Tahra Ahmed, a prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker who was reported to the police by Campaign Against Antisemitism has been sentenced to 11 months in prison after being found guilty of publishing written material in order to stir up racial hatred.
Ms Ahmed, 51, was exposed in The Times as having claimed that the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire were “burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice.” After the tragic fire that left 71 dead, Ms Ahmed said that she had been coordinating the work of volunteers, coaching them and running workshops with the aim of empowering them. She reportedly discussed her beliefs with some of the people she has helped.
Ms Ahmed, who described herself during her testimony as “very very bright”, was found guilty of two counts of incitement to racial hatred, following the trial instigated after Campaign Against Antisemitism, CST and others reported the matter to the police.
Sentencing Ms Ahmed today, His Honour Judge Mark Dennis QC said that “stirring up racial hatred is an abhorrent act”. Noting that she had received a good education, he said: “I have no doubt you knew full well what you were doing and it’s likely affect,” adding that he had “no reason to conclude you have any remorse.”
He also read from character statements from Ms Ahmed’s family, noting that it was “unfortunate” that one of them had claimed: “There seems to be a special rule for the Jewish people…one rule for them, another rule for us. Is that fair?” A defence plea for Ms Ahmed to receive a light sentence on account of her care duties for her 74-year old diabetic mother was brushed aside as the judge observed that Ms Ahmed is not her mother’s primary carer and in fact visits about once or twice a week.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “For years we have pursued justice against Tahra Ahmed and today we are vindicated by this strong sentence, which sends a very clear message to those who seek to stir up anti-Jewish racism through conspiracy theories.
“Ms Ahmed sought to twist the Grenfell Tower tragedy to fit her venomous world view in which it seems that any evil can be attributed to Jews. She used people’s suffering and anger in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy and tried to wield it as a weapon against Jews before an audience of tens of thousands on social media. We are pleased that she will now go to prison for her wicked fabrications.
“As we have seen, her hatred has not only enabled her to abuse the Grenfell tragedy, but also to accuse Jews of being responsible for 9/11 and of supposedly exaggerating the Holocaust. As the prosecution observed, she used her position as an aid volunteer in the aftermath of Grenfell to ‘bait the mob’ against Jewish people, making her conduct particularly repulsive.”
In her social media posts, Ms Ahmed had written: “Watch the live footage of people trapped in the inferno with flames behind them. They were burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice. Grenfell is owned by a private Jewish property developer just like the twin towers. I wonder how much Goldman [Goldman Sachs, a bank often targeted by antisemites] is standing to make in the world’s most expensive real estate location [Kensington].”
She has also described the Holocaust as the “holohoax” and posted on Facebook that “Hitler and the Germans were the victims of the Jewish conspiracy to destroy Germany.” She is also a proponent of the antisemitic conspiracy theory that the 9/11 terror attacks were faked by Jews. In one Facebook comment found by Campaign Against Antisemitism after The Times published its article, she wrote: “All the leadership of ISIS is directly recruited by CIA and the leadership are all Arab Jews, trained by Mossad.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism also uncovered posts by Ms Ahmed claiming that “Jews have always been the ones behind ritual torture, crucifixion and murder of children,” a comment redolent of the blood libel. Other posts described the antisemite Gilad Atzmon as her “good friend” and complained about the “hold of Jewish power over our so-called free and democratic society”, claimed that “Zioborg overlords are engineering a civil war”, and referenced a supposed “Zioborg Banking cartel”, among other inflammatory comments. She has also promoted the far-right, antisemitic “Kalergi Plan” conspiracy theory, which claimed that there is a plot to mix white Europeans with other races through immigration.
Following The Times’ exposé and the further research by Campaign Against Antisemitism, we reported Ms Ahmed to the police and called for her to be prosecuted. The five-day trial, held at the Old Bailey after Westminster Magistrates’ Court declined jurisdiction, ended today with a guilty verdict from a jury.
Ms Ahmed, who denied two counts of stirring up racial hatred by publishing written material, was described by prosecutor Hugh French as having “published two posts that were virulently antisemitic and crossed the line as to what is acceptable in a liberal society.”
During the trial, the prosecution read a statement by Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, Gideon Falter.
Giving evidence, Ms Ahmed said that she campaigns against the arms trade, with her lawyer describing her work as being part of the “social justice movement.”
She claimed to have a problem with “Zionist Jews, not all Jews,” and that when she talks about “Zionist Jews” or “Talmudic Jews” or “Satantic Jews” people know whom she is referring to, conceding that there were times when she wrote something and failed to make a distinction between the particular Jews whom she was talking about and Jews in general. She claimed that she detests publicity and that The Times, by publishing her posts, is guilty of inciting racial hatred, rather than her.
As her evidence turned to Grenfell, she explained that in 2014 she began working as a life coach, confirming, however, that she had no training in this field. She set out to provide support for the volunteers who were supporting the victims. When asked about her description of the Grenfell fire as a “Jewish sacrifice”, she answered that “the Talmud talks about sacrificing children, Satanic ritual abuse, a lot of it coming from the Jewish circles…the Ba’al Jews, Talmudic Jews, Zionist Jews they’re a small number of the Jewish community but they are criminals.” Asked whether the fire was started deliberately, she claimed that many people believe so. Pressed on whether the Jews were to blame, she said that at the time she did think that, “just like they bombed Gaza every couple of years.”
Asked by her lawyer whether she accepts that the post was insulting, she agreed, but she denied that it amounted to racial hatred, saying: “Absolutely not, no way. No racial hatred except to the criminals. I’ll be bold to the criminals and I’m entitled to be.” The prosecution noted, however, that with passions running high in the immediate aftermath of the fire, people would be looking for someone to blame, and Ms Ahmed’s posts were an attempt to “bait the mob”, which she denied.
When Ms Ahmed was asked about her claim that “Jews are always the ones behind ritual murder, especially young boys, to atone and be let back in Palestine,” she insisted that “there are millions of Jewish people who are anti-Zionist and many are Facebook friends, so if any of them were offended they would have pointed it out,” adding that “If it [the comment] stirred up racial hatred, it would have happened by now.”
Regarding her posts about the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Ms Ahmed told the court about “Satanic ritual abuse practiced by secret societies in order to control people…horrific torture of children, raping them, et cetera…Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul, my suggestion was he was not involved in SRA [Satanic Ritual Abuse] or the upper echelons of the cult and was therefore dispensible.”
The defence asked Ms Ahmed who the “Satanic ruling Jews” are, to which she responded that they are “the bankers, owners of media and corporations, they manipulate and control a lot of evil in the world and I want it to end and so I expose who they are. Unfortunately, sometimes I don’t qualify by saying ‘Satanic’ and some racists would comment and I’d delete the comment or tell them off. People would share racist or inflammatory memes and I’d delete them, even though I’m passionate about freedom of speech. My intention is to educate them.” When pressed by the prosecution on whether she could provide any examples of her calling out racism or removing posts as she claimed to have done, she could not.
On the Holocaust, Ms Ahmed told the court, “I’m not a Holocaust denier…unfortunately, six million Jews is a number that has been perpetuated and the actual number has been revised down by experts.” She affirmed using the term “Holohoax”, arguing that “it [the figures] was manipulated and exaggerated at the time” and that, regarding the actual number of deaths in the Holocaust, “The Jewish council [sic] says 3.5 million…the Red Cross says 283,000.” She also baselessly asserted that “Hitler had an agreement with Rothschild to put Jews in concentration camps so Rothschild could transfer Jews to Palestine” and approvingly quoted a known Holocaust denier. She was also pressed on why she described the expulsion of the Jews from England in the Middle Ages as a “final solution to the Jewish problem.”
The judge asked Ms Ahmed about 9/11: “It’s a yes or no question. Do you believe Jews were responsible for 9/11?” Ms Ahmed replied that “It’s not fair to answer that without context,” also variously describing the terrorist attack as a “false flag” operation and a “Mossad” operation. She further claimed that “Before US Presidents are elected, they show their allegiance to Israel to pay homage to say ‘we’re here to serve you’.”
During her testimony, Ms Ahmed also invoked far-right conspiracy theories, for example asserting that “Kabbalistic Jews don’t want Europe to remain white. Personally, I’m multicultural and love diversity. This plan is to bring other people into the land to deliberately destroy cultures,” a claim akin to the replacement theory antisemitic conspiracy theory popular with white nationalists. Her testimony also featured further comments about “Rothschild” control of the banking system; “ZioNazis”; “real Ashkenazis” and “Satanic Ashkenazis”; the “Bilderberg group” (which often features in conspiracy theories); “powerful people behind world governments”; a “cabal” akin to the “deep state” and “the most powerful ones at the top are Jewish”; the Khazar myth, which holds that contemporary Jews are actually a converted Central Asian people with no claim to the Land of Israel, and other conspiracy theories, including about the CIA and the COVID-19 “scamdemic”.
The prosecution accused Ms Ahmed of “using the witness box as a pulpit for your views” and of knowingly and deliberately “whipping up the mob with her social media posts.”
In her defence, over the course of her extended and rambling testimony Ms Ahmed insisted that “I’m not racist or antisemitic but passionate which sometimes looks like anger. They don’t care I write about Muslim terrorist organisations, I’m not accused of being islamophobic or anti-white or anti-British.” She described the trial as a “witchhunt” and claimed that, during case management and her plea hearing last year, she was “unlawfully arrested, incarcerated and tortured for six days” and suffered from “post-traumatic stress disorder” as a result, inhibiting her from mounting a strong defence. At more than one point, she was rebuked by the judge for misleading the jury about the case management process.
Ms Ahmed was found guilty by eleven of the twelve jurors, who agreed on both counts, and has today been sentenced.
We are grateful to the CST for once again providing security for CAA personnel attending court for the trial.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
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.
Antisemitic tropes from 13th century England still exist today, says The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal trustee
Two trustees from The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal, Danny Habel and Tony Stoller, appeared on the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism where they spoke on the life of Licoricia of Winchester and the recent statue unveiling.
Licoricia was a Jewish businesswoman who has been described as “the most important Jewish woman in medieval England” and a leader in her community. She lived in the 13th century and was murdered in 1277, just thirteen years before King Edward I expelled the Jews from England.
“At a time when women really were very nondescript and not in the histories much, she stood out,” Mr Habel told our host. “She was a businesswoman. She made the most of it on her own as a single mother with five children in a very hostile society.
“As time went on, she was obviously a bold woman. She was close to Henry III…she would go into the royal court and address the king and the courtiers in French, in their language. She would be dealing with people in the local community in English. As part of her very confrontational business of finance, she would be in court quite often acting on her own behalf in Latin. So, she was able to face up to people, but at the time same, she was a community leader.”
Mr Stoller agreed that Licoricia was “highly significant,” though added that this did not necessarily protect her completely. “She was imprisoned for eight months in order to get money out of her at one stage…You lose Henry III, you get Edward I, you get extremely antisemitic demands by Simon De Montfort and the barons…Licoricia is murdered, we don’t think we know why. The guess is this might have been a way of somebody avoiding paying back money that was owed to her.”
When asked about the lessons that could be learned from Licoricia’s story, Mr Habel noted that “In Licoricia’s time, there were certain tropes and concepts about the way people thought about Jews and strangely enough, they’re exactly the same as today.” Mr Habel said that some of the tropes levelled against Jews included the belief that they were all rich, that they were responsible for the death of Christ, and that they were evil.
When asked if the trustees had any message for Podcast Against Antisemitism’s listeners, Mr Stoller said: “Come and look at the statue of Licoricia of Winchester, and then think about it. And if you can’t look at the statue, then go onto our website and take a virtual tour, and see what it is and see if you are as inspired as we are.”
The podcast with The Licoricia of Winchester Appeal 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.
“I will carve a swastika on your forehead with a knife,” Jewish man reportedly told
A Jewish man was reportedly threatened following a dispute regarding employment, in which he was told: “I will carve a swastika on your forehead with a knife.”
The incident, which was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, is now reportedly being dealt with by the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Hate Crime Investigators.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3590 02/03/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Antisemitic Cambridgeshire neo-Nazi sentenced to over eight years in prison
A man who sported a moustache in the style of Adolf Hitler’s and wore a Nazi armband to his trial has been sentenced to jail for more than eight years, after being found guilty of terror offences and stirring up racial hatred.
Matthew Henegan, 35, distributed leaflets in Cambridgeshire, where he resides, and possessed a document titled “How To Make Armour Piercing Bullets”, which apparently contains information likely to be useful in terrorism. In the raid of his home, investigators reportedly found a Nazi armband and leaflets which referred to Hitler as “your saviour”.
In addition, Mr Henegan asserted that Jewish people masterminded the COVID-19 pandemic and created an hour-long film in which he claimed that Jewish people controlled the police, economy and media. He reportedly referred to Jews as “kikes”, adding that they were filthy and sadistic and branded them “creatures”.
The content was published in documents and videos labelled “Corona Virus Hoax Full Edition”, “Corona Virus Hoax Supplement” and “Corona Virus Hoax Update – How You Are Being Controlled” which was then stored on archive.org, a publically accessible online database.
During the trial, jurors watched excerpts from Mr Henegan’s films, one of which included the statement: “One (you) given a standing command upon my death to slaughter the kike, for they will come to slaughter you as they already do and you will enter your children into the same slave stage that you live in today. Colonisation is what the kike is doing here with us, they merely turn film into their perverted dream and our reality. The power of the Aryan far exceeds the kikes and I will lead you to victory over these vile sadistic creatures. Your Fuhrer.”
Mr Henegan reportedly appeared at last year’s preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey wearing dark glasses, a hairband and an armband with a red swastika. According to a report, the judge asked the defendant’s lawyer: “Can you see what he’s wearing?”, and ordered Mr Henegan to leave the courtroom. The defendant asked: “Are we done for the day then?” The judge replied: “We are not.” The defendant replied: “I have a right to freedom of expression, freedom of dress, freedom of religion. They are rights not for debate.” The judge instructed the lawyer to give his client advice and said: “Next time it will not be out in the public corridor.” Mr Henegan returned to the courtroom with a jacket, with the armband no longer visible.
Mr Henegan told the jury on Monday: “You may see me, with my moustache, and think of it as a Hitler moustache, rather than Charlie Chaplin or Oliver Hardy. It is clearly your diseased mind that influences your thoughts.”
When Mr Henegan was asked if he was a National Socialist, he replied: “Yes, “I do not pretend otherwise.”
Despite denying all charges, Mr Henegan was convicted at the Old Bailey for publishing, distributing or possessing material intended to stir racial hatred on six counts and one count of possessing a document useful to a terrorist after approximately eleven hours of jury deliberation.
He refused to addend Winchester Crown Court, where Judge Nigel Lickley QC sentenced him on 2nd March to eight years and one month in prison with an extended licence period of four years, and made him subject to a counter-terrorism notification order for 30 years. Judge Lickley said: “You created racist material designed to be inflammatory, to cause upset and incite racial hatred of the Jewish faith. In the context of the pandemic enveloping the world, you distributed material designed to incite racial hatred.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “On top of every other misery that this pandemic has inflicted on the world, it has also been treated as a pretext for racists to promote antisemitic conspiracy theories. Among them is Matthew Henegan, who calls himself the Fuhrer, came to court with a Nazi armband and says that Jews control the media and police and are behind a supposed ‘Covid hoax’. We welcome the conviction and strong sentence of this abominable individual, which keeps him out of society and keeps the rest of us safe from the danger that he poses.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image credit: Cambridgeshire Police
Court hearing for man who allegedly punched Jewish men to the ground
A court hearing was held today for man who was arrested after visibly Jewish men were punched to the ground in North London in January.
Police in Haringey arrested a man after two visibly Jewish men were viciously punched to the ground in Stamford Hill. CCTV footage shows a man striking blows to the two Jewish men’s faces and bodies.
The victims, Israel Grossman and Erwin Ginsberg, were promptly treated by Hatzola, a volunteer-run emergency medical service, and were hospitalised. It is understood that one victim sustained severe bruising, a broken nose and a fractured wrist, while the other also suffered bruising and injuries to his wrist and eye.
The incident reportedly took place on Cadoxton Avenue and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
Malaki Thorpe, 18, of Fairview Road N15, appeared in Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court shortly after the incident and was charged with two counts of racially aggravated ABH and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.
He was remanded in custody, and did not attend today’s hearing at Wood Green Crown Court. Today the court determined that he is to undergo a mental health assessment to determine his fitness to stand trial, and the case is due to progress in the coming months.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
CAA publishes latest Antisemitism Barometer, showing detrimental impact of antisemitism surge, with British Jews also pointing fingers at criminal justice system, Labour Party, Green Party, universities and social media
Today, Campaign Against Antisemitism publishes our latest Antisemitism Barometer, comprising a survey of the British public’s views toward Jews and a poll of the Jewish community.
The Barometer’s poll of the British public’s views towards Jews utilises the Generalised Antisemitism Scale. The survey was designed and analysed by Dr Daniel Allington of King’s College London, with fieldwork carried out by YouGov.
The Barometer also includes a separate survey of British Jews designed and analysed in consultation with Dr Allington and carried out by Campaign Against Antisemitism and Jewish community partners. The survey reveals that:
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The events of 2021 have left their mark on Britain’s Jews. Antisemitic incidents broke new records, particularly during the conflict between Hamas and Israel, with almost eight in ten British Jews feeling ‘intimidated as a Jew’ and many now questioning our community’s future in the UK.
“It is not just the perpetrators who are faulted by the Jewish community, but also those tasked with protecting us. For the first time, a majority of the Jewish community now does not trust the police, CPS and courts to protect them. If the next commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and Director of Public Prosecutions wish to restore the confidence of British Jews in their institutions, they should urgently adopt the recommendations set out in our report.
“British Jews also point the finger at political parties, with over eight in ten British Jews still feeling that Labour is too tolerant of racism against Jews, belying Sir Keir Starmer’s claim to have ‘shut the door’ on antisemitism in his Party.
“Jewish life on campus is thriving, but there is no excuse for Jewish students or faculty to be forced to think twice about their educational or professional trajectory because of concerns over antisemitism. As our polling demonstrates for the first time, there is a clear consensus that British Jews are alarmed by antisemitism in universities. Given the strength of sentiment, it is vital that a minority of universities stop refusing to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism, and that all institutions actually apply the Definition when allegations of racism toward Jews arise.”
“Britain cannot be content when almost half of a long-established minority community avoids disclosing identifying signs in public, or when a broad majority considers one of the two major political parties to be too tolerant of racism. It is not too late to make the right changes in politics, at universities, online and to criminal justice, but our recommendations are increasingly urgent.”
The full Barometer is available at antisemitism.org/barometer.
Royal Court Theatre publishes encouraging report on Rare Earth Mettle controversy but “the proof of the pudding will be in the eating”
The Royal Court Theatre has published a report into last year’s Rare Earth Mettle controversy.
