since neither Mr Varhelyi’s initial proposal passed nor could a the fourteen-country majority be mustered to overrule.
In 2020, Norway cut its funding to the PA over similar concerns, and the UK has done so as well, reportedly for other reasons.
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.
Idaho politics rocked by indulgence of far-right
State politics in Idaho have been rocked by at least two incidents of Republican politicians indulging the far-right.
First, Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin reportedly appeared on stage via video link with members of the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), led by known Holocaust-denier and far-right leader Nick Fuentes, who has often used antisemitic language and tropes.
The appearance came as a surprise to Rabbi Dan Fink, head of Boise’s Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel, who had recently received a letter from Ms McGeachin asking him to collaborate on an antisemitism task force.
Rabbi Fink expressed his worries about the militias who form the core of McGeachin’s support: “My first thought was, you’ve got to be kidding me. It seems like you’re missing the point with what we’re dealing with locally.”
Then, it emerged that, separately, Dan Bell, the Youth Chairman for a Republican Committee in Western Idaho, had sought to encourage Republicans to switch parties in order to elect the far-right activist Dave Reilly to a leadership position in the Democrat Party in order to discredit it.
Mr Reilly reportedly attended the deadly white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is claimed to have said that “all Jews are dangerous” and that “Jews pretend to be white when it’s expedient for them.” He has previously run unsuccessfully for an Idaho school board.
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.
85 percent of French Jews believe antisemitism is widespread in their country, according to new survey
A new survey of French Jews has found that 85 precent believe that antisemitism is widespread in their country.
The survey was published by IFOP, a French international polling and market research firm.
The survey also found that 64 percent of the overall French population believes that antisemitism is widespread.
According to the survey, 68 percent of French Jews have faced antisemitic harassment or abuse. Twenty percent of French Jews have reported being the victims of at least one antisemitic physical assault. It was noted that attacks were more likely if the victim was wearing a religious symbol.
Around 30 percent of people polled said that “Jews are richer than the average French person,” while 37 percent believed that Jews had “too much influence in the French economy and financial system.”
It is over 65-year-olds who are more likely to have antisemitic prejudices according to the survey.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Executive Director of Amnesty USA says Israel “shouldn’t exist as Jewish state” before retracting his statement
The Executive Director of the human rights activist organisation Amnesty USA has come under fire for reportedly claiming that Israel “shouldn’t exist as Jewish state”, before trying to clarify his remarks.
The Jewish Insider reported that Paul O’Brien made the comments in a speech given to the Washington DC-based Woman’s National Democratic Club.
His speech was reported to have included claims about what most American Jews think of Israel and what kind of country they want the Jewish state to be, citing and querying existing polling data.
Mr O’Brien reportedly asserted that the majority of American Jews would prefer Israel to be a “safe Jewish space” organised around “core Jewish values” rather than a Jewish state.
Although Mr O’Brien said that Amnesty International, which has recently and controversially characterised Israel as an “apartheid state”, acknowledges that Israel exists and holds no official opinion about the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, he is reported to have said: “I believe my gut tells me that what Jewish people in this country want is to know that there’s a sanctuary that is a safe and sustainable place that the Jews, the Jewish people can call home…I think they can be convinced over time that the key to sustainability is to adhere to what I see as core Jewish values, which are to be principled and fair and just in creating that space.”
The Executive Director of pro-Israel group Zioness said to Jewish Insider that “It is disturbing that Amnesty, which ostensibly exists to advance global human rights, could so casually deny the inalienable rights of safety and sovereignty to a nation as persecuted as the Jewish people.”
According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” is an example of antisemitism.
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, tweeted that: “It is clear that [Amnesty International’s] true vision is a Middle East without Israel as a Jewish state.”
Mr O’Brien then took to Twitter to “clarify” his remarks. He argued that the Jewish Insider had taken his comments “out of context”, claiming that he was not referring to the existence of the Jewish state, but specifically to Israel’s 2018 Nation State law, which defined Israel as “the nation-state of the Jewish people.”
Jewish Insider later published the full audio recording and transcript of Mr O’Brien’s speech, defending its reportage of his comments.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Denmark develops antisemitism action plan for schools
Denmark has become the latest country to develop an official action plan to tackle antisemitism for students in schools.
In a statement published by Eurydice, the European Union’s network for Europe-wide analysis and information about education systems and policies, Danish policymakers state that they have advanced fifteen initiatives to improve young people’s understanding and knowledge of the Holocaust and antisemitism.
Of the initiatives about antisemitism research and prevention, protection of Jews and Jewish institutions, information for how to deal with antisemitic incidents, and issues surrounding foreign policy, the Eurydice statement specifies five: compulsory education about the Holocaust at all levels of the Danish education system, from primary to secondary school pupils; expanding efforts towards Holocaust remembrance; ensuring teachers understand the harms caused by ostracising pupils based on their background; broadening interreligious dialogue between young people; and providing students with more information about the life and culture of Danish Jews.
These initiatives aim to let pupils know how to fight antisemitism within a broader framework based on mutual tolerance and recognising how what they say and do may well have negative consequences for others. They also encourage educational institutions to make sure that students acquire the knowledge and skills to fight antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories.
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.
Iranian news agency linked to Revolutionary Guard reportedly publishes antisemitic hit piece on Ukrainian President
Ukranian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has been the target of an article by an Iranian pro-government media outlet that reportedly relies on antisemitic tropes.
