Tahra Ahmed, a prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker who was reported to the police by Campaign Against Antisemitism, has today been 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 by Campaign Against Antisemitism. The offence carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment. She will be sentenced on 11th February.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Tahra 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 the jury has convicted her over 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.
Earlier in the case, her defence counsel was the same barrister who defended notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz and the neo-Nazi activist Jeremy Bedford-Turner, both of whom were sent to prison following prosecutions initiated by Campaign Against Antisemitism. Ms Ahmed later replaced her counsel.
Ms Ahmed had supporters at court, one of whom was seen wearing a yellow star, seemingly in an effort to liken vaccinations to the Holocaust, in a form of softcore Holocaust denial that has become widespread amongst conspiracy theorists during the pandemic. The supporters were warned by a clerk to stop attempting to communicate with her during the trial after they were observed trying to signal to her.
Today, Ms Ahmed was found guilty by eleven of the twelve jurors, who agreed on both counts, following the trial before His Honour Judge Mark Dennis QC. We are grateful to the CST for once again providing security for CAA personnel at 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.
“Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could hide in the attic like Anne Frank did”: Robert F Kennedy Jr apologises for Holocaust comparison at anti-vaccine rally
Robert F Kennedy Jr has apologised for invoking Anne Frank’s name in comparing current COVID-19 mandates to laws in Nazi Germany.
During his speech at an anti-vaccination rally in Washington on Sunday, Mr Kennedy said: “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.”
Responding to this excerpt of his speech on Twitter, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum wrote: “Exploiting of the tragedy of people who suffered, were humiliated, tortured & murdered by the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany – including children like Anne Frank – in a debate about vaccines & limitations during global pandemic is a sad symptom of moral & intellectual decay.”
Mr Kennedy took to Twitter on Tuesday to apologise, writing: “I apologise for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors. My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.”
This is not the first time that comparisons to the Nazis have been used by anti-vaccination demonstrators.
In April, protesters at an anti-vaccination rally held in London were pictured wearing the yellow star. Comedian David Baddiel took to Twitter to share a photo of a woman wearing the yellow star, accompanying it with the caption: “Take. That. Off.”
Footage taken on 13th July showed Piers Corbyn comparing vaccinations to Nazi policy outside the Houses of Parliament, despite being arrested after a similar incident in February. The video shows Mr Corbyn and another man standing in front of a sign which reads “No Nazi forced jab” and yelling “arrest Matt Hancock” through a megaphone.
Earlier this year, Joseph Szwarc, a Holocaust survivor, spoke out against wearing the yellow star in protests, saying: “You can’t imagine how much that upset me. This comparison is hateful. We must all rise up against this ignominy.” With tears in his eyes, Mr Szwarc added: “I wore the star, I know what that is, I still have it in my flesh. It is everyone’s duty to not allow this outrageous, antisemitic, racist wave to pass over us.”
The comparison has been made across the world, including in Italy, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.
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.
Everton fan banned from games for three years after antisemitic chants at Spurs fans
An Everton fan has been banned from attending football matches for three years after he took part in antisemitic chants that were aimed at Spurs fans.
Michael Campbell, of Aigburth Road, Liverpool, was reported to stewards and police following his actions at the match held at Goodison Park on 7th November.
This led to an investigation being conducted by Merseyside Police and Everton which then resulted in Mr Campbell’s arrest and subsequent charges. He then received the Football Banning Order for three years at South Sefton Magistrates Court in Bootle and was told to pay a fine and court costs at the hearing on 20th January.
Detective Inspector Steven O’Neill, of Merseyside Police, said: “Hate crime in all its forms simply will not be tolerated and I hope this result sends a clear message that anyone found to commit hate crime offences anywhere on Merseyside will be brought to justice.
“Campbell will now have a criminal record and the consequences of this in the future could prove to be significant. The professional response of Everton Football Club stewards meant that he was quickly identified and arrested.”
He added: “We know that the overwhelming majority of supporters attending matches are well behaved and would share our revulsion at these appalling chants. However, when the behaviour of fans is unacceptable we will always work with clubs to identify those people and put them before the courts.”
An Everton spokesperson added: “Club officials and security staff have worked alongside Merseyside Police in their investigation which has concluded with an arrest and subsequent conviction.
“The Club strongly condemns any form of hate crime and has a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of discrimination. Any such behaviour has no place within our stadiums, our community or our game and we will act swiftly to deal with any reported instances of discrimination.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We commend Everton and Merseyside Police for taking swift action in prosecuting Mr Campbell, a man who reportedly deemed it acceptable to shout antisemitic chants at what ought to be an enjoyable sporting event. Banning fans who engage in anti-Jewish racism demonstrates that this kind of rhetoric will not be tolerated. Other clubs should heed Everton’s example.”
In December 2020, the Premier League adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Ken Livingstone declares intention to apply to join Green Party
The controversial former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has declared his intention to apply to join the Green Party.
Mr Livingstone 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.
Last week, Mr Livingstone 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.”
Mr Livingstone has 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.”
A member of the London Assembly, Zack Polanski, said: “The rules are very clear that there’s no space in the party for antisemitism, transphobia, racism, sexism or any other form of discrimination and while it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on any individual application, I’d expect any new member – whoever they are – to follow our code of conduct.”
It is understood that membership applications from high-profile political defectors are reviewed by a Green Party regional council for consultation.
A spokesperson for the Green Party said: “We welcome everybody who shares our political aims and values to join the Green party.”
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.
Robert Rinder writes about “the tragic reality of being Jewish in London in 2022”
Robert Rinder has written about “the tragic reality of being Jewish in London in 2022” in a new article, published yesterday.
In the article for the Evening Standard, the barrister and television personality has written about how antisemitic insults were hurled at his friend’s children whilst they were at a falafel restaurant in Golders Green, despite them not being Jewish.
Mr Rinder wrote: “But as she told me this awful story, I realised — with a profound sadness — that I was completely unsurprised. Because it’s happening to Jews all the time.”
“It’s completely shattering to think how the grimy tendrils of anti-Jewish hatred have spread over so many aspects of life in the UK, whether it’s being spat at or accosted in the street or any of the countless other acts of abuse,” he continued. “For example, many in the Jewish community send their children to Jewish schools, and I think it’d break your hearts to see the precautions they have to take.”
Mr Rinder went on to state that he believes that the vast majority of the people in the United Kingdom are appalled by anti-Jewish racism, “but this is the tragic reality of being Jewish in London in 2022. Not in some far off time or place, but right now and right here; in the greatest, most cosmopolitan city in the world.”
Mr Rinder called on people to “stand up to every instance of cruelty, big or small, because the descent into human depravity never begins with grand acts of violence, it starts with murmured insults and grows from there,” and added that “It’s the subtle way horror gets going — not with a bang or people screaming hate in broad daylight, with whispered comments everybody else tolerates.”
Robert Rinder has said in the past that he believes that there is an existential threat to Jews in Britain, but that he has “an enduring belief in the British public. That ultimately, for every one loud antisemite, there are hundreds, no, thousands of people that have the courage to stand up to it.”
In 2019, Mr Rinder spoke at the #TogetherAgainstAntisemitism rally in Parliament Square.
Evan Rachel Wood accuses musician Marilyn Manson of writing “kill all the Jews” above her side of the bed
Evan Rachel Wood has accused the musician Marilyn Manson of writing “kill all the Jews” above her side of the bed during their relationship.
The actress has claimed that her controversial former boyfriend also compelled her to carve an “M” near her private parts and also sexually assaulted her “on camera” during the filming of a music video when she was nineteen.
The allegations of abuse came in a new documentary, “Phoenix Rising – Part 1: Don’t Fall”, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will be broadcasted on HBO in March.
According to Ms Wood, in addition to demanding loyalty from her, Brian Warner – Marilyn Manson’s real name – decorated their home with Nazi propaganda and told her that Hitler was a “rock star”, knowing that she is Jewish. Mr Warner is accused of bombarding her with antisemitic symbols and messages as part of a campaign of sexual and emotional abuse, which he denies.
The claim is one of numerous allegations of abuse that have recently surfaced against Marilyn Manson by former partners and associates, resulting in his record label dropping him.
Mr Warner’s lawyer responded to the film in November, saying that he “vehemently denies any and all claims of sexual assault or abuse of anyone,” adding: “These lurid claims against my client have three things in common — they are all false, alleged to have taken place more than a decade ago and part of a coordinated attack by former partners and associates of Mr. Warner who have weaponised the otherwise mundane details of his personal life and their consensual relationships into fabricated horror stories.”
Warwick University society apologises for inviting climate activist who called Holocaust “just another f***ery in human history”
A student society at the University of Warwick has apologised after inviting a climate activist who called the Holocaust “just another f***ery in human history”.
The event with Extinction Rebellion co-founder Roger Hallam, titled “Our Responsibilities at This Time”, was due to take place today, but was cancelled by the University after an outcry from Jewish students, who said that the society failed to “recognise the concerns with inviting Roger Hallam, founder of XR [Extinction Rebellion], who has a history of Holocaust minimisation and trivialisation.”
Mr Hallam made the inflammatory comment in an interview to the German newspaper, Die Zeit. He told the paper, “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 millions 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.”
Yesterday, Climate Reality Warwick, which organised the event, said: “We have made the decision as a society to cancel the talk tomorrow. When we were approached about the guest speaker, we were not aware who he was until after confirming the event, and of course this is a mistake on our part for not checking. As a society we strongly condemn some of Roger’s statements in the past, especially regarding the Holocaust, and we don’t feel that he represents us as a society. We apologise for any potential harm caused.”
The University of Warwick has a history of incidents in relation to Jewish students and antisemitism. Last year, academic staff passed a motion challenging the International Definition of Antisemitism, which the University had reluctantly adopted. Previously, dubious disciplinary charges against a Jewish student who complained about antisemitism were dropped by the University; the University’s official Twitter account ‘liked’ a tweet endorsing inflammatory comments by the disgraced academic David Miller, with the University subsequently deleting the ‘like’ and blaming “unauthorised access” to the account; and a controversial Warwick lecturer reportedly claimed that the Definition is part of a Conservative plot to “legitimate racist speech and de-legitimate anti-racist and anti-colonial research, teaching and activism”.
In the past, other concerns have been raised over the University’s failure to address a scandal over a group chat which gained national attention, in which antisemitic, misogynistic, abusive and threatening messages, including rape threats, were uncovered.
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].
Grandson of Holocaust survivors discovers Nazi memorabilia being sold in New South Wales, Australia
The grandson of two Holocaust survivors has discovered a trove of Nazi memorabilia being sold in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Dr. Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, called for the ban of Nazi memorabilia in Australia and said that “If Hitler were alive today, he would be applauding them for glorifying his barbaric crimes and keeping his monstrous legacy alive.”
“This lurid trade has to stop, and I call on all governments to honour the sacrifices of the brave Australian diggers made in defeating Hitler, and to follow the state of Victoria’s lead by planning to legislate and ban the public display of Third Reich symbols,” he added.
In September, Victoria announced that it would 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.
Image credit: Anti-Defamation Commission
“Game-changing precedent” as defendant in criminal case, resulting from first-of-its-kind litigation by CAA, pleads guilty to antisemitic harassment
The defendant in a criminal case that has resulted from first-of-its-kind litigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism has pleaded guilty at Peterborough Crown Court today.
Nicholas Nelson, 32, was charged with racially aggravated harassment under section 31(1)(b) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and with sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety under 1(1)(a) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, after repeatedly sending abusive antisemitic e-mails and messages to Oscar-nominated Jewish writer Lee Kern and hateful messages to communications strategist Joanne Bell, and harassing a staff member at a Jewish charity over the telephone.
Mr Kern contacted Campaign Against Antisemitism, which funded a case on his behalf led by Mark Lewis, the esteemed lawyer who is also an Honorary Patron of Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The abusive communications came from accounts that Mr Nelson had worked very hard to make anonymous. Victims of abuse from anonymous accounts usually have nowhere to go, because only rarely will the police track down the sender, and the cost of private action is usually beyond victims’ means.
However, a new legal initiative devised by Campaign Against Antisemitism together with counsel breaks through that barrier. It has enabled us to identify the anonymous troll by obtaining a special kind of court order which has its origins in the pharmaceutical industry and has never before been used to unmask an anonymous abuser sending antisemitic messages. The court order requires an internet service provider to disclose details of the owner of an online account so that legal proceedings can be issued.
We used this legal device to identify Mr Nelson and criminal proceedings were commenced, leading to the plea at today’s hearing, held in Peterborough Cathedral.
Mr Nelson, who lives in Cambridgeshire and is a vigorous supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, also previously sent abusive messages to two Jewish women Labour MPs, branding one a “vile useless c***” and the other a “traitor” who should “end yourself”. At the end of 2018 he pleaded guilty to the same charge and was given a twenty-week suspended sentence for twelve months and ordered to complete 160 hours unpaid work. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to three charges of sending communications of an offensive nature to two other Labour MPs, one of whom is Jewish and the other is an active campaigner against antisemitism. In addition to the charges that Mr Nelson pleaded guilty to today in relation to Mr Kern and Ms Bell, Mr Nelson also pleaded guilty to harassing a member of staff at the Board of Deputies over the telephone.
The new offences to which Mr Nelson today pleaded guilty were committed during the period of the suspended sentence, which accordingly may impact sentencing.
Sentencing is expected on 25th March. The offence carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a fine.
Mr Kern said: “Nicholas Nelson is a malevolent racist motivated by his love of Jeremy Corbyn, and has engaged in an antisemitic campaign of harassment against me for several years. During this time he called for another Holocaust, called me Shylock, spoke of Jews being used for gun practise, called Jewish women whores, shared perverted sexual fantasies involving Hitler and glorified the antisemitic terror organisation, Hamas. He believed he was able to make these attacks on Jews with anonymity and impunity. He was mistaken.
“Justice will now be served. All those who think they can attack Jews anonymously and get away with it should pay heed. We have the motivation and commitment to come after you hard. And we succeed. I’d like to thank Campaign Against Antisemitism and Mark Lewis, and I doff my cap to all those who fight antisemitism with little reward other than doing the right thing.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Our new legal device to unmask internet trolls who hide behind anonymous e-mail addresses in order to abuse Jewish victims has borne fruit with today’s guilty plea. This game-changing precedent is the most significant development in the legal fight against online hate in years. We are grateful for the cooperation of the police and prosecutors in helping us to send a message of deterrence to would-be online abusers. We will continue to devise innovative legal mechanisms to protect the Jewish community and deliver justice to victims of antisemitism, including in ways previously thought impossible.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image credit: JC
PhD student who defended the phrase “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust” has reportedly been suspended from teaching by Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University has reportedly suspended a PhD student who defended the phrase “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust”.
Shahd Abusalama, who is 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.
Last week, Ms Abusalama claimed that “Zionist racist publications/trolls have renewed online #bullying to discredit my academic reputation,” and over the weekend, it was reported that she had been suspended by the University from her teaching duties.
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 added: “I’m shocked that my academic community seems more interested in protecting its reputation than my academic freedom & wellbeing.”
Recently, the University and College Union (UCU) branch at Sheffield Hallam University was condemned for passing a motion of solidarity with the disgraced professor, David Miller.
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].
“Hitler should have killed you all”: Woman suspected of spitting on eight-year-old Jewish boy and making antisemitic comments is arrested
New York police have arrested a woman who is suspected of making antisemitic comments to three Jewish children aged seven, two and eight, in Brooklyn, New York on 14th January.
The suspect, Christina Darling, is a psychology student at St. Francis College. She reportedly walked away after telling the three siblings that “Hitler should have killed you all. I’ll kill you and know where you live.”
According to the children’s father, Aryeh Fried, the boy told Ms Darling that he would save his little sister. “I have to teach him not to engage,” Ms Fried said. “But he engaged. And she came running back. Spat in his face. And told him, ‘We will kill you all. I know where you live. And we’ll make sure to get you all, next time.’”
“I would hope that she understands the severity of what she did,” Mr Fried added. “To do it to anybody is obviously problematic, but for an adult to do it to a child is just beyond crazy.”
Ms Darling, 21, has reportedly been charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime, menacing, and three counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child.
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: NYPD Crime Stoppers
Kosher restaurant in New Jersey bombarded with anti-Israel comments and coordinated negative reviews
A kosher eatery in Teaneck, New Jersey has attracted a barrage of anti-Israel comments and negative online reviews, including claims that its cuisine was “stolen”.
The culinary battleground emerged after Yalla, a kosher eatery located on a quiet street in Teaneck NJ, was targeted. Yalla seems to have provoked particular anger due to its name as Yalla is an Arabic word but widely used in Israel to mean “let’s go.”
According to Israeli owner Jacob Goldberg, Yalla had received a number of politically-motivated negative reviews in recent years from people who claimed that he “stole” the name, “stole” their land or “stole” the food.
Most of the time, said Mr Goldberg, he simply alerted Google and asked for reviews to be removed. He explained that “where it’s very obviously hate-speech,” the reviews come down but “if it’s food-related, such as ‘I found a hair in my food,’” even though it was posted by “someone from Damascus” who had “obviously never been to my restaurant,” the review stays. Mr Goldberg decided, therefore, on a new tactic. He responded to a review that led the “critic” to use social media to call on anti-Israel users to pile on and place negative reviews.
Mr Goldberg believes there were at least 300 negative reviews posted in one evening, some of which also included Palestinian flags and the words “Free Palestine.” As well as claiming that Yalla served “stolen Palestinian food” and that the menu was “cultural appropriation at it’s [sic] finest,” “reviews” claimed that it was “absolutely trash,” that food was “overpriced” and that it “steals the thoughts and the lands and serve you sh*t on a plate.”
One review wrote in capital letters: “DON’T GO THERE AND WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!”
There was also a TikTok video in which a woman claimed that Yalla was “falsely advertising Palestinian, Middle Eastern food” adding: “They messed with the wrong people.… Free Palestine.”
Within hours of the campaign, Yalla’s rating had dropped from 4.6 stars out of a maximum of five stars to 3.85. It then dipped to below 3 stars.
“In real life, if you get attacked, you call 911 and the police respond,” said Mr Goldberg. “But if you get attacked online, nothing, nothing, nothing happens.” He added that “a five-year-old” could look at the reviews and recognise they were fake, but “Google, a multibillion-dollar company can’t flag something like this as fake” was, he said, “just pretty astonishing.”
According to Mr Goldberg, since news of the cyber attack broke, he had had a lot of support “from Jews who felt they had to come out and fight hate.” People had been dropping into Yalla to show support which felt “amazing.” But, in the “long term” he did not think that there would be much impact. “Many people think Google reviews are mostly fake anyway,” he noted, “especially” if the reviews were anti-Israel. “They trust the old-fashioned way” – reviews from friends and family.”
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: JNS via Google Images
Fourteen-year-old from Darlington pleads guilty to terror charges
A fourteen-year-old from Darlington has pleaded guilty to terror charges, making him the youngest person to be convicted on terror offences.
The schoolboy admitted three counts of possessing information useful to a terrorist, specifically manuals for making explosives, last week at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He was also reportedly active on racist online forums.
The boy, who cannot be named, was arrested last July when he was thirteen in an investigation into extreme right-wing terrorism. He was released on bail until 1st April when he will be sentenced at Newton Aycliffe Youth Court.
Recently, a neo-Nazi who was sentenced by a judge to read classic works of English literature has now been jailed for two years by the Court of Appeal, after his sentence was deemed “unduly lenient”.
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.
Mayor leads condemnation of “vile” and “hateful” antisemitism at health board meeting in Massachusetts town
The Mayor of a Massachusetts town has led local and state-level condemnation of antisemitism describing it as “vile,” “hateful” and “unwelcome.”
The comments from Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra follow a Board of Health meeting in late December when several participants made anti-Jewish remarks or displayed swastikas on Zoom screens. The Mayor also pointed to flyers seen in the city that had antisemitic messages.
The “actions are vile, hateful, and are unwelcome in the city of Northampton” and were “profoundly hurtful to our Jewish neighbours,” declared Mayor Sciarra.
At the meeting to discuss a vaccine mandate for Northampton, a man on Zoom, claiming to be called David Rosenberg, described board members as “unelected, rich Jewish doctors.” The same man said: “We are tired of you attacking our way of life and attacking our children.” He added: “We will resist.”
Another man, who claimed to be called “Justin Goldberg” asked on Zoom if the Board were “willing to put people in camps,” stating “frankly, I think that is where this is heading.”
A third person used the screen name “Jews will not replace us” and displayed three swastikas as their Zoom photo.
In her statement, Mayor Sciarra said that while the city officials “acknowledge constitutionally protected free speech” at public meetings “that does not mean that we do not denounce hateful and derogatory comments or images.”
She added: “We must speak up against the words and actions of those who sow hatred…They are a threat to the safety and peace of our community.”
At a City Council meeting following the incident, one Northampton councillor said: “The antisemitism that was expressed was unconscionable and shocking.” Councillor Stanley Moulton said that while he was “an ardent supporter” of free speech, “hate speech cannot be tolerated.”
Senator Jo Comerford, who represents Northampton, said legitimate criticism of official measures had “crossed a bright line” and had been “marred” by “violent rhetoric and antisemitic slurs,” adding: “We must join together to reject such dangerous bigotry.”
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.
President of UCL Palestine Society leads hundreds in “From the river to the sea” chant and warns of “Zionist plotting” at rally
During an anti-Israel demonstration held on Friday night, the President of the University College London (UCL) Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Society, Saleem Nusseibeh, led the notorious “From the river to the sea” chant and warned the crowd of hundreds about “Zionist plotting”.
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.
Mr Nusseibeh, addressing the crowd, also spoke of “Zionist manoeuvring and plotting” and claimed that “these Zionists will be removed, their presence will be gone.” He then finished his speech by leading the “From the river to the sea” chant that was heard at different points throughout the night.
