The influential British rapper Wiley posted a series of anti-Semitic messages on Twitter, spurring a wave of outrage and prompting his Jewish manager to cease representing him. Among his comments were “I don’t care about Hitler, I care about black people” and “There are 2 sets of people who nobody has really wanted to challenge #Jewish & #KKK but being in business for 20 years you start to understand [sic] why.” Read Here
Please forward to your family and friends and ask them to join the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement today!
THIS WEEK’S CONTENT
WATCH THE WEEKLY CAM NEWSLETTER SUMMARY BELOW
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(1 Piece)
1. SHARE YOUR STORY WITH JEWISHONCAMPUS
By CAM
Today, with the increase in anti-Semitism on college campuses many Jewish students feel isolated and lonely. Students have been abandoned by many social justice groups that claim to advocate for all oppressed minorities. Given this environment, students now have the opportunity to share their personal stories with JewishOnCampus, an instagram account run by students that is dedicated to creating awareness on the seriousness and danger that anti-Semitism poses in the academic environment.
JewishOnCampus hopes that, through student stories, more people will be held accountable for the anti-Semitic words and actions that have hurt the Jewish community and its members. Most of all, your story should be told, inspire you to be proud of your Jewishness, and to be more vocal and active in the fight against anti-Semitism. Let’s amplify Jewish voices, strive for university action, and join together to fight anti-Semitism. Read Here
SPECIAL FEATURE
(2 Pieces)
1. ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE RISE OF THE RADICAL FAR RIGHT IN POLAND: A CONVERSATION WITH RAFAL PANKOWSKI
By CAM
Rafal Pankowski is the Co-Founder of the “NEVER AGAIN” Association based in Warsaw, Poland – an organization which serves as the country’s leading anti-Semitism and anti-racism watchdog. Recently, “NEVER AGAIN” became the target of a radical far-right campaign to discredit and vilify the organization after they publicly condemned a popular national media host who described the Holocaust as “myth.”
The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement sat down with Rafal to discuss a range of issues relating to anti-Semitism in the Central European nation. In our discussion, Rafal offered his valuable insights into his fight against the rise of the radical far-right in the country, anti-Semitism in the media, and a controversial new parliament act which criminalizes discussing Polish collaboration with the Nazis during World War II. Read Here
2. PERSISTENT HATE, SELECTIVE OUTRAGE: MY EXPERIENCE WITH ANTI-SEMITISM AT GW
By Blake Goodman (George Washington University, Class of 2020)
In my past three years at GW, a disturbing pattern of anti-Semitism has emerged, fed by an environment in which anti-Semitism is subjectively defined by unaffected parties, particularly non-Jewish students, and tacitly accepted by University administrators. Changes must be made. Firstly, elected leaders would be better served to realize the tremendous impact that they can have on our GW community. However, it should be clear that trying to selectively define anti-Semitism does not fall under that purview.