The long article, circulated by the Fars News Agency, uses what The Jerusalem Post calls a “word salad” of typical antisemitic notions. Mr Zelenskyy is accused of Jewish “immorality”, including hedonism, greed, corruption and malign political influence through the control of Ukrainian oligarchs, Donald Trump, and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who is described as “one of Zelensky’s most influential role models.”
Mr Zelenskyy is accused in the article of being not only a “hedonistic Jew” but an amoral “follower of the school of hedonism, which legitimises the attainment of pleasure in any way possible, and this school has spread to all aspects of his existence.”
The article also emphasises Mr Zelenskyy’s Jewish heritage and brands him a “Zionist”, an epithet of abuse in official Iranian outlets. Mr Zelenskyy is said to have “thanked the Zionist regime for its support of his country.”
Mr Zelenskyy’s is accused of having “deep ties to Jewish officials and the rich, such as George Soros.” Mr Soros is a Jewish financier who is often the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
From there, the Fars News Agency article makes a bizarre leap into the realms of conspiracy theory by connecting Zelensky and Ukraine’s need for financial and military aid not only to the former American president and George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, but to Jeffrey Epstein. The article describes how Epstein was “one of Zelensky’s most influential role models. The abuse of women and illicit sexual relations is a powerful tool in the hands of managers who try to achieve their goal by any means possible.”
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 largest group of Christian broadcasters adopts International Definition of Antisemitism
The world’s largest group of Christian broadcasters has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Troy A. Miller, CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters, said: “Fighting antisemitism is a key issue for believers, and it’s very important that our understanding of the issue reflects cultural realities.
“An accurate and contemporary definition of antisemitism helps us to recognise and combat this form of hatred wherever it emerges.”
It was reported that South Korea adopted the Definition last year. Britain was the first country in the world to adopt the Definition, something for which Campaign Against Antisemitism and Lord Pickles worked hard over many meetings with officials at Downing Street.
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.
Pennsylvania found to be worst state for white supremacist propaganda
The State of Pennsylvania was found to have more white supremacist propaganda than any other state, with antisemitic incidents in general being recorded at 150% higher than it was in 2015.
A report showed that in 2021, 473 instances of white supremacist propaganda were distributed, almost doubling the previous year’s findings for the State. 24 of these incidents occurred in Pittsburgh.
Many of these incidents were reported to have come from Patriot Front, a national white supremacist group, who are said to be responsible for 82% of the propaganda incidents in the whole of the United States. Reportedly, members of the group must meet a distribution quota to remain within the group.
The second-highest level of white supremacist propaganda was found in the State of Virginia with a recorded 375 examples.
The findings were published in ADL’s annual assessment.
Last month, we reported that Pennsylvania police launched an investigation after graves in three separate cemeteries were vandalised with swastikas. Photographs uploaded to Twitter show large, orange swastikas spray-painted on headstones in Montgomery County.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Authorities investigating graffiti at Massachusetts school
Authorities are investigating antisemitic and racist graffiti found at a school in Massachusetts.
The graffiti was found on bathroom walls at Natick High School on 8th March.
Anna Nolin, the Natick School District Superintendent, wrote in an email that “Natick Public Schools and the Natick Police Department do not stand for this type of behaviour. This behaviour is inappropriate, not aligned with our core values, and will not be tolerated. We will hold students or others involved fully accountable.”
This incident happened only a few weeks after “social justice training” was held for Natick School District personnel.
The discovery comes just a month after antisemitic, racist and anti-gay graffiti was discovered in a girls’ bathroom at Holten Richmond Middle School in nearby Danvers.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: Google
Police investigating after another Toronto high school reports antisemitic vandalism
It has been reported that antisemitic vandalism was discovered outside of a Toronto high school.
Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird said that the reported antisemitic graffiti that was found outside of Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute was a “hateful act of vandalism” that was “very similar to recent incidents”, adding that police are investigating.
The vandalism appears to be a part of a wave of antisemitic incidents sweeping across Toronto and Greater Toronto schools.
Last week, we reported that a church in downtown Toronto and a school in the Greater Toronto area were also targets of antisemitic vandalism. Days prior, antisemitic graffiti had been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.
Other recent reports include the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools in a short span of time.
Additionally, on 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.” On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Ofcom sanctions Rinse FM for airing Jay Electronica song containing “antisemitic hate speech”
UK media regulator Ofcom has sanctioned London-based radio station Rinse FM after they aired a song that was deemed to have contained “antisemitic hate speech.”
On 12th July 2020, Rinse FM’s presenter introduced the song “Better in Tune with the Infinite” by Jay Electronica as “one of my absolute favourites”. A complaint was then made over the following lyrics: “The synagogues of Satan might accuse or jail me. Strip, crown, nail me, brimstone hail me…To the lawyers, to the sheriffs, to the judges. To the debt holders and the law makers. [Bleeped] you, sue me, bill me.”
In their report, published on 19th July 2021, Ofcom stated that it referred to the International Definition of Antisemitism in making their assessment, citing the following paragraph: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The regulator deemed the lyrics to have negative connotations containing antisemitic tropes, stating: “In our view, the UK listeners would be likely to understand the phrase ‘synagogues of Satan’ to be a reference to the Jewish place of worship, and that it makes an explicit association between Jewish place of worship and Satan. We considered that UK listeners would have understood this association to suggest that Jewish people are evil or worship the Devil, which is a well-established antisemitic trope.