The theatre, which is considered to be a significant cultural voice but has a history of controversy relating to the Jewish community, received backlash after a play late last year, Rare Earth Mettle, from writer Al Smith and director Hamish Pirie, used the name “Hershel Fink” for the character of a greedy Silicon Valley billionaire.
The theatre issued two apologies when the controversy first arose in November 2020, with questions raised over how the character came to have such a name and the failure of senior figures at the theatre either to notice the problem or to respond properly to concerns raised earlier in the process by Jewish colleagues.
This week, the Sloan Square-based theatre has published its full report, which comes at the conclusion of an investigation. The report explains that, over the course of successive stages of redrafting, the context and background for how the central character came to have what was, by the end, a clearly Jewish name, had been removed without adequate substitute, and that there were “structural weaknesses” that meant that this problem was not identified earlier.
As for the failure to heed the warnings and concerns by those who did identify the problem, Mr Pirie, who is an Associate Director at the Theatre and is at the centre of the scandal, expressed his remorse. Oddly, the review included a reference to medical treatment that Mr Pririe was apparently undergoing at the time which may have affected his judgment, but the report was at pains to insist that Mr Pririe did not himself rely on this in explaining his conduct, and his apology, reproduced in full in the report, makes no reference to this or any excuse.
The report notes that “a number of contributors were severely shocked and saddened by these events, especially as the Royal Court prioritises inclusivity and support for marginalised groups.”
The report proceeds to list numerous actions that the theatre will now be taking, including “both urgent and long-term specialist training on issues relating to antisemitism”, ensuring Jewish representation in creative teams, introducing new systems to record complaints, inject more senior oversight, and provide wellbeing resources to staff, among other policies.
Last December, in Episode 4 of Podcast Against Antisemitism, we discussed the controversy at the Royal Court Theatre with the critic and journalist who broke the story, Kate Maltby. You can listen to the episode here or watch it here.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Rare Earth Mettle scandal is not the first to rock the Royal Court Theatre’s relations with the Jewish community, which is why it is vital that this report be more than a tick-box exercise. The content of the report is encouraging, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and it will be up to the Theatre, liaising with Jewish organisations as it has begun to do, to rebuild the community’s trust and introduce the right oversight and support to prevent incidents like this from recurring and ensure that Jewish artists and staff are comfortable collaborating with the institution going forward.”
Amazon should be no place for antisemitic incitement but retailer still has not removed “From the river to the sea” products from sale
Amazon is selling “Palestine Intifada Clothing” that displays antisemitic slogans and inflammatory images.
The online behemoth suggests that items in the range make for a “great gift for family and friends,” including a sweatshirt bearing a machine gun and hoodies with the Star of David crossed out, and clothing emblazoned with the phrase: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
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.
Other garb also promotes the BDS boycott of Israel, the tactics of which an overwhelming majority of British Jews find intimidating.
Prices for the items on Amazon range from £15.99 for tank tops and T-shirts, to £33.99 for unisex hoodies.
We have written to the company, but the clothing range remains available.
Last month, Amazon Australia reportedly pulled twenty Nazi propaganda films from the platform, with the US site also removing 23 films. Last year, Amazon removed almost a hundred Holocaust-denial books from sale, and the company has also come under fire in relation to its Alexa virtual assistant. In 2020, T-shirts and other items claiming that “6 million wasn’t enough” were briefly being sold on Amazon.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “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. Images of maps with the Jewish state erased only reinforce the genocidal sentiment behind the slogan. Amazon should make clear that its marketplace is no place for antisemitic incitement and remove these products from sale.”
Image credit: Amazon
Alleged Nazi sympathiser accused of building submachine gun to use against Jews stands trial in Birmingham
An alleged Nazi sympathiser currently standing trial in Birmingham has pleaded not guilty to preparing an act of terrorism.
Birmingham Crown Court heard last week that 24-year-old Ben Styles of Leamington Spa posted in an online group called “#Kill All the Jews”, and had begun building a submachine gun to use against Jewish people. He reportedly posted in the online group: “I hope the holocaust is real next time.”
Prosecutors said that Mr Styles told his friend that he was “just getting as strong as possible for the war” and sent screenshots of his phone which used images of swastikas for the background.
Referring to his phone’s background image, Mr Styles reportedly told his friend: “Waking up and seeing this lock screen to start my day is far more important than some non-person NHS clapper shouting at me about primary school history.”
Mr Styles reportedly said of the New Zealand Christchurch terrorist attack: “I just got back from New Zealand – it made me super racist. Then that happened and I had a good day.”
Prosecutor Matthew Brook told the court that a Nazi fitness manual and a book titled “The SS family yearly – celebrations of the SS family” was found in Mr Styles’ garage, along with the lower part and top part of a homemade submachine gun and shop-bought blanks with manuals which “showed the reader how to convert blank bullets into functioning live ammunition”.
Mr Brook continued: “In this case, the evidence will prove that the defendant, Ben Styles, fully believed in extreme right-wing ideology. That is the twisted ideology of Nazis and white supremacy. The evidence will show that the defendant had collected on an encrypted USB drive instruction manuals about how to build guns and how to make live ammunition.
“When the police searched his home on 15th February last year, they found that he had closely and carefully followed the instructions in one of those manuals and was well on his way to making a homemade submachine gun.
“He had also started to make ammunition. He had also written a manifesto which talked about, in his words ‘working to fulfil my mission’, and set out his views about being in a religious war against the Jews and other targets of extreme right-wing terrorists.
“The evidence will show, it will prove, that the defendant was preparing to commit a terrorist act.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.
Image credit: Google
Australian State of New South Wales introduces bill to ban swastika
The Australian State of New South Wales (NSW) is close to banning the swastika following the reporting of some 31 incidents in which the Nazi symbol was displayed.
The bill, introduced by opposition Labour Party member Walt Secord, would ban the public display or dissemination of the Nazi symbol. The bill imposes maximum penalties of approximately 4,000 Australian dollars (£2,250) and six months in prison and includes exemptions for its use in Hindu traditions.
Following a joint endorsement for the bill from the NSW Board of Deputies and the Hindu Council of Australia, the Standing Committee on Social Issues will now consider amendments before sending the bill to Australia’s upper legislative body for debate.
“The Nazi swastika is an emblem of pure evil,” said Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark in a joint statement with the Hindu Council of Australia. “It represents the dehumanisation of millions of people; the death of our Australian servicemen and women; and one of the most inhumane, hate-based and murderous regimes and ideologies to ever exist.”
Mr Secord, the Shadow Minister for Police and Counter-Terrorism, introduced the bill following a report by Australia’s ABC News stating that police had seen a rise in extremist behaviour in NSW. He said that in 2020, police were notified 31 times about Nazi symbols and flags, but were powerless to act.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Yoga instructor fired after employer reportedly discovers her relationship with, and assistance to, leader of antisemitic hate group
A yoga instructor has been fired after her employer reportedly discovered that her boyfriend is the leader of an antisemitic hate group.
Kelly Johnson was released from her position at a hot yoga studio in Berkeley, California after it was reported that her boyfriend is Jon Minadeo II, the leader of the antisemitic Goyim Defence League (GDL).
The GDL is a group is responsible for stunts such as visiting a Chabad centre to claim that “these Jewish terrorists” were behind 9/11, and hanging a banner on a Los Angeles overpass reading “Honk if you know the Jews want a race war.” Last year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. Recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.
Most recently, the GDL has been responsible for distributing antisemitic flyers to homes across the United States in less than one week, including the driveways of members of the Colleyville synagogue where a British Islamist recently took four people hostage. Written at the top of each flyer reads “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish” alongside the domain “goyim.tv”. The latest incident of flyer distribution has prompted an investigation by the FBI.
A statement released by the yoga studio confirmed that Ms Johnson “is no longer associated with Yoga Hell Petaluma or Hella Yoga Berkeley,” adding that “We are a firm believer in diversity and inclusion” before asserting that “Kelly seems to share in Jon’s beliefs” and “had assisted him in his business of hate.”
It continued: “We were devastated to find out that someone so close to us could be so far from our values.”
Jeff Renfro, a Jewish businessman and founder of Yoga Hell and Hella Yoga, said that he noticed a change in Ms Johnson’s attitudes towards the latter half of 2021, asserting that she even made a comment about sitting next to “smelly Jews” on a plane. Mr Renfro also claimed that after researching Mr Minadeo II, he found that Ms Johnson assisted the group’s leader with the paperwork in the creation of Goyim TV.
Mr Renfro explained the decision in firing Ms Johnson, who he said was “like a sister to him,” made harder due to their close personal and professional relationship. “I told her I’m Jewish, I explained to her that my mother was Jewish…This is something that is not okay, no matter how good of friends we are. This overrides our friendship.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Labour Party antisemitism training uses mural defended by Jeremy Corbyn as example
It has been reported that a mandatory two-hour antisemitism training course delivered to Labour Party MPs and officials depicts the notorious mural that was defended by Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Party, as an example of antisemitism.
In October 2012, Los Angeles-based street artist Mear One, painted a wall in London’s East End which featured apparently-Jewish bankers beneath a pyramid often used by conspiracy theorists playing Monopoly on a board carried by straining, oppressed workers.
Following complaints, the mural was due to be removed, prompting Mear One to post on Facebook: “Tomorrow they want to buff my mural. Freedom of Expression. London Calling, Public art.” Mr Corbyn commented: “Why? You are in good company. Rockerfeller [sic] destroyed Diego Viera’s [sic] mural because it includes a picture of Lenin.”
One Labour source reportedly said of the inclusion of the mural in the training: “Whereas Corbyn defended this image, course facilitators are using it as a potent illustration of antisemitism.”
Other examples used in the 44-slide PowerPoint, which was announced last year and initially met with a revolt and antisemitic conspiracy theories by antisemitism-deniers in the Party, include the blood libel, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Nazi-era drawings, and popular internet memes. The training is required under the Action Plan agreed between the Party and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
The course also teaches the International Definition of Antisemitism, which was adopted by the Party, under pressure, during Mr Corbyn’ tenure as leader.
The Jewish former Labour MP, Ruth Smeeth, said: “We’re under no illusions. Rooting out the toxic culture will not be a quick job. We know it will take time. But by using education, a proper disciplinary process and leadership from Keir Starmer, progress is being made.”
The Labour Party was found by the 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.
Boston Red Sox player released following tweets directed at Jewish Chief Baseball Officer
A second baseman in the Boston Red Sox minor league has been released after embarking on a Twitter rant in which he targeted the baseball team’s Jewish Chief Baseball Officer, Chaim Bloom.
Brett Netzer was released after tweeting, in addition to other inflammatory tweets, that “chaim bloom is a bad actor. dude went to hebrew school and studied the torah growing up but sold his soul to the sodom and race groups. good thing he is good at whatever he does in baseball.”
Mr Netzer also tweeted: “is chaim bloom even jewish?? highly doubtful.”
He added: “the popular slavery/oppression victim-card doesnt go very far when the egyptians were the first people to enslave the One True God’s chosen people, the Hebrews. ironically there is no word for irony in Hebrew lol”
Mr Netzer also targeted Black people, writing: “ive heard a lot of black people call themselves ‘kings’ in america. king of what? lol. i think its time black people go back to their roots and start to re-establish their true black culture- not the fake bullsh*t in america.”
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.
Third incident of students performing Nazi salutes in Toronto school reported this month
A third incident of students performing a Nazi salute in a Toronto school this month has been reported.
On Thursday, 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.
In a letter sent to parents on Friday, Principal Brian Fong said: “Yesterday, during a class discussion, students were asked to raise their hands in response to a question. Two students kept their hands up for a longer period of time, which was seen by the teacher as a ‘Nazi salute’.”
Principal Fong added that a session on Holocaust education for the Grade 6 class is being prepared. “As a result of what has occurred, we believe it’s important for students to be able to understand the impact of hate symbols and will be working to incorporate this as a learning opportunity to underscore our commitment to create a safe and respectful environment at our school.”
The educator in the classroom at the time said that the students “knew exactly what they were doing,” adding: “I felt attacked. They kept their hands up for a long time. It was blatant and so obvious.”
Last week, we reported that the Toronto District School Board had been urged to address a “wave of antisemitism” after Valley Park Middle School, also in North York, sent a letter to parents informing them that antisemitic graffiti had been discovered and that students had performed the Nazi salute in class.
Reportedly, two students had performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher.
A few weeks prior, two students at North York’s Charles H. Best Middle School displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates in an incident that Principal Elever Baker described as “upsetting and unacceptable.”
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
Henry Ford’s antisemitic tract The International Jew is still available for purchase on WH Smith’s website, even after retailer promises to remove it
Henry Ford’s antisemitic tract, The International Jew: Jewish Influences in American Life, is still available for purchase on WH Smith’s website, even after the retailer promised to remove it.
We wrote to WH Smith, observing that “There is no disclaimer on your website explaining the antisemitic contents and history of the book. First published in the early 1920s, the book claimed that a vast Jewish conspiracy was infecting America and fuelled antisemitism there and around the world.
“Adolf Hitler was known to keep copies of The International Jew in his office. While Ford later publicly apologised for the book, antisemites continue to use his name to promote it.
“The basis for the book was the antisemitic hoax known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion — which we have previously found for sale by your franchisees — it purported to be the minutes of a meeting of Jewish leaders, at which they supposedly discussed their plans for global domination. It was used by the Tsar’s secret police and later by the Nazis to justify brutality against Jews.”
WH Smith replied that “We have filters to remove these types of books from links to our third party fulfilment so I’m not sure how it got through. This book will be removed tomorrow.”
However, within a week, the book was again available on the website, and now, one month later, it is still available for purchase.
In the past, WH Smith has removed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as well as editions of Mein Kampf, from sale, following contact from Campaign Against Antisemitism, but other material, including books and DVDs by the antisemitic hate preacher David Icke, remained available for purchase.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We are not asking WH Smith for much, we’d just like them to stop selling some of the most notorious anti-Jewish propaganda used by the Nazis mixed in amongst holiday reads and self-help books. We’ve caught the retailer selling Mein Kampf as an airport bestseller before, and now they’re selling Henry Ford’s infamous tract inciting Jew-hatred. They promised to remove it but now it’s sneaked back onto their website. So often we see gigantic corporations investing heavily in PR to promote their social responsibility agenda, but they talk the talk but fail abjectly to walk the walk.”
University of South Florida suspends fraternity amid antisemitism allegations
The University of South Florida (USF) has temporarily suspended one of its fraternities amid antisemitism allegations.
The news comes shortly after the University released a statement condemning alleged antisemitic behaviour from its students.
One reported incident included the drawing of a swastika on the head of the Jewish fraternity pledge by members of the senior leadership of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.
The statement also reported a social media post minimising the Holocaust.
The letter, sent by Dean Danielle McDonald, said that “Actions such as these are reprehensible and deserve our condemnation,” adding that “Student Conduct and Ethical Development (SCED) is investigating and will act in accordance with the due process standards outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.”
“USF embraces and celebrates diversity in all its forms. Antisemitism, racism, hate, and prejudice have no place here. We remain strong and united in our commitment to the Principles of Community in our pursuit of excellence,” Dean McDonald added.
Pi Kappa Phi’s suspension is to be reviewed tomorrow at an Informational Meeting between the fraternity’s President and a Hearing Officer.
The fraternity also released a statement on Instagram in which they denied that an antisemitic post was made by a member of the group and that the antisemitic action in question, in which a swastika was drawn on a Jewish fraternity pledge, was carried out by a “non-member guest”.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: StopAntisemitism.org
Maine teenager alleged to have plotted mass murder at Chicago synagogues and mosques
A teenager is alleged to have plotted to commit “mass murder” at Chicago synagogues and mosques.
Xavier Pelkey, an eighteen-year-old boy from Maine is said to have been found with shrapnel-packed explosives and has been accused of planning to travel to Chicago and commit “mass murder”.
Mr Pelkey was arrested at his home in Waterville, Maine on 11th February. The FBI discovered three homemade explosive devices in his backpack that were loaded with fireworks, staples, pins and thumbtacks to “increase the amount of shrapnel propelled by an explosion if the devices were detonated”, according to investigators.
Mr Pelkey has been charged with unlawful possession of a destructive device. He said that his aim was to kill as many people as he could and then be killed by the police in what prosecutors described as “a calculated act of violence that was designed to take many lives.”
The suspect had also allegedly been conversing with two other teenagers on Instagram to assist with his scheme.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: U.S. District Court records
Pennsylvania police investigate after graves in three cemeteries vandalised with swastikas
Pennsylvania police have launched an investigation after graves in three separate cemeteries were vandalised with swastikas.
Photographs uploaded to Twitter show large, orange swastikas spray-painted on headstones in Montgomery County.
Also written on one of the headstones was a name and an address.
Plymouth Township Police, who were called at around 6:00 yesterday from a concerned passerby, are using the name and address as a lead but Police Chief John Myrsiades has declined to provide a name at this time.
Chief Myrsiades said: “Either that was the person who did it, or more likely somebody that had a problem with somebody else. So at least it gives us a lead that we’re pursuing to try to get some information.”
He added: “I’m torn between being sickened and being sad.”
In November, hundreds of residents of the Pennsylvania town of Lancaster turned out to support the town’s Jewish community after a chanukiah in the town-centre was vandalised.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
University of South Florida condemns antisemitic behaviour, including the drawing of a swastika on Jewish student
The University of South Florida (USF) has released a statement condemning alleged antisemitic behaviour from its students.
One reported incident included the drawing of a swastika on the head of the Jewish fraternity pledge by members of the senior leadership of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.
The statement also reported a social media post minimising the Holocaust.
The letter, sent by Dean Danielle McDonald, said that “Actions such as these are reprehensible and deserve our condemnation,” adding that “Student Conduct and Ethical Development (SCED) is investigating and will act in accordance with the due process standards outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.”
“USF embraces and celebrates diversity in all its forms. Antisemitism, racism, hate, and prejudice have no place here. We remain strong and united in our commitment to the Principles of Community in our pursuit of excellence,” Dean McDonald added.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: StopAntisemitism.org
Three neo-Nazis plead guilty to planning attack on United States power grids
Three neo-Nazis have pleaded guilty to planning an attack on power grid across the United States.
Jonathan Frost, 24, Christopher Cook, twenty, and Jackson Sawall, 22, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to extremists.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said that “According to these pleas, three individuals engaged in a disturbing plot to attack our country’s energy infrastructure, damage the economy and stoke division in our society, all in the name of white supremacy.”
It has been reported that Mr Frost and Mr Cook met in an online chat room for extremists in 2019, whereupon Mr Sawall, a friend of Mr Cook’s, later joined. It was here that Mr Cook was said to have disseminated neo-Nazi and white supremacist content.
The men plotted to use rifles to attack power grids across the States in a plan that they believed, according to the Justice Department, “would cost the government millions of dollars and cause unrest for Americans in the region.”
The Justice Department added that the men “had conversations about how the possibility of the power being out for many months could cause war, even a race war, and induce the next Great Depression.”