The GW Administration also needs to put real action behind their positive words. By keeping the community informed about disciplinary measures being taken, Jewish students can take comfort in knowing that their University is acting in their interest, and that anti-Semitism will not be tolerated on campus in the future. While the platform for debate is a privilege, that debate can no longer extend to the existence of anti-Semitism. It exists. It has been allowed to continue. It must be called out in every form, every time. Read Here
UNITED STATES
(19 Articles)
1. RESIGNATION CALLS GROW IN WAKE OF PHILADELPHIA NAACP HEAD’S ANTI-SEMITIC POST
By AGENCIES
There are a growing number of calls for Philadelphia’s NAACP president to resign after he posted an anti-Semitic meme to social media. Philadelphia’s Jewish leaders called for Rodney Muhammad’s resignation. The post on Muhammad’s Facebook page included photos of Ice Cube, DeSean Jackson and Nick Cannon, and the quote “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize,” falsely attributed to French philosopher Voltaire. The quote originated with Kevin Strom, an American neo-Nazi. Below their photos is an image of a yarmulke-wearing man, using his hand to crush a group of people. Read Here
2. COUPLE FLAUNT SWASTIKA FACE MASKS AT SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA WALMART
By Rachel Hutton
Police officers in Marshall, Minn., were called to the town’s Walmart on a report that two shoppers were wearing masks emblazoned with swastikas. Another shopper, Raphaela Mueller, the vicar of a southwest Minnesota parish, filmed the swastika-wearing man and woman as they were confronted by others in the store. Per the store’s request, law enforcement served trespass notices to the 59-year-old man and 64-year-old woman, warning them that they will face arrest should they return. Read Here
3. ANTI-SEMITIC GRAFFITI PAINTED ON JEWISH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE NEAR CLEVELAND
By CAM
A swastika and other obscene graffiti were painted on several Jewish buildings in the Cleveland suburb of University Heights. The anti-Semitic graffiti was found on four buildings including the Jewish Learning Connection. A swastika was spray painted on the exterior wall of Freidman, Leavitt & Associates, Inc. and other obscene graffiti was found on the outside walls of the Jewish Learning Connection, which is housed inside The Waxman Torah Center. Graffiti was also found on Jewish-owned business, Mika’s Wig Boutique & Spa and a nearby grocery store. Read Here
4. JEWISH SAFETY VOLUNTEER FACES ASSAULT IN BROOKLYN
By CAM
A Jewish resident of Brooklyn has been physically assaulted. A member of Shomrim, a Jewish volunteer safety group, was slashed when he attempted to intervene in another physical assault. The incident began when a man seated on a bench was attacked by four suspects. Then, the slashing victim tried to break up the fight and was repeatedly slashed below the knee. Read Here
5. SWASTIKA DISCOVERED OUTSIDE JCC OF GREATER NEW HAVEN
By Teresa Pellicano
A spray-painted swastika discovered at the JCC of Greater New Haven is being investigated by the local police department as a possible hate crime. The spray-painted swastika at the JCC was discovered on the sidewalk path leading to the swimming pool entrance. The Woodbridge Police were called and immediately responded and opened a case. They are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime. Read Here
6. HATE CRIME CHARGES FILED AGAINST SUSPECT INVOLVED WITH ANTI-SEMITIC GRAFFITI ON TEMPLE WALLS IN SARASOTA
By WWSB
Vincent Martinez, a 21-year-old of Sarasota, was charged after he allegedly spray-painted swastikas and other anti-semitic graffiti on the outside walls of Temple Emanu-El and Temple Sinai in Sarasota, Florida. Martinez faces three counts of Criminal Mischief by Defacing and Damaging a Synagogue. All of these felony charges are considered hate crimes. Read Here
7. NYPD SEARCHING FOR PAIR OF SUSPECTS IN STRING OF ANTI-SEMITIC HAT THEFTS IN BROOKLYN
By FOX 5 NY
The NYPD is on the hunt for two men who stole a string of hats from Hasidic men walking in Bed-Stuy and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Authorities say the two men, riding a Citi Bike, will approach a victim before swiping their hat from off their head and fleeing the scene. The pair struck four times, stealing hats from two 21-year-old Hasidic men, a 46-year-old Hasidic man and a 48-year-old Hasidic man over the course of roughly two hours. Read Here