“Immediately following the reference to the ‘synagogues of Satan’ were the lyrics ‘Strip, crown, nail me, brimstone hail me’ which we considered to be a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In our view, the juxtaposition of the lyrics may have evoked for UK listeners the antisemitic allegation that Jewish people are collectively responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
“These words were later followed by the lyrics ‘To the lawyers, to the sheriffs, to the judges. To the debt holders and the law makers’, whom the artist addresses with ‘[Bleep] you, sue me, bill me’. In the context of the preceding lines and in particular, reference to the phrase ‘synagogues of Satan’, we considered that some UK listeners may have interpreted these references to be references to the Jewish community.”
Ofcom initially made its decision about Rinse FM’s airing of the song in July 2021. The radio station responded in October that year claiming that it was not always possible for an under-resourced station to “nip in the bud” any material that might be considered “controversial”. This was, however, rejected in the regulator’s most recent ruling, which said: “We consider that Rinse FM was treated fairly during the investigation process and in line with Ofcom’s procedures for investigating breaches of content standards for television and radio. During the investigation process, the licensee made representations in response to Ofcom’s request for formal comments [and] it was given the opportunity to respond to Ofcom’s preliminary view on the breaches”.
This is not the first time the rapper was accused of antisemitism. In 2020, he was criticised over the lyrics: “And I bet you a Rothschild I get a bang for my dollar…The synagogue of Satan want me to hang by my collar.”
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].
Bailiffs appointed to obtain £10,000 from antisemitic aristocrat Piers Portman after Courts Service says he failed to pay compensation
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has informed Campaign Against Antisemitism that it has appointed bailiffs to obtain £10,000 from the disgraced antisemitic aristocrat Pier Portman.
The Hon. Piers Portman, the youngest living son of the 9th Viscount Portman and heir to 110 acres of West End real estate, was sentenced in October 2021 to four months in prison and ordered to pay over £20,000 after being found guilty of calling Gideon Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, “Jewish scum” in a confrontation at a courthouse in 2018. Mr Portman was denied leave to appeal in December.
When Mr Portman was originally sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, His Honour Judge Gregory Perrins said that Mr Portman has “strongly-held antisemitic beliefs”, and that he had “deliberately targeted Mr Falter because of his role in prosecuting Alison Chabloz.” Ms Chabloz is an antisemite who has been repeatedly imprisoned following work by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
In scathing sentencing remarks, HHJ Perrins told Mr Portman: “You said you’re an honourable British gentleman. You’re anything but.”
HHJ Perrins then imprisoned him for four months, with the possibility of release on licence after two months, and ordered him to pay a £10,000 fine, make an additional £10,000 compensatory payment to the victim, Mr Falter, and pay court costs.
Mr Falter intends to donate the entire £10,000 to Campaign Against Antisemitism when the bailiffs obtain it from Mr Portman.
Mr Portman, 50, was prosecuted after approaching Mr Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 14th June 2018 following the sentencing of Alison Chabloz, a notorious Holocaust denier and antisemite. Campaign Against Antisemitism had brought a private prosecution against Ms Chabloz which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took over, and which ultimately led to a conviction and landmark legal precedent. Mr Falter had testified against Ms Chabloz, who has since been repeatedly sent to prison over her antisemitic statements, including denying the Holocaust and claiming that Holocaust survivors had invented their suffering for financial gain.
Mr Portman followed Mr Falter out of the courtroom and confronted him in the lobby of the court building, where an enraged Mr Portman came close to Mr Falter and said: “I’m Piers Portman. I have written to you before. Come after me, you Jewish scum. Come and persecute me. Come and get me.”
Mr Portman was referring to a 1,527-word e-mailed screed previously sent to Campaign Against Antisemitism in which he denounced his former wife and her divorce lawyer, Baroness Fiona Shackleton each as a “greedy, grasping and lying manipulator of the system that happens to be Jewish.” He accused his former wife of “playing the Talmud inspired ‘Tyrant posing as a victim.’” Noting in the e-mail that he had a “Harrow Public School education”, Mr Portman defended the term “Holohoax”, writing that “I fail to see how the fabricated word has anything to do with hating anyone. Surely it is merely an expression created by people that believe they have been lied to,” and questioning how the terms “Jew” and “Jewboy” could be antisemitic.
He concluded his e-mail by taunting Campaign Against Antisemitism to “Come and pick on me…come and have a do with me…come and perform your charity on me.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image: Piers Portman, right, leaves Southwark Crown Court with conspiracy theorist Matthew Delooze
Russian invasion of Ukraine sees plethora of Nazi references, involvement of actual neo-Nazi soldiers, and divides opinion on the global far-right
The Russian war on Ukraine has elicited a plethora of Nazi comparisons and is witnessing actual neo-Nazi soldiers on the battlefield. The war has also divided opinion within the far-right globally, as discussed on this week’s episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
President Putin of Russia justified his war on Ukraine in part by claiming that he needed to “denazify” the country, a stance that was reinforced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and apparently also adopted by China. Mr Lavrov also compared the United States to Hitler, stating: “Napoleon and Hitler, they had the objective to have the whole of Europe under their control…Now Americans have got Europe under their control. And we see the situation has really demonstrated what role the EU is playing in the context of the global situation. They are just fulfilling a role. So we see, like in Hollywood, there is absolute evil and absolute good and this is unfortunate.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has compared Mr Putin to Hitler and described the invasion of his country as “pure Nazism”. The comparisons drew condemnation from Yad Vashem Israel’s Holocaust museum, for “trivilisation” of the Holocaust.