In addition to this, recent online footage shows the UCL SJP President speaking on a discussion panel in December where, on a video uploaded to the “Palestinian Return Centre” YouTube channel, he said: “If the UN accepts that Zionism is racism and Israel is the manifestation of Zionism, that means Israel is a racist state.” He added: “You have to pick between principle or the law that is enacted by some of the most bloodthirsty powers that existed and still, unfortunately, preside over much of the world.”
Under 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 antisemitic.
Friday night’s rally was reportedly organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). This is not the first time that a PSC rally has featured antisemitism. An investigation by Campaign Against Antisemitism in 2017 exposed extensive antisemitic bigotry amongst supporters of the PSC.
Numerous signs bearing the slogan “Stop Judaisation of Jerusalem” were spotted at last night’s demonstration. One of the banners spotted at the rally was that of Jewish Voice for Labour, an antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation.
An evidence gathering team from Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit was present at the rally held outside the Israeli Embassy in West London. The event featured numerous speakers, including Tony Burke, General Secretary at Unite and Vice President of IndustriALL Europe, Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and Former Shadow Chancellor and Labour Party MP John McDonnell.
Other speakers featured were Jo Grady, General Secretary of the University and College Union, PSC Chair Kamel Hawwash and rapper Kareem Dennis, known as Lowkey.
Mr Dennis has previously described Israel as a “racist endeavour” in direct and deliberate contravention of the Definition, described Zionism as “antisemitic”, spoken of the “Zionist lobby” in the context of global capitalism, has reportedly backed the disgraced former Labour MP Chris Williamson and has repeatedly supported the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Another week, another rally on British streets infested with antisemitic tropes. Yet again, a prominent Labour MP addressed the crowd, and a leading student activist led an antisemitic chant and denounced ‘Zionist plotting’. UCL and its Students’ Union must investigate.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
“Maybe they’ll have compassion for f***ing Jews:” Chilling final audio of Texas synagogue terrorist reveals he wanted to “go down as a martyr”
A chilling excerpt of the final phone call between Malik Faisal Akram, the terrorist who held four Jewish people hostage for eleven hours at a synagogue in Texas, and his brother reveals he wanted to “go down as a martyr”.
On 15th January, 44-year-old Mr Akram from Blackburn in Lancashire, UK entered Congregation Beth Israel during Sabbath services, making threats against the congregation and holding them hostage, demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in Texas.
In comments that could be heard on a live stream of the synagogue service that was cut off during the incident, Mr Akram could be heard speaking in a northern English accent and claiming that he had a bomb and that he would not leave the synagogue alive.
Now, in audio that has been obtained by the JC, Mr Akram can be heard telling his brother, Gulbar, that he has “come to die”, and that he promised his younger brother, who reportedly died three months ago, that he would “go down a martyr.”
“I’m bombed up, I’ve got f***ing every ammunition,” he continued. “I’ve told my kids to man up and don’t f***king cry at my funeral.”
Mr Akram said: “I’ve asked Allah for this death, Allah is with me, I’m not worried in the slightest.” Ignoring his brother’s pleas for Mr Akram to end the siege, he yelled: “Maybe they’ll have compassion for f***ing Jews.”
Shortly after the attack, the “Blackburn Muslim Community” Facebook page reportedly prayed for “the Almighty” to “bless him with the highest ranks of Paradise” in a now-deleted post. It was reported today, however, that Chairman of Blackburn’s Masjid E Sajedeen Mosque, Councillor Salim Sidat, stated that “We, as a community, understand that this shouldn’t happen to any community, whether Jewish, Muslim, or anything else. The atrocities he carried out were disgusting and we also believe there is no room for antisemitism.”
In a statement that sparked fury in Jewish communities around the world, the FBI made a claim, which was blindly repeated by the world’s media, that the incident was “not specifically related to the Jewish community.” However, this claim was refuted by the hostages of the attack. Jeffrey Cohen recounted that Mr Akram had imbibed antisemitic conspiracy theories to the extent that he believed Jews to be so powerful that if he wanted a criminal to be released from prison, all he had to do was to enter a synagogue and demand that local Jews exercise their political might to fulfil his request.
At one point Mr Cohen told how the terrorist, who was killed by the FBI, demanded to speak to the “Chief Rabbi”, however no such office exists in the United States, so they simply called a rabbi from another synagogue. Mr Akram was apparently utterly convinced that Jews and their rabbis wielded such immense power that they could overturn prison sentences by decree.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has since said that “The FBI is and has been treating Saturday’s events as an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community,” adding: “It was intentional, it was symbolic, and we’re not going to tolerate antisemitism in this country. We recognise that the Jewish community in particular has suffered violence and faces very real threats from across the hate spectrum.”
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.
Over one in four religious hate crimes in Sweden target Jews, despite only being 0.1% of population
A new study has reported that in 2020, Jewish people in Sweden were on the receiving end of 27% of religious hate crimes, despite them only making up 0.1% of the population.
The report noted 170 antisemitic hate crimes occurred in 2020. Sweden has a population of 10 million, of which Jews make up approximately 14,900.
The report from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention also says that the figure is lower than that of the 280 antisemitic hate crimes documented in the 2018 report. However, it added that the 2020 numbers may be skewed due to structural changes in its most recent report.
In October, world leaders called for further measures to tackle antisemitism and Holocaust denial at Sweden’s Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
“They would wait for us as we got off the bus”: Love Island’s Eyal Booker opens up about his personal experiences of antisemitism
On the most recent episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism, Eyal Booker, a contestant on season four of the hit show Love Island, opened up about his personal experiences of antisemitism growing up.
Mr Booker said: “The start of my secondary school life was when I realised that antisemitism is very real and that because we wore a school uniform that identified us as going to a Jewish school, it sounds dramatic but we had a target on our back.
“It was very obvious, and…and there were other kids from other schools that didn’t like that we were Jewish, didn’t like that we went to a Jewish school and would try and intimidate us…would, as you said, throw rocks and stones at our school bus.”
He went on to say: “They would wait for us as we got off the bus because we would get off in small groups and intimidate us and chase us home and that’s when…that’s when it got quite real because I can vividly remember, you know, running up that hill like my life depended on it because I didn’t know who was behind me or what was coming for me, and that was at a point that I realised that antisemitism is real and it exists and it is dangerous.”
The Love Island star went on to say that he had trauma from what he had experienced, revealing that it took time to recover: “Slowly but surely I realised that, ‘okay, not everyone wants to attack me and hates me’.”
Mr Booker also disclosed his thoughts on antisemitism today, saying: “I’m shocked that we still live in a world where hatred is fuelled by more hatred, and that, you know, we have to continuously ask people to stand in alliance with us and say ‘please, can you not see that this is wrong?’ We’re people like anyone else, why would you not just call out wrong and hatred behaviour when you see it?
“Because we know wrong from right, we all do. We’re humans, we have morals, we have values. We can see when somebody is feeling uncomfortable, when there is aggressive body language or behaviour towards them. We can see when there is someone vulnerable, on their own or in a small group of young kids or girls or women that are being attacked, and it makes me feel sick that people would stand by and let that happen because they think, for some unknown reason, that we’re bad people or we’ve done something wrong, because we were born into a religion and a society and we’ve decided to grow up in that way.”
The full podcast with Mr Booker 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.
Two acts of antisemitic vandalism reported in one week in South Tampa, Florida
Two acts of antisemitic vandalism have been reported within the same week of each other in South Tampa, Florida.
The incidents both occurred in the first week of 2022, leading Tampa JCCs and Federation to state that it was “deeply disappointed”, adding: “As an organisation and a community, we find hateful acts like this disturbing and unacceptable.”
In one incident, graffiti depicting a Star of David with a line crossed through it was scrawled on a portable toilet at a residential construction site. Neither the residents nor the owner of the site are said to be Jewish and the graffiti has since been painted over. The incident was reported by a Jewish resident and the matter is currently being investigated by police.
In a second incident, Jewish students at Coleman Middle School in South Tampa reportedly created and distributed flyers with the intention of forming a club for Jewish students. However, one of the flyers that was posted on a wall was found defaced. The matter is understood to have been handled internally, with assistance from former JCCs and Federation president Joe Probasco.
The school has previously seen antisemitic vandalism when it was defaced with swastikas.
In a statement, Tampa JCCs and Federation said that “We’re fortunate and grateful we have the full support of the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to help try to ensure our safety and see that those responsible are held accountable. Battling all acts of hate and antisemitism continues to be one of our highest priorities.”
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
CAA and others vindicated as neo-Nazi originally ordered to read classic literature is finally jailed after review of “unduly lenient” sentence
A neo-Nazi who was sentenced by a judge to read classic works of English literature has now been jailed for two years by the Court of Appeal, after his sentence was deemed “unduly lenient”.
Ben John, 21, was convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court on 11th August 2021 of possessing information likely to be useful for preparing an act of terror — a charge that carries a maximum jail sentence of fifteen years. The prosecution told the court that the former De Montfort University student, who had collated 67,788 documents which contained a large quantity of National Socialist, white supremacist and antisemitic material, as well as information relating to a Satanic organisation, had previously failed to heed warnings by counter-terrorism officers. Lincolnshire Police had also said that Mr John “had become part of the Extreme Right Wing (XRW) online, and was studying Criminology with Psychology in Leicester when he was arrested”.
Nevertheless, Judge Timothy Spencer QC said that he believed that Mr John’s crime was likely to be an isolated incident and “an act of teenage folly”. He labelled Mr John as a “lonely individual with few if any true friends” who was “highly susceptible” to recruitment by others more prone to action. Judge Spencer went on to say that he was “not of the view that harm was likely to have been caused.”
Instead of jail, Judge Spencer instructed Mr John to return to him every four months in order to be tested on his reading of classic literature, urging him to read Dickens, Shakespeare, Austen, Trollope and Hardy. Mr John was also handed a two-year jail sentence suspended for two years plus a further year on licence, monitored by the probation service. Mr John was also given a five-year Serious Crime Prevention Order requiring him to stay in touch with the police and let them monitor his online activity and up to 30 days on a Healthy Identity Intervention programme.
Campaign Against Antisemitism and other groups condemned the sentence as a dangerous joke, and the Attorney General asked the Court of Appeal to review the “unduly lenient” sentence.
Earlier this month, Mr John appeared before the same judge to be tested on his reading. This was after an interview with Scout News in December, in which Mr John reportedly indicated that he had not even begun the reading. The Court of Appeal heard that Mr John had resumed his interest in far-right extremism within days of the original sentence last year. The Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC, told the court: “We now know that within a week of giving an apparently sincere promise to the judge, he resumed his interest in the far-right. He began liking Nazi posts online and other extremist activity five days after promising the judge he had put it behind him.” He added that “some of the material accessed as recently as this month is very troubling.”
In handing down judgement today, Lord Justice Holroyde said that the original judge’s intention to avoid having to jail Mr John was “understandable”, but concluded that “we are satisfied there must be a sentence of immediate imprisonment.”
Mr John was today therefore jailed for two years with a one-year extended licence. He will be eligible for release after spending two thirds of his prison sentence.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We know from hard experience that sometimes it takes time to get justice, but Ben John has today finally received an appropriate custodial sentence. The Attorney General was absolutely right to ask the Court of Appeal to review the pathetic original sentence. It was inexplicable that a man who collected nearly 70,000 neo-Nazi and terror-related documents could entirely avoid prison for crimes that carry a maximum jail term of fifteen years. Instead, Ben John left court with a mere suspended sentence and some English homework.
“The British public can sleep safer tonight knowing that the Court of Appeal has shown sense, rectified the alarming joke of a sentence originally handed down to Mr John, and jailed a dangerous individual.”
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: Lincolnshire Police
New York police search for woman suspected of spitting on eight-year-old Jewish boy and making antisemitic comments
New York police are searching for a woman who is suspected of making antisemitic comments to three children in Brooklyn, New York on Friday.
She reportedly walked away after making the comments before returning to spit on one of the children, an eight-year-old Jewish boy.
A photograph released by NYPD Crime Stoppers shows a woman in an orange jumper carrying a blue bag.
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: NYPD Crime Stoppers
Guilty verdict for mosque leader who called for violent Jihad while wearing “Free Palestine, resistance is existence” jumper, and explosive details of family’s Islamist ties can now be published
A mosque leader who called for “Jihad by sword” while making a stabbing gesture and wearing a black top emblazoned with the words “Free Palestine, resistance is existence” has been found guilty of intending to encourage terrorism.
Abu Bakr Deghayes’ twenty-minute sermon a congregation of around 50 at Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre last November was caught on CCTV. The audience reportedly included teenagers and young men in their twenties, as well as older members, and it is understood that several in the audience began to fidget as the speech went on, with some walking out.
The Old Bailey heard that Mr Deghayes, 53, from Saltdean, Sussex and originally from Libya, spoke in English and Arabic, urging the congregation to ignore the British Government and its Prevent programme. He is claimed to have said: “Allah is more powerful than you. You, idiots. You non-believers, idiots. Allah is more powerful than you. The non-believer…is an idiot; he’s stupid. Jihad is compulsory upon you, you, you and you until the Day of Resurrection, whatever the British Government thinks, whatever Prevent thinks, whatever Israel thinks.
“Send to the sea. They can go and drink from the sea, Allah curse their fathers, OK? Jihad, jihad, jihad! Jihad is compulsory. Jihad by fighting by sword that means this jihad is compulsory upon you, not jihad is the word of mouth but jihad will remain compulsory until the Day of Resurrection. And my livelihood is under the shadow of my spear.”
He added that anyone who did not like what he said was an enemy of Allah, declaring: “Go fight Allah! Go Fight Allah!”
Mr Deghayes, who denied wrongdoing, had claimed in his defence that his words referred to self-defence, and that the stabbing gesture was a “dance of the blade”.
Now that the case is over, with Mr Deghayes inexplicably released on continued bail until he is sentenced at the same court on 25th February, details of his family’s ties to Islamists can be published. Two of Mr Deghayes’ sons were killed fighting in Syria (a third died in a stabbing incident in Sussex). Abdul, who was reportedly involved with drugs and was murdered by a dealer in 2019 aged 22, was the twin brother of Abdullah, who was killed in 2016 fighting in Syria. Their brother Jaffar was killed in 2014 aged seventeen while fighting to overthrow the Syrian dictator, Bashas Al-Assad. Both were apparently fighting for the al Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front. Yet another son, Amer, is believed still to be fighting in Syria.
In 2017, a serious case review reportedly identified missed opportunities to prevent the sons from being radicalised, as well as noting failures to understand the role of religion in their lives. The report also alleged that Mr Deghayes would wake the boys up at 04:30 in the morning to study the Koran and would whip them with electrical wire.
The boys’ uncle, Omar Deghayes, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and spent five years in Guantanamo Bay.
The jury was not told about Mr Deghayes’s family background and ties.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that over eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.
Image credit: Google and Sussex Police
Glasgow University academic whose tweets breached International Definition of Antisemitism dismisses Jewish student who challenged him as being part of “the Lobby”
An academic at the University of Glasgow whose tweets breached the International Definition of Antisemitism has dismissed a Jewish student who challenged him as being part of “the Lobby”, according to the JC.
Dr Muir Houston, a senior education lecturer, reportedly claimed that the Jewish former Labour Party MP, Dame Louise Ellman, was “a liar and a fraud – and responsible for vexatious attacks on Corbyn at the behest of a foreign power.”
After he signed a letter of support for the disgraced academic David Miller last year, a Jewish politics student asked Dr Houston why he did so, for an article for a student newspaper.
According to the JC, less than an hour after the student sent the e-mail request, a Twitter account believed to belong to the academic posted “email received from the Lobby” and quoted directly from her message. Later in the day, the account posted: “After signing letter in support of David Miller – a member of the student lobby asked me for statement – given their previous reporting I will decline.”
The student submitted a complaint to the University’s Complaints Resolution Office. In April 2021, the University reportedly upheld the complaint, writing that University officials could “understand why the statements made by Dr Houston have caused offence to you and other members of the Jewish community” and adding: “We are deeply sorry about this. We would like to assure you that, as a result of your complaint, the School is actively pursuing this issue.” However, the letter did not commit to disciplinary action against Dr Houston.
Since then, the student has uncovered multiple social media posts, allegedly from Dr Houston, that breach the International Definition of Antisemitism, and still the University has apparently taken no formal action. The University of Glasgow has adopted the International Definition of Antisemitism.
Dr Houston is alleged to have replied to a tweet by European Council President Charles Michel that the lesson of the Holocaust was that “silence is the first step to acceptance”, saying: “#FreePalestine”.
Meanwhile, when another Twitter user asked, “Why have the Scottish government, Nicola Sturgeon, or the SNP not uttered a single word condemning Israeli murder. Have they been captured?” Dr Houston’s handle replied, “Yes”, and posted a link to a public policy document issued by a Scottish Jewish representative group.
The student met with the University of Glasgow Chief Operating Officer David Duncan in October to discuss her concerns. In an e-mail sent later that day, he replied: “the matter was dealt with informally; Dr Houston has not been the subject of formal disciplinary action.” When the student sent further tweets in November, he replied the following week: “Following further investigation of the twitter feed you complained about, I have concluded that some of the contents are problematic.” He said that the matter had been referred to the Head of School.
The student apparently asked Mr Duncan which tweets he considered “problematic”, and Mr Duncan pointed to one that reacted to news that the former Labour MP Mary Creagh had received an MBE, despite attacking Jeremy Corbyn, saying: “She got her 30 pieces of silver then?” He also pointed to another tweet that called “Modern Hebrew” a “synthetic language”.
Mr Duncan mused that some of the tweets “simply take a political perspective on developments in the Middle East – that to my mind is not problematic.” But the student was outraged, citing the claim that Dame Louise operated “at the behest of a foreign power” and writing: “I am in disbelief as to how you cannot see how these are problematic? The impunity granted to Muir is disgusting.”
According to the JC, the e-mail trail suggests numerous delays on the part of the University.
A spokesperson for the University of Glasgow said: “The complaint has been upheld and action is ongoing. We are unable to comment further at this time.” In a separate statement, the University reportedly added: “In no way does the University of Glasgow or Dr Duncan find racism or racial discrimination acceptable.”
Mr Duncan reportedly insisted that he was confident he had handled the complaint “appropriately and fairly”, saying: “I examined all the social media comments made by the subject of the complaint since the previous action by his School. I also drew on informal advice from Jewish colleagues.”
Dr Houston reportedly told the JC: “The Israel lobby is an actually existing phenomenon composed of witting and unwitting assets of a hostile and illegitimate foreign state. That state, Israel, can only continue to exist because of a slow genocide being committed against the Palestinian people. Britons should be deeply concerned that the Jewish Chronicle, whose funders remain secret, is seeking to lead the largest political witch-hunt in British history. We should all ask on whose behalf this onslaught of censorship and intimidation is being conducted.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Several of these social media posts appear to breach the International Definition of Antisemitism, including claiming that antisemitism allegations against Labour were vexatious or at the behest of a foreign power. The posts warrant urgent action by the University, as does Dr Houston’s reported reaction to complaints, which appear to have invoked yet another trope. Universities have a duty of care towards Jewish students and an obligation to students to present lecturers who are grounded in reality rather than conspiracy. If the University continues to fail to take action or obfuscate, we shall be reporting it to the Office for Students.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors the adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism by universities.
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
Cambridge professor accused of conspiratorial attacks by both Jewish society and fellow academic
A professor at the University of Cambridge has been accused of conspiratorial attacks by both the University’s Jewish society and a fellow academic.
Priyamvada Gopal, a professor of Postcolonial Studies at the University, reportedly accused Samuel Rubinstein, a Jewish student at Cambridge who wrote an article criticising her tweets of fellow academic David Abulafia, of being motivated by her stance on the International Definition of Antisemitism, despite Mr Rubinstein’s article not mentioning the Definition.
Ms Gopal stated that she was “the subject of a concocted story eagerly picked up by tabloids and Murdoch press”, adding: “They make the news, they write it up, they target, they assault, they win.”
She also accused Mr Rubinstein of having “quite powerful familial connections to the liberal media.”
In response, the University’s Jewish society released a statement in which it said that the society “Stands in solidarity with our members who have been subject to unfounded conspiracy theories and online intimidation.
“In an inflammatory Twitter thread [Ms Gopal] echoes historic tropes about media control, and goes on to insinuate that the Jewish journalists are acting out of fidelity to the IHRA [International] Definition of Antisemitism.”
Mr Rubinstein told the JC: “Prof. Gopal had every right to respond to my piece, and could have done so by taking issue with the substance of my argument, but it is regrettable that her response – a tissue of falsehoods and rancid conspiracy theories, getting progressively unhinged as the day progressed – vindicated every single claim I made in my original article.”
Professor Abulafia, the academic originally criticised by Ms Gopal, said: “I’m not trying to get Gopal sacked but she’s clearly completely out of control. In a series of tweets she claimed that the student newspaper journalist I spoke to was part of a conspiracy. Both he and I are Jewish and we are all familiar with the antisemitic Jewish conspiracy trope — she even referenced guidelines designed to stop hate speech around the Holocaust.”
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].
BBC did record “anti-Zionism” debate even as broadcaster promised it was not planning to air one
It has been revealed that the BBC did record a controversial debate about anti-Zionism even as the broadcaster assured the Jewish community that it was not planning to air one.
Rabbi Jonathan Romain, who was the first religious leader to speak out against Jeremy Corbyn after the 2019 General Election was called, has revealed that BBC Radio 4 recorded an inflammatory debate between him and the controversial blogger Robert Cohen over whether anti-Zionism should be a “protected characteristic”.
