Mel Wacks is a Jewish scholar from California who has issued over 50 different art medals depicting Jewish-American heroes since 1969. Mel has documented the breadth of Jewish-American contributions to all areas of American society in an attempt to inspire Jewish pride and combat anti-Jewish hatred. More than 25,000 of these medals can be found in homes and museums across the world. Read Here
January 8, 2021
THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT
CAM strongly condemns the disturbing mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, a global icon of democracy. Among other outrages, we note reports that one rioter wore a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt – and we join with our coalition in calls for accountability and peace.
This week’s global anti-Semitism report identifies 52 new incidents of anti-Semitism that took place in the past two weeks. Of these incidents, 42% came from identifiably right wing ideologies, a quarter came from radical Islam, nearly 10% came from left wing groups and individuals, and 23% came from unidentifiable sources.
A rabbi was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse in the streets of Germany. A Johns Hopkins University teaching assistant threatened to fail Jewish and pro-Israel students. And a knife-wielding attacker chased a Jewish girl in New York.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department warned about a pattern of anti-Semitic behavior by leaders of Islamic Relief Worldwide, a major charity that receives funding from governments in Europe. And an expat Iranian journalist has teamed up with the U.S. Holocaust Museum to teach about the Holocaust in Farsi to educate Iranians – whose ruling regime promotes Holocaust denial.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SPECIAL FEATURE
HOW THE JEWISH-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME FIGHTS ANTI-SEMITISM
By CAM
FORMER LABOUR COUNCILOR “BLOCKED AT EVERY POINT” TRYING TO IMPLEMENT ANTI-SEMITISM TRAINING
By CAM
Dany Louise was a Labour councilor in the town of Hastings, England and stepped down in 2019 due to rampant Labour anti-Semitism at the local and national level. Her local party leader repeatedly refused to implement anti-Semitism awareness training despite mounting prejudice faced by Jewish Labour members. After Dany stepped down, she remained an independent councilor and convinced her council to adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. Read Here
JOIN THE #BREAKFREE – ONLINE CLUB Z SUMMIT
By CAM
In an era when Jewish teens are reporting an all-time high of Jew-hatred in schools and on social media that targets their Zionist identity, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement in partnership with Club Z, welcomes you to join the national Summit, “Break Free,” celebrating Zionism, Justice, and Action on Sunday January 24, 2021. Learn how YOU can be part of a movement to liberate Zionism and the Jewish people. Read Here
UNESCO GOODWILL AMBASSADOR, ANDRES ROEMER, JOINS COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM MOVEMENT’S ADVISORY BOARD
By CAM
The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) announced that UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Dr. Andres Roemer, has joined its Advisory Board. Dr. Roemer is an internationally acclaimed writer, academic and intellectual, dedicated to the promotion of human rights and critical thinking. Read Here
UNITED STATES
KNIFE WIELDING MAN CHASES JEWISH GIRL IN CROWN HEIGHTS
By CrownHeights.info
A knife wielding man chasing a Jewish girl in Crown Heights was stopped thanks to the intervention of two passersby. A man – described as an African American male wearing a red jacket – was chasing a Jewish girl when one of the men began yelling at the knife wielding male, diverting his attention and allowing the girl to escape. Read Here
ANTI-SEMITIC FLIERS CLAIMING ANTIFA IS A ‘JEWISH COMMUNIST MILITIA’ FOUND IN STATEN ISLAND
By Algemeiner Staff