The men met in person in 2020 in Columbus, Ohio, where Mr Cook resided. Here, they spread further neo-Nazi propaganda and painted a swastika flag below a bridge.
Timothy Langan, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, said that the men were motivated by their “racially or ethnically…violent extremist views.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Dutch universities deny anti-Israel group’s request to reveal “Israeli and Jewish connections”
It has been reported that Dutch universities have denied an anti-Israel group’s request in which they asked universities to reveal any ties they may have with Israeli and Jewish organisations.
Universiteiten van Nederland (UNL), an umbrella group that represents fourteen Dutch universities, said last week that the request had caused “considerable unrest” but under freedom of information rules, they were obligated to reply.
The request was made by The Rights Forum, an organisation founded in 2009 by former Dutch Prime Minister Andreas van Agt, after alleging that pro-Israel university groups were stifling debates concerning Israel.
The organisation said that it had requested the universities to reveal their ties with Israeli academic institutions and companies, and other groups “known for their active and unconditional support for Israel’s domination of the Palestinians”.
Binyomin Jacobs, the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands, remarked that the request “reeks of antisemitism” and that it implied a “shadowy Zionist/Jewish cabal is operating in the Dutch university system”.
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.
Toronto District School Board urged to address “wave of antisemitism” after students perform Nazi salute in front of Jewish teacher
After another report of students performing Nazi salutes in a Toronto school within weeks of a similar incident, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has been urged to address a “wave of antisemitism”.
On Thursday, Valley Park Middle School in North York sent a letter to parents informing them that antisemitic graffiti had been discovered and that students had performed the Nazi salute in class.
Reportedly, two students had performed the Nazi salute to their classmates, while a third shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk, all in the presence of their Jewish teacher.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center spoke to the teacher of the Grade 8 class, a Jewish woman and daughter of Holocaust survivors who was said to be “very hurt, very upset, very traumatised” by the event.
Valley Park Middle School Principal George Bartzis said that the incident was “upsetting and unacceptable,” adding: “We take great pride in our school as a welcoming, safe, and inclusive place and this has always been our message to students. It is also not reflective of who we are and what we stand for as a school and as a community.”
The incident was also condemned by the Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, who said that it was “as sad as it is hurtful and obviously unacceptable. It is extremely troubling to see antisemitic acts, especially among young people, happening in our community.”
This latest incident comes only weeks after the news that two students at Charles H. Best Middle School, also located in the North York area, displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates.
Shari Schwartz-Maltz, a spokesperson for the TDSB and Chair of the School Board’s Jewish Heritage Committee, said that the students responsible would face “consequences” and that the Board would be taking on a more proactive approach in tackling antisemitism.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said that the school board was witnessing a “wave of antisemitism” that was “unprecedented in terms of both number of incidents and their escalating gravity.”
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.
Indiana University condemns antisemitic comments on fraternity website
Indiana University has condemned antisemitic comments made on a Greek life website, a website for people to discuss matters concerning fraternities and sororities.
According to one screenshot, one post said: “The truth is that their huge noses, afros, and smelliness prevent them from being attractive so they rape and justify it with their sick way of looking at the world…Their families are in positions of power therefore they get away with everything and are not scared.”
On Monday, Indiana University Hillel released a statement of support on Instagram in which it said: “Please know that you can reach out to us at any time for support. Your Jewish Home Away From Home is always here for you. We are working with the University and IU Student Leaders to combat this horrible antisemitism. We are stronger together.”
The University’s Executive Vice President, Rahul Shrivastav, confirmed that a police investigation was underway, adding: “This attempt to anonymously spread hate is cowardly, horrific, and simply unacceptable in the IU community.”
In November, it was reported that at least a dozen mezuzahs had been stolen from Jewish students at Indiana University.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Author and activist Ben M. Freeman on why looking at history is vital in tackling antisemitism
On the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, Ben M. Freeman, an author, activist and educator, spoke about the importance of having a basic understanding of history and why it is vital in tackling antisemitism.
Speaking on his passion for studying history, Mr Freeman told our host that “I was always able to view history from a bird’s-eye perspective, and I don’t know why that is…it’s just the way my mind works. So, for me, that means I’m able to spot patterns.
“That’s why I can look at Paul [the Apostle], and then Marx, and then things that were said later on, things that are said today, and then draw a connection.”
Mr Freeman said that looking at common themes between historical events can better explain the events behind antisemitic incidents and “tell us why”. “So much of the commentary on Jew-hatred is just commentary, it’s just people describing what happened. ‘This person said this, that person said this,’ and for me, we have to get to the ‘why’, and the ‘why’ is not going to be answered in 2022, it’s going to be answered looking back in history to thousands of years ago.”
When asked where he would recommend people who may not know a lot about antisemitism to start in their fight against anti-Jewish racism, Mr Freeman explained how a basic understanding of common antisemitic tropes can be used to build a deeper framework of knowledge, explaining that it was for this reason that he outlined these often-used tropes in his book, Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People.
“In chapter one, I break it down into economic libel, blood libel, conspiracy fantasy and the racial libel. Then, if you kind of understand those basic ideas, look into history. Look at how we’re perceived. Look at how we have been treated. Look at narratives that have come about that you might not even be aware are about Jews.”
“I am obsessed with history,” Mr Freeman continued. “You have to understand the ‘why’. You have to understand the theory, the context, and to do that, we have to look at history. Start off with the basics. Look at the Holocaust, look at things that were said then, and it’s then always about going back in time because it didn’t start wherever you’re studying, it started before that, before that, before that.”
The podcast with Mr Freeman 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.
Romanian officials pay tribute to hundreds of Holocaust refugees who died in sinking of ship
For the first time in the country’s history, Romanian officials have paid tribute to the hundreds of Jewish refugees fleeing persecution during the Holocaust who died in the tragic sinking of a ship.
In December 1941, nearly 800 Jewish people boarded the MV Struma, a ship due to travel from the southern Romanian coastal city of Constanţa to Mandatory Palestine via Turkey. However, once the boat docked in Istanbul, Turkish authorities refused to provide entry to the refugees, leaving the boat in the harbour for over two months. Authorities then towed the boat out to sea without an anchor or working engine, and the boat sank the very next day. It is believed that a Soviet submarine mistook the MV Struma for a hostile vessel, and torpedoed it, leaving only one survivor.
On Tuesday, a ceremony, attended by approximately 80 people, was held in commemoration at Constanţa. Romanian Rear Admiral Mihai Panait said at the event: “We commemorate today not only a tragic event, but we also bring back the attention to the suffering caused by the repression of the Jews during the Second World War.”
David Saranga, Israel’s ambassador to Romania, said: “It’s the first time that Romania officially commemorates the Struma’s tragedy on Romanian soil, and it’s part of the efforts of successive governments in recent years to face the past and the events of the Holocaust era, when half of the country’s Jewish community was murdered.”
Last month, a Romanian political party was criticised for referring to Holocaust education as a “minor topic”.
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.
Following contact from CAA, BBC Sounds agrees to add context to Lady Mosley interview containing Holocaust denial
BBC Sounds, an online streaming platform that contains live and archived radio broadcasts, has agreed to include additional background information about the content of an interview containing Holocaust denial, after contact from Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The interview in question is between interviewee, Lady Diana Mosley, and interviewer, Sue Lawley, and was first broadcast in November 1989 as part of the BBC’s Desert Island Discs series. Lady Mosley was the wife of Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the antisemitic British Union of Fascists. The two wedded in Joseph Goebbels’ house in the presence of Adolf Hitler.
During the interview, Lady Mosley, who died in 2003, reportedly says of her late husband: “He didn’t know a Jew from a gentile…as the Jews were so anti him and attacked him, he, as it were, picked up the challenge.”
When Ms Lawley asked Lady Mosley whether she believed that six million Jews had died in the Holocaust, Lady Mosley replies: “I don’t really, I’m afraid…believe that six million people were…I just think it’s not conceivable, it’s too many.”
“But whether it’s six million or one really makes no difference morally, it’s equally wrong,” Lady Mosley adds. “I think it was a dreadfully wicked thing.”
Lady Mosley also referred to historians’ reporting of Hitler as “nonsense”, adding that “if you don’t like someone, you attack them.”
Ms Lawley reportedly told Lady Mosley that “It’s almost as if you’re rewriting history.” She also said, in response to Lady Mosley’s denial of her husband’s antisemitism, “But did he not call them [the Jews] ‘an alien force which rises to rob us of our heritage’?”
At first, a BBC spokesperson said: “This episode of Desert Island Discs is part of the most complete possible archive resource of programmes from the past 80 years and is not something that is being newly transmitted. The programme page indicates that Lady Diana Mosley was married to Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists, and clearly shows the date of broadcast. Radio 4’s audience is likely to be aware of the controversial views that Lady Diana Mosley held if they choose to explore the archive.”
However, Campaign Against Antisemitism complained to the BBC that more specific background information about the interviewee should be provided. The omission of such information was particularly noteworthy given, as The Telegraph reported, the BBC was appending such warnings to its backlog of fictional programmes, such as Dad’s Army.
The BBC has now responded to us to say that, following our complaint, “for clarity, we have now provided updated and additional information about the content, including highlighting her denial of the Holocaust.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are pleased that, following contact from us, the BBC is bringing its provision of background information in relation to actual Holocaust deniers in its archive into line with the context that it provides for its backlog of fictional programming. We would like to think that this is the beginning of a new responsiveness to Jewish communal concerns at the BBC, given recent events and the broadcaster’s record.”
Recently, Campaign Against Antisemitism visited Broadcasting House, the BBC’s headquarters in London, to tell the Corporation to “switch off the Jew-hate”. We projected selected instances from just the past eighteen months of the BBC’s bias against Jews or antisemitism onto the broadcaster’s iconic building. The intervention came as the BBC is rocked with controversy over antisemitism, triggered by its abominable coverage of an antisemitic incident on Oxford Street which its Executive Complaints Unit has largely defended (and even that defence has had to be further clarified). In December, we held a rally outside Broadcasting House, attended by hundreds of protestors, to deliver the message: “BBC News: Stop Blaming Jews!” Lord Grade, a former Chairman of the BBC, told Podcast Against Antisemitism that the BBC’s reportage was “shoddy journalism” and called for answers in a video supporting the rally, which was endorsed also by Dame Maureen Lipman.
Ofcom is now investigating the coverage, which, as our projections onto the Broadcasting House showed, is only one example of many in which the BBC has exhibited bias against Jews or even indulged in antisemitism. The result has been the gradual erosion of the Jewish community’s confidence in the BBC.
Polling that we conducted in 2020 for our Antisemitism Barometer already revealed that two thirds of British Jews were deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. It is likely that these figures would be even higher if polled today.
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].
Charity Commission allows organisation to pursue charitable registration even after it publishes antisemitic “enemies of Allah” post
The Charity Commission has told Campaign Against Antisemitism that it will permit an organisation to continue to pursue charitable registration even after we alerted the regulator to an antisemitic social media post published by the group.
Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust appeared in a December social media post to describe Jews and Christians as “enemies of Allah” and warn its followers to stay away from them.
The organisation, which functions as a bookshop and was promoted by Brent Council, shared a post reading: “Keep away from the enemies of Allaah [sic] the Jews & Christians on their day of gathering during their festivities, for verily the anger (of Allaah) descends upon them and I fear that you will (also) be afflicted with it.”
The quotation is attributed to Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the second Rashidun Caliph, and is featured in Al-Bayhaqi Fi Shu’ab Al-Emaan, a collection of Hadiths compiled by Imam Al-Bayhaqi.
The image in the tweet was captioned: “Be warned of having any sort of involvement in the celebrations of the unbelievers, let alone Christmas whereby it is claimed that Allaah has begotten a son! Lest you may be afflicted with the anger of Allaah along with them!”
Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust describes itself as “a charitable trust based in North West London who work for the benefit and enlightenment of the local community.”
We wrote to Brent Council, which observed in its reply that the organisation was no longer listed on its website since we published our article, and to the Charity Commission.
The Commission replied to say that it had engaged with Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust “to seek a direct response to the concerns” and that it “also requested further information regarding the Organisation’s charitable status.” However, the regulator went on to say that it “recently received a response from the Organisation, in which the Organisation has provided various assurances, including to confirm that the social media post has been removed. The Organisation is also currently in the process of seeking charitable registration.”
The Commission concluded that, “Having considered the information and assurances provided by the Organisation, I can confirm that the Commission’s assessment of this matter will now be closed,” merely highlighting to the Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust its responsibilities under charitable law and guidance, should it become a charity.
Campaign Against Antisemitism is considering further legal options.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “While most of the country was enjoying the season of goodwill, the Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust was using its Twitter account to implore the Muslim community to stay away from Jews and Christians and regard them as an enemy. It is extraordinary that the Charity Commission should consider such an organisation to be fit to apply for charitable status even after being alerted to this post. We are considering further legal options.”
Canadian Mayor apologises for referring to rally that featured swastikas as “peaceful”
A Canadian Mayor has apologised after she referred to an anti-vaccination rally where swastikas were present as “peaceful”.
The rally was organised in opposition to mandates concerning the vaccination status of truckers returning to the United States from Canada. However, among other signs and flags at the rally, the Nazi symbol was also on display throughout.
At one point during the demonstration, Conservative MP Michael Cooper delivered a televised interview whilst a flag bearing a swastika was visible in the background.
The Mayor of Fredericton, Kate Rogers, apologised for her remarks after Dr Manju Varma, the Commissioner on Systemic Racism for New Brunswick, said that it was wrong to call the rally peaceful, stating: “I can count racist symbolism and imagery directly tied to or explicitly referencing white ethnonationalism, white supremacy, antisemitism, anti-refugee hate, and far-right extremism…Let me be absolutely and unequivocally clear: these are acts of violence.”
Mayor Rogers apologised on Twitter, writing: “When I referred to the protest this past weekend as peaceful, I meant that it was contained and managed without use of force.
“I understand that my characterisation of the protest minimised the impact felt by members of our community and I am sorry.”
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.
Spree of antisemitic vandalism leads Massachusetts college to hold remote classes and offer $10,000 reward for information
In response to a spree of antisemitic vandalism in recent weeks at Curry College, a private college in Massachusetts, the College has decided to hold remote classes today, in addition to its offer of a $10,000 reward for information.
According to officials at the College, twenty swastikas have been discovered on the premises so far, in addition to a note targeting Black people.
In a statement released at the time that the initial act of vandalism was discovered, the College said: “Our support and care go out to everyone in our community, but particularly to our fellow Jewish and Black community members affected by this act…The College has both clear policies against hostile or hateful speech and a full commitment to creating a safe, welcoming, and diverse campus.”
Last week, however, after further incidents of antisemitism were discovered in the laundry room and a bathroom of a residence hall, the College in the town of Milton said that it would give a $10,000 reward to anyone who could provide information on the incident.
The College has also decided to host its classes remotely today after a note threatening Black people was discovered which mentioned the date of 22nd February.
Curry College President Kenneth Quigley Jr. said that “These disgusting acts of racism and antisemitism will not be tolerated on our campus,” adding: “The person or persons responsible for this must be identified, removed from our campus, and brought to justice.”
In December, we reported that Mount Holyoke College, a prestigious women’s college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, has seen its third report of an antisemitic incident that semester after a swastika and an antisemitic slur were allegedly found in the bathroom.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Jewish woman on London bus left shaken after passenger tells driver Jews shouldn’t be allowed on
A Jewish woman on a London bus was left shaken after a fellow passenger allegedly shouted to the driver that Jews shouldn’t be allowed on.
The suspect was reportedly sitting behind the victim and shouted to the driver: “Why are you letting on Jewish people, they are not supposed to be here.”
He then continued his verbal attack on Jewish people before the bus driver told him to leave the bus, which he did.
Campaign Against Antisemitism understands that the suspect is believed to be a middle-aged black male of average build. He was said to be five feet and six inches tall and wore dark clothing with a green cap.
The incident occurred on a 254 bus that was going towards Stamford Hill at 09:04 on 27th January and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 7976/21FEB22.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Antisemitic conspiracies believed to have contributed to man’s murder of his own family
Antisemitic conspiracy theories are believed to have been a contributing factor as to why a man murdered his own family last year.
German police said that the man, who lived in the State of Brandenburg and, before killing himself, reportedly shot his wife and children aged four, eight and ten on 7th December, feared that his children would be taken away from him owing to a forged coronavirus document.
According to Germany’s Interior Ministry, investigators uncovered messages sent by the man that indicated he was fearful that Germany’s vaccine mandates were part of a plan to “to halve the world population and establish a new world order under Jewish leadership.”
Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Brazilian podcaster Bruno Aiub fired after calling for launch of Nazi Party in Brazil
A Brazilian podcaster has been fired and could potentially face criminal charges after he called for the launch of a Nazi Party in Brazil.
Bruno Aiub, a 31-year-old podcaster with a following of 3.6 million on YouTube and 1 million on Twitch, said on his podcast Flow, where he interviews politicians, that “I think there should be a Nazi party recognised by law” and that “the radical left has much more space than the radical right.”
He further stated that “If someone wants to be anti-Jewish, I think they have a right to be.”
Estudio Flow, the producer of the podcast, has since removed the video from social media and fired Mr Aiub from his position as host of the podcast.
Other people who have been interviewed on the podcast in the past have asked for their interviews also to be removed from social media, while Estudio Flow also lost several sponsors and the rights to broadcast football matches of the Football Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Following the incident, Mr Aiub apologised and argued that his comments were made when he was “totally drunk”.
The public prosecutor’s office reported that it may order an investigation into the “alleged offence of apologising for Nazism”. This includes not only Mr Aiub’s comments but also comments by centrist MP Kim Kataguiri, who reportedly claimed that Germany had “made a mistake by criminalising the Nazi Party.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
“F*** Jews” spray-painted on Israeli restaurant in New York City
The words ‘F*** Jews’ were spray-painted three times on a newly opened Israeli restaurant named Miriam on the Upper West Side in New York City on Thursday 17 February.
This antisemitic incident occurred at the same time as the Mayor, Eric Adams was scheduled to hold a meeting to address the increase of antisemitic incidents across the city. The NYPD hate crimes unit reported 22 hate crimes against Jews from 1st January to 1st February. This is compared to eight hate crimes in the same period in 2021.
New York State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal wrote that “My constituents woke up to hateful and disgusting antisemitic graffiti…I encourage our neighbours to support Miriam.”
Mark Levine, the President of the Borough of Manhattan, called the incident “disgusting” and said that “we can’t accept this as normal.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
FBI investigating antisemitic flyers deposited in driveways of members of Colleyville synagogue targeted by hostage-taker, while other flyers continue to appear across United States
The FBI is investigating antisemitic flyers that were deposited in the driveways of members of the Colleyville synagogue where a British Islamist recently took four people hostage.
According to reports, one flyer in the driveways in Texas claimed that “every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish,” while another made references to Jewish members of the Biden administration. Yet another reportedly read: “Black lives murder white children.”