The Holocaust references became particularly acute when reports emerged of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center being hit by a Russian missile aiming for a nearby Kyiv television mast. Mr Zelenskyy then called for Jewish people around the world to speak out against the Russian invasion, saying: “For any normal person who knows history, Babyn Yar is a special part of Kyiv, a special part of Europe…It is a place of prayer and a place of remembrance for the 100,000 people killed by the Nazis…Who do you think you are, to make it a target for your missiles?” It subsequently emerged that the Memorial had not been damaged.
While war inevitably gives rise to unpleasant and inflammatory rhetoric, the presence of actual neo-Nazis on the battlefield has been a greater cause for alarm. In particular, attention has been drawn to Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, a neo-Nazi militia that formed during the 2014 War in the Donbas and has since been subsumed into the Ukrainian National Guard, putting neo-Nazi troops on the Government’s payroll. In 2020, Facebook came under pressure following the revelation that a network of 80,000 white supremacists was operating on its platform In more than 40 neo-Nazi websites, where merchandise sales were funding the Azov Battalion and the Misanthropic Division, another far-right Ukrainian group. One of the Azov Battalion’s Facebook pages at the time was reportedly called “Gas Chambers”, and visitors were directed to websites featuring imagery of white skinheads standing next to murdered Jews and black people.
Marking International Women’s Day, NATO tweeted a message of solidarity with Ukrainian women, only to delete the tweet after observers noticed that a female soldier in one of the images was displaying a neo-Nazi sun symbol on her uniform.
All this being said, the Azov Battalion ran in Ukraine’s 2019 election but won only two percent of the vote, which is markedly lower than far-right gains in other Eastern European countries. Indeed, Ukraine voted overwhelmingly to elect Volodymyr Zelenskyy as President, a Jewish man whose family was partially wiped out during the Holocaust.
On the Russian side, it was reported that the Russian President hired the Wagner Group, a collective of mercenaries who have been described as a private paramilitary organisation, to assassinate Mr Zelenskyy. The head of the group is Dmitry Utkin, a reported neo-Nazi. Photographs of Mr Utkin show Nazi SS tattoos on his shoulders and a Nazi-style eagle, or Reichsadler, on his chest.
In addition to those on the ground, the global far-right has also been divided in its stance on the war. Some on the far-right have expressed regret that two “white” nations are engaged in a “brother war”, with sympathy shown for Ukrainian civilians. Others are backing Ukraine, and the Azov Battalion in particular, inferring that if the Battalion is opposing Mr Putin, he must be the real enemy. Yet others are siding with Russia, which is viewed by its far-right supporters as the saviour of the white race, in contrast to Ukraine, which has supposedly been heading towards self-destruction through efforts to integrate with Western, liberal Europe.
One thing that the far-right does agree on, predictably, is that the Jews (or, as they are sometimes more subtly described in these circles, “globalists”) have masterminded the war. Whether it is because Mr Zelenskyy is Jewish (as are, for that matter, several senior Ukrainian politicians), or because Mr Putin is supposedly in thrall to Jewish oligarchs, the far-right agrees that the Jews are to blame. For example, Nick Griffin, the former leader of the BNP, posted on his Telegram channel: “#IStandWithRussia against NATO and those Jesus referred to as the Synagogue of Satan,” while the former KKK leader David Duke too has said that the war is a conspiracy by Jews to kill non-Jews.
Full analysis of this topic is available in Episode 15 of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Church and school become latest targets of antisemitic vandalism in Toronto, Canada
A church in downtown Toronto and a school in the Greater Toronto area are the latest targets of antisemitic vandalism in what appears to be a wave of incidents in the Toronto area.
Two schools in the town of Newmarket were reportedly defaced with antisemitic, anti-Black and LGBTQ-phobic graffiti. Police stated that they had been called in to Newmarket High School after anti-Black graffiti was found in a boy’s bathroom stall and were called back in two days later regarding carvings found in the school that were deemed antisemitic and LGBTQ-phobic.
The following day, police were called in to Huron Heights Secondary School regarding graffiti in the boy’s bathroom that “included a number of drawings, profanities and male genitalia as well as some possibly anti-Black and antisemitic graffiti that has been partially scribbled over.”
Police said that in all instances, the graffiti was quickly removed.
It was also reported that police are investigating after the Metropolitan United Church in downtown Toronto was vandalised with antisemitic and homophobic graffiti.
The Church released a statement in response to the incident in which it said: “Sadly, these acts have grown in frequency over the past years, with our building a regular target. Metropolitan takes action to quickly remove all graffiti, at considerable expense to the church.
“Above all, Metropolitan stands as an affirming church in downtown Toronto with a long history of support for the LGBTQ community. Likewise, Jesus’ teaching to ‘love your neighbour’ is our driving mission and we are therefore dedicated to standing up to antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
These reports follow last week’s in which antisemitic graffiti had been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.
Other recent reports include the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.