Anti-Semitic fliers were placed in public areas in the New Dorp area of Staten Island, New York. The fliers claim that the far-left group Antifa is a “Jewish communist militia” engaged in a “a war against all non-Jewish European-American nationalists.” Read Here
‘HITLER WAS RIGHT ON ONE THING,’ REPUBLICAN CONGRESSWOMAN TELLS PRO-TRUMP RALLY
By Jacob Magid
A newly sworn-in Republican congresswoman declared that “Hitler was right on one thing” at a rally before supporters of the president stormed the US Capitol. “If we win a few elections, we’re still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future,’” said Mary Miller, quoting the Nazi leader’s autobiography Mein Kampf. Read Here
ISRAELI REPORTER HARASSED BY ANTI-SEMITIC PRO-TRUMP PROTESTER AT US CAPITOL
By TZVI JOFFRE
A pro-Trump protester confronted and harassed a reporter for the Israeli Channel 13 news during the riots at the US Capitol. The protester can be seen asking the reporter why Israel “continues to take American aid.” He then shouted “I’m gonna get in your face now and I’ll tell you why, yid (a term for Jew),” and asked the reporter, “What is a goy?” Read Here
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
CELTIC’S ISRAELI MIDFIELDER BITTON CALLED ‘DIRTY JEW’ AMID TORRENT OF ABUSE AFTER DERBY DEFEAT
By Lee Harpin
Celtic Football Club’s Israeli midfield player Nir Bitton has been subjected to vicious anti-Semitic abuse after fans rounded on him following the club’s defeat to rivals Rangers. The 29-year-old was branded a “dirty Jew bastard” and a “Zionist rat” in social media posts after the Old Firm derby clash. Read Here
BRITISH NEO-NAZI WHO CALLED FOR ‘ERADICATION’ OF JEWS SENTENCED TO 4-YEAR JAIL TERM
By Algemeiner
A British neo-Nazi has been sentenced to a jail term of four years and two months for encouraging terrorism against Jews, the LGBT+ community and non-white minorities. Luke Hunter, 23, was convicted at the Crown Court in the northern English city of Leeds after admitting seven charges of promoting terrorism. Read Here
RULING ON AL QUDS DAY MARCH LEADER WHO BLAMED ‘ZIONISTS’ FOR GRENFELL REFERRED TO HIGH COURT
By Mathilde Frot
A finding by an industry regulator that a comment by Nazim Ali, the leader of the Al Quds Day march, blaming the Grenfell Tower tragedy on ‘Zionists,’ was not anti-Semitic has been referred to the High Court. He told the annual anti-Israel rally in London in 2017 that “Zionists supporters of the Tory Party” were responsible for the “murder of the people in Grenfell.” Read Here
POLICE INVESTIGATE AFTER VIDEO EMERGES SHOWING MAN CHASING ORTHODOX FAMILIES WITH STICK
By Mathilde Frot
A man has been detained by police after a video circulated on social media showing a limping person chasing a Charedi group with a large stick in Stamford Hill, London. Police are appealing for information in connection with a video. Read Here
GERMANY
EUROPEAN JEWISH SITES, INCLUDING HALLE MEMORIAL, VANDALIZED IN SPATE OF ATTACKS
By Cnaan Lipshiz
Vandals struck a monument to the victims of the shooting attack last year near a synagogue in Halle, in a spate of unrelated incidents in Europe. In Halle, a Plexiglas panel on the monument of the shooting was smashed. The vandals also tried to set fire to a flag of Israel under the Plexiglas. Read Here
GERMAN NGOs, MPs MAKE WIESENTHAL LIST OF TOP 2020 ANTI-SEMITISM OUTBREAKS
By Jerusalem Post
Some German cultural groups and politicians are on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s list of 10 worst cases of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity in 2020. “German officials acknowledge that anti-Semitic hate crimes, from neo-Nazis to Islamists, continue their alarming rise. Read Here
RABBI SUBJECTED TO ANTI-SEMITIC ABUSE IN GERMAN CITY OF OFFENBACH PRAISES WITNESSES FOR INTERVENING
By Algemeiner
A German rabbi warmly praised his fellow citizens in the city of Offenbach for rushing to his aid when he and his family were subjected to anti-Semitic abuse. Rabbi Mendel Gurewitz was walking home from synagogue with his children when they were confronted by a man screaming anti-Semitic invective. Several witnesses to the assault immediately called the police, while others followed the assailant as he left the scene. Read Here