The debate was reportedly recorded on 7th January and was due to be broadcasted on 13th January. Although the BBC insisted, after outrage from the Jewish community, that “We are always exploring a range of possible topics but there’s no planned item about anti-Zionism on the Sunday programme,” Rabbi Romain revealed that, after the segment was recorded, producers told him that it would be broadcast as planned. It was later pulled.
Rabbi Romain said: “I was approached by the BBC on Friday morning to do an interview on the move to make anti-Zionism a protected philosophical belief.” He described the debate as “robust” and lasting “between seven and eight minutes,” during which he “forcefully made the point that Zionism originally meant the establishment of a Jewish homeland and ever since 1948 has meant the maintenance of a Jewish homeland, but it does not refer to particular borders. It is perfectly permissible to criticise particular Israeli policies, and half of all Israelis do, but if [Mr Cohen] and others are anti-Zionist, they are denying Israel’s very right to exist. What is more, given that every other people have that right, and he wishes Palestinians to have it too, then denying it just to Jews is exceptionalism and antisemitic.”
Rabbi Romain revealed: “Later that afternoon, I was phoned by the producer and told, very regretfully, that ‘someone higher up the chain’ had decided that as the application to make anti-Zionism protected was only a proposal and had not been initiated yet, the BBC would postpone the item until it was made.”
Prior to asking Mr Cohen to participate, the BBC intended to invite Diana Neslen, a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour.
On Sunday the BBC issued a second statement saying: “We are always exploring a range of possible topics but there was no item about anti-Zionism on the Sunday programme this weekend.”
The BBC has lately been embroiled in a host of controversies relating to antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].
Jeremy Corbyn reportedly considering launching new party while allies seek to restore Labour whip to him
Jeremy Corbyn, the antisemitic former leader of the Labour Party, is reportedly considering launching a new political party.
Mr Corbyn is apparently being urged by his allies to register his organisation, the Peace and Justice Project, as a political party. Mr Corbyn set up the Project following his suspension from the Labour Party in order to coordinate his activism.
However, Mr Corbyn has also recently observed that he could stand as an independent at the next election. He reportedly said: “Let’s not go into too much speculation about this…my wish is to stand as a Labour candidate…I do feel I’ve been very badly treated, but let’s take it one step at a time.”
Although Mr Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party, he was rapidly and disgracefully readmitted. However, the whip has not been restored to him, so he is in the absurd position of being a member of the Labour Party who sits as an independent MP.
Now, Nadia Jama and Ian Murray, both allies of Mr Corbyn on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), have submitted a motion to the NEC calling for the whip to be restored to the former leader. Even if successful, the motion cannot require the whip to be restored to Mr Corbyn.
Late last year, Ms Jama seconded a motion challenging the practice of expelling Party members based on apparent involvement with groups that were proscribed after the time of alleged involvement, and earlier last year Ms Jama voted against the proscription of Labour Against the Witchhunt by the NEC.
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.
Mosque leader on trial after allegedly calling for “Jihad by sword” while wearing black top emblazoned with words “Free Palestine, resistance is existence”
A mosque leader is on trial after allegedly calling for “Jihad by sword” while wearing a black top emblazoned with the words “Free Palestine, resistance is existence”.
Abu Bakr Deghayes’ twenty-minute sermon at Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre last November was caught on CCTV.
The Old Bailey heard that, while calling for “Jihad by sword”, he gestured with a stabbing motion.
The congregation reportedly included teenagers and young men in their twenties, as well as older members, and it is understood that several in the audience began to fidget as the speech went on, with some walking out.
Ben Lloyd, prosecuting, told the court that the speech on 1st November 2021 “demonstrates the defendant to be an Islamic extremist. He is someone who believes in the use of violence in the cause of Islam, or at the very least, he was reckless as to whether people would be encouraged. It is not a speech given innocently or naively by the defendant.”
He added: “The defendant was quite clear, he said jihad was compulsory or an obligation. He said, ‘jihad by fighting by sword’. The prosecution case is clear and straightforward – by standing up at the front of a busy mosque, and by quite deliberately saying ‘jihad by fighting by sword’, the defendant was encouraging terrorism, encouraging violence in the name of Islam. If the defendant’s own words were not clear enough, he also made a stabbing gesture with his hands.”
Mr Deghayes, from Saltdean, Sussex, is originally from Libya, and spoke in English and Arabic, allegedly urging the congregation to ignore the British Government and its Prevent programme. He is claimed to have said: “Allah is more powerful than you. You, idiots. You non-believers, idiots. Allah is more powerful than you. The non-believer…is an idiot; he’s stupid. Jihad is compulsory upon you, you, you and you until the Day of Resurrection, whatever the British Government thinks, whatever Prevent thinks, whatever Israel thinks.
“Send to the sea. They can go and drink from the sea, Allah curse their fathers, OK? Jihad, jihad, jihad! Jihad is compulsory. Jihad by fighting by sword that means this jihad is compulsory upon you, not jihad is the word of mouth but jihad will remain compulsory until the Day of Resurrection. And my livelihood is under the shadow of my spear.”
He allegedly added that anyone who did not like what he said was an enemy of Allah, declaring: “Go fight Allah! Go Fight Allah!” Mr Deghayes denies encouraging terrorism. The trial continues.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that over eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.
Image credit: Google
Despite media and FBI claims, Texas synagogue hostages confirm attack was absolutely antisemitic as two are arrested in the UK
Despite media and FBI claims that the attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Texas was “not specifically related to the Jewish community,” the hostages taken by terrorist Malik Faisal Akram have confirmed that his motivation was in fact antisemitic.
The FBI’s claim, blindly repeated by the world’s media, had sparked fury in Jewish communities around the world. For example, the BBC led with the headline: “Texas synagogue hostage stand-off not related to Jewish community – FBI”
Speaking to CNN, Beth Israel community member Jeffrey Cohen recounted that 44-year-old Mr Akram, from Blackburn in Lancashire, UK, had imbibed antisemitic conspiracy theories to the extent that he believed Jews to be so powerful that if he wanted a criminal to be released from prison, all he had to do was to enter a synagogue and demand that local Jews exercise their political might to fulfil his request.
At one point Mr Cohen told how the terrorist, who was killed by the FBI, demanded to speak to the “Chief Rabbi”, however no such office exists in the United States, so they simply called a rabbi from another synagogue. Mr Akram was apparently utterly convinced that Jews and their rabbis wielded such immense power that they could overturn prison sentences by decree.
The account has been corroborated by others, forcing the FBI to backtrack and admit that far from being “not specifically related to the Jewish community,” the attack was in fact “a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted”.
Mr Akram entered the synagogue during Sabbath services, making threats against the congregation and holding them hostage, demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in Texas.
In comments that could be heard on a live stream of the synagogue service that was cut off during the incident, Mr Akram could be heard speaking in a northern English accent and claiming that he had a bomb and that he would not leave the synagogue alive.
In additional comments that suggest that the FBI did little of use during the attack, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker told CBS Mornings that he and the two other hostages had escaped by hurling a chair at the attacker and running out of the building. Only once the hostages were free did the FBI enter the building and shoot Mr Akram dead. The account was corroborated in Mr Cohen’s CNN interview.
Previous reports had suggested that the FBI freed the hostages.
Two teenagers have now been arrested by the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing North West.
The person who Mr Akram wanted freed in return for the safety of the hostages was being held in a Texan prison. Dr Siddiqui is convicted of two counts of attempted murder, armed assault, using and carrying a firearm, and three counts of assault on US officers and employees. Upon her conviction, raising her middle finger in court she shouted: “This is a verdict coming from Israel, not America. That’s where the anger belongs.” Dr Siddiqui had refused to work with a legal team provided to her by the Pakistani embassy on account of them being Jewish, and she had also demanded that jurors be subject to some sort of genetic testing to assess whether they were Jewish.
In a letter to former US President Obama, Dr Siddiqui wrote: “Study the history of the Jews. They have always back-stabbed everyone who has taken pity on them and made the ‘fatal’ error of giving them shelter…and it is this cruel, ungrateful back-stabbing of the Jews that has caused them to be mercilessly expelled from wherever they gain strength. This why ‘holocausts’ keep happening to them repeatedly! If they would only learn to be grateful and change their behaviour!”
A statement purportedly from Mr Akram’s brother claimed that Mr Akram had in fact released all of the hostages voluntarily before the authorities conducted their raid and killed him.
The statement added: “We would also like to add that any attack on any human being be it a Jew, Christian or Muslim etc is wrong and should always be condemned. It is absolutely inexcusable for a Muslim to attack a Jew or for any Jew to attack a Muslim, Christian, Hindu vice versa etc.”
The statement was published on a Facebook the “Blackburn Muslim Community” Facebook page which had to apologise for a post about Mr Akram’s death praying for “the Almighty” to “bless him with the highest ranks of Paradise”. The apology absurdly claimed that they had not been aware of the circumstances of Mr Akram’s death when posting the message, before the entire Facebook page was taken offline. Campaign Against Antisemitism is investigating who operates the “Blackburn Muslim Community” Facebook page and has alerted the authorities.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We join Jewish communities around the world in relief that Malik Faisal Akram’s attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Texas ended without physical injury to worshippers at the synagogue.
“The FBI’s claim during the attack that it ‘was not specifically related to the Jewish community’ has now been shown to be the opposite of reality. The FBI’s grasp of the nature of the attack and its role, if any, in securing the safety of the hostages will now be under considerable scrutiny. It is appalling how the FBI’s patently absurd analysis was blindly parroted by the world’s media.
“That the perpetrator came from the United Kingdom raises very serious questions for British authorities, including whether Mr Akram was encouraged or supported by local elements who may pose a continuing threat to the Jewish community or the wider public. This would appear to be supported by the fact that two teenagers have already been arrested by Counter Terrorism Policing North West. That a ‘Blackburn Muslim Community’ Facebook page purporting to represent the local Muslim community published a now-deleted post calling for ‘the Almighty’ to ‘bless him with the highest ranks of Paradise’ demands an urgent investigation. We are looking into who operates the page and have alerted local law enforcement.”
Seattle Jewish Federation fury at “inadequate” response to alleged antisemitism by senior policeman
A Seattle Jewish organisation has described the official reaction to antisemitic acts allegedly perpetrated by a senior police officer as “completely inadequate” and “an affront” to the Jewish community.
The criticism from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle (JFGS) follows the response by city officials in the Kent area of Seattle, Washington, to offences in the summer of 2021 when Assistant Police Chief Derek Kammerzell allegedly posted a Nazi military insignia on his office door and made jokes about the Holocaust.
Mr Kammerzell was suspended for two weeks and ordered to attend cultural-sensitivity training. His claim that he did not know the symbol was of Nazi origin was accepted. In a statement released at the end of the year, Kent officials said that, based on labour law and on advice from two law firms that had reviewed the case, they believed a two-week suspension was “an appropriate and defensible response.”
JFGS described the response as “inexcusable” and said that it demonstrated “a complete lack of understanding of the impact” on the local Jewish community.
The group described the two-week suspension and sensitivity-training as “completely inadequate, especially at a time when incidents of hate against the Jewish people are higher than they’ve been in almost 45 years.”
JFGS called on the City of Kent to “publicly recognise the harm and hurt” caused to the Jewish community, adding that the “absence of true accountability” and “the sheer lack of consequences” were “shocking.”
This was an affront to the entire Puget Sound Jewish community, the group said said, adding: “Synagogues, Jewish community centres, and Jewish organisations rely on lawenforcement to help protect them from violent, antisemitic attacks.”
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 MPs Grahame Morris, Nadia Whittome, John McDonnell and Lucy Powell all under pressure in relation to antisemitism
Four Labour Party MPs – Grahame Morris, Nadia Whittome, John McDonnell and Lucy Powell – are now under pressure in relation to antisemitism.
The Mail on Sunday revealed that the Labour MP Grahame Morris is the director of the controversial “Palestine Deep Dive” company. Research by Labour Against Antisemitism uncovered Mr Morris’ association with the company, of which he is the founding director. The MP reportedly admitted being a director of the purportedly educational organisation and that he had failed to declare this directorship to Parliament.
The company’s website has previously published an article claiming that “Israel’s racism” has “let loose the pogroms so reminiscent of Czarist times and Kristallnacht in Germany, 1938.” According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.
The website has also attacked BBC’s Panorama for contributing to a “smear campaign” against Labour, due to its investigation into antisemitism in the Party. The website reportedly apologised for this latter article by the controversial musician and activist, Roger Waters, last month. Mr Waters has made other outrageous claims on the website as well.
The website has interviewed the activist and comedian, Alexei Sayle, who has claimed that allegations of antisemitism “amongst supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are a complete fabrication.” Palestine Deep Dive has also reportedly platformed the controversial figure Tariq Ali, who has previously tried to link Israel to the racist killing of George Floyd – a trope for which Rebecca Long Bailey was fired from the Shadow Cabinet – among other inflammatory claims.
Grahame Morris is believed to be the only sitting MP in the entire House of Commons not to have endorsed the International Definition of Antisemitism. In 2012, he himself apparently tweeted: “World’s richest Jacob Rothschild, John Paulson & George Soros Are All Betting That Financial Disaster is Coming.”
Mr Morris reportedly said that, although he is a director of the company, he has “no involvement in the editorial decisions” of the website, and he issued an apology for failing to register his directorship with the House of Commons.
A spokesperson for the company reportedly said that the website “has not knowingly published material that may be considered antisemitic, nor has it been challenged as such. If this would ever be the case, it would be removed.”
Meanwhile, former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP and fellow Socialist Campaign Group member Nadia Whittome MP both reportedly shared a platform with expelled Labour member and outspoken filmmaker Ken Loach. Sir Keir Starmer pledged during his leadership campaign that any Labour member who shares a platform with a member expelled in relation to antisemitism would be disciplined, but he has consistently failed to fulfil this promise.
Reports have also emerged that Lucy Powell MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has been campaigning with Cllr. Majid Dar, a Labour councillor in Manchester who was suspended following allegations of antisemitism. Cllr Dar’s sister, Yasmine Dar, is an ally of Jeremy Corbyn and served as the head of Labour’s disputes panel. She is infamous for claiming that the Party did not have a problem of institutional antisemitism even as her brother was suspended over antisemitism allegations.
Scandals relating to antisemitism continue to rock the Labour Party at other levels as well. For example, a Labour councillor in West Lancashire, Ron Cooper, has tweeted: “If Corbyn was Labour Leader again then hundreds of thousands of members would rejoin the Party. @Keir_Starmer Stands for nothing #Purge of socialists and following commands from Israel.” Cllr. Cooper was swiftly suspended from the Party pending an investigation, and currently sits as an independent councillor, the whip having been withdrawn.
There are also unverified reports that Maureen Madden, the Chair of the North Tyneside Constituency Labour Party, has been expelled from the Labour Party. She has reportedly shared Rothschild conspiracy theories in the past.
Furthermore, Jewish Voice for Labour, the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, has tweeted in response to verified reports of Chinese espionage in Parliament: “Chinese interference in Parliament is unacceptsble [sic] and the security services were correct to draw attention to it. When are they going to turn their attention to the widespread Israeli Parliamentary interference #LFI #CFI #LDFI.” Claims that the Jewish state or lobbyists on its behalf wield excessive power in foreign nations is a common trope.
Joe Glasman, Head of Political and Government Investigations at Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Sir Keir Starmer’s failure to fulfil his pledge to discipline MPs and others who share platforms with expelled members continues to haunt him. He tells non-Jewish audiences that he has closed the door on antisemitism in his Party – while whispering to Jewish audiences that there is still more to do – but his own MPs and officeholders continue to push the door wide open. With the new disciplinary system yet to be tested, Labour cannot be said to have gotten to grip with its scandal of institutional racism against Jews.”
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.
Coffin draped in Nazi flag while mourners give Nazi salutes at funeral in Rome
At a recent funeral in Rome, a coffin was draped in a Nazi flag while mourners gave Nazi salutes, sparking outrage among Italian clergy.
The funeral was reportedly for neo-Fascist Forza Nuova Party member Alessia Augello.
In a statement, the Vicariate of Rome dubbed the incident as “serious, offensive, and unacceptable.”
A Roman Jewish community organisation reportedly said that the incident was “even more outrageous because it took place in front of a church,” adding: “It is unacceptable that a flag with a swastika can still be shown in public in this day and age, especially in a city that saw the deportation of its Jews by the Nazis and their fascist collaborators.”
Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
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.
“Blackburn Muslim Community” Facebook page reportedly calls for Allah to “bless” dead Texas synagogue attacker “with the highest ranks of Paradise”
Following the confirmation that the dead British man who attacked Congregation Beth Israel in Texas was 44-year-old Malik Faisal Akram, the “Blackburn Muslim Community” Facebook page has reportedly prayed for “the Almighty” to “bless him with the highest ranks of Paradise” in a now-deleted post.
Mr Akram entered the synagogue during Sabbath services, making threats against the congregation and holding them hostage, demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence in Texas.
In comments that could be heard on a live stream of the synagogue service that was cut off during the incident, Mr Akram could be heard speaking in a northern English accent and claiming that he had a bomb and that he would not leave the synagogue alive.
Following a standoff, the authorities raided the synagogue, killing Mr Akram and freeing the hostages.
A statement purportedly from Mr Akram’s brother published by the same Facebook page claimed that Mr Akram had in fact released all of the hostages before the authorities conducted their raid and killed him. The statement added: “We would also like to add that any attack on any human being be it a Jew, Christian or Muslim etc is wrong and should always be condemned. It is absolutely inexcusable for a Muslim to attack a Jew or for any Jew to attack a Muslim, Christian, Hindu vice versa etc.”
Dr Siddiqui is convicted of two counts of attempted murder, armed assault, using and carrying a firearm, and three counts of assault on US officers and employees. Upon her conviction, raising her middle finger in court she shouted: “This is a verdict coming from Israel, not America. That’s where the anger belongs.” Dr Siddiqui had refused to work with a legal team provided to her by the Pakistani embassy on account of them being Jewish, and she had also demanded that jurors be subject to some sort of genetic testing to assess whether they were Jewish.
In a letter to former US President Obama, Dr Siddiqui wrote: “Study the history of the Jews. They have always back-stabbed everyone who has taken pity on them and made the ‘fatal’ error of giving them shelter…and it is this cruel, ungrateful back-stabbing of the Jews that has caused them to be mercilessly expelled from wherever they gain strength. This why ‘holocausts’ keep happening to them repeatedly! If they would only learn to be grateful and change their behaviour!”
Campaign Against Antisemitism is investigating who operates the “Blackburn Muslim Community” Facebook page and alerting the authorities.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We join Jewish communities around the world in relief that Malik Faisal Akram’s attack on Congregation Beth Israel in Texas ended without physical injury to worshippers at the synagogue, and in giving thanks to the courageous law enforcement officers who secured their safety.”
“That the perpetrator came from the United Kingdom raises very serious questions for British authorities, including whether Mr Akram was encouraged or supported by local elements who may pose a continuing threat to the Jewish community or the wider public. That a ‘Blackburn Muslim Community’ Facebook page purporting to represent the local Muslim community published a now-deleted post calling for ‘the Almighty’ to ‘bless him with the highest ranks of Paradise’ demands an urgent investigation. We are looking into who operates the page and alerting local law enforcement.”
Prominent Grenfell Tower volunteer aid worker Tahra Ahmed found guilty of publishing written material in order to stir 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 today been 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 by Campaign Against Antisemitism. The offence carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment. She will be sentenced on 11th February.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “Tahra 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 the jury has convicted her over 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.
Earlier in the case, her defence counsel was the same barrister who defended notorious antisemite Alison Chabloz and the neo-Nazi activist Jeremy Bedford-Turner, both of whom were sent to prison following prosecutions initiated by Campaign Against Antisemitism. Ms Ahmed later replaced her counsel.
Ms Ahmed had supporters at court, one of whom was seen wearing a yellow star, seemingly in an effort to liken vaccinations to the Holocaust, in a form of softcore Holocaust denial that has become widespread amongst conspiracy theorists during the pandemic. The supporters were warned by a clerk to stop attempting to communicate with her during the trial after they were observed trying to signal to her.
Today, Ms Ahmed was found guilty by eleven of the twelve jurors, who agreed on both counts, following the trial before His Honour Judge Mark Dennis QC. We are grateful to the CST for once again providing security for CAA personnel at 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.
Ridley Road star Agnes O’Casey reveals what it’s like playing a Jewish woman infiltrating a neo-Nazi group in first ever TV role
The actress Agnes O’Casey joins Podcast Against Antisemitism this week, revealing what it is like to play a Jewish woman who infiltrates a neo-Nazi group.
Ms O’Casey tells us about how starring in Ridley Road in her first ever television role gave her the opportunity to learn more about her Jewish roots.
The interview comes after her co-stars, Eddie Marsan and Tracy-Ann Oberman, revealed that they were subjected to online antisemitic abuse.
The episode can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.
Leader of neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division handed seven-year jail sentence for plot to target journalists and activists
A leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division has been handed a seven-year jail sentence in connection with a plot to target journalists and activists.
Kaleb Cole, 25, was convicted by a federal jury in the Western District of Washington of one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion, three counts of mailing threatening communications, and one count of conspiring with other Atomwaffen Division members to commit three offenses against the United States – interference with federally-protected activities because of religion, mailing threatening communications, and cyberstalking.
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington said: “Kaleb Cole helped lead a violent, nationwide neo-Nazi group. He repeatedly promoted violence, stockpiled weapons, and organized ‘hate camps’. Today the community and those Mr. Cole and his co-conspirators targeted, stand-up to say hate has no place here. He tried to intimidate journalists and advocates with hate-filled and threatening posters, tried to amplify their fear. Instead they faced him in court and their courage has resulted in the federal prison sentence imposed today.”
According to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Mr Cole “led a multi-state plot by a neo-Nazi group to threaten and intimidate journalists and advocates who were doing important work to expose antisemitism around the country. The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute these hateful acts.”