8. RAPPER JAY ELECTRONICA CALLS RABBI WHO SPOKE WITH NICK CANNON A LIAR AND A DEVIL
By MARCY OSTER
Rapper Jay Electronica appeared to call Jews anti-Semites in a series of tweets railing against Rabbi Abraham Cooper. “Rabbi Abraham Cooper is a COWARD who LIED to our brother Nick Canon about the history of the caucasian race. Ask him does he stand behind the VILE TEACHINGS of the Talmud? Don’t be a coward next time Cooper you DEVIL”. He went on to call Black people the “TRUE Children of Israel,” use the hashtag #SynagogueOfSatan and link to an article by the Nation of Islam Research Group which calls The Simon Wiesenthal Center, where Cooper is associate dean, an “apologist for the Zionist State of Israel.” Read Here
9. TOP NATION OF ISLAM OFFICIAL: ‘JEWS RUN HOLLYWOOD, FUELED SLAVERY, SOLD SHEETS AND NOOSES TO KKK’
By MEMRI
Ishmael Muhammad, national assistant minister to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, said that it was a Jew who had first invested in the Ku Klux Klan, and that Jewish merchants sold sheets, guns and ropes to Klan members. Muhammad said in his speech that the Jews have always been spying on blacks and that the COVID-19 vaccine is part of a plot to reduce the global population, which he attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissenger. Muhammad went on to claim that the Jews control Hollywood and the music industry. The Jews, he said, are the “architects of the filth [that] has led to the perversity of [American] society and culture.” Read Here
10. BROWARD CLERK OF COURTS APOLOGIZES TO JEWISH COMMUNITY FOR HITLER SOCIAL MEDIA POST
By local10.com
Broward Clerk of Courts Brenda Forman issued an apology to the Jewish community after posting a quote wrongly attributed to Adolf Hitler on her Facebook page. Forman stated that she never intended to “hurt or offend anyone.” “In retrospect, there were better ways I could have expressed my thoughts on how important it is for our society to work together to ensure that no one is deprived of their rights,” she wrote. Read Here
11. IHLAN OMAR CAMPAIGN ACCUSES OPPONENT OF BEING IN THE POCKET OF WALL STREET AND ONLY REFERENCES JEWISH DONORS
By Cameron Joseph
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) campaign recently sent out a mail piece ripping apart her primary opponent, attorney Antone Melton-Meaux, for the large donations he’s gotten from wealthy donors. The letter, which contained the headline, “Can We Trust Antone Melton-Meaux’s Money?”, accuses Melton-Meaux of being in the “pocket of wall street,” while only citing the names of Jewish donors. The mail piece has triggered a heated debate within Minneapolis’ Jewish community, causing even some of Omar’s Jewish supporters to express frustration over the letter. Read Here
12. REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM GEORGIA RUNS CAMPAIGN AD SHOWING JEWISH CHALLENGER JON OSSOFF WITH ELONGATED NOSE
By MARCY OSTER
Sen. David Perdue removed a campaign ad from Facebook that showed an image of his Jewish challenger, Jon Ossoff, with his nose apparently elongated. Photos of Ossoff and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a fellow Democrat and also Jewish, appear under the heading in all capitals “Democrats are trying to buy Georgia! Help David Perdue Fight Back.” A spokeswoman for Perdue said that the ad was an “unintentional error” by an unnamed vendor outside of the campaign. Read Here
13. MINNESOTA GOP GROUP EQUATES WEARING FACE MASKS WITH YELLOW STAR OF DAVID
By JNS
A county Republican party in Minnesota posted a meme that compared the state mandate to wear a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic to Jews being forced to wear a yellow Star of David during the Holocaust. The Republican Party of Wabasha County reportedly removed the post from its Facebook page. Read Here
14. AMAZON, GOOGLE AND WISH TAKE DOWN NEO-NAZI, KKK MERCHANDISE
By TOI STAFF
Amazon, Google and Wish have taken down neo-Nazi and white supremacist merchandise that was sold on their platforms. The removal of the products comes after a BBC investigation found neo-Nazi books and Ku Klux Klan paraphernalia could be bought on the companies’ websites. The report said algorithms used by e-commerce sites Amazon and Wish would also suggest other white-supremacist goods. Read Here