DRUNK ATTACKER HURLS ANTI-SEMITIC SLURS, WIELDS KNIFE AT BERLIN MAN
By Algemeiner
A Berlin man was the victim of an apparent anti-Semitic assault. The 33-year-old man was insulted in an anti-Semitic manner by an intoxicated individual, 28, who then attacked the man with a knife. Read Here
OTHER WORLD NEWS
BULGARIA: BULGARIAN SYNAGOGUE TARGETED AMID SPATE OF CRIMES ON JEWISH SITES IN EUROPE
By JTA
In Bulgaria, the words “Free Palestine Israel=Nazis Antifa Bulgaria” were spray-painted on the gate to the synagogue of Plovdiv, a city about 100 miles southeast of Sofia the capital. Read Here
ARGENTINA: AMIA BOMBING SUSPECT ACQUITTED IN HISTORIC TRIAL, SPARKING OUTRAGE FROM ARGENTINE JEWISH GROUPS THAT VOW TO APPEAL
By JTA
Argentine Jewish groups were expecting a long-awaited victory in the 26-year struggle for justice in the 1994 AMIA Jewish center terrorist bombing. But a federal court acquitted the defendant, Carlos Telleldin, in a second trial in the case. The court said it would not detail its decision until March 26. Read Here
FRANCE: FRENCH IMAM WILL BE PROSECUTED FOR ANTI-SEMITIC SERMON AT MOSQUE IN TOULOUSE
By Algemeiner
A French imam is to be prosecuted for racial hatred over a sermon he delivered in 2017 calling for Muslims to “fight the Jews.” Algerian-born Mohamed Tatai was indicted at the end of 2018 for “public verbal provocation to hatred or violence” following an investigation into the sermon. Tatai said that “on Judgment Day the Muslims will fight and kill the Jews.” Read Here
SPAIN: GRAFFITI READING “MURDERING JEWS WE WILL HANG YOU” PAINTED AT SPANISH JEWISH CEMETERY
By JTA
Graffiti reading “good Jew dead Jew’ and “murdering Jews we will hang you” were written on the gate of a Jewish cemetery near Madrid, Spain. The graffiti was spray-painted in Hoyo de Manzanares. The perpetrators also painted a Star of David with the word Raus, German for “out,” on the gate. Another slogan featured a mashup of the Spanish-language word for Holocaust and fairytale. Read Here
GREECE: JEWISH COMMUNITIES CONDEMN VANDALISM OF HOLOCAUST MEMORIALS IN DRAMA
By Neos Kosmos
The Jewish Community of Thessaloniki condemned the vandalism in Drama of the Monument for Jewish Victims of the Holocaust and of the tobacco storage building where victims were brought before their deportation and murder. Damage includes spray-painting on the monument, the breaking off of a stone section, and graffiti on the tobacco storage space where the city’s Jewish population was arrested in 1943. Read Here
IN UKRAINE, HUNDREDS MARCH WITH TORCHES IN ANNUAL TRIBUTE TO NAZI COLLABORATER
By JTA
Hundreds of people marched bearing torches in the capital city of Ukraine in an annual tribute to a leader who collaborated with Nazi Germany. Many participants waved banners carrying the symbol of the far-right Svoboda party, whose leaders have often made anti-Semitic comments. Read Here
THE MIDDLE EAST
REPORT: UAE FOILS IRANIAN ATTACK IN DUBAI ON ANNIVERSARY OF SOLEIMANI KILLING
By Karim Sahib
The United Arab Emirates thwarted an Iranian terrorist attack that was planned to take place in Dubai on the anniversary of the killing of top commander Qasem Soleimani. The attack was intended to target a preferred Israeli tourist destination and business districts. Read Here
PAKISTANI COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF 4 MEN ACQUITTED OF DANIEL PEARL MURDER
By JTA
A court in Pakistan ordered the immediate release of four men who had been jailed since 2002 for the murder of the Jewish-American journalist Daniel Pearl. The Sindh High Court in Karachi ordered the release of the men, who had been acquitted of the murder, calling their detainment “illegal.” Read Here
JORDANIAN-PALESTINIAN ACADEMIC DR IBRAHIM ALLOUSH “THERE WERE NO GAS CHAMBERS”
By MEMRI