It is believed that the flyers are associated with the antisemitic “Goyim TV” group, which has repeatedly been involved in the distribution of antisemitic flyers in recent months.
Furthermore, just in the last few days, similar antisemitic flyers to those in Texas have appeared across the United States, including in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Virginia, in some cases in multiple disparate locations in those states.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Isles of Scilly councillor required to take diversity training after accusing officials of creating “conditions similar to those in Bergen-Belsen or Dachau” in row over public bins and toilets
A councillor in the Isles of Scilly has been told that he must take diversity training after he accused officials of creating “conditions similar to those in Bergen-Belsen or Dachau” in row over public bins and toilets.
Toby Tobin-Dougan, 63, made what was reportedly described as a “crass assertion” in an e-mail to a colleague and council officers.
A scrutiny committee reportedly found that the independent councillor’s comments, made in October of last year, had been “offensive in the extreme” and designed to “bully the recipients”.
Cllr Tobin-Dougan represents St Martin’s, the northernmost island in the archipelago. The island receives some 400 visitors a day in the summertime but has only one public toilet and no public waste bins. The Council says that it has begun working with the Duchy of Cornwall, which owns the land on the outer islands, to provide public bins.
Cllr Tobin-Dougan has been instructed to write a “meaningful apology” and attend diversity training, “with an emphasis on the need to ensure that respect should be given to the Holocaust.”
He reportedly told The Times that he was not a bully and that the e-mail had been sent “in the heat of the moment”, while a member of the scrutiny committee allegedly described the analogy with a Nazi death camp as “outrageous, beyond all decency,” and that it besmirched the Nazis’ victims. They added: “Were I able to, I would have no hesitation in recommending [Cllr Tobin-Dougan] be suspended.”
The Isles of Scilly have not yet adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
International politics lecturer at Queen Mary University claims International Definition of Antisemitism is “harmful to anti-racism and even to Jews”
A reader in international politics at Queen Mary University in London has claimed that the International Definition of Antisemitism is “harmful to anti-racism and even to Jews.”
Clive Gabay made the comments in relation to an event that he organised against the Definition, which has been adopted by the University. The event took place at the picket line during unrelated strike action.
Dr Gabay, a long-time campaigner against the Definition, asserted that the University has “adopted the IHRA [Definition] without consultation,” even though it is widely supported by Jewish students and the Jewish community.
He described his talk as arguing that the Definition “is a bad conceptual definition…harmful to Palestinians, to anti-racism and even to Jews,” and reportedly suggested that “antisemitism is taken more seriously than other forms of racism.” Last October, he tweeted: “It’s a question about why Jewish student voices are taken so much more seriously than trans, black and/or Muslim student voices. To come closer to home, at my university all it took was for *2* students to meet with our senior management for the university to adopt the IHRA [Definition].”
The event attracted criticism from academics and students. The President of the Queen Mary University Jewish Society said: “This event should not have taken place on the picket line and damages the relationship between [Queen Mary] and Jewish students. However, as one of the Jewish students who secured the IHRA definition at Queen Mary, it was necessary to attend this teach-out event and respond to the panel’s discourse. I certainly rebutted their comments and demonstrated, giving first hand evidence, why the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism is the definition which protects Jewish students on and off campus and it is here to stay.”
Late last year, the Queen Mary University Students’ Union repealed its previous adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism and replaced it with the Jerusalem Declaration, which is a wrecking document intended to undermine the globally-recognised Definition. The measure was reportedly not discussed with Jewish students, who reacted with disgust.
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].
Nazi concentration camps recreated in popular children’s online game
A popular children’s online game drew attention recently after it was discovered that some of its users had recreated Nazi concentration camps.
Roblox is a computer game where users can create, and interact with, virtual worlds. It has been discovered that users were able to interact with a virtual Nazi concentration camp where they were able to click “execute” to then release deadly gas from showerheads.
There was also reportedly a railroad built in order to simulate the entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Tanya Carter, of the Safe Schools Alliance campaign group, a grassroots organisation that campaigns to uphold child safeguarding in schools, said: “We are horrified to hear of Nazi rooms featuring dead bodies and gas chambers…This is particularly disturbing in a climate of rising antisemitism.”
In a statement, Roblox said: “We have zero tolerance for content or behaviours that promote or glorify extremism, including antisemitism.
“We have removed the experiences in question and permanently banned the individuals who created them from our platform. We work tirelessly to maintain a platform that is safe, civil and inclusive, and we use a combination of manual and automated detection tools to swiftly remove experiences that do not comply with our Community Standards.
“We are committed to preventing this type of content from being uploaded to our platform, remove it as soon as we learn about it, and take appropriate steps against those who have uploaded the content.
“In tandem with our efforts, we encourage anyone to report content or behaviour that may promote extremism using our Report Abuse feature, and we have a dedicated team of thousands who act on those reports.”
It was also reported in September that Roblox, in addition to other online games including Call of Duty and Minecraft, was being used as a means of spreading antisemitism.
Roblox spokespeople condemned the news at the time, stating: “We work relentlessly to ensure our platform remains a safe and civil space, and with a combination of machine learning and a team of over 2,000 moderators, we monitor for safety 24-7 to detect and swiftly act on any inappropriate content or behaviour.”
Activists convicted of “falsely accusing” Holocaust-revisionist bishop of antisemitism
A prominent Athens bishop has been acquitted by a court of antisemitic rhetoric, with the activists behind the claims being found guilty of “falsely accusing” him.
In 2015, Bishop Seraphim, the Metropolitan of Piraeus, allegedly said that the “international Zionist monster” that “controlled” the left-leaning government in power at the time was to blame for new legislation increasing civil rights among same-sex couples, while five years earlier he told a local television station that Jews were to blame for Greece’s debilitating debt crisis and that they had orchestrated the Holocaust. He later stated that these comments were his personal opinions and not those of the church.
Instead, the two human rights activists were found guilty of “falsely accusing” the Greek Orthodox bishop of racist hate speech by the three-member Athens tribunal and were given twelve-month jail sentences, suspended for three years.
Andrea Gilbert, one of the two activists who works at the Greek Helsinki Monitor rights group, said that the “outrageous” verdict was “representative of the institutionalised antisemitism that exists in Greece.” Ms Gilbert added: “We have immediately appealed and will fight it all the way.”
Ms Gilbert, in addition to the other convicted activist, the Helsinki Monitor spokesperson, Panayote Dimitras, had brought the complaint against Bishop Seraphim in April 2017. The pair accused the Bishop of public incitement to violence and hatred, in addition to abuse of ecclesiastical office.
The accusations referred to a statement that Greece’s Central Board of Jewish Communities, KIS, described as containing “well-known antisemitic stereotypes, conspiracy theories and traditional Jew-hating attitudes.”
Over two years later, their complaint was dismissed by a prosecutor, who argued that the Bishop’s statement should have been viewed within the framework of the Christian Orthodox church. The pair were charged in November and the case was referred to trial by a prosecutor after the Bishop filed his own complaint against the activists for reportedly making false statements.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Sir Keir Starmer shows pragmatism over principle in revealing interview with Channel 4 News
In a Channel 4 News interview broadcast on 15th February, Sir Keir Starmer declined to express remorse for serving alongside and backing the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn, and said that whether Mr Corbyn returned to the Parliamentary Labour Party, from which he is currently suspended, is “a matter for him and the Chief Whip”.
In comments that are unlikely to satisfy those who question how Sir Keir could have served in Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet through the years of the Labour Party’s antisemitism crisis, only to begin to speak out against it when he ran for leader of the Party, Sir Keir nevertheless did go on speculate that Mr Corbyn is unlikely to be a Labour candidate in the next General Election.
Asked by presenter Cathy Newman, “Do you regret serving alongside Jeremy Corbyn?” Sir Keir responded: “No. I think it’s very important for people to make the arguments wherever they can, and that gave me the ability to make the argument about NATO in the Shadow Cabinet.”
Ms Newman pressed the Labour leader, asking: “Would you and are you looking to deselect Jeremy Corbyn now so that he can’t stand again as a Labour MP?”
Sir Keir replied: “Well Jeremy Corbyn’s position at the moment is that he’s not got the Labour whip for reasons that everybody understands in relation to his response to the antisemitism report. That remains the situation, and will remain the situation until something’s done about it.”
Ms Newman further asked: “But are you going to show leadership on this and deselect him?” Sir Keir responded, “Well look, the whip has been removed from Jeremy and that’s the same position it’s been for…” but was interrupted by the presented, who observed: “But that’s different from deselecting him for the next election.” Sir Keir reiterated: “Well, he’s not a Labour MPa t the moment.”
Finally, Ms Newman asked: “Can you see any scenario that he will stand under the Labour banner at the next election?”
He replied: Well, at the moment he’s not a Labour MP and so I don’t see how that’s possible, but you know that’s a matter for him and the Chief Whip, but, you know, we’ve been in this position for over a year now.”
Meanwhile, Labour has reportedly dropped an investigation into Diana Neslen, a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour. Ms Neslen apparently threatened to sue the Labour Party for discrimination based on her anti-Zionist beliefs and her position, expressed in a 2017 tweet that was reportedly the subject of Labour’s investigation, that the Jewish state is a “racist endeavour”. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” is an example of antisemitism.
This matter was also the cause of one of the BBC’s numerous recent controversies in relation to antisemitism, as the broadcaster invited Ms Neslen to a panel to discuss whether anti-Zionism should be a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, only to invite someone else instead, record the segment but then not air it after pressure from an outraged Jewish community.
In the past, Ms Neslen has reportedly denied that the Jewish former Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Dame Louise Ellman were “hounded out” of the party under Mr Corbyn, and has apparently posted: “Zionism is not Judaism. It is blasphemy.”
Also in the past week, Mr Corbyn withdrew from what news reports described as a “Hamas-linked rally”.
Joe Gasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This interview is revealing. Once again, Sir Keir Starmer has not apologised for standing by Jeremy Corbyn through the years of Labour’s antisemitism crisis, and he has declined to show leadership by actively deselecting the former leader, relying instead on Mr Corbyn being automatically replaced by virtue of his ongoing suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party. Even with regard to the future of that suspension, Sir Keir avoided taking responsibility, asserting that it was not a matter for him but for the Chief Whip. The only bright spot was that he could not foresee Mr Corbyn having the endorsement of the Labour Party in the next General Election.
“This is illustrative of how Sir Keir is addressing antisemitism in the Labour Party: passively letting things happen in the hope that the antisemites will go away without showing real leadership by calling out racism against Jews for what it is and actively expelling it. This is about pushing the problem away rather than seeking justice; it is pragmatism over principle.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Jeremy Corbyn, holding him responsible for conduct that is prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the Labour Party, as the Leader during the period of the EHRC’s shameful findings. Given the serious detriment that this conduct has caused, we are seeking Mr Corbyn’s immediate resuspension and, if the complaint is upheld, we will be requesting his expulsion. On the day of the publication of the EHRC’s report, we also submitted a major complaint against Mr Corbyn and other sitting MPs. These complaints are yet to be acknowledged by the Party, and they must be investigated by an independent disciplinary process that the EHRC has demanded and Sir Keir has promised but has yet to introduce.
The Labour Party was found by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to have engaged in unlawful discrimination and harassment of Jews. The report followed the EHRC’s investigation of the Labour Party in which Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant, submitting hundreds of pages of evidence and legal argument. Sir Keir Starmer called the publication of the report a “day of shame” for the Labour Party.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism advocates for zero tolerance of antisemitism in public life. To that end we monitor all political parties and strive to ensure that any cases of concern are properly addressed.
West London Synagogue rabbi discusses “daunting but important” task of teaching conversion students about antisemitism
On the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, Rabbi Emily Reitsma-Jurman, a rabbi at the West London Synagogue of British Jews, discussed the “daunting but important” task of teaching prospective converts to Judaism about antisemitism.
Rabbi Emily said that teaching converts about antisemitism was a “huge challenge”, owing to the fact that she needed to fulfill her obligation of warning them about Jew-hatred without quelling their enthusiasm surrounding their newfound religion. “We know we have that responsibility,” she said, “but we try to do it in such a way that it’s balanced out with all of the positives that they’ll get from living a religiously, culturally, wonderfully Jewish life.”
Rabbi Emily also stressed the importance of teaching the history of antisemitism whilst also “checking in” with her students emotionally in order to better equip them on how to handle real-life antisemitism. “Sometimes it’s obvious antisemitism, sometimes its much less obvious. Or, it’s a weird feeling that they get when they’re in a situation, and so we try to keep having those conversations with them as they’re going through the process of learning
“To catch them up with all that history is daunting, but important.”
Rabbi Emily also noted that many of her students felt “caught off guard” at the video footage that surfaced last May of a convoy of cars driving through a Jewish neighbourhood shouting “F*** the Jews…rape their daughters” through megaphones. “Everyone had seen it and shared it, and suddenly I found myself with conversion students who were saying ‘I don’t know what to do when I see this, and I don’t know how to feel when I see this,’ and it struck me that up until that point, I had been very good at teaching a sort of academic form of antisemitism. ‘This is what makes up antisemitism, this is how we can recognise it.’ What I hadn’t done was help them deal with the emotional side of it.
“So, what do you do when you feel unsafe? What do you do when you feel insecure? What do you do when something is happening in front of you? Where do you go to report it? And also sitting with them in the sadness that that’s what we need to do. They have a real sense of grief, I think, a lot of the time when they learn about this. But they’re so excited about being Jewish, they’re so enthusiastic about it, and now we have to deal with some of the issues that come around that.”
Rabbi Emily added: “I’m not going to solve antisemitism with my students, but I can help them express their feelings and help them to know that there are safe places to go.”
The podcast with Rabbi Emily can be listened to here, with the longer, video version available 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.
Mayor of New York lambasts “disgusting” graffiti targeting Jewish people in Queens
The Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, has lambasted “disgusting” graffiti targeting Jewish people that was found scrawled on the window of a Queens dental office.
A photograph shows the word “JEWS” scrawled across a window with a profanity preceding it. The graffiti was reportedly discovered by a rabbi on Saturday, after the Jewish Sabbath had ended, who then reported it to the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
Mayor Adams said in a tweet: “This would be disgusting anytime but it’s especially outrageous as we come to the end of Shabbos. We won’t let this vicious hatred go unanswered in our city.”
In a second tweet, Mayor Adams said: “@NYPDHateCrimes is investigating this attack, and make no mistake an attack on our Jewish community is an attack on every New Yorker. We will catch the perpetrators of this assault.”
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards also spoke out against the vandalism on Twitter, writing: “There are no words to accurately describe how hideous and vile this is. Hate cannot be accepted anywhere, but especially not in the World’s Borough. If you spew antisemitism or hate in our borough, you will be caught. You will be prosecuted. You will never win.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Dutch universities ask for more time to respond to pro-Palestinian group’s request to reveal “Israeli and Jewish connections”
It has been reported that Dutch universities have requested more time from a pro-Palestinian group’s request in which they asked universities to reveal any ties they may have with Israeli and Jewish organisations.
Universiteiten van Nederland (UNL), an umbrella group that represents fourteen Dutch universities, said that the request had caused “considerable unrest” but under freedom of information rules, they were obligated to reply.
The request was made by The Rights Forum, an organisation founded in 2009 by former Dutch Prime Minister Andreas van Agt, after alleging that pro-Israel university groups were stifling debates concerning Israel.
The organisation said that it had requested the universities to reveal their ties with Israeli academic institutions and companies, and other groups “known for their active and unconditional support for Israel’s domination of the Palestinians”.
Binyomin Jacobs, the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands, remarked that the request “reeks of antisemitism” and that it implied a “shadowy Zionist/Jewish cabal is operating in the Dutch university system”.
Rabbi Jacobs added that he was concerned by “the number of universities that were so compliant with such a transparently antisemitic request. It reminds us that most mayors cooperated during the occupation to pass on the names of their Jewish citizens to the Germans.”
UNL has said that it has asked the Rights Forum for a delay “so that they have time to process it”, and added: “The request is for the disclosure of institutional partnerships between Dutch universities and the organisations specified in the request. It specifically excludes partnerships between individual academics.”
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.
Amnesty UK takes no action after its Racial Justice Lead apologises for calling Jews “shady” in historic social media post
The controversial activist group, Amnesty UK, has reportedly taken no action after its Racial Justice Lead apologised for a historic social media post in which he appeared to describe Jewish people as “shady”.
According to the Jewish News, Ilyas Nagdee was asked by a friend on Facebook for his thoughts on Orthodox Jews in Bury, in Greater Manchester. The friend said that they were “laughin at Jews [sic]” and joked that “the Jew might hit me with a walking stick.” Mr Nagdee replied: “True. There shady people [sic].”
In another comment, apparently in reference to Hasidic garb, Mr Nagdee reportedly wrote: “Hahahahaha bummmmmmmmm hats.”
When alerted to the comments, Amnesty UK said: “We immediately looked into this matter as soon as we were made aware of it. As an anti-racist organisation, we oppose discrimination, racism and hate crime in all their forms, including against Jewish people or people perceived as Jewish. Ilyas has explained the circumstances of these comments made when he was sixteen years old – he has clearly and unreservedly apologised and we now consider the matter closed.”
Mr Nagdee said: “This conversation happened in 2010 when I was sixteen. I was completely wrong to have talked this way and I totally regret doing so. Like many people, I’ve been on a journey since my early years and have long opposed all discrimination, racism and hate crime – including all forms of antisemitism. I want to make clear: I unreservedly apologise for these comments from twelve years ago.”
Earlier this week it was reported that the Charity Commission has opened an investigation of Amnesty International in relation to a recent inflammatory report on Israel. Mr Nagdee, who is a former presentative of the National Union of Students, has claimed that Amnesty is the victim of a “smear campaign” led by the Jewish state. He has also reportedly called for the release of prisoners convicted of terrorism from Israeli jails, and has posted comments on social media appearing to deny the Jewish state’s legitimacy.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Britain’s Jews have enough experience with so-called ‘anti-racists’ not to be shocked to learn that Amnesty quickly closed its investigation against Ilyas Nagdee, who remains the Racial Justice Lead. The Jewish community knows very well where it stands in relation to the web of Amnesty organisations.”
Image credit: Jewish News
Extinction Rebellion co-founder who called Holocaust “just another f***ery in human history” to launch new controversial environmental group
The co-founder of the controversial activist group Extinction Rebellion, who was disowned by his colleagues after he described the Holocaust as “just another f***ery in human history,” is reportedly planning to launch a new environmental campaigning group.
Roger Hallam has apparently spoken to meetings across the country to recruit a “direct action” force for a new campaign called “Just Stop Oil”, to be launched in March with a series of blockades of petrol stations, oil depots and refineries.
Although Extinction Rebellion disavowed Mr Hallam, it is understood that at least 23 of the 71 recruitment meetings held by Just Stop Oil were jointly organised by Extinction Rebellion, a spokesperson for which insisted: “We’re all part of the climate movement and so Roger is free to talk to us. But we are separate organisations.”