At the trial, it was shown that Mr Cole and his peers plotted to intimidate journalists and others by mailing threatening posters or gluing posters to victims’ homes, focusing primarily on those who are Jewish or black. Mr Cole designed the posters, which warned the recipients that “you have been visited by your local Nazis.” Some victims temporarily moved home as a result, installed security systems or purchased firearms. Another began opening her mailbox with a stick as a precaution against what may be insider, while yet another left her job as a journalist.
Last year, another of the group’s leaders, Cameron Shea, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses against the United States and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for threatening journalists and advocates against antisemitism.
Other co-conspirators, Johnny Roman Garza and Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe, also pleaded guilty and were sentenced.
Atomwaffen Division is a paramilitary neo-Nazi group that trains its members in the use of firearms and reportedly seeks to ignite a race war in the United States.
Last year, the UK proscribed Atomwaffen Division as a terrorist 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.
Alliance for the Union of Romanians Party criticised for dismissing Holocaust education as “minor topic”
A Romanian political party has been criticised for referring to Holocaust education as a “minor topic”.
The Alliance for the Union of Romanians party, or AUR, which holds 43 seats in Romania’s Parliament, issued a statement accusing the Government of relegating “fundamental subjects” such as “exact sciences, Romanian language and literature and national history” in favour of “minor topics” such as “sexual education” and “history of the Holocaust.”
The Government, the statement said, is trying “to undermine the quality of the education system in Romania.”
The Government’s Special Representative for Combating Antisemitism, Alexandru Muraru, reportedly hinted at the possibility of outlawing AUR, calling the Party “a threat to Romania’s constitutional order.”
In his Party’s defence, AUR’s co-leader, Claudiu Tarziu said: “We are Christians, so we can’t be antisemites.” He denied calling the Holocaust a “minor topic” and referenced the “sinister horrors” visited upon on Jews by “the Nazi regime”.
The AUR has drawn controversy since its surprising election result in 2020, when it won 9% of the vote and entered Parliament for the first time, as its leaders have reportedly defended historical figures who served in Ion Antonescu’s wartime regime, which was allied with the Nazis.
According to official Romanian statistics, between 280,000 and 380,000 Jews were murdered or died in territories under Romanian administration during WWII.
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.
Outrage after Iranian official wanted in connection with deadly AMIA bombing is invited to inauguration of Nicaraguan President
Nicaragua is facing outrage after an Iranian official wanted in connection with the deadly AMIA bombing attended the swearing-in of controversial President Daniel Ortega for a fourth term following an election widely viewed as rigged.
Mohsen Rezaee, a Vice President of Iran and two-time former Presidential candidate, attended the ceremony this week despite being wanted by Interpol for his role in the bombing of the AMIA Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in 1994.
Mr Rezaee was the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps at the time of the AMIA bombing, which he is believed to have masterminded and which killed 86 people and injured hundreds. The United States has designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
Mr Rezaee has been wanted by Interpol since 2007.
The Organisation of American States’ antisemitism envoy, the Brazilian lawyer Fernando Lottenberg, called for Nicaragua to abide by its duties as a member of Interpol, saying: “I repudiate the presence of the Vice President of Iran at the inauguration of Daniel Ortega in Managua. Mohsen Rezaee is under a red alert from Interpol. Nicaragua, as a member of Interpol, should soon comply with it.”
Argentina has its own arrest warrant out for Mr Rezaee, and the country’s Foreign Ministry said that “his presence in Managua constitutes an affront to Argentine justice and to the victims of the brutal terrorist attack against the AMIA.”
During his visit, Mr Rezaee also met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
French mosque is second to be shut by authorities in two weeks over inciting hatred, support for Islamism and dissemination of antisemitism
A French mosque has been shuttered over support for Islamist groups and dissemination of antisemitism, just two weeks after another was ordered to close for inciting hatred.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed that he had ordered a mosque in the southern city of Cannes to close due to antisemitic remarks heard there and its alleged support for two Islamist groups, CCIF and BarakaCity, which the Government dissolved last year because they were spreading Islamist propaganda.
The closure of the mosque came just two weeks after the closing of another mosque in Beauvais in northern France due the content of its imam’s sermons, which reportedly included hatred, violence and Jihad “targeting Christians, homosexuals and Jews.”
Late last year, yet another mosque – in Allonnes, 200km west of Paris – was closed for six months after sermons were delivered apparently defending armed jihad and “terrorism”.
In an interview, Mr Darmanin said that 70 mosques in France were considered to be “radicalised”.
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.
Belgian-Israeli receives undelivered letter to Belgium after several months, with address rendered illegible by swastika and antisemitic insults
A Belgian-Israeli has, after several months, received back an undelivered letter originally sent to Belgium, with the address now rendered illegible by swastika and antisemitic insults.
The letter, addressed to the sender’s notary in Anderlecht in August 2021, arrived in Belgium a few days after being posted in Israel, but has been sent back to Israel almost three-and-a-half months after arriving in Belgium due to an “insufficient/incorrect address”. However, the envelope had clearly been altered with a swastika and the phrase “J F***”.
The sender has reportedly asked the Israeli post office to file a complaint against its counterpart, BPost, and has contacted the Israeli Embassy in Brussels and communal Jewish groups.
A spokesperson for BPost said that an internal investigation was under consideration but that the company “does not have sufficient elements for the moment.” The spokesperson added: “It goes without saying that we will do everything possible to shed light on this matter and that we are ready to take the appropriate measures to defend the values that we hold dear and that make up our identity. This kind of behaviour is not aligned with our values of diversity and inclusion, as well as our work rules, and we strongly condemn it.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Image credit: EJP
Suspect arrested in connection with violent antisemitic attack on Jewish man in Brooklyn
A suspect has been arrested in connection with an antisemitic incident in which a Jewish victim was called a “dirty Jew” before being punched in the face.
Suleiman Othman, 27, is charged with assault as a hate crime and aggravated assault, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Blake Zavadsky, 21, and his friend were waiting for a shop to open in Brooklyn before being approached by two men who called them “dirty Jews” and demanded that Mr Zavadsky remove his sweater bearing the emblem of the Israel Defence Forces. One of the men then punched him several times and poured coffee on the sweater.
Social media users then began posting photographs of themselves wearing a similar sweater in solidarity with the victim.
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.
Scottish Labour leader under pressure to discipline Mercedes Villalba MSP who called for Party whip to be returned to antisemitic former leader Jeremy Corbyn
The Leader of Scottish Labour is under pressure to discipline one of his MSPs who called for the Labour Party whip to be returned to the antisemitic former leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
North East Scotland MSP Mercedes Villalba tweeted last week: “Jeremy Corbyn is a Labour Party member and should have the whip restored to him immediately.”
Mr Corbyn was suspended by the Labour Party but shambolically readmitted, but the whip was not restored to him, leaving him in the absurd position of being a member of the Labour Party but an independent MP.
Ms Mercedes has previously spoken out in the support of the disgraced former leader.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour Leader, tried to distance himself from the Ms Villalba’s remarks but fell short of disciplining her. Asked if Mr Corbyn should apologise for his role in the Party’s antisemitism scandal, Mr Sarwar said: “Yes, I think that’s the least that anyone who has caused pain or hurt should do in that situation. The reality is that that is an internal disciplinary process and we have got to reflect on the impact that the antisemitism row – it was more than a row – had on communities across the country. I have been spending a lot of time speaking to the Jewish community here in Scotland and I have heard directly about the pain and the anguish that that whole episode caused and I am working to rebuild our relationship with all our communities across Scotland, including the Jewish community.
“As someone who has campaigned on Islamophobia and antisemitism and other forms of prejudice and hate, I know we can’t afford to be complacent. I would much prefer that those responsible for the pain apologised directly, reflected on their position. But I want us to focus on the future, not the past. I am not interested in past leaders or past problems or past issues. I am interested in the future and I expect every Labour MP, MSP and councillor to be focused on the future as well.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Jeremy Corbyn’s absurd status as a Labour member who sits as an independent MP, when in fact he should not be in the Party at all, has left Labour and the public in confusion over Labour\s position on racism against Jews. If Anas Sarwar is serious when he says that the Party cannot be complacent in fighting antisemitism, then he must discipline Mercedes Villalba MSP for supporting the restoration of the whip to Mr Corbyn. Scottish Labour must decide whether it is a party of people who support the antisemite Jeremy Corbyn or not.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has lodged a complaint against Mr 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.
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.
Prime Minister calls for “swift” action by BBC over its biased coverage of antisemitic Oxford Street incident
The Prime Minister has called for “swift” action by the BBC over its biased coverage of antisemitic Oxford Street incident.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister confirmed that Boris Johnson agrees with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries’ letter to BBC Director General Tim Davie urging the BBC urgently to get a grip on the issue.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, the spokesperson said that the Prime Minister “agrees with the Culture Secretary that the BBC should move forward swiftly to set out what action they plan to take. We look forward to that happening in good time.”
Ms Dorries wrote to Mr Davie explaining that the BBC’s outrageous coverage of the Oxford Street incident was “not only distressing for those involved but also the wider Jewish community.” Although she has no control over the BBC’s editorial decisions, she expressed dismay that the row had been allowed to “drag on for so long” and urged the BBC to “resolve the issue” as quickly as possible, otherwise Ofcom, the broadcaster regulator, should intervene.
Her intervention comes after Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to Ms Dorries and the BBC over the Corporation’s coverage of the antisemitic incident on Oxford Street, in which the BBC baselessly defamed the Jewish victims and suggested that they may have brought the attack upon themselves. The coverage prompted condemnation from Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups, a rally outside Broadcasting House held by Campaign Against Antisemitism and attended by hundreds, and the resignation of a rabbi and long-time BBC broadcaster.
Ms Dorries wrote: “Whilst it would obviously be inappropriate for the Government to take a view on the details of the case, as the BBC is editorially and operationally independent, and responsibility for regulation sits with Ofcom, I would like to understand the actions the BBC has taken so far in response to the concerns raised by the Board of Deputies and how you intend to resolve the issue in a suitably timely manner. You will know my concerns about the speed of the process which I asked officials to communicate to the BBC.
“It is crucial that the BBC can be properly held to account for the fulfilment of its Mission and Public Purposes as set out in the Charter, including through a fair and effective complaints process. I expect the mid-term Charter to consider whether this is currently the case.”
The interventions come as the BBC has become embroiled in multiple other controversies relating to antisemitism. First, BBC Radio 4 was forced to pull a debate on whether anti-Zionism should be a protected characteristic, which was due to feature a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour.
Meanwhile, on its website, the BBC reported that a Labour Party councillor had been “suspended from the party over an offensive tweet about leader Keir Starmer” but studiously avoided mentioning that the tweet in question claimed that Sir Keir was following “commands from Israel”. After outrage, the BBC article was updated to incorporate the inflammatory language.
Then, yesterday, a presenter claimed on BBC 5 Live Breakfast that there is “absolutely no evidence” that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic, and belittled antisemitism in the Labour Party as mere “allegation”. Campaign Against Antisemitism is writing to the BBC on this issue.
These are just the latest scandals relating to antisemitism in which the BBC has become embroiled in just the past few weeks, and follow years of eroding confidence in the BBC on the part of the Jewish community.
Our Antisemitism Barometer last year revealed that two thirds of British Jews are deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints.
The BBC’s coverage of the Oxford Street incident and our rally, which was endorsed by former BBC Chairman Lord Grade and actress Dame Maureen Lipman, has been discussed on previous episodes of our weekly podcast, Podcast Against Antisemitism. Episodes are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
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].
Chairman divests from start-up he founded after sending antisemitic e-mail, as company apologises, takes swift action and pledges “game-changing” support to local synagogue in masterclass in making amends
The chairman of a Utah-based technology start-up has divested his holdings after stepping down from the company he founded amid controversy over an antisemitic e-mail that he sent.
David Bateman, the founder, former CEO and, until recently, chairman of Entrata, a property management software company, reportedly wrote in an e-mail that Jews were behind the pandemic in a plot to exterminate billions of people. He subsequently doubled down on his comments.
His company asked him to resign and its CEO apologised for Mr Bateman’s remarks. Mr Bateman has also reportedly now divested from the company as well. In addition, the company met with the local rabbi to make amends.
Rabbi Sam Spector reported that he was met with genuine contrition from the company and received a six-figure pledge from Entrata to complete his synagogue’s fundraising campaign, which will enable the institution to purchase a new boiler and repair damaged Torah scrolls.
Rabbi Spector said: “My synagogue is falling apart, basically. The building is 50 years old. The bathrooms, seating and even the prayer books haven’t been replaced in decades. The total for the boiler alone, crucial during Utah winters, came to $150,000. They said, ‘We’re going to take care of all that for you,’ and they made the largest donation we’ve ever seen.”
In his e-mail, Mr Bateman reportedly wrote: “I believe the Jews are behind this. For 300 years the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top. It happened in 2013 with Pope Francis. I believe the pandemic and systematic extermination of billions of people will lead to an effort to consolidate all the countries in the world under a single flag with totalitarian rule. I know, it sounds bonkers. No one is reporting on it, but the Hasidic Jews in the US instituted a law for their people that they are not to be vaccinated for any reason. I pray that I’m wrong on this. Utah has got to stop the vaccination drive. Warn your employees. Warn your friends. Prepare. Stay safe.”
In a comment to a radio station sent by text message, Mr Bateman apparently echoed the assertions made in his e-mail, writing: “Yes. I sent it. I have nothing but love for the Jewish people. Some of my closest friends are Jews. My heart breaks for their 2500 years they’ve been mistreated by nearly every country on earth. But I do believe Scottish Rite Freemasons are behind the pandemic (overwhelmingly Jewish).” He added: “And I fear billions of people around the globe right now are being exterminated.”
He insisted that the e-mail reflected his personal opinion and was intended for a few friends only, even though the recipients included high-profile individuals in the state.
Entrata’s CEO, Adam Edmunds, tweeted: “Entrata’s board of directors today asked Dave Bateman to resign from the company’s board of directors, including his position as chairman. Dave agreed and is no longer a member of the Entrata board, effective immediately.” He also said that Mr Bateman’s opinions are “his alone and do not reflect the views or values of Entrata,” adding: “To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism in any and all forms.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “No self-respecting company can tolerate a chairman who believes that the pandemic is a global plot orchestrated by ‘the Jews’ to exterminate billions of people and enslave the world. If reports about David Bateman’s comments and lack of remorse are accurate, Entrata is right to remove him from its board. It is rarely easy to sever ties with a founder, but sometimes it is.
“Entrata’s efforts to make amends are a masterclass in how to deal with a scenario such as this. If only all technology companies and other institutions were so sincere and proactive.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
CAA to write to BBC after Rachel Burden insists on BBC 5 Live there is “absolutely no evidence” that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic
Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be writing to the BBC after a presenter claimed on BBC 5 Live Breakfast this morning that there is “absolutely no evidence” that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic.
Rachel Burden said towards the end of the programme, referring to her interview earlier with the businessman John Caudwell, who described the former Labour Party leader as “a Marxist and antisemite”, that she redirected him back to the topic under discussion but “I should have challenged him on the particular allegation of antisemite [sic] because there is absolutely no evidence that the leader of the Labour Party at that time, Jeremy Corbyn, was or is antisemitic. He had to deal with allegations of that within his party but there is nothing to suggest that he himself as an individual was. So I apologise for not challenging more directly, I should have done, and I want to emphasise there is no evidence for that at all.”
It would be understandable for Ms Burden to say that Mr Corbyn would dispute the characterisation, but it is unacceptable for her to editorialise and dismiss publicly-available evidence that has been reported in the national media for years.
Over two years ago, for example, Campaign Against Antisemitism published data, using a peer-reviewed research method, showing that Mr Corbyn was personally responsible for 24 incidents relating to antisemitism, which was equal to fifteen percent of all recorded incidents involving parliamentary candidates and party leaders in the lead-up to the 2019 General Election. That meant that, if Jeremy Corbyn were a political party, the ‘Jeremy Corbyn party’ would be responsible for almost four times more incidents than all the other major parties combined.
For Ms Burden to dismiss this evidence without basis represents both offence and inaccuracy under the BBC’s code.
Moreover, it is remarkable that Ms Burden would refer to the antisemitism in the Labour Party as mere “allegation” even though the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reported that the allegations of racism against Jews in the Party were not only made out but were so bad as to have broken the law. Campaign Against Antisemitism was the complainant in the EHRC’s investigation.
The BBC is currently mired in scandal in connection with having referred to evident antisemitism in an antisemitic incident on Oxford Street also as mere “allegation”. The Culture Secretary has written to the Director General of the BBC over its coverage of the incident and the ensuing controversy, which remains live. Ms Dorries’ intervention came after Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to her and the BBC over the Corporation’s coverage, in which the BBC also baselessly defamed the Jewish victims and suggested that they may have brought the attack upon themselves. The coverage prompted condemnation from Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups, a rally outside Broadcasting House held by Campaign Against Antisemitism and attended by hundreds, and the resignation of a rabbi and long-time BBC broadcaster.
Just in the past week, the BBC has also become embroiled in two further controversies relating to antisemitism. In one case, BBC Radio 4 was forced to pull a debate on whether anti-Zionism should be a protected characteristic, which was due to feature a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour.
Meanwhile, on its website, the BBC reported that a Labour Party councillor had been “suspended from the party over an offensive tweet about leader Keir Starmer” but studiously avoided mentioning that the tweet in question claimed that Sir Keir was following “commands from Israel”. After outrage, the BBC article was updated to incorporate the inflammatory language.
These are just the latest scandals relating to antisemitism in which the BBC has become embroiled in just the past few weeks, and follow years of eroding confidence in the BBC on the part of the Jewish community.
Our Antisemitism Barometer last year revealed that two thirds of British Jews are deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints.
The BBC’s coverage of the Oxford Street incident and our rally, which was endorsed by former BBC Chairman Lord Grade and actress Dame Maureen Lipman, has been discussed on previous episodes of our weekly podcast, Podcast Against Antisemitism. Episodes are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Over two years ago, we published data, using a peer-reviewed research method, showing that Jeremy Corbyn was personally responsible for 24 incidents relating to antisemitism. For Rachel Burden to editorialise and dismiss this evidence without basis represents both offence and inaccuracy under the BBC’s code. Moreover, it is obscene for her to belittle Labour’s antisemitism as mere ‘allegation’, even though the EHRC, following an investigation in which we were the complainant, found those allegations to be made out to such an extent that the Party was deemed to have broken the law. This is not the first time in the past few weeks that the BBC has reduced evident antisemitism to mere ‘allegation’, as it has done with the Oxford Street incident. As these controversies relating to antisemitism and the BBC grow in number, it is no wonder that the Jewish community has lost confidence in our public broadcaster.”
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].
Prince of Wales commissions seven artists to paint portraits of Holocaust survivors
The Prince of Wales has commissioned seven artists to paint portraits of seven Holocaust survivors. The paintings are to be publicly displayed at Buckingham Palace.
“As the number of Holocaust survivors sadly but inevitably declines, my abiding hope is that this special collection will act as a further guiding light,” Prince Charles said.
The portraits of Helen Aronson, 94, who survived the Lodz ghetto, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, 96, a musician who played in an orchestra of inmates at Auschwitz and also survived Bergen-Belsen, and the other survivors, have been painted by Paul Benney, Peter Kuhfeld, Ishbel Myerscough, Clara Drummond, Massimiliano Pironti, Stuart Pearson Wright and Jenny Saville.
The paintings are to be a reminder of “history’s darkest days,” but will also show “humanity’s interconnectedness, as we strive to create a better world for our children, grandchildren and generations as yet unborn – one where hope is victorious over despair and love triumphs over hate,” Prince Charles said.
The project will also feature in a BBC Two documentary later this month that will present the survivors’ accounts.
Prince Charles has long been involved in the cause of Holocaust remembrance.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Prince of Wales has made it his mission to amplify the critical cause of Holocaust remembrance in Britain. With this unique project he has made yet another contribution to Holocaust education with his inimitable flair. We are grateful to Prince Charles for everything that he continues to do to make the lives and experiences of Holocaust survivors known to the wider public, particularly at a time when fewer and fewer direct testimonies are available.”
Belgian police investigate “gas Jews” soccer chants in Antwerp
Belgian police are investigating videos circulating on social media which appeared to show a group of soccer fans in Antwerp giving Nazi salutes and shouting antisemitic slogans and chants that included references to Hamas and to gassing and burning Jews.
According to the local newspaper which reported the incident, it took place at a restaurant near the soccer stadium and involved fans of Antwerp’s Beerschot team.
In an unrelated development, the Royal Belgian Soccer Association fined Brugge soccer team, Club Brugge, around £2,000 for antisemitic chants heard at three recent matches. Fans of the club were heard shouting “Whoever doesn’t jump is a Jew.”
Antisemitic soccer chants occur regularly where the fans of certain teams perceive the rival team as having strong Jewish support or links to the Jewish community, such as Amsterdam’s Ajax and Britain’s Tottenham Hotspur. There are times, however, that the soccer chants have also been heard outside the context of sports, including at a graduation party of high school students in the Netherlands.
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.
“Nazi druid” new-age extremist on trial for sedition after allegedly calling for murder of Jews
A “Nazi druid” is on trial in Germany on charges of sedition and violation of gun laws.
Seventy-one-year-old Karl Burghard Bangert, the so-called “Nazi druid,” is one of four men on trial. Mr Bangert is also charged with sedition over a series of social media posts in which he reportedly called for the murder of Jews, denied the Holocaust and incited hatred against refugees.
Mr Bangert and his three co-defendants are allegedly members of Reichsbürger, a right-wing, German conspiracy movement. They are charged with illegally hoarding explosives and weapons between 2015 and 2017. Weapons found in a 2017 raid by security services included a flamethrower.