Jordanian-Palestinian academic Dr. Ibrahim Alloush said in an interview on Palestine Today TV (Lebanon) that the Westerners are fed up of hearing Jewish claims of victimhood. He said that Jews hold the whole world responsible for anti-Semitic persecution and massacres, which culminated in the “so-called Holocaust.” Dr. Alloush added that no Jew or non-Jew died in the gas chambers, because there were none. Read Here
TUNISIAN WHO SANG DUET WITH ISRAELI GETS DEATH THREATS, SAID FIRED FROM HIS JOB
By TOI
A Tunisian musician who collaborated with an Israeli singer on a song promoting religious tolerance between Muslims and Jews has faced serious backlash, including being fired from his job at a state broadcaster and death threats on social media. The song “Peace Between Neighbors,” was performed by Israeli Ziv Yehezkel, a religious Mizrahi Jew who sings primarily in Arabic, and Tunisian music producer and composer Noamane Chaari. Read Here
ON CAMPUS
PANEL RECOMMENDS PROBE INTO CLAIM OF ‘TOXIC, ANTI-SEMITIC ENVIRONMENT’ AT SOAS, LONDON
By Mathilde Frot
The School of Oriental and African Studies has agreed to pay £15,000 to a former student who withdrew from a course after alleging a “toxic, anti-Semitic environment on campus”. Soas reached a settlement with Noah Lewis after the former postgraduate student from Canada claimed a tuition fee refund. Read Here
OXFORD UNIVERSITY ADOPTS UNIVERSAL DEFINITION OF ANTI-SEMITISM
By JNS
Oxford University has formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. The university adopted the definition following UK Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson’s suggestion in October that universities could face cuts if they don’t adopt the definition by Christmas. Read Here
TEACHING ASSISTANT AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY THREATENED TO FAIL PRO-ISRAEL STUDENTS
By JNS
Anti-Semitism watchdog groups are raising alarm over a graduate student and teaching assistant at Johns Hopkins University who threatened to fail pro-Israel students, while also making disparaging remarks about Israelis and white people. While the university has not issued a formal statement on the incident, Sunil Kumar, from the university’s provost office, said in an email to StandWithUs that it is “aware of the incident.” Read Here
COLORADO UNIVERSITY INVESTIGATING ALLEGATION STUDENT RECEIVED ANTI-SEMITIC NOTE, RAT POISON
By Aaron Bandler
The University of Northern Colorado is investigating an allegation that a student received a note blaming Jews for the COVID-19 pandemic and that the note had rat poison attached to it. University Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Tobias Guzman responded in the comments section that the university is “very concerned” about the incident and urged the student “to reach out to us so we can do a proper investigation.” Read Here
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
THE MEDIA MUST STOP ELEVATING FRINGE GROUPS ON ISRAEL, POLICE
By ZACH SCHAPIRA , EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, J’ACCUSE COALITION FOR JUSTICE
STUDIES & STATISTICS
UN CONDEMNED ISRAEL 17 TIMES IN 2020, VERSUS 6 TIMES FOR REST OF WORLD COMBINED
By TOI Staff
The United Nations General Assembly adopted two resolutions criticizing Israel, bringing 2020’s total tally to 17 resolutions against the Jewish state versus six singling out any other country. In 2020, out of a total 23 UN General Assembly resolutions that criticize countries, more than 70 percent were focused on one single country: Israel. Read Here
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
U.S: HOUSE PASSES BILL TO PROMOTE ANTI-SEMITISM ENVOY TO AMBASSADOR
By Jerusalem Post
A bill that would elevate the US State Department’s Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism position to an ambassadorship will head to the President’s desk where he will have the ability to sign the legislation into law, after the US House of Representatives passed the bill. The bill was introduced by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ, 4th District). Read Here
AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES ACTION PLAN TO COUNTER RISING ANTI-SEMITISM