Mr Hallam made the comment about the Holocaust in an interview to the German newspaper, Die Zeit, in 2019. He told the newspaper, “the extremity of a trauma can create a paralysis in actually learning the lessons from it. The fact of the matter is, millions of people have been killed in vicious circumstances on a regular basis throughout history, ” adding: “They went to the Congo in the late 19th century and decimated it,” before adding that contextually, the Holocaust was “almost a normal event…just another f***ery in human history.”
Mr Hallam claimed that his comments, which appeared to minimise and downplay the Nazis’ systematic murder of six million Jews, were taken out of context: “I want to fully acknowledge the unimaginable suffering caused by the Nazi Holocaust that led to all of Europe saying ‘never again’. But it is happening again, on a far greater scale and in plain sight. The ‘global north’ is pumping lethal levels of CO2 into the atmosphere and simultaneously erecting ever greater barriers to immigration, turning whole regions of the world into death zones. That is the grim reality. We are allowing our governments to willingly, and in full knowledge of the science, engage in genocide of our young people and those in the ‘global south’ by refusing to take emergency action to reduce carbon emissions.”
In a post on Twitter, the German branch of Extinction Rebellion wrote: “We explicitly distant ourselves from Roger Hallam’s belittling and relativising statements about the Holocaust. In so doing he contravenes the principles of XR, which does not tolerate antisemitism, and he is no longer welcome in XR Germany.”
Recently, Mr Hallam was disinvited from the University of Warwick after his past inflammatory comments were brought to the attention of organisers.
“Don’t get off the bus F***** Jew,” serial offender says, as she blocks pregnant Jewish woman from alighting bus
An alleged serial offender told a pregnant Jewish woman “Don’t get off the bus F***** Jew,” as she prevented the victim from alighting the bus.
The incident took place on a 253 bus at 15:15 on 16th February and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
The assailant was described as a black woman aged around 25 with a medium build and a ponytail. She was wearing a mustard colour jumper.
The victim has reportedly been left traumatised by the abuse.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD9609 16/02/22.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Man convicted of sending antisemitic letters to Alan Sugar imprisoned for over three years
A man who was convicted of religiously-aggravated harassment after sending Alan Sugar a series of abusive and antisemitic letters was handed a jail sentence of three years and six months at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday.
Patrick Gomes, 70, sent three letters to one of Lord Sugar’s business premises in Loughton between October and December 2018, according to Essex Police.
Each letter was addressed to Lord Sugar and reportedly included abusive, threatening and offensive language that was also derogatory towards the Jewish faith. One of the letters read: “I would like to murder all Jews in Britain, Alan.”
Mr Gomes was arrested at his home in Leyton in March 2019, after his DNA and fingerprints were found on one of the letters. Police found additional discriminatory letters, and discovered that the address of the letters to Lord Sugar was in Mr Gomes’ address book.
Mr Gomes denied involvement but was found guilty of religiously-aggravated harassment, putting those targeted in fear of violence, on 1st December at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Lord Sugar, the former host of The Apprentice television show, was originally reluctant to refer the matter to the police, but thanks officers for “helping to shine a light on the fact that this type of behaviour is simply not acceptable.” Lord Sugar said that, following the incident, he is “now always looking over my shoulder.”
Mr Gomes has also been handed an indefinite restraining order not to contact Lord Sugar.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Lord Sugar was right to refer this matter to the police. There must be zero tolerance for antisemitic crime, but that can only happen when victims report incidents. If racism against Jews is allowed to fester, the number of victims will only grow. We commend the police for pursuing the matter, and believe that this sentence sends a strong message that such grotesque conduct will not be tolerated.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image credit: Essex Police
Police in Germany pressure Telegram to remove far-right content
Police in Germany have reportedly pressured Telegram to remove far-right content.
Telegram is a Russian-founded online messaging app with end-to-end encryption as well as ‘self-destruct timers’ on messages and media. Though used by many ordinary people, the service has also become the main messenger app for the far-right.
Recently, Telegram blocked 64 channels due to pressure from the German Government and police.
Among those blocked from the platform are Attila Hildmann, a far-right German nationalist who has been accused of anti-Jewish prejudice.
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police (BKA) asserted that Telegram has been more aggressive in removing propaganda from Islamist terror groups than far-right conspiratorial content. The BKA argues that Germany’s Network Enforcement Act makes it an obligation for Telegram to monitor and remove illegal content.
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 family in Alabama receives death threats after reporting teacher’s Nazi salutes
A family in Birmingham, Alabama has received both death and arson threats after reporting an incident in which their teenage son witnessed his teacher leading the class in giving Nazi-style salutes during a history lesson.
Mariya Tytell, the mother of Ephraim “Epps” Tytell, who attends Mountain Brook High School in the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, described the incident as part of “a pattern” of antisemitism.
Her son “came home very upset,” she said, adding that he told her and his father that students were performing the Nazi salute. As the only Jewish student in the history class, it had made him feel “very scared and uncomfortable,” he had told them.
Ms Tytell admits that she initially thought that it had been “a misunderstanding” and brushed off her son’s concerns, but she then received calls from other parents and realised that this had not been the case.
A statement from the regional education authority said that the lesson was to explain about symbols changing over time and that the teacher allegedly “using the Bellamy salute” as an example. Before its adoption by the Nazis, this was a gesture to show allegiance to the American flag. School leaders said that the teacher had not instructed students to give the salute.
A short video, taken by a classmate, showing students raising their arms toward the American flag was circulated on social media. Ms Tytell said that an administrator told her son to apologise for sharing the video, and that when her son refused, he allegedly faced retaliation from his teacher including having his phone taken away and having his seat moved to the front of the classroom.
Ms Tytell said that the family tried to work out the issue with the school’s administration but claims that they were brushed off and that after speaking to the media about the incident, the family received death and arson threats.
“We kind of see it as a failure of leadership and also as part of a longer pattern of constant antisemitic incidents,” said Ms Tytell.
Danny Cohn, CEO of the Birmingham Jewish Federation and acting CEO of the Alabama Holocaust Education Centre, said that he did not think the teacher was “being intentionally antisemitic.”
Mr Cohn said that the reason for the incident could be attributed to a lapse in judgment, but added that he understood the reaction that it had provoked. When Jews “see the Nazi salute, they’re not listening for context,” he said. “They just see something that’s sent more than six million of our people to their deaths.”
He said that he had asked Mountain Brook Schools to allow its teachers to participate in a Holocaust education programme.
Mountain Brook school district leaders later conceded that the history lesson had lacked sensitivity. They also reportedly said that they did not condone performing the salute when a picture would have been sufficient and that the issue had been addressed with the teacher. They added that they stand against antisemitism and that they were working with local Jewish organisations.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
German politician rebukes education officials over failure to remove antisemitic stereotypes from textbooks
A German politician has condemned education officials for failing to remove antisemitic stereotypes from school textbooks.
Jonas Weber of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) in Baden-Württemberg said that disturbing portrayals of Jewish people could still be found in the State’s educational resources, stating: “Unfortunately, we have the impression the Ministry of Education does not want to set the necessary priorities in the fight against antisemitic stereotypes in textbooks.”
It was said that some of Mr Weber’s primary concerns lie with medieval and Renaissance period texts and cites examples such as Martin Luther’s “Against the Jews And Their Lies” from 1543, a seventeenth-century Spanish Catholic text, as well as enlightenment thinkers including Voltaire, Feuerbach, Marx and Schopenhauer.
Dr. Michael Blume, the first antisemitism commissioner for the State of Baden-Württemberg, asked for the creation of a committee “to make textbook approval in Baden-Württemberg more transparent”, prompting the State’s Ministry of Education to analyse a sample of textbooks for examples of antisemitism, with the assistance of the Central Council of Jews and Baden-Württemberg’s Centre for School Quality and Teacher Training (ZSL).
However, Michael Kilper, Head of the Department for General Education schools, said: “The representations of Judaism are predominantly technically correct and appropriately differentiated.”
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.
Cardiff teenager charged with being a member of proscribed neo-Nazi group Feuerkrieg Division
A Cardiff teenager has been charged with terror offences which include allegedly being a member of the proscribed neo-Nazi group Feuerkrieg Division.
Luca Benincasa, 19, was arrested on 1st February by Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit (WECTU) officers and appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 3rd February.
Mr Benincasa was also charged with four counts of possessing information likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
Mr Benincasa was remanded in custody and was due to appear at the Old Bailey yesterday, though it is understood that he will instead appear at Winchester Crown Court on 13th August.
Last year, a teenager from Cornwall, who became the UK’s youngest terror offender and was believed to have been in contact with the founder of Feuerkrieg Division, was controversially spared a custodial sentence.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.
BBC Sounds reportedly features Lady Mosley interview containing Holocaust denial without context or content warning
BBC Sounds, an online streaming platform that contains live and archived radio broadcasts, reportedly features an interview containing Holocaust denial without providing context or a content warning.
The conversation in question is between interviewee, Lady Diana Mosley, and interviewer, Sue Lawley, and was first broadcast in November 1989 as part of the BBC’s Desert Island Discs series. Lady Mosley was the wife of Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the antisemitic British Union of Fascists. The two wedded in Joseph Goebbels’ house in the presence of Adolf Hitler.
During the interview, Lady Mosley, who died in 2003, reportedly says of her late husband: “He didn’t know a Jew from a gentile…as the Jews were so anti him and attacked him, he, as it were, picked up the challenge.”
When Ms Lawley asked Lady Mosley whether she believed that six million Jews had died in the Holocaust, Lady Mosley replies: “I don’t really, I’m afraid…believe that six million people were…I just think it’s not conceivable, it’s too many.”
“But whether it’s six million or one really makes no difference morally, it’s equally wrong,” Lady Mosley adds. “I think it was a dreadfully wicked thing.”
Lady Mosley also referred to historians’ reporting of Hitler as “nonsense”, adding that “if you don’t like someone, you attack them.”
Ms Lawley reportedly told Lady Mosley that “It’s almost as if you’re rewriting history.” She also said, in response to Lady Mosley’s denial of her husband’s antisemitism, “But did he not call them [the Jews] ‘an alien force which rises to rob us of our heritage’?”
A BBC spokesperson said: “This episode of Desert Island Discs is part of the most complete possible archive resource of programmes from the past 80 years and is not something that is being newly transmitted.
“The programme page indicates that Lady Diana Mosley was married to Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists, and clearly shows the date of broadcast. Radio 4’s audience is likely to be aware of the controversial views that Lady Diana Mosley held if they choose to explore the archive.”
Recently, Campaign Against Antisemitism visited Broadcasting House, the BBC’s headquarters in London, to tell the Corporation to “switch off the Jew-hate”.
We projected selected instances from just the past eighteen months of the BBC’s bias against Jews or antisemitism onto the broadcaster’s iconic building.
The intervention came as the BBC is rocked with controversy over antisemitism, triggered by its abominable coverage of an antisemitic incident on Oxford Street, which its own Executive Complaints Unit has largely defended (and even that defence has had to be further clarified). In December, we held a rally outside Broadcasting House, attended by hundreds of protestors, to deliver the message: “BBC News: Stop Blaming Jews!” Lord Grade, a former Chairman of the BBC, told Podcast Against Antisemitism that the BBC’s reportage was “shoddy journalism” and called for answers in a video supporting the rally, which was endorsed also by Dame Maureen Lipman.
Ofcom is now investigating the coverage, which, as our projections onto the Broadcasting House showed, is only one example of many in which the BBC has exhibited bias against Jews or even indulged in antisemitism. The result has been the gradual erosion of the Jewish community’s confidence in the BBC. Polling that we conducted in 2020 for our Antisemitism Barometer already revealed that two thirds of British Jews were deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. It is likely that these figures would be even higher if polled today.
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].
Five fired over antisemitism by German public broadcaster
The German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle has fired five employees – including four from its Arabic desk – and has dropped a number of freelancers following an audit on antisemitism.
The audit was prepared by former Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, integration expert Ahmad Mansour, and Beatrice Mansour, an expert on the prevention of radicalisation.
Although the audit found no systemic problem, it led to the firings. Another eight cases are still under investigation.
According to the Bild newspaper, one of the fired journalists had described Israel as a “cancer that should be cut out”. Another wrote in a 2018 essay that a “Jewish lobby controls many German institutions” to prevent criticism of Israel.
In 2019, a freelancer and trainer at the Deutsche Welle Academy compared Jews to “ants” that had invaded “through our weak points”.
The audit began last year, seeking online postings and information on those implicated in allegations of antisemitism, including , including “distributors and partners of Deutsche Welle.”
According to the audit, the staff in question had not merely engaged in criticism of Israel, which is protected free speech, but had used “classic antisemitic imagery up to and including Holocaust denial.”
The Director General of Deutsche Welle, Peter Limbourg, apologised this week and announced that a ten-point “code of ethics” would be established to prevent such problems in the future. It will reportedly include explanations of antisemitism, and the difference between legitimate criticism of Israel and calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. Deutsche Welle also announced plans to strengthen its Israel desk.
The country’s main Jewish umbrella group, the Central Council of Jews in Germany (CCJ), welcomed Deutsche Welle’s actions. “There must not be taxpayer-financed Israel-hatred and antisemitism in the media,” declared CCJ president Josef Schuster.
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.
British boxer deletes Twitter account after posting “tone deaf” photographs outside Auschwitz concentration camp
A British boxer has deleted his Twitter account after posting “tone deaf” photographs of him and his girlfriend outside of Auschwitz concentration camp.
Jamie McDonnell, 35, posted three photographs that caused outrage on social media, with many Twitter users criticising him.
The former British IBF champion appeared to double down in response to the backlash by accusing those who took offence of being “keyboard warriors”. In response to one Twitter user, Mr McDonnell wrote: “Ok mate it’s a tourist place is it not so if we visit we can’t smile, come on pal.”
In another post, the boxer wrote: “I have a weekend away with my girlfriend, I’m not going to not smile am I, but I understand what’s happened chill out a bit.”
Mr McDonnell has since deleted his Twitter account.
Visibly Jewish man victim of violent burglary in Stamford Hill
A visibly Jewish man was the recent victim of a violent burglary in Stamford Hill.
The man reportedly had his phone stolen during the burglary. CCTV footage shows the Jewish man being violently punched by another man wearing what appears to be a brown jacket and blue jeans.
The incident occurred on St Ann’s Road on 11th February at approximately 15:00 and was reported on Friday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 3703 11/02/22
It was also reported that Hackney Police are looking to speak with a person named Mark Zahra regarding a burglary of a synagogue on Lampard Road which reportedly occurred on Saturday. Anyone with information should contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: 4604158/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Health officials with Jewish-sounding names receive hate messages and threats over COVID measures
Health officials with Jewish-sounding names in Salem, Massachusetts have been targeted with antisemitic messages and threats over COVID measures.
The city’s Mayor, Kim Driscoll, announced that members of the Board of Health and Health Department whose names suggested that they were Jewish had been directly targeted with messages and threats online, by e-mail and via voicemails.
In a statement, Ms Driscoll said that such actions were “repugnant and worthy of condemnation” regardless of one’s perspective on “COVID mitigation measures.” She added: “We reject and condemn vile, racist, antisemitic, and regressive attacks.”
Describing the “actions and messages” as “atrocious and utterly unacceptable,” Ms Driscoll urged citizens to do their part in “denouncing hate.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
“We don’t want Jews here…Heil Hitler”: Man performs Nazi salute to woman with two babies in Stamford Hill
CCTV footage captured what appears to be a man performing a Nazi salute to a woman who was pushing two babies in a pram in Stamford Hill.
The man reportedly said: “We don’t want Jews here…heil Hitler.”
The incident occurred on 7th February and was reported on Friday by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4603995/22
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police received a report of an antisemitic hate crime that took place in Stamford Hill, N16 at approximately 16:45hrs on Monday, 7th February where a woman and her children were verbally abused by a man.
“Enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible, including analysis of CCTV footage. There have been no arrests.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Swastika drawn on window shade at U.S. embassy in Bulgaria
A swastika has been found on a window shade inside the U.S. embassy in Bulgaria.
The antisemitic symbol was first discovered the day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, last month, but has only now been reported.
This comes after a swastika was discovered in July 2021 inside an elevator in the embassy. That swastika was reportedly found in a “secure part of the embassy”, meaning that it was likely drawn by somebody with access inside an American diplomatic outpost.
Both President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the incident in July. The State Department launched an investigation, although no conclusion has been reported.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: Google
Fury as Italian educators try to equate local massacre with the Holocaust
A circular issued by the Italian Ministry of Education to heads of schools has caused anger in Italy’s Jewish community for comparing a local massacre to the Holocaust.
The guidelines were issued ahead of the National Memorial Day, or Day of the Exiles, on 10th February, which also commemorates events known as Foibe, during which up to 350,000 members of the ethnic Italian population in north-east Italy were killed by Yugoslav Partisans during and after WWII.
The guidelines, which seek to draw a parallel between the killing of the Italians, whose leader Mussolini was a close ally of Hitler, with the wholesale slaughter of Europe’s Jews, has generated outrage.
The National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI) – who fought against Mussolini – has stated that the parallel is “aberrant and unacceptable”, while Emanuele Fiano, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and a prominent figure in the Italian Jewish community, said that the comparison between “the project of total extermination of the Jewish people [and the] massacre of Foibe by Tito’s troops is totally wrong.”
On Twitter, ANPI London wrote that “By comparing the Foibe killings with Nazi genocide, the Italian right is whitewashing the country’s past.”
Osvaldo Napoli of the centre-right political party, Cambiamo, said that comparing the persecution of the Jewish people, who were victims of “the Nazi-Fascist genocide,” with the violence of Marshal Tito’s national-communism is “offensive to the Jews who survived the extermination.”
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.
Indonesian Muslim groups allege country’s first-ever Holocaust exhibition is simply attempt to normalise Israel relations
Indonesian Muslim groups have alleged that the country’s first-ever Holocaust exhibition is simply an attempt to normalise relations with Israel, calling for the closure of the exhibit.
The exhibition was launched to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January and was featured at Shaar HaShamayim, Indonesia’s only synagogue, located in North Sulawesi province. The exhibition, titled “Shoah: How is it Humanly Possible?”, was created by the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
Rabbi Yaakov Baruch, the synagogue’s rabbi, stated that “When I had this idea to build a Holocaust museum, the reason was to remember my family who died in the Holocaust on my grandmother’s side.” He also added that he wanted to “educate Indonesians on the danger of antisemitism, especially the danger of hate crimes.”
However, despite Rabbi Baruch’s personal connection to the exhibition, Muslim groups have called for its closure over allegations that the exhibition is an attempt to normalise relations with Israel.
Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, the Head of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation of the Indonesian Ulema Council, a top Islamic scholar’s body also known as MUI, said: “We demand any exhibition be stopped and the museum be cancelled [and] discontinued.”