According to reports, Mr Bangert is a former insurance agent who became well-known locally for his eccentric appearance and for a TV news report of 2008, in which he claimed to have been born 2,500 years ago and to have been raised, after his mother’s death, by an uncle “the great wizard Merlin.”
According to Nicholas Potter, an expert on the far-right from Berlin’s Amadeu Antonio Foundation, Mr Bangert had a “virulent antisemitic, conspiracy-driven worldview” alongside his belief in New Age spiritualism. In this world-view, Jews “have been waging a secret war against the German people for centuries,” explained Mr Potter.
Another far-right expert, Jan Rathje from the Centre for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy, said that Mr Bangert presented himself “on the one hand as a druid” and on the other “especially via social media” as an “antisemitic resistance fighter.”
Extremism experts say that while New Age and far-right beliefs might “seem unlikely bedfellows,” their adherents share “an anti-authoritarian and anti-State mindset.” Experts also warn that connections between new age and far-right ideology have become “particularly visible during the pandemic.”
The trial, in Mannheim, has been adjourned until April.
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.
Charity Commission reportedly launches inquiry into mosque whose manager is said to have compared Israel to the Nazis and praised the Taliban
The Charity Commission has reportedly launched an inquiry into a mosque whose manager is said to have compared Israel to the Nazis and praised the Taliban.
Saddique Hussain, the general manager of Birmingham’s Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif mosque, reportedly shared a clip of Taliban fighters showing off assault rifles whilst reciting quotes from the Quran and wrote: “How beautiful and civilised and no ‘I’. May Allah SWT guide us on to His beautiful religion.”
It was said that Mr Hussain also shared a post which said that Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian children “for fun”. He allegedly shared a video clip from the news outlet TruNews, which has been described as a “far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website”, and according to the ADL has “increasingly featured antisemitic and anti-Zionist content, and also has a long record of disseminating radical Islamophobic and anti-LGBTQ messages”. The clip in question was from Rick Wiles, a pastor who has previously labelled Jews as “deceivers” who “plot” and “lie”, in which Mr Wiles compared Israel to the Nazis.
According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.
Mr Hussain allegedly shared another clip which stated that “Zionist lobbying” could have a Sky News video that reported on Israeli military actions removed if they wanted, while another shared video reportedly contained text that said: “I am Israel – I have the power to control American policy. My American Israel Public Affairs committee can make or break any politician of its choosing.”
According to the Definition, “Making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions” is an example of antisemitism.
The group Muslims Against Antisemitism denounced Mr Hussain’s posts, stating: “Promoting views and associations between ‘media control’ and depicting ‘Zionists’ as having ‘control’ shows the conspiratorial mindset of the person in question. Focussing on Israel and blaming Israel for actions that it is not even associated with, shows the frothing and foaming nature of the antipathy that some hold.”
After a police warning, Mr Hussain claimed that he “does not and never has supported the Taliban”.
The Charity Commission, which apparently carried out a compliance visit to the charity last November following concerns over social media activity, has reportedly now announced that a full investigation will take place into Dar ul Uloom Islamia Rizwia (Bralawai), the group that runs Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif, relating to the conduct on social media of staff and trustees, who have apparently also shared inflammatory material online.
The Commission said: “These posts resulted in the charity receiving negative media attention and complaints being raised directly with the Commission.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that over eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.
Image credit: Facebook screenshot via the JC
Culture Secretary writes to BBC over Oxford Street fiasco while Corporation becomes embroiled in two further scandals relating to antisemitism
The Culture Secretary has written to the BBC’s Director General over the broadcaster’s coverage of the antisemitic Oxford Street incident, while the Corporation has become embroiled in two further scandals relating to antisemitism.
Nadine Dorries wrote to Tim Davie explaining that the BBC’s outrageous coverage of the Oxford Street incident was “not only distressing for those involved but also the wider Jewish community.” Although she has no control over the BBC’s editorial decisions, she expressed dismay that the row had been allowed to “drag on for so long” and urged the BBC to “resolve the issue” as quickly as possible, otherwise Ofcom, the broadcaster regulator, should intervene.
Her intervention comes after Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to Ms Dorries and the BBC over the Corporation’s coverage of the antisemitic incident on Oxford Street, in which the BBC baselessly defamed the Jewish victims and suggested that they may have brought the attack upon themselves. The coverage prompted condemnation from Campaign Against Antisemitism and other communal groups, a rally outside Broadcasting House held by Campaign Against Antisemitism and attended by hundreds, and the resignation of a rabbi and long-time BBC broadcaster.
Ms Dorries wrote: “Whilst it would obviously be inappropriate for the Government to take a view on the details of the case, as the BBC is editorially and operationally independent, and responsibility for regulation sits with Ofcom, I would like to understand the actions the BBC has taken so far in response to the concerns raised by the Board of Deputies and how you intend to resolve the issue in a suitably timely manner. You will know my concerns about the speed of the process which I asked officials to communicate to the BBC.
“It is crucial that the BBC can be properly held to account for the fulfilment of its Mission and Public Purposes as set out in the Charter, including through a fair and effective complaints process. I expect the mid-term Charter to consider whether this is currently the case.”
However, at the same time, the BBC has become embroiled in two further controversies relating to antisemitism. In one case, BBC Radio 4 was due to hold a debate on whether anti-Zionism should be a protected characteristic. The debate was due to feature Diana Neslen, a member of the antisemitism-denial group and sham Jewish representative organisation, Jewish Voice for Labour. After widespread condemnation from the Jewish community, the debate was pulled.
Meanwhile, on its website, the BBC reported that a Labour Party councillor had been “suspended from the party over an offensive tweet about leader Keir Starmer.” The article studiously avoided mentioning that the tweet in question claimed that Sir Keir was following “commands from Israel”. After outrage, the BBC article was updated to incorporate the inflammatory language.
These are just the latest scandals relating to antisemitism in which the BBC has become embroiled in just the past few weeks, and follow years of eroding confidence in the BBC on the part of the Jewish community.
Our Antisemitism Barometer last year revealed that two thirds of British Jews are deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints.
The BBC’s coverage of the Oxford Street incident and our rally, which was endorsed by former BBC Chairman Lord Grade and actress Dame Maureen Lipman, has been discussed on previous episodes of our weekly podcast, Podcast Against Antisemitism. Episodes are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
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].
“I enjoyed Shakespeare more than I did Jane Austen”: neo-Nazi terrorist reports to judge on his reading of classic literature as dangerously lenient sentence plays out
A convicted neo-Nazi terrorist who was spared jail and ordered instead to examine works of classic literature has today reported to a judge on his reading.
Ben John, 21, was convicted by a jury at Leicester Crown Court on 11th August 2021 of possessing information likely to be useful for preparing an act of terror — a charge that carries a maximum jail sentence of fifteen years. The prosecution told the court that the former De Montfort University student, who had collated 67,788 documents which contained a large quantity of National Socialist, white supremacist and antisemitic material, as well as information relating to a Satanic organisation, had previously failed to heed warnings by counter-terrorism officers. Lincolnshire Police had also said that Mr John “had become part of the Extreme Right Wing (XRW) online, and was studying Criminology with Psychology in Leicester when he was arrested”.
Nevertheless, Judge Timothy Spencer QC said that he believed that Mr John’s crime was likely to be an isolated incident and “an act of teenage folly”. He labelled Mr John as a “lonely individual with few if any true friends” who was “highly susceptible” to recruitment by others more prone to action. Judge Spencer went on to say that he was “not of the view that harm was likely to have been caused.”
Instead of jail, Judge Spencer instructed Mr John to return to him every four months in order to be tested on his reading of classic literature, urging him to read Dickens, Shakespeare, Austen, Trollope and Hardy.
At today’s hearing at the same court, Judge Spencer told Mr John to write down the books that he had read since they last spoke. Judge Spencer said: “It is clear that you have tried to sort your life out. I would like to know what you have read of the classic literature you told the jury you were interested in. There is nothing in the report on that and I want you to write down now what literature you have read since we last met.”
Mr John reported that, from his reading, “I enjoyed Shakespeare more than I did Jane Austen but I still enjoyed Jane Austen by a degree.” The judge replied: “Well I find that encouraging. I am encouraged about what you have written out for me and I am encouraged by your efforts to seek employment and I wish you well with that.”
However, in an interview with Scout News last month, Mr John reportedly said that he had not read the books asked of him. “I don’t know how to put it,” he said. “I’ve got them. I’ve not got to grips with any of them,” adding: “I’ve still got a month.” Asked which books by Hardy and Trollope he had purchased, John said that he could not recall but that they were “buried somewhere” in a box at home. He disclosed that he had read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in secondary school, observing that “I was already familiar with that anyways.”
Back in September, in addition to his reading, Mr John was also handed a two-year jail sentence suspended for two years plus a further year on licence, monitored by the probation service. Mr John was also given a five-year Serious Crime Prevention Order requiring him to stay in touch with the police and let them monitor his online activity and up to 30 days on a Healthy Identity Intervention programme.
After criticism of the sentence by Campaign Against Antisemitism and other groups, the Attorney General asked the Court of Appeal to review the “unduly lenient” sentence. A hearing is expected later this month.
Commenting on the sentence, Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands Detective Inspector James Manning, who led the investigation, said: “This was a young man who could be anyone’s son, studying at university, and living one life in public, while conducting another in private. He possessed a wealth of National Socialist and antisemitic material which indicated a fascination and belief in a white supremacist ideology along with support for an extreme satanic group which is increasingly of concern for law enforcement agencies.
“The terrorist material he was found in possession of is extremely dangerous, and he acquired this to further his ideology. It indicates the threat that he and other followers of this hateful ideology pose to national security. It was not light reading, or material most would concern themselves with for legitimate reasons. This has been a long and complex investigation over the course of 11 months.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Attorney-General was absolutely right to ask the Court of Appeal to review this pathetic sentence. It is inexplicable that a man who collected nearly 70,000 neo-Nazi and terror-related documents could entirely avoid a custodial sentence for crimes that carry a maximum jail term of fifteen years. Instead, Ben John left court with a mere suspended sentence and some English homework.
“For all the novels that the judge ordered Mr John to peruse as he enjoys his unearned freedom, it was notable that Crime and Punishment was not among them. Perhaps the judge himself ought to review that classic as he reflects on the risk that his dangerous sentence poses to the public.
“We await the result of the Attorney-General’s referral of the sentence to the Court of Appeal.”
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: Lincolnshire Police
Conservative councillor who claimed America, Israel and Saudi Arabia are a “trilogy of Zionists” and that “Zionism is one of the worst afflictions on the world” is permitted to re-join party after suspension
A Conservative councillor who was suspended last year over social media posts has reportedly been permitted to re-join the Party.
A spokesperson for Peterborough Conservatives reportedly confirmed that Ishfaq Hussain, who represents the city’s Dogsthorpe ward, had re-joined following an investigation.
Cllr Hussain had apologised for sharing antisemitic tropes on Facebook. In one Facebook post, he accused the “Saudi regime” of being “long standing puppets of America and Israel,” and went on to label them “a trilogy of zionists.” He then remarked that “Islam doesn’t breed terrorists the zionist trilogy do.” Mr Hussain also shared a video that was captioned: “The Jews in Israel are not true Jews.”
Cllr Hussain had also captioned his profile picture: “This person does not recognise the State of Israel.” He also reportedly claimed that “Zionism is one of the worst afflictions on the world” and made other inflammatory comments about “Zionists”.
In his apology, Mr Hussain said: “I recognise Israel’s right to exist and wholeheartedly support a two-state solution. I deeply regret that my frustration at events in Israel and Palestine led me to suggest otherwise. Some of my previous language was ill-judged and offensive. It also echoed antisemitic tropes in ways I had not fully understood. However strongly we feel, we should never let our emotions get the better of us. By doing so, I allowed myself to become part of the problem. I am truly sorry.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is right that Cllr Hussain apologised for his inflammatory remarks, but suspensions pending an investigation are not in themselves a sanction. The Party must reveal the results of any investigation and require Cllr Hussain to undertake antisemitism training so that he understands why his comments were so detrimental.”
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.
Williamsburg community shocked by latest violent beating of Jewish man
Jewish organisations in New York City said that they were “shocked and saddened” by “yet another unprovoked attack” on an Orthodox Jewish man in the city.
The Hate Crimes Unit of New York City Police Department is investigating the attack on the 26-year-old man in Williamsburg, a Brooklyn neighbourhood which is home to a large Orthodox community and has frequently been targeted for antisemitic attacks over the last five years.
Witnesses said that the victim had been chased by two individuals who struck him with sticks, resulting in a head injury.
The community’s Shomrim neighbourhood patrol and the Hatzolah emergency service attended the scene, alongside officers from the 90th precinct. According to NYPD, the attackers fled in a black sedan and the victim was taken to hospital.
In a tweet, the United Jewish Organisation of Williamsburg said that it was “shocked and saddened” by “yet another unprovoked attack in Williamsburg.”
The group added that it hoped for a quick arrest and appealed for “beefed up patrols” to halt this “trend of violence against community members.”
Other community leaders expressed similar frustration on social media. Councilman Kalman Yeger tweeted, “It doesn’t stop,” while Councilman Lincoln Restler said that he was “disturbed” to learn of the attack.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said on n Twitter that this was not “the way we do things in Brooklyn.” He added: “Here we celebrate and love each other. I hope we find those who committed this horrible attack so that we could bring them to justice.”
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: Algemeiner
Police arrest suspect over synagogue vandalism in Tucson, Arizona
Police in Tucson, Arizona, have arrested a 37-year-old man in connection with the recent vandalism of a synagogue.
During the attack, windows were smashed at the Kol Ami Synagogue in midtown Tucson.
After reviewing CCTV footage from the synagogue – formerly Temple Emanu-El – Police arrested Dustin Wilkerson.
Local Councilman Steve Kozachik condemned the attack telling a local news channel that such behaviour was “totally unacceptable” and did not “reflect who we are as Tucsonans;” did not “reflect the spirit of Tucson” or the “ethics of Tucson.”
He added that if the vandals “have any kind of sense of dignity and self-respect,” they ought to go back to the synagogue “and offer to pay for the replacement of the glass.”
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: Algemeiner
Tumblr blocks “sensitive” search terms on its app to avoid being kicked out of App Store
The American social networking and microblogging platform, Tumblr has made changes to its app in order to block more than 400 search terms, including “antisemitism,” “racism” and “xenophobia”, in a move intended to reduce the risk of Apple banning it from the App Store.
Although some of the banned terms are designed to block access to pornography, Tumblr has stated that other terms relating to “potentially sensitive content” were banned so that the platform could “remain available within Apple’s App Store.”
In order to comply with Apple’s guideline, Tumblr said that it was “having to extend the definition of what sensitive content is as well as the way you access it.”
In 2018, the platform changed its community guidelines to explicitly ban hate speech.
In a blog post at the time, Tumblr stated that it was incumbent “on all of us to create a safe, constructive, and empowering environment.”
Tumblr said that to achieve this, its community guidelines needed “to reflect the reality of the internet and social media today,” as the internet was “being exploited by hate groups.”
Following the 2018 changes, users were able to report hate speech directly in the mobile app. Those guidelines were used to remove antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBT content.
The platform notes that under the new changes, users may see fewer results when searching for certain terms or phrases “that fall under the expanded definition of sensitive content,” and that in certain circumstances, a search “may not produce any results at all,” with users seeing a message stating that “content has been hidden.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
“I hate the word ‘hate’”: columnist and academic Zoe Strimpel gives her take on contemporary antisemitism
The Sunday Telegraph columnist and academic, Zoe Strimpel, joins Podcast Against Antisemitism this week to discuss her commentary on contemporary antisemitism.
Ms Strimpel tells us why online abuse does not stop her throwing a spotlight on racism towards Jews, and discusses her academic work in the field of dating and relationships.
The podcast can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.
Founder of Utah tech company resigns after claiming COVID-19 vaccine is a plot by “the Jews” to exterminate people
The founder of a technology company based in Utah has resigned after reportedly sending an e-mail describing the COVID-19 vaccine as part of a plot by “the Jews” to exterminate people.
David Bateman, who previously served as CEO and until this week as chairman of Entrata, a property management software company, reportedly wrote in an e-mail: “I believe the Jews are behind this. For 300 years the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top. It happened in 2013 with Pope Francis. I believe the pandemic and systematic extermination of billions of people will lead to an effort to consolidate all the countries in the world under a single flag with totalitarian rule. I know, it sounds bonkers. No one is reporting on it, but the Hasidic Jews in the US instituted a law for their people that they are not to be vaccinated for any reason. I pray that I’m wrong on this. Utah has got to stop the vaccination drive. Warn your employees. Warn your friends. Prepare. Stay safe.”
Mr Bateman, who was also a one-time prominent figure in state politics, was asked by the board to step down as chairman of the company that he founded.
In a comment to a radio station sent by text message, Mr Bateman apparently echoed the assertions made in his e-mail, writing: “Yes. I sent it. I have nothing but love for the Jewish people. Some of my closest friends are Jews. My heart breaks for their 2500 years they’ve been mistreated by nearly every country on earth. But I do believe Scottish Rite Freemasons are behind the pandemic (overwhelmingly Jewish).” He added: “And I fear billions of people around the globe right now are being exterminated.”
He insisted that the e-mail reflected his personal opinion and was intended for a few friends only, even though the recipients included high-profile individuals in the state.
Entrata’s CEO, Adam Edmunds, tweeted: “Entrata’s board of directors today asked Dave Bateman to resign from the company’s board of directors, including his position as chairman. Dave agreed and is no longer a member of the Entrata board, effective immediately.”
He also said that Mr Bateman’s opinions are “his alone and do not reflect the views or values of Entrata,” adding: “To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism in any and all forms.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “No self-respecting company can tolerate a chairman who believes that the pandemic is a global plot orchestrated by ‘the Jews’ to exterminate billions of people and enslave the world. If reports about David Bateman’s comments and lack of remorse are accurate, Entrata is right to remove him from its board. It is rarely easy to sever ties with a founder, but sometimes it is.”
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.
Comedian Jon Stewart clarifies remarks, insisting that he never accused JK Rowling of antisemitism in her portrayal of goblins in Harry Potter series
The comedian Jon Stewart has clarified remarks he made in his podcast in which he appeared to accuse the author JK Rowling of antisemitism in her portrayal of the goblin bankers in the Harry Potter book series.
Mr Stewart, who is Jewish, mused as to why Ms Rowling chose to “throw Jews in there to run the f***ing underground bank” in a fantasy world where people “can ride dragons and have pet owls.”
After backlash, he later insisted that the remarks were light-hearted.
In an episode of his podcast yesterday, he said: “I do not think J.K. Rowling is antisemitic. I did not accuse her of being antisemitic. I do not think the ‘Harry Potter’ movies are antisemitic. I really love the ‘Harry Potter’ movies, probably too much for a gentleman of my considerable age.”
He told critics to “get a f***ing grip.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The portrayal of the goblins in the Harry Potter series is of a piece with their portrayal in Western literature as a whole. It is the product of centuries of association of Jews with grotesque and malevolent creatures in folklore, as well as money and finance. The mythological associations have become so ingrained in the Western mind that their provenance no longer registers with creators or consumers.
“Those who continue to use such representations are often not thinking of Jews at all, but simply of how readers or viewers will imagine goblins to look, which is a testament more to centuries of Christendom’s antisemitism than it is to malice by contemporary artists. So it is with JK Rowling, who has proven herself over recent years to be a tireless defender of the Jewish community in its fight against antisemitism, for which we are immensely grateful.”
NYPD investigating swastikas in Borough Park playground
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is investigating two swastikas drawn in a playground in the heavily-Jewish neighbourhood of Borough Park in Brooklyn.
The symbols were found on a structure at Gravesend Park.
New York City Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein said: “Despicable hateful symbols will not be tolerated in our neighbourhoods, nor any other neighbourhood for that matter. Those responsible will be found and brought to justice. I want to thank Boro Park Shomrim for their swift response to this latest antisemitic incident.”
Assemblyman David Schwartz said that swastikas represent “humanity’s darkest chapter in history. It’s outrageous that this is what we have to deal with in a neighbourhood with so many Holocaust survivors.”
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
74-year-old Jewish woman beaten, tied to a chair and robbed in Paris
A 74-year-old Jewish woman has reportedly been beaten and robbed in Paris, France.
According to the Paris-based National Bureau for Vigilance Against Antisemitism (BNVCA), the attack occurred on 13th December where the two suspects, described as being Black and around sixteen or seventeen years of age, reportedly pretended to be members of the building’s security personnel and rang the victim’s door.
When the victim, currently identified only as Mrs LU, opened the door, the suspects reportedly forced their way into the abode before beating and robbing the victim.
The suspects allegedly tied Mrs LU to a chair, punched her repeatedly across the face and ordered her to reveal where she kept her jewellery. A piece of tape was also reportedly applied over her mouth to muffle her cries.
It was also alleged that while one of the suspects robbed the apartment, the other stood guard over the victim. The pair then fled the scene with all of the victim’s jewellery, leaving the victim bruised and in a state of shock.
The BNVCA noted that Mrs LU’s apartment was affixed with a mezuzah which would have identified her as Jewish to the suspects. The organisation said: “We call on the police to do everything possible to identify the two attackers, and to carry out patrols in order to protect the residents of this neighborhood, which has become dangerous and infamous.”
In 2017, Ms Halimi, a 65-year-old Jewish woman, was murdered by her 27-year-old Muslim neighbour, Kobili Traoré, after he tortured her before pushing her out of a window to her death. Mr Traoré was said to have yelled “Allah Akbar,” “I killed the shaitan,” which is an Arabic word for ‘devil’ or ‘demon’, along with antisemitic vitriol.