15. CAR NEAR OSU VANDALIZED WITH SWASTIKAS, ANTI-SEMITIC PHRASES
By McKENNA CORSON
A car parked near The Ohio State University in Columbus was vandalized with swastikas and anti-Semitic and vulgar phrases spray painted and scratched into the exterior. The phrases included “I love Nazi,” and the car was also splattered with yellow paint. Read Here
16. POLICE CONFIRM ALLEGED NEO-NAZI LEADER IS SUSPECT IN SACRAMENTO SYNAGOGUE VANDALISM INCIDENT
By GABRIEL GRESCHLER
A Sacramento-based neo-Nazi is a suspect in a 2017 vandalism incident at Temple Or Rishon. Andrew Richard Casarez, a 27-year-old pizza delivery driver, leads an online neo-Nazi group called the “Bowl Patrol,” a reference to the hairstyle of convicted mass murderer and white supremacist Dylann Roof, whom they idolize. Casarez has been under investigation by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office for at least three weeks. Read Here
17. NORWALK FIRE LT. DISCIPLINED AFTER MAKING ANTI-SEMITIC COMMENTS
By Alfred Branch
An 18-year veteran of the Norwalk Fire Department has been suspended and transferred to a different station house after he made anti-Semitic comments to a Jewish firefighter. Lt. Patrick St. Onge has been suspended without pay for a week. He made the remarks, in which he referred to Jewish people as being “dirty,” to the firefighter earlier this month. Read Here
18. CHELMSFORD AND WESTFORD, MA POLICE PROBE SPRAY PAINT INCIDENTS
By Margaret Smith
Police in Chelmsford and Westford are investigating a rash of vandalism at residences and on vehicles. According to Police Cheif James Spinney, officers responded to five residential locations for reports of vandalism. A photo of the vandalism shows a vehicle spray-painted with the word ‘sam,’ along with a crude depiction of a swastika symbol. Read Here
19. SAN FRANSISCO ASIAN ART MUSEUM TO REMOVE BUST OF FOUNDING DONOR WITH ANTI-SEMITIC VIEWS
By Gabriel Greschler
The San Fransisco Asian Art Museum plans to remove a bronze bust honoring Avery Brundage, a founding donor whose anti-Semitic and racist views were pervasive throughout his career. Brundage, a former competitive athlete who headed the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972, earlier served as president of the American Olympic Committee and was instrumental in bringing the U.S. Olympic team to the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany. Read Here
WORLD NEWS
(4 Pieces)
1. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE UK
UK RAPPER WILEY GOES ON ANTI-SEMITIC TWITTER RANT, GETS DROPPED BY JEWISH MANAGER
By GABE FRIEDMAN
TRUSTEE OF UK’S LARGEST MUSLIM CHARITY RESIGNS AFTER ANTI-SEMITIC VIEWS COME TO LIGHT
By CAM
Heshmat Khalifa, a trustee and former leading official of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), the UK’s largest Muslim charity, has resigned after his deeply offensive anti-Semitic social media comments were exposed and published in The Times. Khalifa referred to Jews as the “grandchildren of monkeys and pigs.” Additional posts published by the Egyptian-born leader stated that current Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is a “Zionist Pimp,” a “Zionist pig,” a “Zionist traitor” and a “Zionist criminal.” Read Here
FOOTBALLER WHO TWEETED ABOUT ROTHSCHILDS IS BANNED AND FINED
By JEWISH NEWS REPORTER
A professional British footballer has been banned for six matches and fined £3,500 for tweeting about the Rothschilds in a post deemed anti-Semitic. Tom Pope, who plays for Port Vale, was posting on Twitter after scoring against Manchester City in the FA Cup when he was asked by another Twitter user to “predict the WWIII result” In a tweet he later deleted, Pope replied: “We invade Iran then Cuba then North Korea then the Rothchilds [sic] are crowned champions of every bank on the planet.” Read Here
‘ADOLF HITLER’ AND ‘B’STARD SON OF NETANYAHU’ HELP FUND CORBYN’S LEGAL COSTS
By ADAM DECKER