“Jewish communities and the descendants of Jewish people everywhere, including in Indonesia and North Sulawesi, should also see fairly clearly the brutal acts that have been perpetrated by Israeli Zionists against the Palestinian people since 1948.”
Objections were also raised by Hidayat Nur Wahid, Deputy Speaker of Indonesia’s legislative branch, the People’s Consultative Assembly, over the exhibition’s links to Israel’s Yad Vashem.
However, criticism of the exhibition was not unanimous among Indonesia’s Muslim community, as Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Islamic organisation, not only in Indonesia but also the world, spoke out in favour of the exhibition.
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 York paper apologises over cartoon using antisemitic stereotype
A newspaper in New York has apologised after using an overtly antisemitic cartoon to promote an investigative series about a local funding issue.
The Journal News in Rockland County, in the Lower Hudson area known locally as Lohud, ran the cartoon depicting a rabbi as a puppet-master manipulating children on top of a pile of cash. The words alongside read: “Rabbi holds the strings on $76m for East Ramapo School District.”
The Agudath Israel organisation immediately released a statement condemning the cartoon for evoking one of “the worst antisemitic tropes.” The concept of “the Jew as a conspiratorial puppet master, covertly manipulating the world economy and events” goes back to at least the 1700s and was “further amplified” by The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the group said. This imagery had stoked hatred for hundreds of years, the organisation observed, and was employed by the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman, who murdered eleven worshippers in 2018.
Agudath Israel also demanded an apology and called for a commitment by the publication to “avoid bigoted imagery” in the future.
In response, Rockland County’s largest newspaper published an apology on its website acknowledging that its “hurtful” image and words “degrade and demean” Jews. In its statement, the publication acknowledged that it had “posted a promotional illustration” on social media channels “whose words and imagery unintentionally featured an antisemitic trope.” Within an hour, the statement read, it had deleted the posts “after a reader contacted us pointing out this hurtful choice of imagery.”
The statement continued: “Members of our team did not recognise the stereotype that degrades and demeans Jews in the image and accompanying language. We’re deeply sorry this passed our review.”
The statement added that they “condemn all forms of antisemitism” and expressed gratitude to “all who sought to educate us on the history and hate behind the image.”
The paper also said it would postpone the story that it was promoting, and would “review the story’s visual elements.”
The statement concluded by saying that in coming days it would “reflect on our misstep over the illustration and engage in considerable outreach and listening with local Jewish communities.”
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 chanting and graffiti greet Israeli ambassador at Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge has been rocked by antisemitic chanting and graffiti in connection with a visit by the Israeli ambassador.
The event on Tuesday was greeted by antisemitic chanting from a mob of around 100, who gathered outside the Cambridge Union shouting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
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.
Signs were held reading “Zionist scum not welcome here,” while graffiti was discovered also reading: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Andrew Percy, the Conservative MP and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, said: “Cambridge University needs to investigate the use of this to determine if any of their students were involved and, if so, what action they plan to take against students using a slogan so beloved of terrorists.”
In a statement, the University of Cambridge said: “The University of Cambridge supports the right to freedom of speech and protest, but does not tolerate racism or harassment. The police attended the protest and are therefore best placed to determine if laws were broken. We would encourage anyone with evidence of criminality to report it to them. If there is evidence that students have broken the University’s code of discipline then this will be investigated.”
The University of Cambridge has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
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].
Prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker Tahra Ahmed sentenced to 11 months in prison for stirring up racial hatred after being reported to police by CAA
Tahra Ahmed, a prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker who was reported to the police by Campaign Against Antisemitism has been sentenced to 11 months in prison after being found guilty of publishing written material in order to stir up racial hatred.
Ms Ahmed, 51, was exposed in The Times as having claimed that the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire were “burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice.” After the tragic fire that left 71 dead, Ms Ahmed said that she had been coordinating the work of volunteers, coaching them and running workshops with the aim of empowering them. She reportedly discussed her beliefs with some of the people she has helped.
Ms Ahmed, who described herself during her testimony as “very very bright”, was found guilty of two counts of incitement to racial hatred, following the trial instigated after Campaign Against Antisemitism, CST and others reported the matter to the police.
Sentencing Ms Ahmed today, His Honour Judge Mark Dennis QC said that “stirring up racial hatred is an abhorrent act”. Noting that she had received a good education, he said: “I have no doubt you knew full well what you were doing and it’s likely affect,” adding that he had “no reason to conclude you have any remorse.”
He also read from character statements from Ms Ahmed’s family, noting that it was “unfortunate” that one of them had claimed: “There seems to be a special rule for the Jewish people…one rule for them, another rule for us. Is that fair?” A defence plea for Ms Ahmed to receive a light sentence on account of her care duties for her 74-year old diabetic mother was brushed aside as the judge observed that Ms Ahmed is not her mother’s primary carer and in fact visits about once or twice a week.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “For years we have pursued justice against Tahra Ahmed and today we are vindicated by this strong sentence, which sends a very clear message to those who seek to stir up anti-Jewish racism through conspiracy theories.
“Ms Ahmed sought to twist the Grenfell Tower tragedy to fit her venomous world view in which it seems that any evil can be attributed to Jews. She used people’s suffering and anger in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy and tried to wield it as a weapon against Jews before an audience of tens of thousands on social media. We are pleased that she will now go to prison for her wicked fabrications.
“As we have seen, her hatred has not only enabled her to abuse the Grenfell tragedy, but also to accuse Jews of being responsible for 9/11 and of supposedly exaggerating the Holocaust. As the prosecution observed, she used her position as an aid volunteer in the aftermath of Grenfell to ‘bait the mob’ against Jewish people, making her conduct particularly repulsive.”
In her social media posts, Ms Ahmed had written: “Watch the live footage of people trapped in the inferno with flames behind them. They were burnt alive in a Jewish sacrifice. Grenfell is owned by a private Jewish property developer just like the twin towers. I wonder how much Goldman [Goldman Sachs, a bank often targeted by antisemites] is standing to make in the world’s most expensive real estate location [Kensington].”
She has also described the Holocaust as the “holohoax” and posted on Facebook that “Hitler and the Germans were the victims of the Jewish conspiracy to destroy Germany.” She is also a proponent of the antisemitic conspiracy theory that the 9/11 terror attacks were faked by Jews. In one Facebook comment found by Campaign Against Antisemitism after The Times published its article, she wrote: “All the leadership of ISIS is directly recruited by CIA and the leadership are all Arab Jews, trained by Mossad.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism also uncovered posts by Ms Ahmed claiming that “Jews have always been the ones behind ritual torture, crucifixion and murder of children,” a comment redolent of the blood libel. Other posts described the antisemite Gilad Atzmon as her “good friend” and complained about the “hold of Jewish power over our so-called free and democratic society”, claimed that “Zioborg overlords are engineering a civil war”, and referenced a supposed “Zioborg Banking cartel”, among other inflammatory comments. She has also promoted the far-right, antisemitic “Kalergi Plan” conspiracy theory, which claimed that there is a plot to mix white Europeans with other races through immigration.
Following The Times’ exposé and the further research by Campaign Against Antisemitism, we reported Ms Ahmed to the police and called for her to be prosecuted. The five-day trial, held at the Old Bailey after Westminster Magistrates’ Court declined jurisdiction, ended today with a guilty verdict from a jury.
Ms Ahmed, who denied two counts of stirring up racial hatred by publishing written material, was described by prosecutor Hugh French as having “published two posts that were virulently antisemitic and crossed the line as to what is acceptable in a liberal society.”
During the trial, the prosecution read a statement by Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, Gideon Falter.
Giving evidence, Ms Ahmed said that she campaigns against the arms trade, with her lawyer describing her work as being part of the “social justice movement.”
She claimed to have a problem with “Zionist Jews, not all Jews,” and that when she talks about “Zionist Jews” or “Talmudic Jews” or “Satantic Jews” people know whom she is referring to, conceding that there were times when she wrote something and failed to make a distinction between the particular Jews whom she was talking about and Jews in general. She claimed that she detests publicity and that The Times, by publishing her posts, is guilty of inciting racial hatred, rather than her.
As her evidence turned to Grenfell, she explained that in 2014 she began working as a life coach, confirming, however, that she had no training in this field. She set out to provide support for the volunteers who were supporting the victims. When asked about her description of the Grenfell fire as a “Jewish sacrifice”, she answered that “the Talmud talks about sacrificing children, Satanic ritual abuse, a lot of it coming from the Jewish circles…the Ba’al Jews, Talmudic Jews, Zionist Jews they’re a small number of the Jewish community but they are criminals.” Asked whether the fire was started deliberately, she claimed that many people believe so. Pressed on whether the Jews were to blame, she said that at the time she did think that, “just like they bombed Gaza every couple of years.”
Asked by her lawyer whether she accepts that the post was insulting, she agreed, but she denied that it amounted to racial hatred, saying: “Absolutely not, no way. No racial hatred except to the criminals. I’ll be bold to the criminals and I’m entitled to be.” The prosecution noted, however, that with passions running high in the immediate aftermath of the fire, people would be looking for someone to blame, and Ms Ahmed’s posts were an attempt to “bait the mob”, which she denied.
When Ms Ahmed was asked about her claim that “Jews are always the ones behind ritual murder, especially young boys, to atone and be let back in Palestine,” she insisted that “there are millions of Jewish people who are anti-Zionist and many are Facebook friends, so if any of them were offended they would have pointed it out,” adding that “If it [the comment] stirred up racial hatred, it would have happened by now.”
Regarding her posts about the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Ms Ahmed told the court about “Satanic ritual abuse practiced by secret societies in order to control people…horrific torture of children, raping them, et cetera…Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul, my suggestion was he was not involved in SRA [Satanic Ritual Abuse] or the upper echelons of the cult and was therefore dispensible.”
The defence asked Ms Ahmed who the “Satanic ruling Jews” are, to which she responded that they are “the bankers, owners of media and corporations, they manipulate and control a lot of evil in the world and I want it to end and so I expose who they are. Unfortunately, sometimes I don’t qualify by saying ‘Satanic’ and some racists would comment and I’d delete the comment or tell them off. People would share racist or inflammatory memes and I’d delete them, even though I’m passionate about freedom of speech. My intention is to educate them.” When pressed by the prosecution on whether she could provide any examples of her calling out racism or removing posts as she claimed to have done, she could not.
On the Holocaust, Ms Ahmed told the court, “I’m not a Holocaust denier…unfortunately, six million Jews is a number that has been perpetuated and the actual number has been revised down by experts.” She affirmed using the term “Holohoax”, arguing that “it [the figures] was manipulated and exaggerated at the time” and that, regarding the actual number of deaths in the Holocaust, “The Jewish council [sic] says 3.5 million…the Red Cross says 283,000.” She also baselessly asserted that “Hitler had an agreement with Rothschild to put Jews in concentration camps so Rothschild could transfer Jews to Palestine” and approvingly quoted a known Holocaust denier. She was also pressed on why she described the expulsion of the Jews from England in the Middle Ages as a “final solution to the Jewish problem.”
The judge asked Ms Ahmed about 9/11: “It’s a yes or no question. Do you believe Jews were responsible for 9/11?” Ms Ahmed replied that “It’s not fair to answer that without context,” also variously describing the terrorist attack as a “false flag” operation and a “Mossad” operation. She further claimed that “Before US Presidents are elected, they show their allegiance to Israel to pay homage to say ‘we’re here to serve you’.”
During her testimony, Ms Ahmed also invoked far-right conspiracy theories, for example asserting that “Kabbalistic Jews don’t want Europe to remain white. Personally, I’m multicultural and love diversity. This plan is to bring other people into the land to deliberately destroy cultures,” a claim akin to the replacement theory antisemitic conspiracy theory popular with white nationalists. Her testimony also featured further comments about “Rothschild” control of the banking system; “ZioNazis”; “real Ashkenazis” and “Satanic Ashkenazis”; the “Bilderberg group” (which often features in conspiracy theories); “powerful people behind world governments”; a “cabal” akin to the “deep state” and “the most powerful ones at the top are Jewish”; the Khazar myth, which holds that contemporary Jews are actually a converted Central Asian people with no claim to the Land of Israel, and other conspiracy theories, including about the CIA and the COVID-19 “scamdemic”.
The prosecution accused Ms Ahmed of “using the witness box as a pulpit for your views” and of knowingly and deliberately “whipping up the mob with her social media posts.”
In her defence, over the course of her extended and rambling testimony Ms Ahmed insisted that “I’m not racist or antisemitic but passionate which sometimes looks like anger. They don’t care I write about Muslim terrorist organisations, I’m not accused of being islamophobic or anti-white or anti-British.” She described the trial as a “witchhunt” and claimed that, during case management and her plea hearing last year, she was “unlawfully arrested, incarcerated and tortured for six days” and suffered from “post-traumatic stress disorder” as a result, inhibiting her from mounting a strong defence. At more than one point, she was rebuked by the judge for misleading the jury about the case management process.
Ms Ahmed was found guilty by eleven of the twelve jurors, who agreed on both counts, and has today been sentenced.
We are grateful to the CST for once again providing security for CAA personnel attending court for the trial.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Police in Massachusetts investigate antisemitism at girls’ school
Police are investigating what’s being described as racist, homophobic and antisemitic graffiti found in a girls’ bathroom at a Massachusetts middle school.
According to The Salem News, the graffiti was found at the Holten Richmond Middle School in Danvers, according to an e-mail sent to parents by Acting Co-Superintendents Keith Taverna and Mary Wermers.
They wrote that “the Danvers Public Schools condemns this type of behaviour and will continue to educate our students on hate speech,” adding that the district was “committed to building an inclusive community where everyone belongs.”
Town Manager Steve Bartha said that the graffiti included several profane words and a symbol.
The small Massachusetts town has previously come under scrutiny over alleged racism and homophobia on the high school hockey team, and the Town Manager, Police Chief and the town’s Human Rights and Inclusion Committee are reportedly planning to make a database of incident available to the public.
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 records highest-ever number of reported antisemitic incidents in 2021, up 34% on the previous year
The CST’s latest release shows that the number of reported antisemitic incidents reached a record high in 2021.
The figures for 2021 show 2,255 reports of antisemitic incidents, which is the highest figure on record and represents an increase of 34% on the previous year.
It is also widely recognised that many incidents go unreported.
The surge in antisemitism during the conflict between Hamas and Israel last May – when the CST recorded 661 reported antisemitic incidents, which was the highest ever monthly figure – is undoubtedly one of the causes of the severe rise, although a loosening of pandemic restrictions is also cited as a milder contributing factor.
More than half of the incidents were in London, and 2021 also saw the highest number of reported antisemitic incidents on British university campuses.
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Once again, the Community Security Trust has done an outstanding job of exposing the increasing normalisation of antisemitism in this country. That number of incidents in 2021, the highest ever reported, is shocking and disgraceful, but it comes as no surprise to those of us who are working on the front line in this fight to counter this ancient racism.
“There have been ample opportunities to put the brakes on the spread of this poison in recent years, and they’ve all been missed. The report today shows we are now seeing the consequences of those failures. We need to see genuine zero-tolerance enforcement of the law. We need an education program that deals not just with schools and campuses, and we also need to look at de-radicalisation because we know that antisemitism is a gateway to extremism.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Journalist Eve Barlow speaks about the impact fighting antisemitism has had on her life and mental health
On the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, Eve Barlow, a music and culture journalist who has written for The Telegraph, The Guardian and the LA Times, opened up about how tackling antisemitism online has affected her life and mental health.
Ms Barlow revealed that in response to her increased advocacy for the Jewish community and opposition to antisemitism, she had received a torrent of antisemitic abuse and was isolated from her friends. “I found myself more and more pushed to the fringes and to the sides of people’s social circles to the extent that I really was winding up spending most of my time either with a select one or two close friends or completely alone.”
Ms Barlow added that as a result of her income decreasing due to her ever-growing profile as an activist against antisemitism, she began focusing more of her time on raising awareness of anti-Jewish racism. “I had been fighting [antisemitism] for so many years, so by the time that war happened last year, I had all the verbiage. I had experienced all of the trolling. So I found myself in a place where my verboseness and my preparation to know what to say and how to say it with effect created so much noise and attention around me that…it was kind of out of control, and my numbers were growing like mad because people suddenly needed a voice.”
Speaking on the online trolling that she has received, Ms Barlow said that when she did not take the necessary precautions to place restrictions on her social media posts, “thousands upon thousands” of people would reply with hateful comments, adding “I’ve had to take precautions to make sure that my personal security is a lot tighter.”
When asked about her mental health, Ms Barlow said that “on the whole, I put up a pretty affronted and assured and unapologetic stance” and that she felt the need to “set an example,” but acknowledged that her mental health “ebbed and flowed”. Ms Barlow also said that at times, she worried about the impact the online trolling was having on her real life.
“This viral hatred of me online…what is it reducing me to? Because people don’t see you as a person anymore, they see you as this thing…they have this idea of you…and then people who were your ‘friends’, they stop seeing you as a person and they run away from you. The amount of people who abandoned me in that moment and who have never come back to me…it speaks volumes about how humanity has been manipulated and disaffected by social media,” she said.
However, despite all of the online trolling she has received, Ms Barlow said: “I really have to keep believing in people, and keep believing in the power of community, and the power of truth.”
The podcast with Ms Barlow can be listened to here, with the full, hour-long version available 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.
Sir Keir Starmer receives torrent of antisemitic abuse in connection with controversial Jimmy Savile claims
Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, has received a torrent of antisemitic abuse in connection with controversial claims that, in his previous role as Director of Public Prosecutions, he was responsible for the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile, the sexual predator who targeted child fans.
Posts online described Sir Keir’s wife, who is Jewish, as “an Israeli”, and said that his “children are being raised as Jews and he’s been quoted as saying he is ‘Zionist without qualification’, spuriously adding that “Savile was a notable Israeli supporter who had met senior Israeli politicians and was considered an esteemed friend of Israel.”
Another post said: “Damn straight, never voting for zionist apartheid loving Starmer and yesterday was staged, it was a play right out his Israeli master’s handbook.”
Yet another claimed that “Starmer has far more a case to answer on Savile than Corbyn ever did on antisemitism.”
The abuse has been roundly condemned.
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: Chris Boland
Statue of medieval Jewish businesswoman unveiled
A statue of Licoricia of Winchester and her son Asher was unveiled in Winchester earlier today.
Licoricia was a Jewish businesswoman who has been described as “the most important Jewish woman in medieval England” and a leader in her community. She lived in the 13th century and was murdered in 1277, just 13 years before King Edward 1 expelled the Jews from England.
In a press release, the Licoricia of Winchester Appeal, the charity behind the creation of the statue, said that “The project to install a statue of Licoricia aims to inform people about England’s little-known but important medieval Jewish community,” and added that it hoped it would offer a “fresh gateway to the study of Winchester’s royal medieval past.”