Campaign Against Antisemitism held a rally in April in solidarity with French Jews in opposition to the Court of Cassation’s ruling to let Sarah Halimi’s murderer go free.
In November, Yacine Mihoub was convicted of stabbing 85-year-old Mireille Knoll, a French Holocaust survivor, eleven times in her Paris apartment and was sentenced to life in prison. Ms Knoll was murdered during a botched robbery in March 2018 that also saw her body set alight in an effort by the perpetrators to burn her apartment.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Rabbi YY Rubinstein resigns as BBC broadcaster over Corporation’s coverage of antisemitic Oxford Street attack
Rabbi YY Rubinstein has resigned from his role as a broadcaster for the BBC over the Corporation’s coverage of the antisemitic Oxford Street attack in November.
Rabbi Rubinstein, who had worked with the Corporation for 30 years, posted his letter of resignation on Facebook yesterday, in which he wrote that “The current crisis over antisemitism at the Corporation and its attempts to turn the victims of the recent antisemitic attack on Jewish children in London and claim that the victims were actually the perpetrators, was and is inexcusable.” He added: “The obfuscation, denial that followed, was and is utterly damning.”
Rabbi Rubinstein described his resignation as “a very sad moment”, before ending the post by writing: “I simply don’t see how I or in fact any Jew who has any pride in that name can be associated with the Corporation anymore.”
In its coverage of the Oxford Street incident, the BBC reported that the explicit expressions of antisemitism evident in footage of the incident were merely “allegations”, and simultaneously claimed — alone among all media outlets — that “some racial slurs about Muslims can also be heard from inside the bus,” an assertion made with no evidence to support it and which was even contradicted in the article by a witness from the bus who said that she heard no such slurs. On its BBC London Evening News, the BBC even suggested that “it’s not clear what role [the supposed slurs] may have had in the incident.” After public fury, the BBC amended the article to refer to an “anti-Muslim slur” in the singular, but failed to show any evidence why a supposed slur that nobody could hear with certainty was described as “clearly heard” and reported as fact — and even implied to have been a cause of the antisemitic harassment — while the harassment itself remained mere “allegation”.
Lord Grade, a former Chairman of the BBC, described the BBC’s reportage as “shoddy journalism” and called for answers in a video supporting the protest, while Dame Maureen Lipman encouraged people to attend “Because you care, and you will be demonstrating against my often-times employer asking for parity with other victims of racism, prejudice and abuse.” Lord Grade discussed the matter further on our podcast, Podcast Against Antisemitism.
Last month, in response to the coverage of the incident, hundreds of protestors attended Campaign Against Antisemitism’s “BBC News: Stop Blaming Jews!” rally outside Broadcasting House in London, which was endorsed by Lord Grade and Dame Maureen Lipman.
The rally came after the BBC failed to respond substantively to contact from Campaign Against Antisemitism and other Jewish organisations about its recent coverage, which is not out of the ordinary for the public broadcaster. Polling that we conducted last year for our Antisemitism Barometer revealed that two thirds of British Jews are deeply concerned by the BBC’s coverage of matters of Jewish concern, and 55% by its handling of antisemitism complaints. These figures reflect years of eroding confidence in the BBC on the part of the Jewish community.
We have submitted a complaint to the BBC and have also written to the Chairman and Director-General of the BBC to voice our concerns. In our letter, we called on the BBC to reveal their evidence that an anti-Muslim slur can be heard on the bus and explain why the claim that an anti-Muslim slur can be heard is asserted as fact (despite nobody else being able to discern such a slur) while the evident antisemitism is caveated as mere allegation.
We also reiterated our call for the BBC to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism and once again offered to provide the Corporation with training in how to identify and deal with antisemitism, which will go some way to restoring what little remains of the confidence of the Jewish community in our nation’s public service broadcaster.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Rabbi Rubinstein’s courageous and principled decision to resign as a broadcaster at the BBC is just the latest sign of the collapse in the Jewish community’s confidence in the Corporation. No self-respecting Jewish person wants to be publicly associated with the BBC after it yet again demonstrated its bias against Jews in its recent reportage of an antisemitic incident on Oxford Street in Central London.”
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].
Swastikas carved into Montreal skating rink
Swastikas have been found carved into a skating rink in Montreal, Canada.
There were at least four large swastikas imprinted into the skating rink at Danyluk Park in the Town of Mount Royal.
Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, said: “It is alarming to see the skating rink, such a basic symbol of Canadian identity and winter fun which attracts children and families, being defiled by symbols of hatred. This repulsive act of antisemitism should be condemned by all, and we hope that the perpetrators are identified and held to account.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Three teenagers arrested after Jewish man punched in the face in Stamford Hill
Three teenagers have been arrested after a Jewish man was punched in the face in Stamford Hill.
The incident reportedly took place yesterday at 15:00 on Lordship Park and was reported 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 3170 03/01/22.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Image credit: Google
Signed photo of Hitler and other Nazi memorabilia and antisemitic items up for sale in Queensland auction
A signed photo of Hitler and other Nazi memorabilia, as well as an antisemitic children’s book, are up for sale in an auction in Queensland, Australia.
The sale, which also includes sunglasses worn by senior Nazi figure Hermann Goering, is being carried out next week by Danielle Elizabeth Auctions, which was condemned a year ago for selling a Nazi flag and earlier this year for auctioning other Third Reich and Holocaust items.
According to the auctioneers’ own website, the German book on sale (Trust No Fox on his Green Heath and No Jew on his Oath) is “one of the most contentious pieces of propaganda in modern history” and “teaches children, according to the Nazi Party in Germany, what a Jew is and what they look like.”
The Managing Director of the auction house, Dustin Sweeny, reportedly said that the sale is not illegal and “certainly not antisemitic,” adding: “we sell history and historical artefacts that tell a story that the world should never stop telling so history does not repeat itself.” He complained of receiving death threats over past auctions of Nazi items. He went on to say: “Remember we live in a free democracy, and as much as you believe these items should not be sold, we believe they should, and everyone should respect everyone else’s right to a different opinion.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
NYPD searching for suspect who called a Jewish man a “dirty Jew” and punched him in the face
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is searching for a man suspected of calling a Jewish man a “dirty Jew” before punching him in the face.
Blake Zavadsky, 21, said that he and his friend were waiting for a shop to open in Brooklyn before being approached by two men who called them “dirty Jews” and demanded that Mr Zavadsky remove his sweater bearing the emblem of the Israel Defence Forces. One of the men then punched him several times and poured coffee on the sweater.
The primary assailant reportedly fled on 86th Street toward Fourth Avenue.
The incident is being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crimes unit, which tweeted: “On 12/26/21, at approx. 10:45 AM, a male, 21, was waiting for a store to open when an individual made anti-Jewish statements and punched him in his face multiple times before fleeing on foot on 86th St towards 4th Ave in Brooklyn. Info? DM us or @NYPDTips or 1-800-577-TIPS.”
Social media users are now posting photographs of themselves wearing a similar sweater in solidarity with the victim.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Synagogue shooter who killed 60-year-old woman gets second life sentence
The man who shot and killed a 60-year-old woman in a California synagogue has been given a second life sentence. This sentence is in addition to the life sentence without the possibility of parole that John T. Earnest received earlier this year.
In July, Mr Earnest, who murdered Lori Gilbert-Kaye in the Chabad of Poway Synagogue shooting in April 2019, pleaded guilty to the charges of murder and attempted murder in a plea agreement that saw him avoid the death penalty.
Mr Earnest, who was nineteen at the time of the shooting, was said to have entered the synagogue with an AR-15 style rifle and opened fire on the 54 congregants inside, killing Ms Gilbert-Kaye and injuring three others, including an eight-year-old girl and the congregation’s founder, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who lost a finger.
During the shooting, Mr Earnest’s rifle jammed, at which point several members of the congregation ran towards him, chasing him out of the synagogue. He was understood to have fled before calling the police himself to confess that he had committed a shooting at a synagogue because he believed that Jews were trying to “destroy all white people,” and was subsequently apprehended approximately two miles from the synagogue.
Mr Earnest also confessed to committing arson at the Dar-ul-Arqam Mosque in March 2019 “for the purpose of terrorising Muslim worshippers,” it was revealed in a news release from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Addressing Mr Earnest’s motivation behind the Poway Synagogue shooting, the news release said that Mr Earnest “admitted that he committed those crimes because of his bias and hatred of Jews.”
In a statement, US Attorney-General Merrick Garland, who is Jewish, said: “All people deserve to live and worship peacefully. This defendant’s conduct was an attempt to damage what makes our nation so great—our diversity. The Department of Justice stands with our Jewish and Muslim community members, we reject hate in all forms, and we are committed to prosecuting bias-motivated violence to the fullest extent.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe explains why why she helped to set up the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance
This week’s guest on Podcast Against Antisemitism is the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Autumn Rowe.
In today’s episode, Ms Rowe talks about her experiences in the music industry and why she helped to set up the Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance.
The episode can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.
Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust appears to describe Jews and Christians as “enemies of Allah” and warns followers to stay away from them
Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust has appeared in a 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 is 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.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be writing to Brent Council and the Charity Commission.
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. The tweet warrants an investigation by the Charity Commission, and Brent Council must also review its association with the group. We are writing to both bodies.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Sheffield Hallam University investigating PhD student who defended the phrase “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust”
Sheffield Hallam University is reportedly investigating a PhD student who defended the phrase “Stop the Palestinian Holocaust”.
Shahd Abusalama, who is 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.”
The University reportedly said that its student conduct team is investigating the PhD student’s social media posts.
This is 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.
Recently, the University and College Union (UCU) branch at Sheffield Hallam University was condemned for passing a motion of solidarity with the disgraced professor, David Miller.
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].
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Woman arrested after allegedly throwing stones at Jewish school in Stamford Hill
A woman has been arrested after allegedly throwing stones at a Jewish school in Stamford Hill.
The incident took place on Belz Terrace at 11:46am on 26th December and was reported 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: CAD2480 26/12/21.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Muslim media analyst who advises BBC on coverage of Islam apologises for sharing extract from antisemite Gilad Atzmon’s book
A Muslim media analyst who advises the BBC on coverage of Islam has reportedly apologised for sharing an extract from a book by the antisemite Gilad Atzmon.
Faisal Hanif, who words at the Centre for Media Monitoring, which is affiliated to the Muslim Council of Britain and has advised the BBC on its coverage of Islam, shared an extract from Mr Atzmon’s book, Being in Time, which has been described as “profoundly antisemitic”. The extract itself did not contain antisemitic passages.
Mr Hanif apologised for sharing the post, admitting that it was an error “both professionally and personally to fail to check Mr Atzmon’s wider views.”
He said: “I stand opposed to all forms of racism including antisemitism and Islamophobia. I came across a blog post by Gilad Atzmon which was clearly not antisemitic and was comparing right and left ideology when I was researching the corrosive impact of the far right. While I took the blog post at face value at the time, I was unaware that Gilad Atzmon himself was profoundly antisemitic.”
Mr Atzmon is an antisemite who has reportedly blamed the Grenfell Tower tragedy on “Jerusalemites” as well as reportedly telling university students that “the Jews were expelled from Germany for misbehaving.” He is not shy about his antisemitism, telling a Jewish Twitter user in 2014: “I am not a Jew any more. I indeed despise the Jew in me (whatever is left). I absolutely detest the Jew in you.”
At one stage, Mr Atzmon was forced to make a humiliating apology to Campaign Against Antisemitism following defamation proceedings, and Campaign Against Antisemitism has successfully pressured venues not to feature Mr Atzmon due to his record of antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
“I’d rather die than be a Jew”: Prospective Arsenal transfer under fire for singing inflammatory song at rival fans
While Arsenal have been strongly linked with Club Brugge player Noa Lang, some have voiced their concerns about video footage of the player allegedly singing an inflammatory song at rival fans.
Videos from May 2021 have surfaced of Mr Lang appearing to sing lyrics including “I’d rather die than be a Jew” at fans of Club Brugge’s Brussels-based rivals Anderlecht. Like some other clubs in Europe, including Tottenham Hotspur, Ajax and Cracovia, Anderlecht have a reputation for being a “Jewish” club.
Although it has been reported that Mr Lang has come under investigation by the Belgian Football Association for his alleged involvement in the chant, instead of apologising Mr Lang reportedly said in a statement: “My dad’s Surinamese and my mother’s Dutch. I know all about racism and bias. I chanted enthusiastically with supporters I met for the first time after winning. As a former Ajax fan I know very well the soccer world’s nicknames. I did not mean to offend anyone. I’m done with the subject and won’t be revisiting it.”
Club Brugge released a statement that defended Mr Lang and denied that there was anything antisemitic about the chant, saying “When Noa Lang sang with our fans, there was no antisemitic undertone. Noa did not mean to insult or hurt anyone in any way and we are sorry if this happened.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism continues to act against instances of anti-Jewish racism in all sports.
Bar Standards Board disgracefully rejects CAA complaint against barrister who posted social media comments in breach of International Definition of Antisemitism
The Bar Standards Board, which regulates barristers in England and Wales, has disgracefully rejected a complaint made by Campaign Against Antisemitism against a barrister who posted social media comments in breach of International Definition of Antisemitism.
Franck Magennis is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers in London. In December 2020, he tweeted that “Zionism is a kind of racism. It is essentially colonial. It has manifested in an apartheid regime calling itself ‘the Jewish state’ that dominates non-Jews, and particularly Palestinians. You can’t practice anti-racism at the same time as identifying with, or supporting, Zionism.”
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.
Mr Magennis was described in his profile on the Chambers’ website as “an expert on the Palestinian struggle for emancipation from Israeli apartheid and occupation.” This has since apparently been changed to: “Franck conducts research on international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the context of the Palestinian struggle for emancipation. In May to August 2019 he was a research fellow in Ramallah, occupied Palestine with the award-winning Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq. He is the co-author of a series of forthcoming reports responding to allegations against the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs of attacks against Palestinian individuals and civil society institutions.”
Mr Mcgennis denied that the tweet was antisemitic, asserting that, while offence may have been taken at the views expressed in the tweet, that was not his purpose and that his speech was protected by Article 10(1) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
Campaign Against Antisemitism has previously published a briefing debunking the claim that the ECHR protects the right to make statements that breach the definition.
The Bar Standards Board panel considered that, although the tweet may be “offensive”, it was not “seriously offensive”, because it was merely “criticism of Zionism and Israel”, apparently despite what the International Definition of Antisemitism — which the British Government and the Judicial College have adopted — says.
The Bar Standards Board panel concluded that Mr Mcgennis did not in this instance “behave in a way which is likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in you or in the profession,” and therefore did not uphold the complaint.
Campaign Against Antisemitism is reviewing its options.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Regulators in this country are all over the map when it comes to sanctioning professionals for racism against Jews. Another regulator that we have been dealing with similarly dismissed a complaint that we made against one of their regulated professionals, and we took the case to the High Court, which has quashed that regulator’s decision and forced it to reconsider the case.
“We regret that the Bar Standards Board has disgracefully chosen to ignore the International Definition of Antisemitism, even though it has been adopted by the British Government and the Judicial College. Apparently when it comes to antisemitism, barristers and judges have different standards. We are reviewing our options.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Sports broadcaster Abbi Grace Summers confronts West Ham football fan hurling antisemitic abuse at her on train to Tottenham Hotspur game
The sports broadcaster Abbi Grace Summers confronted a West Ham football fan who hurled antisemitic abuse at her on a train to a game between the Hammers and Tottenham Hotspur.
The abuse took place on a London Underground train on 22nd December.
Footage from a video, which went viral online, showed Ms Summers accusing the West Ham fan of shouting antisemitic abuse at her, which was not caught on camera. The man smirks at her as she invites him to “say it to my face.”
Ms Summers tweeted the video to the police, writing: “Hi @metpoliceuk would like to report an incident on the 18:45 train from Liverpool Street to White Hart Lane. This man continuously shouting antisemitic comments and behaviour and clearly not sorry when called up on…[sic].”
Speaking the next day on the radio, Ms Summers said that she is “all for football banter…but it suddenly turned antisemitic.” She said that it is a “line that you don’t have to cross.” She also observed that nobody in the train carriage said anything in reaction to the abuse, noting that “I was the only woman on that carriage and I took a stand against it.” She added: “It’s sad we can’t govern ourselves, it was unfortunate no one else stood up.”
A spokesperson for the British Transport Police said: “British Transport Police received a report of antisemitic behaviour onboard a London Overground train travelling from Liverpool Street to White Hart Lane yesterday evening (22 December). Witnesses or anyone with information can contact us by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 433 of 22/12/21.”
Recently, three West Ham fans were arrested after a video surfaced of West Ham fans allegedly chanting an antisemitic song at a Hasidic passenger on a flight to a match.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Visibly Jewish man punched in the face in Manchester
CCTV footage has shown a visibly Jewish man being punched in the face in Manchester.
Reports state that the suspect was drunk and in the midst of a heated argument with a woman, believed to be his partner, before he ran up to the Jewish man on the street and punched him in the side of the face.
It is understood that while the male suspect fled the scene, the woman was detained by the authorities.
The scene of the incident was attended by members of Salford Shomrim, the Jewish volunteer neighbourhood watch patrol, and Hatzola, a volunteer-run emergency medical service.
The incident occurred at 22:59 on 26th December on Leicester Road in Manchester and was reported by Salford Shomrim. If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101 or Salford Shomrim on 0161 740 8000, quoting reference number: CAD 2747 26/12/21.
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 applauds Oak Hill College for adding explanatory note to Kittel’s theological dictionary at our request, and calls on other institutions to follow suit
Campaign Against Antisemitism applauds Oak Hill College for adding an explanatory note to its editions of Kittel following a request from us.
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited in part by Gerhard Kittel and known colloquially as “Kittel”, is a reference book openly available in Christian seminaries. While we recognise that it is a useful resource, we are also acutely aware that its editor and some early contributors, for example K.G. Kuhn, were supporters and propagators of Nazi ideology. Mr Kittel and Mr Kuhn were particularly engaged with the “Jewish Question” and actively developed and encouraged antisemitic ideology and conduct. The former claimed that Christianity should act “not as a protector of the Jew but as an effective anti-Jewish force”, while the latter, who supported Hitler’s SS, was a member of the Committee for Jewish Atrocity Propaganda, which arranged the 1933 boycott of Jews. There is no shortage of evidence of their worldview.
The particular issue with Kittel is not merely the views of its editors and contributors, but that their views subtly but significantly impact its content, and therefore it behoves educational institutions to make their students aware of this influence when they consult the resource.
As Prof. Maurice Casey warns in his article, Some Antisemitic Assumptions in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1999): “The frames of reference never lie on the surface of the articles: they are buried in apparently historical statements. It follows that this dictionary should be used only with the utmost care. Students should be warned of this hidden menace, and all readers should consult it only with their critical wits sharpened to the highest degree.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has accordingly written to numerous seminaries to inquire as to whether they make Kittel available to their students and, if so, urge them to include an explanatory note, which will assist both their students’ wider awareness of the historical influences on the resources that they use and also contribute to positive communal relations between Christians and Jews in the next generation.
Oak Hill has confirmed to us that it holds one copy of the multi-volume dictionary in its library and will insert an explanatory note into the volume. The College has advised us that it actively promotes engagement by its students with the more recent New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis by Moises Silva.
The College says that it positively engages the issue of early Jewish and Christian relations and tackles and addresses antisemitic interpretations.
Oak Hill’s welcome addition of the explanatory note follows the same decision by Moorlands College, as part of wider calls by Campaign Against Antisemitism for Christian seminaries to provide students with the full background and context of Kittel’s dictionary.
Binyomin Gilbert, Programme Manager at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “We are delighted that Oak Hill College has taken this step, which is a testament to the importance of working towards positive relations between faith communities. At Campaign Against Antisemitism, we try to act by the same principles, and I am indebted to our Christian colleagues for leading on this project. We now call on other seminaries to follow the example set by Moorlands College and Oak Hill College and add similar explanatory notes to their editions of Kittel.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism works to raise awareness of antisemitism among all faith and minority communities.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Major Parliamentary report calls for enhanced measures by social media companies to tackle antisemitism on their platforms
A major Parliamentary report has called on social media companies to introduce enhanced measures to tackle racism against Jewish people on their platforms.
The Joint Committee on the Draft Online Bill, which is studying the Government’s proposed legislation to regulate social media, has recommended changes to ensure rapid response by social media companies to requests from the police for information. The report stopped short of calling for an end to anonymous accounts, as these carry wider benefits, but it did call on companies to prevent abuse by anonymous accounts, for example by enhancing traceability for use by law enforcement.
The 200-page report also recommends that technology companies be required to appoint a “Safety Controller” from senior management who would be personally liable if the company fails to comply with the new rules.
The report insists that “no-one should be abused for their religious faith or identity and tech companies must take steps to prevent the spread of such material and remove it from their platforms.” In particular, the report raises concerns over algorithms that may amplify antisemitic abuse in social media networks.
“Platforms will have a duty to design their systems to identify, limit the spread of, and remove racist abuse quickly following a user report,” the Committee said, and declared that technology companies would “have to address hate crimes such as stirring up racial hatred that may not currently be covered.”
On abuse in football, the report specifies that companies should share information about offenders with clubs to enable abusive fans to be banned from matches.
The report also calls on Ofcom to produce a Code of Practice on platform design.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has long called for tougher regulations on social media sites and that social networks proactively search for and remove hate speech from their platforms.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Graffiti equating Jews to Nazis scrawled on street in Jewish area of Brussels
Graffiti that read “Juif = Nazi” has been scrawled on a street in Uccle, a Jewish area of Brussels.