On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.” On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher. On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Dr Dara Horn discusses why Holocaust education may not be working
The multi-award-winning author and scholar of Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Dr Dara Horn, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where, among other topics, she discussed her mixed feelings towards Holocaust education.
Dr Horn said: “In the United States, there was this idea in the Jewish community about 30 or 40 years ago that Holocaust education was going to prevent antisemitism…you had the opening of this massive Holocaust museum in Washington, you started having mandatory curricular about the Holocaust in schools and other Holocaust memorials opening around the United States, you started having Hollywood movies about this, and a lot of that came from the Jewish community.
“The idea was that people would go to these museums or learn about this in school. They’d learn where hatred can lead, what the world did to the Jews and they would then stop hating Jews. It wasn’t a ridiculous idea but 30 years later and what’s interesting is there’s much higher levels of antisemitism now in the United States than there were 30 years ago, so maybe we should reevalute this?”
Dr Horn continued: “What it’s come to mean is that Holocaust education is the only education that people have about antisemitism and so what that has come to mean is that antisemitism consists of murdering six million Jews.”
Referring to her newest book, People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present, Dr Horn says: “I list a bunch of things that aren’t the Holocaust, and I list everything from trolling Jews on social media to expelling entire Jewish communities from entire countries and seizing all their assets, which of course happened in many, many countries in the Islamic world in the twentieth century. I was like, ‘all of those things are not Holocaust, none of them are a big deal!’”
“When somebody is trolling you on social media and they’re photoshopping your face into a gas chamber, the problem is not that that person doesn’t know about the Holocaust. It’s not an education problem,” Dr Horn added.
During the discussion with our host, Dr Horn also discussed her reaction to the Colleyville synagogue attack, why she decided to learn Talmud and whether Yiddish is making a comeback.
The podcast with Dr Horn 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.
University of Wisconsin-Madison condemns antisemitism
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has released a statement condemning antisemitism.
The statement comes after several recent incidents, including swastika graffiti found in the bathrooms in University accommodation; public harassment in which antisemitic slurs were allegedly shouted at a student on Langdon Street, where many of the University’s fraternity houses and student residences are located; and a student who claims to have been harassed for their supposedly “Jewish” appearance.
These are not the only incidents to have taken place on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, however. Recent years have seen University authorities investigate several instances of antisemitic graffiti on campus, including one occasion in which the University of Wisconsin Police Department is reported to have investigated antisemitic graffiti on the popular Robert E. Gard Storyteller’s Circle, and another where neo-Nazi symbols were daubed in green paint on the walls of a University bookstore.
In their statement, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor and Chief Diversity Officer LaVar Charleston said: “Antisemitism is wrong and it will not be tolerated at UW-Madison. We are working to support all community members and increasing our educational efforts to prevent bias incidents from happening in the future. We are committed to creating a campus where everyone feels valued and knows they belong.”
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.
Sixteen-year-old student arrested and charged with hate crime for “antisemitic writings” in Illinois
A sixteen-year-old student at Illinois’ Springfield High School has reportedly been arrested and charged with a hate crime for antisemitic writings.
The male student was arrested by the school resource officer on Wednesday at Springfield High School and was also charged with disorderly conduct involving threats to a school and criminal defacement of property.
The student had a hearing on Monday and is being detained at Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center. Officials are waiting for the results of the student’s psychological assessment.
In response to the incident, a statement released by the Jewish Federation of Springfield said: “The Jewish community here in Springfield, like Jewish communities everywhere, deplores any manifestation or expression of antisemitism. Hostility to Jews as a group, negative stereotyping of Jews, and scapegoating of Jews as responsible for the various ills of society have a long and unfortunate history and have had very sad and tragic consequences over the course of Jewish history.
“We regard any expression of antisemitism, racism, or hate directed against any group in our community with deep concern and remain vigilant about the implicit threat not only to ourselves and to other communities that might be targeted, but also to the fabric of a diverse, pluralistic and democratic society.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Two instances of antisemitic vandalism discovered in Sheffield in as many weeks
A member of the public discovered a yellow star sticker with the letter “J” in the middle appended to a cash machine at a post office on London Road in Sheffield this week.
The discovery, reported to Campaign Against Antisemitism, came within two weeks of the appearance of antisemitic graffiti, including swastikas and references to Hitler and the Nazis, in a popular park.
The graffiti, discovered by a local runner on a pathway in Boleshill Park, Crookes, is believed to have been written using ash from a fire.
The runner reportedly said “It wasn’t actually paint, but they lit a fire and used the ash to make the graffiti. I rubbed it with my foot, thinking it was white paint but it started to come out.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
American School in London reportedly downgraded by Ofsted after controversy over diversity education and staff meeting that sparked antisemitism allegations
The American School in London has reportedly been downgraded by Ofsted, the schools regulator, after a recent controversy over diversity education and a staff meeting that sparked antisemitism allegations.
The report, seen by the JC, apparently observes that pupils at Britain’s most expensive school “spend much time repeatedly considering identity (including analysing their own characteristics) rather than learning, for example, geographical knowledge,” and that older pupils at the St John’s Wood school felt “underprepared” because “the middle-school humanities curriculum…leads to a focus on social issues rather than subject knowledge and skills.”