HRH Prince Charles was due to unveil the statue but was unable to attend after testing positive for COVID-19.
Last month, Winchester city council’s planning report said: “It is hoped that the statue will provide an opportunity to educate Winchester’s population and visitors about its medieval past and Jewish community and that it will be a lasting enhancement to the city.”
Tottenham Hotspur to reassess usage of the word “yid” after publishing focus group results
North London’s Tottenham Hotspur football club has stated that it is to reassess the usage of the word “Yid” after holding focus groups on the matter.
The club, after conducting the first stage of its consultation with supporters in 2019, which found that 94% of the 23,000 respondents acknowledged that the word could be considered a racist term against a Jewish person, concluded its study in the summer of 2020.
Results from three focus groups were published. The club has stated that, from these results, it found that Spurs’ supporters who continued using the term would be open to reducing their usage of it if offence is being caused and that younger fans were less likely to understand the historical context and controversial nature of the word.
The club said in its statement: “It is clear the use of this term does not always make this possible, regardless of context and intention, and that there is a growing desire and acknowledgment from supporters that the Y-word should be used less or stop being used altogether. We recognise how these members of our fanbase feel and we also believe it is time to move on from associating this term with our Club.”
It added: “We acknowledge that any reassessment of the use of this term needs to be a collaborative effort between the Club and its fans. We shall be working to further outline the historical context of the term, to explain the offence it can cause and to embrace the times in which we now live to show why it can be considered inappropriate, regardless of context. There is some great work being undertaken in relation to wider anti-racism and anti-homophobia initiatives already.”
Concluding, the club said that in light of the work being undertaken to tackle racism and homophobia in football, it felt that “a similar approach is needed to address antisemitism, a sentiment that was also strongly borne out in our fan focus group work,” before stating that “Antisemitism remains a serious issue in football and more needs to be done to combat it. We believe that antisemitic abuse must be given the same zero tolerance that other forms of discriminatory behaviour receive. It should not be left to a minority in football to address and lead on this.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We applaud Tottenham for tackling this sensitive issue. Clearly, most Spurs fans using this term are doing so without malice, as a way of showing solidarity with their team. But more and more fans from other clubs are using the term as a form of abuse towards Spurs players, staff and fans, and are dangerously conflating their adversarial view of Tottenham with their perception of the Jewish community. This report, which points to a gradual phasing out of the use of the word in stadium chanting, is to be welcomed. In the meantime, other football clubs must urgently clamp down on the use of the phrase by their supporters as a form of abuse towards Spurs fans and as a racist epithet against ordinary Jews.”
Both the club’s owner, Dan Levy, and its fans have been subjected to antisemitic abuse in the past.
The Premier League, including Tottenham Hotspur has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism recently produced an Instagram post detailing recent incidents of antisemitism in football.
“I wish I had a gun to shoot you”: Jewish schoolchildren reportedly assaulted in Stamford Hill
It has been reported that Jewish schoolchildren were reportedly assaulted in Stamford Hill, North London.
The perpetrator is alleged to have harassed Jewish people before and is understood to have shouted “You Jews are so bad” and “I wish I had a gun to shoot you.” CCTV footage appears to show a visibly angry man yelling at Jewish schoolchildren as a Jewish man shields them as they walk.
The incident is believed to have occurred on 6th February and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 4417 06/02/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Fury as Brighton Labour readmits councillor suspended over antisemitism, while Labour councillor in Dudley yet to face sanction over his social media activity
The Labour Party in Brighton has stoked controversy by readmitting a councillor suspended in connection with allegations of antisemitism.
Cllr Anne Pissaridou was suspended from Labour in 2020, reportedly in connection with antisemitism allegations, and a Facebook post in particular.
At the time, she said: “I am deeply sorry for my actions and any distress I have caused to the Jewish community. This happened several years ago, before I was a councillor, and the posts I shared do not reflect my views. I do not seek to excuse my mistake. I deeply regret not properly reading information before sharing such hurtful links. I am aware of the complaint that has been made to the Labour Party and will fully co-operate with any investigation.”
In 2021, when her suspension was due to end, her colleagues wrote to the Council’s Chief Executive to exclude her from their faction. They have now reversed themselves, however, welcoming her reinstatement.
In a statement, Brighton and Hove Labour Group of Councillors said: “The Brighton and Hove Labour Group of Councillors have decided to readmit Cllr Pissaridou into the Labour Group after a period of exclusion. The Labour Group have made this decision as they feel Cllr Pissaridou has made conscious and sustained efforts to educate herself on issues around antisemitism and antisemitic tropes. She has also begun rebuilding trust with members of the local Jewish community and has apologised wholeheartedly for her actions that led to her initial suspension from the Labour Party.
“The Labour Group are clear that whilst we welcome the rehabilitative steps Cllr Pissaridou has taken, there is an ongoing learning journey we must all continuously take to improve our efforts to be proactive anti-racists and ever vigilant in the face of antisemitism. The Brighton & Hove Labour Group are clear that there is no room for antisemitism or any other form of racism in our party, on our council, or in our city. That’s why we pledged to become an anti-racist Council, and we remain committed to delivering on that promise.”
The about-turn has been met with fury by local activists.
Meanwhile in Dudley, action is yet to be taken against Cllr Zafar Islam despite a complaint reportedly having been made against him months ago.
The complaint by Labour Against Antisemitism, submitted in September 2021, details 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. The activist group reportedly has yet to hear if any action has been taken in connection with the complaint.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “If Jackie Walker, Marc Wadsworth and Chris Williamson have no place in the Labour Party, then surely those like Cllr Zafar Islam who appear to have defended them and persistently complain about how Labour antisemitism allegations are pushed by a ‘Lobby’ must be investigated and sanctioned. Yet it remains unknown if the Party has taken any action against Cllr Islam at all, despite a complaint having been made months ago. Sir Keir Starmer claims that he has ‘shut the door’ on antisemitism, but with cases like these it looks more like the Party is shutting the door on campaigners who want transparency and action.”
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.
Jewish students allege that they suffer “severe and persistent harassment” at Brooklyn College as federal investigation is launched
A federal investigation has been launched following complaints by two Jewish students at Brooklyn College that they have been subjected to “severe and persistent harassment” on a Masters’ programme.
The ten-page complaint was filed on behalf of the students by the Louis D. Brandeis Centre for Human Rights Under Law. A senior figure at the Brandeis Centre described the alleged harassment campaign against the unnamed students as “part of an effort to erase and misunderstand Jewish identity.”
The Office for Civil Rights of the US Department of Education has confirmed that it is investigating. Part of the City University of New York, Brooklyn College has 2,841 graduate students on its roll, of whom around 500 identify as Jewish. The case could cost the college its federal funding if the allegations are confirmed.
The complaint alleges that Jewish students on the Mental Health Counselling course had been “bullied and harassed in class discussions and on social media” and that Jewish students were targeted using the same “ethnic stereotypes, antisemitic tropes and divisive concepts that faculty members promote in their courses.”
The complaint cites examples such as a professor who claimed that Ashkenazi Jews in America had become “oppressors”, while another professor allegedly rebuked a Jewish student for ranking his/her Jewish identity before his/her white identity, suggesting that the student “did not understand oppression.”
After telling The New York Jewish Week that the harassment was “part of an effort to erase and misunderstand Jewish identity,” Denise Katz-Prober, the Director of Legal Initiatives at the Brandeis Centre said that this was “dangerous” because of the misunderstanding demonstrated by the recent comments made by with Whoopi Goldberg. She added: “It is an attempt to whitewash the Jewish historical experience, which results in the downplaying of antisemitism.”
Ms Katz-Prober said that colleges and universities had an obligation under the Civil Rights Act 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, colour or national origin in any programme or activity that receives federal financial assistance.
The complaint, specifically citing the actions of two unnamed professors and two unnamed administrators, alleges that since the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, professors “maligned Jews on the basis of race and ethnic identity” by advancing the narrative that “all Jews are white and privileged and therefore contribute to the systemic oppression of people of colour.”
When the Jewish students complained to administrators, they were allegedly told to “get your whiteness in check” and to “keep your head down.”
The complaint also asserts that Jewish students were bullied on a WhatsApp chat group and that after a female student expressed a desire to “strangle a Jewish student” and others showed support, a Jewish student who objected was accused of being racist.
One of the students who filed the complaint told The New York Jewish Week it was “the hardest thing” that they had ever done and that they would not be doing it “if it wasn’t so blatant.”
The student said that this was “a very Jewish school” and that Jews should not “have to be scared; this shouldn’t happen.”
They added that class participation was “a very big part of your grade and the fact I have been told by a white teacher to keep my head down and to ‘get your whiteness in check’… really upset me.”
The student added that in a classroom discussion on how people of colour feel vulnerable in public, fellow students downplayed the accounts of Jews who expressed fear of being targeted.
They also said that two other Jewish students had dropped out of the programme – including one due to stress.
In a statement Brooklyn College said that it “unequivocally denounces antisemitism in any form” and does not tolerate it on its campus. The College said it could not comment on ongoing investigations, but was “committed to working cooperatively and fully with the US Department of Education.” The statement also noted its “We Stand Against Hate” initiative, which features lectures, workshops, concerts and other events “that reflect the school’s ongoing commitment to celebrate the voices that make up our diverse campus community” and also served as a “platform to denounce antisemitism.”
The Office of Civil Rights has investigated several complaints against universities alleging antisemitic harassment following which all have entered resolution agreements promising to take steps to combat antisemitic harassment and discrimination against Jewish students on campus.
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.
Toronto schools regret incidents involving swastika and Holocaust trivialisation
A school in the Toronto area is investigating an incident in which two students displayed swastikas and gave a Nazi salute in front of classmates.
In a letter to parents of pupils at Charles H. Best Middle School in North York, principal Elever Baker described the incident as “upsetting and unacceptable.”
He said that the school “acknowledges and regrets” the “harm this incident caused to members of our school community and to our shared school climate.”
Mr Baker said that the school took “great pride” in being “a welcoming, safe, and inclusive place,” adding that it was “not reflective of who we are and what we stand for as a school and as a community.”
The school was taking “immediate steps to address the issue,” and an investigation “remains ongoing” Mr Baker said. “We are committed to the work of intentionally identifying, interrupting, and addressing racism and discrimination…with a focus on antisemitism,” his letter stated.
Staff members were consulting with Toronto District School Board (TDSB) equity advisers to establish new strategies and tools for addressing antisemitism, he said.
Shari Schwartz-Maltz, a spokesperson for the TDSB and Chair of the School Board’s Jewish Heritage Committee, said that the students who displayed the swastika probably did not understand what it meant. It was “a symbol they see on TV, they’ve seen unfurled on flags at demonstrations” and which they see online. “It becomes normalised and they don’t know what it really means. What it means is a symbol of hate,” she said.
In a statement on Twitter, Mayor John Tory said that he was “very saddened” to hear of the incident, adding that it “demonstrates how much work we still have in front of us to inform and educate as part of our effort to eradicate antisemitism in all of its forms.”
In a separate incident, a teacher at another school in North York has been removed from the classroom after likening COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the yellow Star of David that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust.
The Acting Principal of Ledbury Park Elementary and Middle School wrote to parents to inform them about an “antisemitic incident”. Serge Parravano wrote that the teacher – who had likened the current COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the forced wearing of the yellow star by Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe – had been “removed from the classroom” and was “on home assignment pending an investigation.”
Mr Parravano said in his letter that the teacher’s comments were “upsetting and unacceptable” and was “not reflective of who we are and what we stand for as a school and a community.”
As part of its response, the school has arranged for Michelle Glied-Goldstein to speak to students. Ms Glied-Goldstein is an educator with the Holocaust education organisation, Carrying Holocaust Testimony from Generation to Generation.
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.
Green Party rejects Ken Livingstone’s bid to join, and drops Shahrar Ali as policing spokesperson but not over antisemitism allegations
The Green Party has reportedly rejected a bid by the controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to join the Party.
Mr Livingstone, 76, quit the Labour Party after being suspended over comments that he made about Hitler supporting Zionism.
The former mayor has an exceptionally poor record on antisemitism and relations with the Jewish community, which predated his terms as mayor and has endured since. Among many other entries, that record includes welcoming, during his first term as mayor, a radical, antisemitic cleric to City Hall, and during his second term comparing a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard, a comment that got him briefly suspended as mayor before the suspension was overturned.
More recently, Mr Livingstone contended that Adolf Hitler “was supporting Zionism”, an assertion that prompted 107 MPs to sign a statement describing his words as “insidious racism” and eventually led to his resignation from the Labour Party.
Indeed, Mr Livingstone is infamous in the Jewish community for inspiring the so-called ‘Livingstone Formulation’, by which Jews who cite evidence of antisemitism are accused of lying, conspiring or having deceitful motives in doing so.
Mr Livingstone recently said: “I genuinely think we’re heading toward extinction before the end of the century because no government anywhere is doing enough to tackle the impact of climate change. At Cop26 they all said the right things but…you’ve got to get people to completely change the way we live and no government around the world seems to have the courage to do that.”
He claimed that he made contact with the Green Party in the past about joining, but that “they never got back to me.” He suspected that they “thought that if they brought me in they’d be accused of being antisemitic.”
It is understood that membership applications from high-profile political defectors are reviewed by a Green Party regional council for consultation.
Asked about the apparent rejection of Mr Livingstone’s membership bid, a spokesperson for the Green Party said: “The Green Party does not comment on individual applications for membership. We reserve the right to exclude people from membership where necessary, in line with the party’s principles and values.”
Separately, it has been reported that the Greens have dropped their inflammatory former Deputy Leader, Shahrar Ali, as the Party’s Spokesperson for Policing and Domestic Safety, apparently for “for breaches of the Speakers’ Code of Conduct”. Dr Ali, who remains a member of the Party, has longed faced criticism from Party activists over his alleged views on trans rights, and there is speculation that this may be the reason for his ouster. It is notable that he has also faced criticism over his stances on antisemitism and yet this has apparently played no role in the pressure that he has faced.
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.
Our Antisemitism Barometer survey of British Jews in 2020 found that the Greens were second only to Labour in how many respondents felt that the Party was too tolerant of antisemitism (43%), while our 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.
Conspiracy theorist who admitted defacing seventeen bus stops in London with graffiti, including the words “Jews and gays are aliens”, denies the offence was racially or religiously aggravated
A conspiracy theorist who admitted defacing seventeen bus stops in London with graffiti, including the words “Jews and gays are aliens”, has denied that the offence was racially or religiously aggravated
Nicholas Lalchan, 47, from Edmonton, London, used a black marker pen to deface the bus stops, causing £100 of damage each time.
When he was charged, Mr Lalchan, who is Canadian, allegedly said: “New world order. The fourth Reich. We will see.”
Mr Lalchan was convicted of stirring up racial hatred by a jury at Aldersgate House Nightingale Court in central London in September 2021, having admitted possessing a marker pen with intent to cause criminal damage and being convicted of doing so with racial or religious motivation, which he had denied.
When police searched his home, they reportedly found leaflets, marker pens, maps of bus routes and a USB stick containing pictures that referenced Jewish people and conspiracy theories.
Judge Gerard Pounder told Mr Lalchan: “All it takes is for a small Jewish child to see this, and for them to get very upset. You were deliberately hostile and you aimed it at a specific group of people, whether that be gay people, a Jewish priest [sic] or Jewish people.”
Mr Lalchan’s lawyers are now appealing against his conviction for stirring up racial hatred so the court has adjourned sentencing. Explaining next steps, Judge Pounder said: “Your counsel will tell you what’s going on. It’s very complicated. I’m adjourning this until 18th March. That will just be to find out what’s happening in the Court of Appeal and fix a further date for sentence.”
As he was leaving the dock, Mr Lalchan said: “MI5, MI6 is looking to recruit me, they are trying to get me to work against the crown. Your Honour I don’t want to work for MI5, MI6, CIA.” When the judge told him that he would have an opportunity at a later date to make a statement, Mr Lalchan reportedly replied: “It might be too late then, Your Honour. Things are very fluid at the moment. Every single secret service is a traitor to its own population.”
Mr Lalchan is currently on bail and does not need to attend the next hearing.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Neo-Nazi student who disguised terrorism manual as Minecraft handbook jailed for three and a half years
A neo-Nazi student who disseminated a terrorism manual disguised as a handbook for Minecraft, an adventure game where users can build and create new environments, was jailed on Friday for three and a half years.
Connor Burke, 19, shared the 27-page bomb-making manual in a channel on the social media platform Telegram under the file name Minecraft_Bow_Ammo_Types.pdf. Other terrorism-related documents, including the Anarchy Cookbook Version 2000, were also disguised as Minecraft handbooks. The Anarchy Cookbook Version 2000 is an updated version of the Anarchist Cookbook, which is a guide to making bombs and illegal drugs at home, written during the 1970s. The author of the book has since stated that he was motivated by anger at the time of writing and said that the “basic premise behind the Cookbook is profoundly flawed”.
Concerns have previously been raised over the alleged increase in neo-Nazi content on Telegram. Last year, a teenage neo-Nazi was jailed for eleven years after using the social media platform Telegram to plot terrorist acts. The far-right group Patriotic Alternative was also found to have created neo-Nazi channels dedicated to sharing vile messages, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and images glorifying Hitler.
In a raid of Mr Burke’s family home in Bexleyheath in February 2021, anti-terrorism police found a copy of Mein Kampf, an SS-dagger, and racist and antisemitic propaganda on his computer. They also discovered a video about the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand.
Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Burke had an unhealthy interest in extreme right wing terrorist ideology, and this led to him sharing extremely dangerous material with others online.
“Increasingly, we’re seeing young people being drawn into extremist ideologies, some of whom – like Burke – then go on to commit serious terrorism offences.”
Naeem Mian QC, defending, said that “It is every parent’s worst nightmare. Through a toxic combination coming together, a young man who is from a very loving background but socially isolated found he was having to stay at home as many people were during lockdown. So the isolation was even greater.
“He was therefore spending too much time on his computer and on the internet, in his room by himself…He is a young man who has disappeared down something one would term as a rabbit hole. A very dark rabbit hole which became something of an echo chamber.”
Judge Christopher Kinch QC said: “You got yourself caught up in some very dangerous activity and you waded in deep”, but noted that the teenager’s parents called him a “loving, respectful, gentle young man” who they believe had been motivated to “make an impression” with people he met online. Judge Kinch said that he felt that Mr Burke had a good chance of rehabilitation.
Mr Burke pleaded guilty to disseminating a terrorist publication and four counts of possession of a document likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday to a total of 42 months’ imprisonment and an additional 12 months on licence.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to support the authorities following suit.
Image credit: Metropolitan Police
‘Merchant of Venice’ cancelled in New York City school amid fears it is “inappropriate”
A New York City school cancelled its production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice amid parental concerns about the antisemitic themes in the play.
According to a report in the New York Post, Jewish parents expressed concerns that the play may not be appropriate for the teenage drama students at Morton Middle School in Manhattan.