By Algemeiner Staff
The Austrian government announced that its action plan to combat rising anti-Semitism would be rolled out in the coming weeks, with an emphasis on enhancing security measures for the Jewish community. Karoline Edstadtler, Minister for Europe and commissioner for countering anti-Semitism, noted that the number of incidents targeting Jews more than doubled since 2014. Read Here
US STATE DEPARTMENT WARNS DONOR COUNTRIES OVER $100M FOR ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE
By Damien McElroy
The US State Department has called on governments around the world to review ties to Islamic Relief Worldwide after raising concerns about the views of members of its senior leadership. The department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism said it condemned attitudes and remarks from figures associated with the organisation, which was banned by the UAE in 2014 under terrorism laws. Read Here
UN ADOPTS $3.2 BILLION BUDGET AS US AND ISRAEL OBJECT OVER ANTI-SEMITISM CLAIM
By EDITH M. LEDERER
After down-to-the-wire negotiations, United Nations members adopted a budget for 2021 that was higher than Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed and was strongly opposed by the United States for including money to commemorate the outcome of a 2001 conference in South Africa that it called anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. Read Here
HUMANITY
EXPAT IRANIAN JOINS WITH US HOLOCAUST MUSEUM TO TEACH JEWISH GENOCIDE IN PERSIAN
By Matt Lebovic
For decades, Iran’s government has denied the Holocaust took place while threatening to annihilate the state of Israel. Now, acclaimed expat filmmaker and journalist Maziar Bahari is bringing Holocaust education to Iranians in their own language. This fall, Bahari and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) launched “The Sardari Project,” to teach Iranians about the genocide in Persian. Read Here
ISRAELI MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTER NATAN LEVY DEFIED ODDS TO ENTER THE UFC. NOW HE WANTS TO BREAK STEREOTYPES.
By Elie Bleier
Natan Levy, 29, became the third Israeli to sign on with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. “When somebody Jewish writes me and tells me they’re inspired by me to do sports, or they’ve been bullied and now feel that they can stand up for themselves, I swear it makes me more happy than winning a world title.” Read Here
BRITISH CHILDREN’S AUTHOR OMITS ‘MERCHANT OF VENICE’ FROM SHAKESPEARE ANTHOLOGY, CITING ANTI-SEMITISM AS ONE REASON
By JTA
A popular British children’s author omitted “The Merchant of Venice” from his adaptation of William Shakespeare plays for young audiences. One reason: anti-Semitism. “Yes, there was some worry that this might be the first time an 8-year-old reads about a Jew,” Michael Morpurgo said about the decision not to include the play in the “Tales from Shakespeare” anthology for children older than 6. Read Here
FAMILY FIRM WITH NAZI PAST FUNDS EFFORT TO USE AI TO DETECT ONLINE ANTI-SEMITISM
By Matt Lebovic
An interdisciplinary project is harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) in the battle against online anti-Semitism. “Decoding anti-Semitism” is a collaboration between King’s College London and the Technical University of Berlin’s Center for Research on anti-Semitism and is funded by the Alfred Landecker Foundation with 3 million euros. Read Here
The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of individuals and organizations, across all religions and faiths, united around the goal of ending anti-Semitism in all its forms. Since its launching in February 2019, 294 organizations and 299,000 individuals have joined the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement by signing the campaign’s pledge. The CAM Pledge draws upon the IHRA international definition of anti- Semitism and its list of specific behaviors used to discriminate against the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel.
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