The vandalism, which was discovered in Belgium’s capital city earlier this week, was described by Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Head of the European Jewish Association, as “pure antisemitism”. “It is one thing to write a ridiculous comment on a wall, and we can put any manner of graffiti down to ignorance or sheer stupidity. But this on public footpaths and at a road junction is much more calculated, much more sinister,’’ he said.
“It is no secret that a large part of the Jewish community in Brussels lives in Uccle. And this is a message to them, and indeed to every Jew in Brussels. We are equated to those who murdered six million of us. We are not welcome. We are responsible for something unspoken, unnamed.
‘’This is pure antisemitism. On the streets of an affluent neighbourhood in Brussels today. I hope to hear from politicians and community groups of all hues that this is not something that will be tolerated. Or is in any way reflective of the society where we all seek to live in peace and dignity,’’ Rabbi Margolin added.
Uccle Mayor Boris Dilles reportedly labelled the act “heinous”, adding that “The police on the one hand and the road services on the other are doing what is necessary.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
“We will punch your face, f***ing Jewish c**t”: Bus driver reportedly ignores visibly Jewish woman being abused by two women
It has been reported that the driver of a London bus ignored two women racially abusing a visibly Jewish woman on the bus.
The driver is understood to have been in close proximity to the incident as it was occurring but allegedly did nothing to help. The Jewish woman was reportedly threatened by two women who told her that “Jewish people are so cheap”, before adding: “We will punch your face, f***ing Jewish c**t.”
The two women reportedly also said to the Jewish woman: “You wear wigs because Jewish women shave their hair. Let’s try to pull it off!”
The victim is reportedly a visibly Jewish woman, aged twenty. The suspects are believed to be two black women aged between twenty and 25 years.
Campaign Against Antisemitism understands that the incident took place on either a 253 or 254 bus on Wednesday, and the victim would have boarded the bus at some time between 21:54 and 22:06 at the Rosingdale Street, E5 bus stop. Both the victim and the suspects reportedly left the bus at Stamford Hill Broadway.
The incident was reported today at around 12:56 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 6797 23/12/21
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Second round of antisemitic flyers distributed to U.S. homes by hate group in less than one week
A second round of antisemitic flyers has been distributed to homes in the United States in less than one week.
Earlier this week, Campaign Against Antisemitism reported that antisemitic flyers accusing Jewish people of masterminding the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly identical to those that were distributed to Beverly Hills homes last month, had been disseminated to homes across the United States in at least five states so far. The states included North Carolina, Texas, Idaho, Maryland and California.
Written at the top of each flyer reads “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish” alongside the domain “goyim.tv”, a website affiliated with the “Goyim Defence League” (GDL), a group whose membership reportedly contains several neo-Nazis and is understood to be led by Jon Minadeo II. The 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.” Earlier this 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”.
We can now report that the same flyers have now been redistributed in Maryland and California, with Vermont, Alabama, Illinois and Florida also having been targeted.
The Montgomery County Council in Maryland released a statement in which it said: “The Council stands in solidarity with our Jewish community and condemns all acts of hate and ethnic or religious bigotry aimed at Jewish residents. Furthermore, the Council condemns the spread of COVID-19 disinformation in all its forms, and the use of erroneous connections to ethnic, religious and other groups to fuel abhorrently racist agendas.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, who represents Maryland’s 8th congressional district, thanked the council for its support and tweeted: “Some hateful bigot is mixing the oldest anti-Jewish conspiracy theories with sick new lies about COVID-19. We reject this filth.”
In addition to Montgomery, it was reported that for the second time in less than a week, the flyers were sent out to homes in Beverly Hills, where the flyers were also distributed on the first night of Chanukah, which is when the flyers were first believed to have appeared.
A statement signed by all five members of the City Council said: “The Beverly Hills City Council would like to remind all who commit acts of hatred toward members of our community that these cowardly acts and any divisive attempts of intimidation will be rejected outright. As a City that is made up of a diverse population and being one of the only Jewish-majority cities outside of Israel, the City condemns this unwarranted hate speech that has been unsuccessfully used to disparage a community that has, and always will, stand strong together and fight hatred of any kind.”
Carla Hill, Associate Director of the Center on Extremism of the ADL, said that members of the GDL were incentivised to distribute the flyers as the leader of the organisation, Jon Minadeo II, promised to send $100 worth of merchandise to members who participated in the leafleting, an act which Ms Hill described as the “monetisation of hate.” Mr Minadeo II reportedly runs an online shop called “Goyim Gear” that includes, among other items, t-shirts glorifying Adolf Hitler, the Waffen SS and other individuals and groups endorsed by white supremacists.
Ms Hill went on to explain that the group embarks on “tours” around the country that are advertised through its videos on its streaming channel as well as the social media platform Telegram, in which they distribute propaganda, engage in antisemitic stunts and seek donations. Ms Hill described the group as “a small network of individuals” with “thousands of supporters.”
In an incident that may be connected, though it is unconfirmed, stickers were distributed across Manhattan Beach, California which contained what the Manhattan Beach Police Department described as “antisemitic hate speech.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Theatre critic Kate Maltby decries Royal Court Theatre’s “unconscious bias” that led to Herschel Fink scandal
The theatre critic Kate Maltby has blamed the Royal Court Theatre’s “unconscious bias” in her discussion of the Herschel Fink scandal on today’s episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
Ms Maltby, whose writing has appeared across national newspapers, also recounted her own family’s fascinating history.
The podcast with Ms Maltby can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.
Brazilian neo-Nazis’ New Year’s Eve plans to attack Jewish and black people thwarted by authorities
In a joint effort between the Brazilian and United States authorities, four suspects alleged to be members of a neo-Nazi gang have been arrested in Brazil.
The individuals had reportedly planned to carry out a series of targeted attacks on Jewish and black residents in São Paulo over New Year’s Eve, but after being warned of the plans back in May by Brazil-based Homeland Security Investigations agents, the authorities managed to intercept the attacks.
Homeland Security Investigations Brasilia Acting Attaché Patrick Chen said: “Through continued investigative collaboration, members of dangerous antisemitic and neo-Nazi cells were apprehended before they caused a possible mass casualty event. The success of Operation Bergónis a prime example of the importance of international partnerships in dismantling criminal organizations that threaten public safety and innocent lives.”
HSI Brasilia also said that the alleged neo-Nazi members used websites in the United States to “to call for violence against Jewish and black” residents in Brazil.
Authorities produced 31 search warrants which allowed them to discover and seize homemade bombs, weapons and documents containing attack plots and Nazi paraphernalia.
In a statement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations said: “The individuals in question were part of neo-Nazi cell that were planning attacks against public areas, such as schools, as well as hate crimes against Jewish and black civilians.”
One of the suspects, a 43-year-old man who worked as security in the city of Campinas, told authorities of his plans to denote explosives during the New Year’s Eve celebration. The man was said to have recruited members to bomb a nuclear plant in the Rio de Janeiro municipality of Angra dos Reis.
The suspect reportedly identified himself as Matheus Hades NS and told the authorities in a recorded confession that “there is so much wrong in the world that I can’t take it anymore,” adding that he wanted to “kill and then commit suicide” but that he would spare anyone “as long as they are good, honest, hardworking people. With the rest, I don’t worry.”
The other three alleged members were arrested in the São Paulo city of Suzano and the Rio de Janeiro municipalities of Campos dos Goytacazes and Valença.
In October, a man in Brazil accused of Holocaust denial and pedophilia was reportedly found with a stash of Nazi memorabilia worth £2.5 million.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Urgent appeal for witnesses after assailant allegedly tells Jewish man he wanted to “kill my first Jew” in violent north London attack
A Jewish man has allegedly been violently attacked by a man carrying what appeared to be a knife in an antisemitic attack in West Hampstead, north London. The alleged assailant fled the scene and is being sought by the Metropolitan Police Service.
Police have today released a CCTV image of a man they need to speak with. The photograph that has been released may not be of the suspect.
Following the attack, police faced criticism for their initial slow response to the attack, which they had said would take an hour to respond to, however the police investigation has been upgraded following intervention by CST.
The incident took place on 2nd December at around 19:20, when the victim was returning from work. He exited West Hampstead Underground Station and walked to the nearby Marks and Spencer supermarket located in West Hampstead Square.
He saw the alleged attacker desecrating a 4-metre high public Chanukiah that was erected on West Hampstead Square to celebrate the Jewish festival of Chanukah, pulling the object down before proceeding to stamp on in and shout antisemitic abuse.
With no prior interaction, the attacker approached the victim and aggressively said: “You look Jewish” and that he was “looking for a Jew to kill” after singling out the victim among other pedestrians, despite there being no visible indication of his Jewish background.
He allegedly asked threateningly: “Are you Jewish?” The victim, understandably wishing to avoid a confrontation, said “No,” to which the man replied: “Good, I want to find a Jew to kill.”
The victim entered a nearby Marks and Spencer supermarket and the man remained outside. The victim was worried for the safety of other Jews and their families in the neighbourhood where the man was loitering, which has a sizeable Jewish population. The victim approached a supermarket employee, who said that the man had been in the store earlier.
The victim decided to call the police, explaining the situation to them over the course of about eight minutes.
Officers told the victim that they did not consider the case urgent enough for a priority response and would come within an hour, despite the attacker threatening to kill Jews.
After a short period of time, the victim spotted the man again, outside the shop, pulling down the public Chanukiah which someone had put back up in the intervening time. The victim also said that the man was shouting aggressively at a young woman, aged 18-25 who fled the square. He then returned to pulling the Chanukiah to the ground.
Fearing for the young woman, the victim and the supermarket employee confronted the man from a ten-metre distance. The attacker allegedly shouted at him in response: “I knew you were Jewish, you lied to me” and began walking towards his victim while shouting: “You are Jewish. I am going to kill you.” He said something in Arabic before allegedly declaring: “I want to kill my first Jew.”
The victim ran back into Marks and Spencer and turned to see if the man had followed him, which he had, having put on a facemask in the meantime.
As the assailant walked into the shop, he shouted at the victim again: “You are Jewish.”
The man reached the victim, allegedly squaring up to him aggressively with barely a metre between them. Within seconds, the man allegedly pushed the victim as hard as he could with both hands on the victim’s chest, forcing the victim to take a step backwards, all the while repeating: “You are Jewish. I am going to kill you.”
The attacker then allegedly punched the victim violently with force towards the head around five times, the victim had to guard himself from the attacks using his forearms and elbows.
After the first attack, the victim again told the man to back away and pushed the attacker away. The attacker allegedly replied: “I am not leaving until you are dead.” Taking steps backwards with his coat and heavy bag restricting his movement, the victim found himself cornered at the edge of an aisle with nowhere else to move backwards to.
He turned his head around to see what was blocking him, at which point the attacker took advantage of the victim’s shift in concentration and allegedly threw a strong punch which connected with the victim’s head. The victim tried to move his head backwards in an attempt to limit the impact. Had he not done this, the victim believes that his injuries would have been even more severe and he would have been knocked unconscious onto the floor of the supermarket.
Again, the victim told the man to “back away” to which the attacker repeated “I am not going away until you are dead.”
By this point, the victim began to fear for his life. He had no inclination to fight the man and wanted to defuse the situation. He managed to extricate himself and head towards the self-service checkout machines, with the man following him and allegedly shouting more antisemitic abuse and death threats. He was also heard shouting in Arabic.
The victim dropped his bag and jacket to make it easier to run from the man, but the man kept walking faster and faster, eventually reaching for his right jacket pocket.
He grabbed what was apparently a knife and allegedly said “I will kill you now, you Jew.” The victim ran to the back of the shop before the man had the chance to reveal the weapon fully. He turned to see that the man remained by the checkout machines, still staring at the victim and allegedly performing a slit-throat gesture.
The man then allegedly picked up the victim’s jacket and bag and walked calmly out of the shop. The victim remained where he was, terrified for his life. He did not see the man thereafter. A staff member then approached the victim to tell him that the man had left. The victim called the police for a second time, as did the shop employee, and spoke to operators for an extended period. Another staff member then brought over the victim’s bag, which had been discarded, and he later found his jacket in the shop. None of the contents of the bag or jacket had been taken.
Finally, the police arrived. Despite the duration of the incident and the proximity of a police station only half a mile up the road.
The victim called the CST, which provided support to the victim and pressed the police to upgrade their investigation, which is now progressing. Police mounted extra patrols in the area in subsequent days and CST adapted its operations to take account of the incident.
The assailant is described as being black and possibly of Somali ethnicity, aged between 25 and 30 and between 6’0” and 6’1” in height. He had a slender build and bad teeth, and wore a dark green beanie hat, a dark puffer jacket with large pockets, dark trousers and no gloves. He wore a dark facemask when in the shop. He spoke in English, with a mixed East London and foreign accent, and spoke Arabic.
If you have any information, please contact the police on 101, quoting reference: CAD6588/02Dec, or e-mail [email protected] in confidence.
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “What this victim has suffered is unspeakable, and it is only thanks to his quick thinking that he survived the ordeal without even worse injury than he endured. The delayed response of the police, despite the close proximity of a police station just up the road, is deeply concerning, and the result is that a man who apparently wants to kill Jews is now at liberty.
“This is the most heinous of a considerable number of antisemitic crimes that we have reported over the course of Chanukah. The sad truth is that our nation’s capital is not nearly as safe as it should be for Jewish people who wish to celebrate a festival or, in this case, simply go about their daily lives. Unless the police and the justice system step up and ensure that antisemitic criminals face the full consequences of their despicable actions, this will not change.
“We are providing the victim with legal and other assistance. We urge the public to assist in the identification of the individual whose description has now been circulated.”
The Metropolitan Police Service said: “Officers have carried out a number of enquiries and have today released a CCTV image of a man they need to speak with. Anyone who recognises the man is asked to call police via 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting reference CAD6588/02Dec.”
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.
Swastikas daubed onto Peterborough shopping centre
Swastikas have been daubed onto a Peterborough shopping centre, it was revealed earlier this week.
The two Nazi symbols, one scrawled in green and the other in blue, were daubed onto the Brotherhood Retail Park. Paul Bristow, Conservative Party MP for Peterborough, tweeted an image of the graffiti, calling it “sickening” and “racist”. He called on Peterborough Police and Peterborough City council to remove the vandalism before adding that “The disgusting people responsible should be ashamed.”
Peterborough Police replied to Mr Bristow and said: “If this has been reported to us, we will look into it and appropriate action will be taken.”
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.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Humberside police investigating swastika carving and illustration of a gas chamber near bus stop on busy road
Police in Humberside are investigating the carving of a swastika and an illustration of a gas chamber near a bus stop on a busy road.
The vandalism of a fence on Kingston Road in Willerby, by Hull, is believed to have taken place on 13th and 14th December. One of the city’s synagogues is also in Willerby.
Police are reportedly investigating the vandalism as an antisemitic hate crime.
We are grateful to the member of the public who brought this incident to our attention.
If you have any more information, please contact the police on 101, quoting reference number: 16/122195/21.
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 accusing Jewish people of masterminding COVID-19 distributed to homes across U.S. in at least 5 states
Antisemitic flyers accusing Jewish people of masterminding the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly identical to those that were distributed to Beverly Hills homes last month, have been disseminated to homes across the United States in at least five states so far.
Written at the top reads “Every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish” alongside the domain “goyim.tv”, a website affiliated with the “Goyim Defence League”, a group whose membership reportedly contains several neo-Nazis and is understood to be led by Jon Minadeo II. The 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.” Earlier this year, Mr Minadeo II created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. Most recently, they hung a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews”.
The states in which the flyers have been distributed so far include North Carolina, Texas, Idaho, Maryland and California.
The leaders of three Jewish institutions in Greensboro, North Carolina — Temple Emanuel, Beth David Synagogue, and the Greensboro Jewish Federation — issued a joint statement in which they said that the materials attempt “to spread antisemitic, blatantly false, and evil conspiracies about the COVID-19 virus and our nation’s efforts to combat its spread.”
The flyers were also sent to homes in northwest Austin, Texas and Boise, Idaho, the latter of which reported to have received the flyers in a bag alongside ammo for pellet guns that were dropped off on porches and forced into fences.
Similarly, antisemitic flyers that were weighed down in bags of rocks or corn kernels were dropped off at homes in Silver Spring, Maryland. A report stated that a man was seen throwing the flyers from his car at 00:45.
The California neighbourhood of Pasadena also received the flyers, as did Beverly Hills, which is where the same flyers were distributed last month. Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said: “Our thoughts are with our residents and all those hurt by these disgusting acts. We know Pasadena residents — of all faiths — will to [sic] stand together and speak out against hatred in all forms.”
It is understood that the flyers are being investigated by local police departments in the areas in which they were distributed.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Online shop in Ukraine removes “Holocoste” sweatshirt after complaints
An online shop in Ukraine has removed a sweatshirt from its website that parodies the brand Lacoste with the word “Holocoste” after receiving complaints.
Action came about after Elina Katz, a Program Coordinator for Project Kesher in Ukraine, noticed the merchandise online. Members of the organisation then wrote a letter to the website and within two hours, the article of clothing had been removed.
Vlada Nedak, the Executive Director of Project Kesher Ukraine, said: “Our lawyer said to me, ‘Two hours, it’s too long. They should answer you in less than 30 minutes.’
“The next time I will know this better.”
In September, the Ukrainian Parliament passed a law banning “antisemitism and its manifestations”. Despite this, multiple Chanukah displays were vandalised across three cities in Ukraine during the festival of Chanukah.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Image credit: Screenshot from Project Kesher
Washington DC elementary school instructor forced Jewish child to play Adolf Hitler and “commit suicide” in class reenactment of the Holocaust
On Friday, an elementary school instructor in Washington DC reportedly forced her class to perform a reenactment of the Holocaust, in which she cast a Jewish child to play Adolf Hitler.
The children belong to the third-grade class of Watkins Elementary School, which would make them eight and nine years old.
According to one parent, her child was made to act like he was on a train headed towards a concentration camp, before being told to pretend as though he was dying in a gas chamber. He was also allegedly told to act as if he were shooting his classmates.
Principal Scott Berkowitz e-mailed parents at the school in which he detailed the events of the class, which said that the unnamed instructor ordered the class to simulate shooting their classmates and then to dig mass graves. According to the e-mail, the instructor also forced a Jewish child to play Hitler before telling him to pretend to commit suicide, as Hitler did. Following the incident, the entire class met with the school’s mental health response team.
Principal Berkowitz said: “I want to acknowledge the gravity of this poor instructional decision, as students should never be asked to act out or portray any atrocity, especially genocide, war, or murder.”
Friday’s class in which this took place was supposed to be for the students to work on a self-directed project which they would then present to the class, but the instructor allegedly used this time to instead carry out the Holocaust reenactment.
The instructor, who is now on leave, pending a school investigation, reportedly made antisemitic comments throughout the reenactment, which included responding to the children’s question as to why the Nazis carried out such atrocities against Germany’s Jewish population by saying that it was “because the Jews ruined Christmas”. The instructor also reportedly asked the students not to tell anyone of the reenactment, though the students informed their homeroom teacher of the incident.
The incident was reported to Washington D.C. Public Schools’ (DCPS) Comprehensive Alternative Resolution and Equity Team. A spokesperson for DCPS said: “This was not an approved lesson plan, and we sincerely apologize to our students and families who were subjected to this incident.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The reports of what took place in this class are so shocking as to be unbelievable. Ordering eight- and nine-year-old children to re-enact the Holocaust, including pretending to shoot one another and dig mass graves while their instructor hurls antisemitic insults at them and a Jewish child is made to play Hitler and re-enact the Nazi leader’s suicide, is not merely racist and of no pedagogical value, but is traumatising for the children, professionally derelict for the instructor and potentially abusive. It is right that an investigation takes place, and if the reports are borne out, the instructor must be fired and the school board must open its own inquiry.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Teenagers being indoctrinated into neo-Nazism by their peers, new report says
Teenagers are being indoctrinated into neo-Nazism by their peers, a new report says.
The study, produced by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation & Political Violence (ICSR) at Kings College London and the CST, found that in looking at the growth of ten neo-Nazi youth movements, the radicalisation into the racist ideology was being enacted from teenagers to fellow teenagers, as opposed to older members to younger ones, a perception that the study dismissed as largely a myth.
The report states: “With very limited exceptions, all groups in the sample demonstrate antisemitic beliefs, demonising the Jewish community and often depicting them as the root of various problems. This includes promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and occasionally inciting violence against the Jewish community. Islamophobia and xenophobia are also common.”
Discussing what the report, titled “We Are Generation Terror!”, termed “youth-on-youth radicalisation”, the report’s author Hannah Rose said: “Young people are both vulnerable to online grooming through manipulation by seasoned extreme-right extremists and, increasingly they are themselves the groomers, the propagandists, the recruiters and the plotters, and the convicted perpetrators.”
The report also found that social media platforms’ restrictions on racist content, namely Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Telegram, were being easily bypassed.
Campaign Against Antisemitism recently produced a series of posts highlighting TikTok’s problem of allowing content that promoted Holocaust denial.
In July, we reported that according to a new study, antisemitic content on the social media platform TikTok had increased by 912%. According to research from Dr Gabriel Weimann of the University of Haifa and Natalie Masri of IDC Herzliya’s Institute for Counter-Terrorism, antisemitic comments on TikTok grew 912% from 41 in 2020 to 415 in 2021, and the platform saw 61 antisemitic postings so far this year compared to 43 last year. Antisemitic tropes and images that were used in video content included Nazi salutes, diminishing the impact of the Holocaust, and propagating caricatures of Jews with long, hooked noses.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years, continues to urge the Jewish community to remain vigilant and welcomes the seriousness with which the authorities are treating the danger.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Man sentenced to prison for wearing t-shirts in support of banned antisemitic terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad
A man has been sentenced to sixteen weeks in prison after he pleaded guilty last month to wearing t-shirts in support of two banned antisemitic genocidal terrorist groups back in June.