The headteacher of the school – which counts several famous alumni and children of numerous celebrities – resigned at the end of last year, well short of the end of her ten-year term, after complaints were made by parents about the content of diversity education at the school, both to the media and directly to Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Concerns centred around the teaching of “critical race theory” and other controversial ideas, including “white privilege”. Campaign Against Antisemitism received concerning reports about the school apparently teaching that Jews are part of a privileged elite. A “Privilege Power” chart was reportedly disseminated, which appeared to show Jews just below Protestants and Catholics at the upper end of the “Spirituality-Religion” segment of the chart.
The introduction of racially-segregated after-school clubs reportedly upset numerous parents, many of whom are American.
In addition, allegations arose about a staff meeting in which the words “Nazi”, “swastika”, “Hitler” and “skinheads” were used by faculty members during what was described as a heated conversation about how some parents have reacted to the diversity curriculum.
The school denied that the inflammatory terms were used to describe parents but did not clarify in what context the terms were used. A spokesperson for the school did concede that remarks made during the meeting “could cause offence to the community,” with numerous Jewish families sending their children to the school.
Concerningly, the school’s statement noted that “There were questions asked about whether the response to racism is always as strong and immediate as the response to antisemitism.” This suggestion by one teacher, apparently in connection with parents, caused offence among colleagues, who passed on their concerns to parents and trustees.
Although the headteacher has resigned, concerns remain that the culture and curriculum are the product of wider thinking among senior staff.
Do you or your friends/family have stories of schoolteachers or pupils facing antisemitism at schools in the UK? Contact us at [email protected] or call +44 (0)330 822 0321.
Image credit: Google
Jewish lawyer fired after not going to work on Pesach wins compensation
A Manchester-based Jewish lawyer who was fired after not going to work on Pesach is due to receive around £26,500 in compensation.
According to court documents, NNE Law Limited dismissed Philip Bialick after he took a pre-arranged break for the Passover festival in April 2020.
Mr Bialick began his employment at the firm in January 2020, booking annual leave a month later in anticipation of the festival in April. In March, the UK entered its first pandemic lockdown, but the firm claimed that, “since the courts are not closed…our line of work is considered essential,” and therefore that he should attend work. Two days later, Mr Bialick fell ill and self-isolated, in accordance with NHS guidance.
His isolation period ended on 8th April, when he expected to go on leave to observe the festival. But NNE reportedly said that he should return to work on 9th April, the second day of Pesach.
Mr Bialick explained that he had booked time off for religious reasons and could not come to work but, the next day, the firm asserted that it had no alternative but to terminate his contract.
Speaking at the employment tribunal, Judge Leach said: “We accept that the dismissal had a devastating impact on him and that he was affected mentally and emotionally.”
He added: “As for taking into account that this was a one-off act, the effect of the discriminatory treatment was to dismiss the claimant without notice or pay in lieu of notice. Whilst it was a one-off act, it was a serious one, effectively the most serious sanction an employer could impose on an employee for refusing to attend work on Passover High Holiday.”
Image credit: Google
Jewish couple confronted by man performing Nazi salute in North London
It has been reported that a Jewish couple were confronted by a man performing the Nazi salute in North London.
CCTV footage shows a visibly Jewish man and woman walking down the street when a man walking in the opposite direction appears to perform the salute before walking off.
The incident took place in Clapton Common and was reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3759 08/02/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Antisemitic flyers distributed around Palo Alto
A series of antisemitic flyers have been distributed around neighbourhoods in Palo Alto, California, prompting concern from local community leaders and law enforcement.
The flyers claim that certain named American federal officials and politicians are Jewish and blame them for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The flyers were placed in plastic bags and weighed down with rice to stop them from being displaced by the wind before being placed in the front yards and porches of houses and apartment complexes. They are believed to have been distributed by the antisemitic Goyim Defence League (GDL), led by Jon Minadeo II
The GDL is a group is responsible for stunts such as visiting a Chabad centre to claim that “these Jewish terrorists” were behind 9/11, and hanging a banner on a Los Angeles overpass reading “Honk if you know the Jews want a race war.” Last year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. Recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.
Jeff Schwartz, teacher and Mitzvah Director at the Congregation Kol Emeth synagogue expressed his concerns about the flyer’s use of antisemitic themes, saying: “When you see a swastika on a building or something similar, it just hits you right in the heart. We know [antisemitism] is always there, but you don’t really believe it until you see something like this.”
We reported last month that the FBI was investigating antisemitic flyers, also connected with the GDL, that were deposited in the driveways of members of the Colleyville synagogue where a British Islamist recently took four people hostage.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
“F*** Jews”: Jewish woman and six-year-old child flee after being screamed at in Stamford Hill
It has been reported that a Jewish woman and a six-year-old child were screamed at by a man in North London, prompting them to run for safety.
The man reportedly shouted “F*** Jews” to the woman and child and stood in close proximity to the two.
The incident took place at a bus stop in Stamford Hill and was reported yesterday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 7322 05/03/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Police investigating antisemitic graffiti found on Greater Toronto school that used to serve as synagogue
Antisemitic graffiti has been found on a building in Markham, Greater Toronto that is currently being used as a private school but formerly served as a synagogue.
Police are investigating the acts of vandalism which they believe were carried out on separate dates spanning the last two months.