Jeremy Corbyn’s legal battles against anti-Semitism whistleblowers and journalist John Ware are being bankrolled by donations from self-proclaimed racists. A Go Fund Me page set up for the former Labour leader has raised £235,000 in just two days thanks in part to the generosity of individuals identifying as “Adolf Hitler” and “B’stard Son Of Netanyahu & Starmer”. One donor who gave £20, wrote that Corbyn had been targeted “by people within the Labour Party working on behalf of the racist State of Israel’. Read Here
FACEBOOK SUSPENDS UK RAPPER WILEY AFTER HE MOVES HIS MESSAGES TOWARD JEWS THERE
By MARCY OSTER
The influential British rapper Wiley, suspended from Twitter after posting a series of anti-Semitic messages there, moved his social media rants about Jews to Facebook, where he threatened to come to a largely Jewish populated neighborhood of London and singled out Jewish public figures who have been critical of him. Facebook promptly suspended his account, saying his posts violate its policies. Read Here
RAPPER WILEY APOLOGIZES FOR COMMENTS ABOUT JEWS — THEN OFFERS MORE
By MARCY OSTER
The British rapper Wiley apologized for “generalizing” about Jews in tweets directed at his manager and others in the music industry that were widely panned as anti-Semitic — and then proceeded to make additional assertions about Jews and Jewish control of the music industry. Read Here
2. IN DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY
GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTRY HIRES ISLAMIST WHO DEFENDS ISRAEL’S DESTRUCTION
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Foreign Ministry has been plunged into a devastating new anti-Semitism scandal for the hiring of a radical Islamist who defends the annual Iranian regime-sponsored rally al-Quds Day calling for the obliteration of Israel. Andreas Görgen,the director of the Foreign Ministry’s department for culture and communication, welcomed the Islamist Nurhan Soykan on his Twitter feed, writing that Soykan will be on “our team Religion and Foreign Policy” at the Foreign Ministry. Read Here
AMERICAN SURVIVOR OF HALLE SYNAGOGUE ATTACK CONFRONTS NEO-NAZI GUNMAN IN GERMAN COURTROOM
By Ben Cohen
An American Jewish academic came face-to-face with the neo-Nazi gunman who attacked a synagogue in the city of Halle last year. Ezra Waxman — a research fellow at the Technical University of Dresden — had been among the 51 worshipers trapped inside the synagogue’s main sanctuary. Now a co-plaintiff in the legal proceedings, Waxman was the first of the attack’s survivors to directly address questions to the accused. Read Here
3. IN DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST
IRAN STOKES ANTI-SEMITISM ABOUT ‘ESTHER, THE GIRL WHO BECAME QUEEN’
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)–controlled media outlet Fars News Agency published an anti-Semitic attack on the VeggieTales animated children’s movie “Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen.” Nayime Movahed, writing for Fars News, argued that the show about Esther was “a Zionist hero [who] has infiltrated our streaming services.” Movahed wrote “This is a historical fabrication that can easily mold the mind of a child,” adding that “Such a mind would be more amenable toward accepting Zionist conceptions, Judaism, and occupation of the land of Palestine.” Read Here
BERNARD-HENRI LEVY CALLED ‘JEWISH DOG’ DURING VISIT TO LIBYA
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
A visit to Libya by French writer and intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy led to controversy over who invited him and escorted him amid a civil war in the country. Protests erupted near Tarhuna, and one man shouted “Jewish dog” at the French writer’s convoy. Levy is doing a reporting trip to the “killing fields” of Libya. Turkey’s pro-government Anadolu media appeared to highlight the “Jewish” aspect of the trip. He was called a “controversial French Jewish intellectual” in a headline on the pro-AK Party website. Turkish media slammed Bernard-Henri Levy for being Jewish. It noted that the interior minister of Tripoli had “denied reports of inviting [the] controversial French Jewish intellectual.” Read Here
PA SAYS JEWISH HISTORY IN JERUSALEM IS “FABRICATED,” “FORGED,” “DELUSIONAL MYTHS,” “LIES,” “LIBELS,” “LEGENDS,” AND “STOLEN HERITAGE”
By Itamar Marcus