Feras Al Jayoosi, 34 and of Swindon, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 12th November to four counts of wearing an article supporting a proscribed organisation.
One t-shirt reportedly worn by Mr Al Jayoosi supported the Izz al-Din al Qassem Brigades, which is the so-called “military wing” of the Hamas terrorist group. The other t-shirt supported the banned Islamic Jihad group.
In addition to his sixteen-week prison sentence, Mr Al Jayoosi was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service and pay £288 to the magistrate court.
Speaking directly to Mr Al Jayoosi during Friday‘s proceedings, Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said: “You had multiple warnings that the path you were taking – the organisations you sought out to align yourself with – would get you into trouble, but you carried on.”
Last month, the Home Secretary banned the antisemitic genocidal terrorist group Hamas in full, after it emerged that the terrorist who murdered the grandson of a prominent British rabbi yesterday was a member of the group’s supposed “political wing”.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown oversteps yet again, deploying the Livingstone Formulation to belittle allegations of antisemitism
The controversial columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown has once again overstepped the line, arguing in an article that “any criticism of the state [of Israel] is deemed antisemitic by apologists and diehard allies, and suggesting that this is motivating a “purge” of Labour Party members.
In the article titled “The UN is warning of spiralling violence, yet the West has forgotten the Palestinians” for the i newspaper, Ms Alibhai-Brown also wrote that “a report from Jewish Voice for Labour accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of purging Jewish members who call Israel to account.”
This is a fine example of the ‘Livingstone Formulation’, by which allegations of antisemitism are dismissed as malevolent and baseless attempts to silence criticism of Israel. In its report on antisemitism in the Labour Party, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that suggestions of this nature were part of the unlawful victimisation of Jewish people in the Party.
This is not Ms Alibhai-Brown’s first offence of this nature. Last year, she replied to journalist Stephen Bush’s reaction to being appointed to lead a Jewish charity’s review of racial inclusivity in the Jewish community by tweeting:“maybe ask them about the Palestinians.” The review was concerned with British Jews and was unrelated to Israel, a distinction that Ms Alibhai-Brown is apparently incapable of apprehending.
Previously Ms Alibhai-Brown also expressed her opposition to the Labour Party’s adoption of the International Definition of Antisemitism, describing the fringe minority of Jewish individuals who agreed with her as “good Jews”.
Newspapers and television broadcasters who host Ms Alibhai-Brown must think again before giving a platform to someone who takes such positions.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2019 showed that antisemitism on the far-left of British politics has surpassed that of the far-right.
Campaign Against Antisemitism monitors traditional media and regularly holds outlets to account. If members of the public are concerned about reportage in the media, they should contact us at [email protected].
Aristocrat Piers Portman refused leave to appeal after being sentenced to 4 months in prison and having to pay over £20,000 for calling CAA Chief Executive “Jewish scum”
The Hon. Piers Portman, the youngest living son of the 9th Viscount Portman and heir to 110 acres of West End real estate, has been refused leave to appeal after he was sentenced in October to four months in prison and ordered to pay over £20,000 after being found guilty of calling Gideon Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, “Jewish scum” in a confrontation at a courthouse in 2018.
In refusing Mr Portman leave to appeal, the Hon. Mr Justice Hilliard said: “I have considered all the grounds of appeal which have been advanced carefully and thoroughly, and to best advantage. Nonetheless, for the reasons I have given, I am satisfied that there are no arguable grounds of appeal against conviction and the application for leave to appeal must be refused.”
When Mr Portman was originally sentenced at Southwark Crown Court, His Honour Judge Gregory Perrins said that Mr Portman has “strongly-held antisemitic beliefs”, and that he had “deliberately targeted Mr Falter because of his role in prosecuting Alison Chabloz.” Ms Chabloz is an antisemite who has been repeatedly imprisoned following work by Campaign Against Antisemitism.
In scathing sentencing remarks, HHJ Perrins told Mr Portman: “You said you’re an honourable British gentleman. You’re anything but.”
HHJ Perrins then imprisoned him for four months, with the possibility of release on licence after two months, and ordered him to pay a £10,000 fine, make an additional £10,000 compensatory payment to the victim, Mr Falter, and pay court costs. Mr Falter donated the entire £10,000 to Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Mr Portman, 50, was prosecuted after approaching Mr Falter, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Chief Executive, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 14th June 2018 following the sentencing of Alison Chabloz, a notorious Holocaust denier and antisemite. Campaign Against Antisemitism had brought a private prosecution against Ms Chabloz which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) took over, and which ultimately led to a conviction and landmark legal precedent. Mr Falter had testified against Ms Chabloz, who has since been repeatedly sent to prison over her antisemitic statements, including denying the Holocaust and claiming that Holocaust survivors had invented their suffering for financial gain.
Mr Portman followed Mr Falter out of the courtroom and confronted him in the lobby of the court building, where an enraged Mr Portman came close to Mr Falter and said: “I’m Piers Portman. I have written to you before. Come after me, you Jewish scum. Come and persecute me. Come and get me.”
Mr Portman was referring to a 1,527-word e-mailed screed previously sent to Campaign Against Antisemitism in which he denounced his former wife and her divorce lawyer, Baroness Fiona Shackleton each as a “greedy, grasping and lying manipulator of the system that happens to be Jewish.” He accused his former wife of “playing the Talmud inspired ‘Tyrant posing as a victim.’” Noting in the e-mail that he had a “Harrow Public School education”, Mr Portman defended the term “Holohoax”, writing that “I fail to see how the fabricated word has anything to do with hating anyone. Surely it is merely an expression created by people that believe they have been lied to,” and questioning how the terms “Jew” and “Jewboy” could be antisemitic.
He concluded his e-mail by taunting Campaign Against Antisemitism to “Come and pick on me…come and have a do with me…come and perform your charity on me.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image: Piers Portman, right, leaves Southwark Crown Court with conspiracy theorist Matthew Delooze
Charity Commission removes Tony Greenstein as a trustee of The Brighton Trust after being declared legally bankrupt following humiliating loss of defamation claim against CAA
Tony Greenstein has been removed as a trustee of The Brighton Trust, formerly known as the “Trust 4 Unpopular Causes”, by the Charity Commission after being declared legally bankrupt in July following his failed defamation claim against Campaign Against Antisemitism earlier this year.
Mr Greenstein had been ordered by judges to pay Campaign Against Antisemitism £81,854 over a libel claim brought by Mr Greenstein after we called him a “notorious antisemite”. In an example of litigation humiliatingly backfiring, the High Court struck out Mr Greenstein’s libel claim against us, ruling that it was permissible for us to call the co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and expelled Labour Party member a “notorious antisemite” in articles on our website. Mr Greenstein then brought an appeal against aspects of the High Court ruling, which he also lost earlier this month.
Following an Insolvency and Companies Court hearing on 14th July that lasted only a quarter of an hour, Judge Catherine Burton, noting that Mr Greenstein has been properly served and failed to attend or make representations, concluded proceedings by saying: “I make a bankruptcy order this day against Tony Greenstein at 10:46am.”
Consequently, Mr Greenstein met the criteria for automatic disqualification as a charity trustee. We wrote to the Charity Commission to notify them of the bankruptcy order and that he must therefore cease to be a trustee of The Brighton Trust.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Today, the Charity Commission removed Tony Greenstein as a trustee of a charity that purports to challenge racist discrimination but has given grants to causes associated with antisemitism denial during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, including the Chris Williamson Left Legal Fund, The Electronic Intifada and Labour Against the Witchhunt, amongst others. Mr Greenstein’s removal as a trustee will hopefully prove beneficial to the charity.”
Leader of Dutch right-wing party ordered by judge to delete social media posts comparing COVID-19 restrictions to the Holocaust
Thierry Baudet, leader of the ring-wing party Forum for Democracy (FvD), posted content to Twitter in which he compared the Dutch Government’s policy on combating COVID-19 to the Holocaust. However, Mr Baudet was ordered by a judge to delete the four tweets or face a fine of €25,000 a day until they have been deleted.
Mr Baudet was also forbidden from making such references in future speeches.
In one tweet dated from 14th November, Mr Baudet wrote: “The current situation can be compared to the 1930s and 1940s. The unvaccinated are the new Jews, the ignorant who exclude them are the new Nazis and NSB [wartime Dutch Nazi organization] members.”
“There, I said it,” he added.
In another tweet, accompanied by images of unvaccinated children paired with one of a Jewish boy wearing a yellow star in Nazi Germany, Mr Baudet wrote: “Ask yourself: is this really the country you want to live in? In which children who are ‘unvaccinated’ are not allowed to go and see Santa Claus? And need to be dried off outside after swimming lessons?”
“If not: THEN RESIST! Do not participate in this apartheid, this exclusion!”
The case was brought against the right-wing party leader by two Dutch Jewish organizations, the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) and the umbrella Central Jewish Consultation (CJO), and was backed by four Jewish Holocaust survivors. The plaintiffs asserted that the tweets were “seriously insulting and unnecessarily hurtful to the murdered victims of the Holocaust, survivors and relatives.”
The judge, upholding the ruling, said that Mr Baudet “spoke in an unnecessarily offensive way to victims of the Holocaust and their relatives,” before adding that “The right to freedom of expression for a representative of the people is not unlimited.”
The FvD have said that it will be appealing with the decision, tweeting that “Freedom of expression is restricted by the judge,” and called the ruling a “totally hallucinatory statement.”
In February, Mr Baudet provoked outrage by stating that the trials against Nazi leaders in Nuremberg after World War II were “illegitimate”.
Mr Baudet resigned as leader last year after several members of his Party were accused of antisemitism, but was reinstated shortly after.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Tory aide reportedly grabbed Jewish journalist’s face to check his nose and “judge his Jewishness”
An aide working for the Conservative Party reportedly grabbed a Jewish journalist’s face in order to check his nose and “judge his Jewishness”.
Alexander Brown, a Westminster Correspondent based in Parliament who writes for The Scotsman, has shared his account of how whilst out for drinks with colleagues, he was grabbed by a Tory aide so that they could view his nose from the side and, as Mr Brown writes, check his “Jewishness”.
Mr Brown said: “Going for drinks and desperate to build contacts, a staffer had asked about my background, and I’d shared I studied an MA in Jewish History. Before I’d even finished speaking she had grabbed my jaw, tilted my head to the side to look at my nose and spat out ‘you don’t look Jewish’.”
He adds that he was warned not to report the incident so as not to risk damaging his career. “This was a Tory staffer grabbing me in public to judge my Jewishness, at a time it was supposedly only the Labour Party that had a problem. It took place during the Corbyn years,” Mr Brown writes. “It was a depressing, draining time, with the avalanche of antisemitism on Twitter a constant in my life both personal and professional.”
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.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Calls to remove new Austrian Interior Minister from position amid antisemitism allegations
Calls to remove the new Austrian Interior Minister from his position have arisen amid antisemitism accusations.
Gerhard Karner was made Interior Minister on 6th December, but shortly after, accusations of antisemitism surfaced from comments he made over a decade earlier when he was said to have accused Austria’s center-left Social Democrats of working “against the country with gentlemen from America and Israel,” and described them as “climate poisoners.”
The German news website Der Spiegel, who published the report which featured the accusations, also included a quote from the Minister’s spokesperson who said that he was referring to “dirty campaigning” by an Israeli political adviser.
An open letter, which included signatories from Jewish students, academics, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Elfriede Jelinek and others, stated: “The antisemitic dimension of this comment is obvious. We are convinced that this person is completely unsuited to the office of interior minister and call on the government to put our security in the hands of moderate politicians.”
Mr Karner reportedly said on Monday that he regrets his comments, but rejected the accusations of antisemitism. “If things I said then were understood ambiguously, I regret that,” Karner said. “The comments were never in any way intended to go in this direction, and I would not make them now.”
Mr Karner has also reportedly arranged to meet with Oskar Deutsch, President of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG) and the Federal Association of Jewish Religious Communities in Austria, who had asked the Minister for clarification on his comments.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Lord Grade tells Podcast Against Antisemitism BBC’s reportage of Oxford Street incident is “shoddy journalism”
Lord Grade, a former Chairman of the BBC, has described the BBC’s rapportage as “shoddy journalism” in today’s episode of Podcast Against Antisemitism.
In the podcast, Lord Grade described the BBC’s coverage of the recent antisemitic Oxford Street incident, which has come under fire, as a “very poor piece of journalism”.
In response to why he thought that the BBC has been alone among major media outlets in suggesting, without evidence, that the Jewish victims in the incident were also racist and therefore at least partially to blame, Lord Grade described the coverage as “very poor journalism. I wouldn’t put it down to antisemitism. It’s very, very poor journalism on the face of what we know at the moment. It’s just a very, very poor piece of journalism. To describe the antisemitic taunts from the people who launched the attack, which you can see on film, there’s no way you can describe the antisemitism as ‘alleged’, which is what the BBC report says. They then said there were clearly anti-Islamist cries from the bus. There is no evidence for that. It may be true, there may have been, I don’t know, but there is no evidence that anyone’s found so far to support that and the BBC has got to explain two things; why it defended the broadcast without really understanding the nature of the complaint and examining the evidence, and then two, how on earth did they come to make such a pig’s ear of their rapportage.”
Our polling has shown that a majority of British Jews are not satisfied by the BBC’s handling of antisemitism complaints, which is a figure far worse for the BBC than any of the other major broadcasters. Historically, the BBC has handled complaints internally, and only relatively recently has Ofcom been given a role, whereby if the BBC rejects complaints at every stage, a complainant can now escalate the matter to Ofcom. But few members of the public have the patience to get through this uniquely drawn-out process, which they have to do because the BBC so consistently rejects antisemitism complaints. Why, we asked Lord Grade, is the BBC so resistant to acknowledging error, both in this case and over the years?
Lord Grade replied: “Well the first thing to say is that I have found, because I have complained to the BBC even as a former Chairman and as a former Senior Executive in the corporation, I have complained to the BBC and without exception, the first complaint has gone into the programme makers, the editorial people, and without exception they come back, always, they’re never wrong. They always come back, straight away, the default position is ‘we’re not wrong.’ Then when you dig into it and you escalate it to the BBC’s formal complaints procedure, there’s a bit more work done, forensic evidence collecting, and eventually…I don’t think I’ve ever lost a complaint against the BBC at that stage. So the problem lies with the editorial teams who seem incapable of ever admitting quickly that they’re wrong, and I think that’s a very serious failing. What they don’t understand is that admitting you’re wrong and admitting quickly that you’re wrong is a sign of strength, not of weakness, and I think they seem to see it as a sign of weakness, which it isn’t, of course.”
Lord Grade also discussed highlights from his storied career in media and broadcasting, and endorsed Campaign Against Antisemitism’s coming protest outside the BBC.
The podcast with Lord Grade can be listened to here, or watched here.
Podcast Against Antisemitism, produced by Campaign Against Antisemitism, talks to a different guest about antisemitism each week. It streams every Thursday and is available through all major podcast apps and YouTube. You can also subscribe to have new episodes sent straight to your inbox.
Previous guests have included comedian David Baddiel and actor Eddie Marsan.
“Vaccination makes you free” sign displayed at anti-vaccination rally in Poland
A sign bearing the words “Vaccination makes you free” was displayed at an anti-vaccination rally in Poland on Tuesday.
The sign references the slogan which sat atop the gates to Auschwitz concentration camp, one of the most notorious concentration camps where over a million people were murdered, that read: “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Makes You Free”).
Members of Poland’s far-right Confederation Party were photographed posing with the banner at the demonstration, which drew criticism from Tal Ben-Ari Yaalon, Israel’s chargé d’affairs in Warsaw. Ms Yaalon tweeted: “Most of my father’s family was murdered in @Auschwitz along with more than a million other victims. This sign is disrespectful to their memory, and I find it unbelievable that such Holocaust distortion can happen 300 km from where the original sign stands.”
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum also denounced the display, writing: “‘Arbeit macht frei’ is one of the icons of human hatred. The exploitation of the symbol of suffering of victims of #Auschwitz, the largest cemetery in Poland and the world, is a scandalous expression of moral decay. It is particularly embarrassing when it is done by Polish MPs.”
The Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, commented that the scenes on display were a “dramatic and dark picture of how the holy memory of monstrous German crimes can be harmed.”
During the summer, “Jews are behind the pandemic” and “rule the world” chants were heard at an anti-vaccine rally in Głogów, Poland.
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.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Azerbaijan to commemorate International Holocaust Memorial Day for first time
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has announced that for the first time, Azerbaijan will commemorate International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th.
The decision reportedly arose after a meeting with New York-based rabbi, Rabbi Marc Schneier, who said of their encounter: “President Aliyev said in response, ‘We would very much like to do this, and to be a part of it,’ and said that he would instruct his Foreign Ministry to coordinate with Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan in planning the commemoration events for the day.”
“I think this is one more step, one more benchmark in Aliev’s unparalleled solidarity and commitment to his indigenous Jewish community, and to world Jewry and the State of Israel,” he continued.
President Aliyev also agreed to provide funding to the only Jewish school in Azerbaijan, the Chabad Ohr Avner Jewish school in Baku, the country’s capital.
Rabbi Schneier added: “All around the Muslim world, we are seeing miracles of a bold new support for Jewish life and partnership between our communities. This magnanimous demonstration by President Aliyev is truly an astounding example of goodwill at the highest level, and mirrors Azerbaijan’s wholehearted commitment to the embrace of its Jewish population. I express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to President Aliyev for his profound commitment to interreligious cooperation and coexistence.”
Azerbaijani Chief Rabbi Schneor Segal, a leader of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, also praised the President’s pledge to assist the school financially. “Azerbaijan is taking the concept of tolerance to a whole different level than what we see anywhere else in the world,” said Rabbi Segal. “For decades, the Jewish community has enjoyed a comfortable and peaceful life, without experiencing any sign of antisemitism. The government is truly committed to supporting and strengthening the future of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan. We are thankful to President Aliyev for his constant care for the Jewish population.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Man who wore Nazi armband to trial found guilty of terror offences and stirring up racial hatred
A man who sported a moustache in the style of Adolf Hitler’s and wore a Nazi armband to his trial has been found guilty of terror offences and stirring up racial hatred.
Matthew Henegan, 35, appeared in court last year on seven charges of publishing, distributing and possessing material in March and April 2020 that is likely to stir up racial hatred. It was also claimed that he 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.
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.”
Judge Nigel Lickley said to him: “You have to understand that because of the convictions now recorded against you, you are facing a custodial sentence. The length of that custodial sentence and whether it is immediate or suspended are matters I will decide on the next occasion. I have no firm view at the moment other than all sentencing options are open and that includes immediate custody.”
Prosecutor Julia Faure-Walker told the jury: “Mr Henegan chose to use the particularly derogatory term ‘kike’. There is no way that Mr Henegan was intending there to be any caveats in relation to the ethnic group he was directing hatred towards, it is absolutely clear that the words ‘kike’ and ‘Jew’ are used interchangeably.
“During the video Mr Henegan complains no one listens to him, they’d much rather go on about f***ing antisemitism. He won’t have it that people are trying to raise this matter. He has no time for complaints about racism towards Jews. There must have been a reason why he used the word ‘kike’ within the material.
“The reason it was used was purposely to communicate his intense dislike for this group of people. The endless highly offensive swear words are an indication that he wasn’t just attempting to relay facts. He was trying to conjure up anger and extreme animosity. He was perfectly able to give evidence without using such extreme profanities. That sort of language is reserved for the groups he looks down on, mostly Jews.
“There will be some who look at leaflets, view the video or listen to the audio and immediately dismiss it as rubbish. Unfortunately, there will be others when faced by such highly emotive and charged language who will have feelings of racial hatred.”
Despite denying all charges, Mr Henegan was convicted at the Old Bailey in central London on Monday 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.
Mr Henegan is due to be sentenced on 14th January at the Old Bailey.
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 this conviction of this abominable individual, and we call for a sentence that keeps him out of society and keeps the rest of us safe from the danger that he poses.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years, continues to urge the Jewish community to remain vigilant and welcomes the seriousness with which the authorities are treating the danger.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
Newcastle bus shelters vandalised with swastikas
Authorities have expressed alarm over swastika graffiti discovered on bus shelters in Newcastle.
The bus shelters on Newcastle’s Great North Road, in addition to being defaced with the antisemitic hate symbol, were also vandalised with claims that the COVID-19 pandemic is “a hoax” was also found.
A spokesperson from Northumbria Police said: “Enquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible. Anybody found to have been involved will be dealt with swiftly and robustly.”
Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.
Journalist India Willoughby doubles down on inflammatory Nazi and Holocaust analogies
The journalist India Willoughby has doubled down on inflammatory Nazi and Holocaust analogies.
Ms Willoughby tweeted earlier this month that “If Liz Truss replaces Boris [Johnson], it will be like Hitler coming to power. We’re f*****.”
After receiving criticism for hyperbolically and needlessly invoking the Nazis, she doubled down, tweeting: “Excuse me? I think you’ll find the Nazis hated trans people. They burnt down the world’s leading trans research institute and made us wear pink triangles before being sent to the camps.” Ms Willoughby is transgender. She appears to have since deleted this tweet.
This is not the first time that the commentator and former BBC journalist has made inflammatory analogies to Nazi Germany. In 2020, she tweeted that she “[does not] like invoking the Nazis, but for trans people, this is like being Jewish in Germany at that time.”
Current policies in the UK are not remotely like those of Nazi Germany, which forcibly transferred minority communities to concentration camps and murdered six million Jewish men, women and children. It must be possible to have reasonable political debate in Britain without invoking the Nazis and, in the process, effectively diminishing the Holocaust.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has launched a new weekly podcast. New episodes of Podcast Against Antisemitism are available every Thursday and can be streamed here or downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.