Reports say that on 9th January, black spray paint was found on signs at Simonston Park, on 12th January, blue spray paint was found on a private school that is understood to be Metro International Secondary Academy, a building that formerly served a synagogue, located across the street on Simonston Boulevard, and on 19th February, blue spray paint was found, again, on the same school building.
York Regional Police said: “Investigators believe that these incidents are hate motivated and are asking any witnesses, anyone with information or video surveillance footage in that area, to please come forward.”
This latest report comes days after the news that antisemitic graffiti was reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students in the area performing Nazi salutes.
Constable Alex Li of the Toronto Police Service said: “These are being treated as hate-motivated and our Hate Crime Unit is fully engaged…Due to the similarities in each incident, investigators are exploring whether they are linked.”
The schools involved were Central Technical High School, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Antisemitic graffiti was also reportedly found on the playground of Regal Road Junior Public School.
The reports of graffiti are the latest in what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.
On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.”
On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher.
On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Poster of Jewish MP defaced with swastika and Adolf Hitler moustache in Australia
A poster of a Jewish MP in Australia was defaced with a swastika and an Adolf Hitler moustache recently.
The election poster of Josh Burns, who represents Australia’s Labour Party and is the Federal Member of Parliament for the Melbourne division of Macnamara, was vandalised with a black marker. On his forehead, a swastika was drawn, along with a kippah, Hitler moustache and beard.
Mr Burns said: “It was obviously very disappointing to see this kind of ugly graffiti in the heart of our local community, but I was overwhelmed with the support I received from parliamentary colleagues on both sides of the political divide, and from people across the nation.
“There’s no place for the swastika in Australia and there’s no place for antisemitism or any form of racism in this country. The ugly actions of a small few will only galvanise us to keep fighting against antisemitism, racism and extremism.”
Mr Burns posted the photograph to his Facebook profile, writing: “I’m not putting this up for sympathy – to be honest, I’ve got thicker skin than that. But I’m putting this graffiti up as a reminder that there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed. And because democracy is precious and needs defending.
“Elections can be brutal and sometimes politics in Australia is not practised at the highest level. I get that. But being able to freely express one’s political views, peacefully and respectfully, is an essential part of Australia.”
“It will be cleaned today and we will continue on with a full day of campaigning,” he added. “With even more determination and focus to help shape and build our wonderful, democratic Australia.”
Last year, State of Victoria announced that it was expected to become the first Australian state to ban the display of Nazi symbols.
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.
Woman’s alleged repeated taunting of Jewish schoolgirls with dog reportedly leads to injury in Stamford Hill
A woman’s alleged repeated taunting of Jewish schoolgirls with her dog has reportedly led to an injury.
It was reported that the woman routinely and intentionally scares the schoolgirls with her dog when the children leave the school at the end of the day, recently prompting one girl to run away and injure her foot in the process. It is understood that, rather than taking the dog for a walk, the woman travels by bus to the school, alights, approaches the children, gives the dog more slack on the leash so that it can get closer to the children, and, after terrorising them, she returns to the bus and goes home. This has reportedly occurred on multiple occasions.
This latest incident occurred on Amhurst Park and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4605853/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image credit: Google
New York police say antisemitic crimes rose by 400% in February
The New York Police Department (NYPD) has said that antisemitic crimes rose by 400% in February.
Last month, police recorded 56 hate crimes against Jewish people, compared with 11 in February 2021. Additionally, fifteen incidents were recorded in January compared with four in January of last year. The statistics reflected an overall increase in New York crime.
One such incident in February occurred when the words ‘F*** Jews’ were spray-painted three times on a newly opened Israeli restaurant named Miriam on the Upper West Side in New York City on Thursday 17th February. This antisemitic incident occurred at the same time as the Mayor, Eric Adams, was scheduled to hold a meeting to address the increase of antisemitic incidents across the city.
A separate incident was addressed by Mayor Adams after he lambasted “disgusting” graffiti targeting Jewish people that was found scrawled on the window of a Queens dental office. A photograph shows the word “JEWS” scrawled across a window with a profanity preceding it. The graffiti was reportedly discovered by a rabbi on Saturday, after the Jewish Sabbath had ended, who then reported it to the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
Mayor Adams said in a tweet: “This would be disgusting anytime but it’s especially outrageous as we come to the end of Shabbos. We won’t let this vicious hatred go unanswered in our city.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Police investigate antisemitic graffiti in Derbyshire
Police are investigating antisemitic graffiti reportedly found in Derbyshire.
The graffiti was said to have been found in an underpass to Gosforth Lane in Dronfield.
A spokesperson for Dronfield Police Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “Unfortunately, it would appear that some people still think it acceptable to engage in anti-social, criminal damage in Dronfield in the guise of graffiti.
“More disturbingly is the fact that this graffiti is offensive and contains antisemitic comments. This is totally unacceptable and any identified offenders will be dealt with by way of a robust response as this crime is motivated by hatred.”
“This must stop,” the spokesperson added.
European Council adopts new “conclusions” in the fight against antisemitism
The Council of the European Union has developed new “conclusions” in the fight against antisemitism.
The Council, which is composed of the heads of government of each member state of the EU, has passed a resolution to treat antisemitism as something different from other kinds of racism, inviting member states to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism. commit to urging social media companies to “rapidly detect, assess and remove illegal online hate speech of a racist and antisemitic nature”, increase security at Jewish institutions, strengthen the powers of law enforcement to tackle antisemitic hate crime, and implement various other measures.