The Shakespearean tragedy tells the story of the Jewish moneylender Shylock, depicted as the stereotype of “a greedy Jew”, who is insulted by his Christian enemies. A Smithsonian Magazine analysis has observed that there were more than 50 productions of the play in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1939, lending “credence to the charge of antisemitism,” according to the magazine.
Theatre for a New Audience (TFNA), the Manhattan-based organisation collaborating with the students on the play, told the New York Post that they had taken into consideration the “polarising elements of the play” when developing the project and had worked with input from the ADL to ensure that the “challenging themes” would be treated with the “proper critical analysis, sensitivity, and thoughtfulness.”
Nevertheless, the school decided to abandon the production, saying its decision was not taken “lightly,” that they had “worked diligently” with TFNA and had “listened to the members of our community to resolve concerns.”
According to school sources, opinion was divided. One member of the school community said that you needed “knowledge and context” to understand how “bad and dangerous the antisemitism” in this play was. But other parents were “opposed” to scrapping the production, while yet others calling for a dialogue, with one parent noting that, while he had “reservations,” by cancelling the play, the school was missing “a teachable moment.”
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.
Tennessee Bible class reportedly taught pupils how to “torture a Jew”
The parent of a Jewish student in a Tennessee school has expressed outrage after the teacher in a Bible class allegedly pushed Christian ideology and told students how to “torture a Jew”.
In a Facebook post, Juniper Russo wrote that although the class at East Hamilton Middle School, in Hamilton County, Chattanooga, was meant to teach the Bible from “an unbiased and non-sectarian viewpoint,” the class was, she claimed, used for “blatant Christian proselytising.”
Ms Russo wrote that she had been hesitant to enrol her daughter in the class, run by the Bible in the Schools programme, but had done so as her daughter had disabilities that made other classes inaccessible.
According to Ms Russo, assignments given to students included questions about whether they read the Bible at home and which books of the Bible they read. She said that students were told about an atheist student who took the class and became a Christian believer and were shown a video which, according to Ms Russo, portrayed Christianity as “light, sunshine and colour” and “all other global religions as storms, darkness and shadows.”
While Ms Russo was already uncomfortable with the teaching, she decided to take her daughter out of the class after, she claimed, it “turned hostile” when the teacher allegedly “wrote an English transliteration of the Hebrew name of God on the whiteboard.” Telling the class that this name was “traditionally not spoken out loud” she allegedly added: “If you want to know how to torture a Jew, make them say this out loud.”
Ms Russo said that her daughter “felt extremely uncomfortable” hearing this comment and that she no longer felt “safe in the class.”
Ms Russo reported that when she tried to arrange a meeting with the teacher, the school administration and the director of the local Jewish Federation, she was told by the principal that her concerns were being taken seriously but that the teacher refused to meet her, claiming that it was against the policy of the Bible in the Schools programme.
Ms Russo also noted that the incident followed the recent ban by nearby McMinn County of Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust.
The Bible in the Schools programme has been operating in the area’s public schools since 1922. According to the programme’s website, it allows students to study the Bible from a “literary or historical perspective” and from a “viewpoint-neutral, court-approved curriculum.” It claims to be “inclusive to students from all walks of life.”
A spokesperson for Hamilton County Schools (HSC) said that it was investigating the “parent complaint” concerning the course. When completed, and “in accordance with school board policy,” HCS would “take appropriate steps.”
In a statement, the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga said that it was aware of the issues concerning the Bible class and noted that both the school and HCS were “investigating the claims and taking them seriously.” The group said that it looked forward to “a healthy dialogue with the Bible in the Schools organisation.”
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
Snowplow driver fired after posting video of himself spraying Jewish people with snow in New Jersey
A snowplow driver has been fired after he posted a video of himself spraying Jewish people with snow in New Jersey.
The video, shot from inside of the snowplow, shows the driver approaching two visibly Jewish people on his left. He then sprays the Jewish people before breaking into laughter.
Danny Klarmann, an employee of New Jersey Waste Management, posted the now-removed video to his Facebook profile alongside the caption: “This one’s for you JC.”
An investigation is being carried out by Lakewood police and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office.
Waste Management released a statement in which they said: The hateful conduct depicted in the video is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of inclusion and diversity we hold as a company.”
Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles also called the stunt “incredibly stupid and dangerous”, adding: “The plow could easily have thrown chunks of ice or rock and seriously injured or killed either of the victims. I am glad to know our police department is investigating all aspects of this incident.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
UN panel reports only seven Jews remain in Yemen due to persecution from Houthi rebels and Government
A United Nations (UN) panel has stated that persecution from Houthi rebels, the Iranian proxy whose organisation is known as Ansar Allah, and a previous Government have forced Yemeni Jews out.
The findings were included as a part of the UN’s report on how civil war has affected Yemen, and stated that a Jewish population of 50,000 has now been dwindled down to just seven, one of whom is imprisoned.
The report said: “The panel documented the systematic persecution of Jews in Houthi-controlled areas.
“Most of [the] Jewish population left Yemen after several years of persecution, which started under former President Ali Abdullah Saleh but intensified under the Houthis. The panel knows of seven Jewish individuals still in Yemen, including one who remains detained despite an order to release him issued in July 2019.”
The report also detailed the ongoings on a Houthi summer camp where children were expected to “regularly shout the Houthi slogan ‘Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse the Jews, Victory to Islam’.”
Earlier this month, we reported that the Health Minister for the areas of Yemen controlled by the rebel Houthis embarked on a rant about Jewish people in which, among other statements, he accused Jews of controlling the global economy.
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.
Sheffield Hallam University reportedly drops investigation into UCU-backed academic who believes “Zionist lobbies…buy presidents” and has repeatedly breached International Definition of Antisemitism
Sheffield Hallam University has reportedly dropped an investigation into an academic who believes that “Zionist lobbies…buy presidents”, defended the phrase “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust” and shared a video called “Truth About Zionist Jews Talmud”.
Shahd Abusalama, who has been studying for a PhD in cinema at the University, reportedly shared tweets defending a first-year student who had made a poster that said “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust” and who was accused by a Jewish student of antisemitism.
According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, which Sheffield Hallam has adopted, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.
On social media, Ms Abusalama defended the student by citing Jewish individuals who have made the same analogy, and also wrote: “I understand why a first-year university student used #Holocaust when thinking of Israel’s repeated bombardment of Gaza”, adding: “Maybe she thought she’d garner European sympathy for Palestine by evoking ‘Never Again’ slogan.”
She noted of the term “Holocaust” that she herself would not “use such a politicised word often used to justify the racist state of Israel” because it “distracts attention from the Zionist practices of settler-colonialism and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.” However, she proceeded to use other inflammatory terms and claimed that the suggestion that the University’s Palestine Society should undertake antisemitism training in light of the incident was indicative of a “hierarchy of racisms” asking: “Are Islamophobia & Xenophobia insignificant? Prioritising one form of racism over others is itself racist and divisive.”
This was not the first time that Ms Abusalama has courted controversy. She is active in the BDS movement to boycott Israel, the tactics of which an overwhelming majority of British Jews find intimidating, and in the past she reportedly urged people to watch a video on YouTube called “Truth About Zionist Jews Talmud”, which presented numerous antisemitic myths about the Talmud. The video’s description asked “Why the Zionist don’t want us to know what’s in Talmud? [sic],” adding: “Why they want the teaching of the Talmud to be known only to Jews.” Ms Abusalama wrote on Twitter: “Must watch this video that tells you the truth about #zionist #Jews. They take their legitimacy from #Talmud.” In another post, she reportedly wrote that the “Zionist lobbies control all this for their interest,” adding: “They buy presidents/slaves.” The video and tweets have since been deleted.
Ms Abusalama has also asserted that “Zionism is one of the worst forms of antisemitism,” described the BBC as part of the “Zionist propaganda machine”, claimed that the Jewish Chronicle newspaper is so named in order to “cement the analogy between anti-Zionism and antisemitism” and has further claimed that “Germany was always one of the greatest supporters and Zionists managed to mobilise German guilt for Nazism to normalise and enable their oppression and dispossession of the Palestinians.” She has also reportedly posted: “Barak Hussein Obama is b*stard! Those racists should be happy now & re-elect him as he’s anti-Arabs and anti-Muslims & #Zionists’ puppet [sic].”
In 2013, Ms Abusalama reportedly appeared at the 46th anniversary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an antisemitic genocidal terrorist organisation. The event was addressed via video by the convicted terrorist, Leila Khaled, with Ms Abusalama reportedly singing in front of a PFLP banner. In a blog post, Ms Abusalama has also reportedly described Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese Red Army terrorist who participated in the PFLP’s 1971 Lod Airport massacre, as a “freedom fighter”, and described six terrorists who escaped from an Israeli jail last year as “heroes”. She has previously referred to Akram Rikhawi, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for transporting suicide bombers, as “legendary”.
Last month, during the University’s short-lived investigation, Ms Abusalama claimed that “Zionist racist publications/trolls have renewed online #bullying to discredit my academic reputation,” and she was suspended by the University. She declared: “Family, friends, and followers, I am under renewed attack by Zionist publications protesting my recent appointment as an Associate Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, where I also recently submitted a PhD dissertation on the historical representation of Palestinian refugees in colonial, humanitarian and Palestinian documentary films, from 1917 and 1993. The Zionist defamation campaign by Jewish News, Campaign Against Antisemitism and Jewish Chronicle joins a historical pattern where the Zionist colonial narrative is consistently privileged over the narratives of the oppressed.” She also claimed that “Zionists are still targeting me.”
She was then reinstated to her teaching duties, and it is understood that the investigation by the University was then dropped entirely and she was given a full-time position at Sheffield Hallam.
Celebrating the University’s capitulation, Ms Abusalama has once again turned her sights to the International Definition of Antisemitism, and is seeking to sustain the pressure on the University that appears to have enabled her return.
Ms Abusalama was assisted in her negotiations with the University by a representative from the University and College Union (UCU). On 2nd February, the UCU branch at Sheffield Hallam also passed an emergency motion supporting Ms Abusalama. Ms Absulama’s Director of Studies reportedly told the meeting that “black and brown people have had to justify what they have said for many centuries” and that “it is not by chance that the IHRA [International] definition has been used against a young Palestinian scholar.” Last year, the branch was condemned for passing a motion of solidarity with the disgraced Bristol University professor, David Miller.
Among Ms Abusalama’s supporters was the controversial former President of the National Union of Students, Malia Bouattia, who was found by her own institution to have made antisemitic comments.
A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam University said: “After some specific concerns were raised in relation to an individual’s proposed appointment as an Associate Lecturer, we had a duty to fully consider the matters brought to our attention. An appointment has now been made following the conclusion of a robust HR process. As a university we uphold the principles of free speech and academic freedom. We are proud that our staff and students come from a diverse range of backgrounds, with a wide range of views and beliefs. We do not tolerate discrimination or hate speech, and are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive culture for all our students and staff.”
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is just the latest example of a university that has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism and failed properly to apply it in the case of an academic who has repeatedly and unrepentantly breached it, with the academic overcoming an investigation that apparently imposed no sanction and even getting a promotion. It is clear that Sheffield Hallam University has little interest in the welfare of its Jewish students and staff, but at the very least one might have hoped that, as a university, the institution would not wish to tar its reputation by hiring a conspiracist who believes dangerous nonsense such as that ‘Zionist lobbies buy presidents’ and writes from prejudiced ignorance about the Talmud.
“As usual, the University and Colleges Union has run to the defence of anyone who breaches the Definition, proving itself once again to be a very unsafe place for its Jewish members.
“We shall be writing to the University to make our views known and shall be reviewing options for further action.”
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].
Swastika found drawn on glass in Ithaca College
It has been reported that on 3rd February, a swastika was found drawn into the condensation on a window in Ithaca College.
Ithaca College Interim President La Jerne Cornish e-mailed the campus community on 4th February, writing: “The vision of this institution is to build thriving communities, rooted in the values of equity, accountability, and respect, among others. We cannot achieve this goal in an environment that tolerates antisemitic, racist, or other threatening symbols, words, behaviors, or ideologies.”
In the statement, it was also confirmed that an investigation was underway after an incident report had been filed with the Office of Public Safety.
Ithaca’s Hillel house released a statement of its own in which it said that “The swastika is often used to incite violence against Jews and can threaten Jewish students’ sense of safety,” adding: “We are grateful to Ithaca College’s leadership for the seriousness of their response.”
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.
London Underground train carriage reportedly taken out of service after “YIDS” vandalism
A London Underground train carriage has reportedly been taken out of service after the British Transport Police were alerted to the carriage being vandalised.
The vandalism appears to show the word “YIDS” and a Star of David etched into the panel of the carriage
The person who alerted BTP was travelling eastbound on the Central line at 16:40 on 3rd February. After reporting the vandalism by text to BTP, she was then contacted by phone where she was then advised that Transport for London had been informed.
The informant, who works for TfL, was able to check on an internal system and discovered that the carriage appeared to have been taken out of service.
Unite suspends official who accused veteran Jewish MP of “weaponising the Holocaust” to push her “Zionist aims”
Unite, one of Britain’s biggest unions, has suspended an official who accused a veteran Jewish MP of “weaponising the Holocaust” to push her “Zionist agenda”.
Communications Officer Nick West reportedly wrote online of the Labour MP, Dame Margaret Hodge, that she “makes millions of us sick to our stomachs. A woman who has weaponises both her faith and the Holocaust to forward her own petty and Zionist aims. While memorialising the awful stain on humanity that was the slaughter of millions of Jews, Romany and gays, those like Hodge who wield the bloodshed as a political weapon are beyond redemption. Humanity would not miss her.”
A fellow Unite member reacted to the post by saying: “Your comment is absolutely vile and if anyone is weaponising the Holocaust, it is you.”
According to reports, this is not Mr West’s first brush with controversy in relation to antisemitism, having previously appeared to compare Israel to the Nazis, in breach of the International Definition of Antisemitism. He wrote: “Criticism of the state of Israel isn’t antisemitism. The Jews suffered great tragedy and now inflict it on others.”
He also played down antisemitism allegations in the Labour Party, writing in 2018: “As we know it’s all cobblers orchestrated by the power of the state of Israel’s lobbying and right-wing MPs’ objections to Corbyn. Labour needs to stand up and say this and stop apologising.”
A spokesperson for Unite said: “Unite takes this matter extremely seriously. The employee in question has been suspended and an investigation is under way.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Image credit: JC
NYPD hate crime unit investigating after spree of alleged antisemitic attacks in Brooklyn
The New York Police Department (NYPD)’s hate crime unit is investigating a spree of alleged antisemitic attacks which were reported to have taken place over the weekend.
The incidents reportedly all took place in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn during the Jewish Sabbath.
At 22:26 on Friday, a 24-year-old visibly Jewish man was punched in the face. CCTV footage shows a man running up behind the Jewish man before striking him.
A second alleged antisemitic was also reported to have taken place on Friday.
A third incident saw multiple Yeshiva school buses being vandalised with swastikas.
Last month, New York police arrested a woman who was suspected of making antisemitic comments to three Jewish children aged seven, two and eight, in Brooklyn. The suspect reportedly walked away after telling the three siblings that “Hitler should have killed you all. I’ll kill you and know where you live,” and spitting on the eight-year-old boy.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Antisemitic graffiti found in elementary school in Marblehead, MA three times in one month
A police investigation is being conducted in Marblehead, near Boston, after antisemitic graffiti was discovered in bathrooms at an elementary school three times in January 2022.
The first two were swastikas, etched into bathroom stools. The third included “profane language targeted at Jewish people”, and was reported on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The other incidents at the Massachusetts school were reported on 18th January and 26th January.
Superintendent John Buckley wrote an e-mail to the school community, stating: “To say I am disheartened and angry would be an understatement. We have been working with Marblehead Police since the first incident. Destroying school property by scratching swastikas or any other form of hate will be fully investigated by the Marblehead Police Department and any students who engage in such acts face consequences accordingly.”
Around 80 “Team Harmony” students from the high school gave a talk to the elementary school about hate and bias.
Nearby, Curry College in Milton reported five cases of vandalism. These incidents all included hate speech and antisemitic graffiti, such as a swastika.
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.
GoFundMe called to Canadian parliament after accusations that cash was used to fund antisemitism seen at Ottawa protests
A Canadian parliamentary committee is asking representatives of the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to testify about how the company ensures that money raised is not used to promote antisemitism, white supremacy and other forms of hate. The demand was issued after it emerged that GoFundMe was used to raise more than C$10 million to support anti-vaccination protests that featured antisemitic tropes and white supremacy and which brought the Canadian capital, Ottawa, to a standstill.
Urged by British Columbia New Democrat MP Alistair MacGregor, the Public Safety Committee (PSC) is asking representatives of the crowd-funding website to answer questions about how its funds were allegedly used to promote hate. GoFundMe announced that it was “reviewing” the anti-vaccination fundraising campaign to ensure that it complied with its terms of service and is understood to have frozen funds to protestors in the meantime.
Mr MacGregor said that he was concerned about “the anonymity of some donors” and what controls GoFundMe had to ensure that the money was not funding “extremist views like antisemitism, white supremacy and other forms of hate” that were “prominently” seen in the Ottawa protests.
The MP said that Canada must subject GoFundMe to “a closer examination,” as the “prime motivation” and “endgame” of its “anonymous donors” were not known. Their aims were unknown “and that’s a very real, big problem,” said Mr MacGregor.
In its statement, GoFundMe said that it had requested more information from the organiser regarding the use of funds. Tamara Lich, one of the protest organisers, said that the crowd-funding company had been given all the information that it sought and was confident that the suspension would be lifted. In the meantime, the controversial social media platform Gab, which is popular with the far-right, has provided links to cryptocurrency websites as a way to keep donations flowing during GoFundMe’s suspension of fundraising.
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.
Plank of wood thrown through synagogue window in North London
A plank of wood has been thrown through a synagogue window in Stamford Hill, North London.
Haringey Police are treating the incident as a hate crime.
The incident is believed to have occurred yesterday at 19:00 on Franklin Street and was reported today by Stamford Hill Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Stamford Hill Shomrim on 0300 999 0123, quoting reference number: CAD 2810 04/02/22
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Investigation underway after swastika painted on army barracks
An investigation is currently underway after a swastika was found painted on Rock Barracks in Suffolk last week.
The black swastika was reportedly scrawled onto the lower level of a barracks housing troops that was connected to the 16 Air Assault Brigade.
The Royal Military Police, who is leading the investigation, has said that multiple soldiers from the 23 Parachute Engineers reported the vandalism. It is understood that the Royal Military Police were made aware of the swastika graffiti as of 28th January, the day after Holocaust Memorial Day.
An army spokesman said: “We utterly condemn any form of antisemitism and are extremely proud of our service personnel from the Jewish community. We are aware of an incident at Rock Barracks, Woodbridge, on 28th January, 2022. This is being investigated by the Royal Military Police.”