The document calls on the European Commission to treat “the fight against all forms of racism and antisemitism as priorities of the European Union.”
The resolution comes after the European Commission published a strategy to tackle antisemitism for the first time last year.
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.
Kentucky Republicans embroiled in numerous antisemitism controversies while Louisiana Democrat candidate for senate praises Louis Farrakhan
Kentucky Republicans have become embroiled in numerous antisemitism controversies in recent days, while a Democratic candidate for Senate in Louisiana has drawn condemnation for praising the antisemitic hate preacher, Louis Farrakhan.
In Kentucky, a Republican lawmaker has sparked outrage after claiming that a pill used to induce abortion was developed during WWII under the name Zyklon B, which was the gas used to eterminate Jews during the Holocaust. He reportedly added that the man “who developed [the pills] was a Jew” and that they were created “because [Jewish people are] making money on it.” Representative Danny Bentley then went into a discussion of the intimate lives of Jewish women, “since we brought up the Hebrew family today.” Although the pill was indeed developed by a Jewish pharmacist, that was in the 1980s and had no connection at all to the Holocaust.
Mr Bentley later apologised, saying: “Last week we received a heartbreakingly sad reminder that antisemitism still exists in our society and I apologise if my comments today caused similar pain or any doubt that I stand with the Jewish community against hatred.” He added: “My intention was to speak as a pharmacist to the history of RU-486 and respond to a proposed amendment. I clearly should have been more sensitive with my comments.”
The controversy came shortly after a pair of Republican lawmakers, also in Kentucky, apologised for using an overtly antisemitic term during another recent legislative committee meeting.
Representative Walker Thomas used the phrase “Jew them down” during a discussion over the price of leases in an area devastated by tornadoes, while Senator Rick Girdler repeated it, but immediately withdrew it. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Mr Thomas asked if the state could “Jew them down on the price,” while Mr Girdler, who co-chairs the committee, repeated Mr Thomas’ question before quickly correcting himself, according to the report.
The news outlet later reported that both lawmakers apologised for using the phrase, which is redolent of the antisemitic trope that Jewish people are cunning and miserly.
“I sincerely regret using that term,” said Mr Thomas, noting that “this is not who I am” nor “what my faith leads me to be.” It was, he said, “a phrase I have heard throughout my life, but this experience has provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the impact that words have and the fact that we must be smarter today than we were yesterday.”
The outlet reported that Mr Girdler said that he was sorry if he “had offended anyone,” and had no “hate or malice” in his heart for anyone in the Jewish community.
While apologies were welcome, said Melanie Maron Pell, from the local office of the American Jewish Committee, there were many words and phrases to use “without succumbing to derogatory references” to Jews. An elected official “wilfully using” such a phrase, she said, was “contributing to the spread of a classic antisemitic trope.” Ms Pell added that “elected officials must be among the first to recognise the harm” such “derogatory terms can cause, especially when antisemitism is on the rise in the United States.”
Meanwhile, it has emerged that a Democratic candidate in Louisiana, who is challenging incumbent Republican Senator John Neely Kennedy, appeared on Louis Farrakhan’s spokesperson’s podcast in 2020, lavishing praise on Mr Farrakhan, who is the leader of the controversial Nation of Islam, and describing himself as a “long-time supporter” of the antisemitic hate preacher.
Gary Chambers Jr, the local activist running for Senate, appeared on Dr Ava Muhammad’s podcast. Dr Muhammed is reportedly the national spokesperson for Mr Farrakhan, who has compared Jews to termites and called them “wicked”.
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.
Man who left antisemitic flyers at Sacramento synagogue and school jailed
Nicholas Wayne Sherman, 34, was sentenced on 1st March to 180 days of incarceration in Sacramento County Jail for leaving antisemitic leaflets at a synagogue and an elementary school in Carmichael, California, in October 2021.
He left “Aryan Nations” flyers on the doorsteps of homes and at the elementary school in Carmichael, many of which had swastikas drawn or printed on them.
Later that month, Mr Sherman tied papers to a menorah and a metal fence at the synagogue. These papers included antisemitic comments such as “Hitler was right” and photos of Adolf Hitler.
Mr Sherman was arrested in December 2021 and pleaded no contest to his charges. Eleven other misdemeanour charges were filed against him, although all were dismissed.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: Shalom Le Israel
Antisemitic graffiti reportedly found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students performing Nazi salutes
Antisemitic graffiti has reportedly been found in four Toronto schools amid reports of students in the area performing Nazi salutes.
Constable Alex Li of the Toronto Police Service said: “These are being treated as hate-motivated and our Hate Crime Unit is fully engaged…Due to the similarities in each incident, investigators are exploring whether they are linked.”
The schools involved were Central Technical High School, Rosedale Heights School of the Arts and Malvern Collegiate Institute. Antisemitic graffiti was also reportedly found on the playground of Regal Road Junior Public School.
The reports of graffiti are the latest in what appears to be a spate of antisemitic incidents being carried out among Toronto schools.
On 1st February, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School reportedly displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.”
On 17th February, two students at Valley Park Middle School reportedly performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher.
On 24th February, two twelve-year-old students at Pleasant Public School in the North York area of Toronto reportedly performed the Nazi salute when students were asked to raise their hands for a question.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.