Recently the PA produced a TV filler of Abbas again denying Israel’s history in Jerusalem saying Palestinans must “confront the [Israeli] plots that are being woven against it to forge its identity and to change its character.” While Abbas’ voice is heard, images of Jews visiting the Temple Mount are shown. The PA is constantly reinforcing the libel that Jews have no history in the Land of Israel in general, and in Jerusalem in particular. The PA claims that Israel is inventing this history, using various means, including the “fabricating and planting” of fake graves to claim a Jewish presence. Read Here
TOP TWITTER EXEC DECLINES TO TELL KNESSET WHY AYATOLLAH’S CALLS FOR GENOCIDE ARE NOT BANNED
By Benjamin Kerstein
A top Twitter executive who took part in a Knesset hearing declined to say why her company had not taken action against genocidal incitement by Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Appearing virtually at the hearing on social media anti-Semitism, the head of Twitter Policy for the Nordics and Israel, Ylwa Petterson, faced questions on the issue of anti-Semitism. Read Here
4. IN DEPTH: OTHER WORLD NEWS
BODIES OF 286 JEWS MURDERED IN HOLOCAUST FOUND IN UKRAINE BASEMENT
By TAMAR BEERI 
The bodies of 286 Jewish people, mostly women and children, were found in a basement below the town square’s marketplace in Sataniv, Ukraine. 286 were gassed in gas chambers in two separate basements. The basements were opened after the war, but they were left open without moving the bodies with a sign marking it as the place of a mass murder. Over the years, the entrance disappeared below the rubble of a ruined household standing above it. The remains of the Jewish people left in the basement were collected in sacks to be taken for burial in the city’s ancient Jewish cemetery. Read Here
AX-ATTACK THWARTED AT UKRAINIAN SYNAGOGUE
By CAM
An ax-wielding man stormed into a synagogue in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Thankfully, the attacker was disarmed and driven away by the synagogue’s security guard. The attempted attack took place during the synagogue’s morning prayer service and was recorded by the synagogue’s security cameras. The community’s rabbi along with several congregants, were inside the building while the attack took place. Read Here
OLYMPICS USES NAZI PROPAGANDA VIDEO IN PROMOTIONAL TWEET
By DANIEL NISINMAN
In a controversial move intended to promote the postponed Olympic Games, the athletic organization tweeted a promotional video that included footage from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Following internet outrage, the tweet was deleted. The Berlin footage, taken directly from Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazi propaganda movie, displays various scenes from the games. Read Here
NAZI SYMPATHIZER NETWORK BUYING UP CAPE BRETON PROPERTIES WITH ‘COLONY’ IN MIND: GERMAN REPORT
By National Post Staff
Der Spiegel, a leading German magazine, has caused a stir in Nova Scotia after reporting that prominent Nazi sympathizers and right-wing extremists are in the middle of setting up a new radical colony on Cape Breton Island. The magazine reported that hundreds of Germans have already signed up for the initiative. The report says far-right populist Germans Eva Herman and Andreas Popp, as well as Frank Eckhardt, a local real estate professional, are leading the charge. Read Here
‘HITLER SHOULD HAVE GASSED YOUR FAMILY’: AUSTRALIAN RABBI IS SENT A STRING OF VILE ANTI-SEMITIC MESSAGES
By AIDAN WONDRACZ 
A rabbi has been told Hitler should have gassed his family after he asked a buyer for $50 to ship a hand-carved snake head walking stick. The Jewish religious leader, who wishes to remain anonymous, had put the item on sale for $20 in a Facebook marketplace group. He then asked the buyer for an extra $30 to cover the postage costs of the walking stick before he was bombarded with anti-Semitic texts. Read Here
DOZENS OF HEADSTONES SMASHED AT JEWISH CEMETERY IN RUSSIA
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
Dozens of headstones at a Jewish cemetery in the Russian city of St. Petersburg were smashed. The perpetrators left no graffiti indicating that their actions were a hate crime. Police are investigating the incident at the Aleksandrovskaya Farm Avenue cemetery and indicated they have no suspects. Read Here
ON CAMPUS
(3 Articles)
1. ANTI-SEMITISM DATATHON AND HACKATHON EVENT CHALLENGES STUDENTS TO GROW SOCIALLY AND TECHNOLOGICALLY
By NIHA ALASAPURI
Thirty high school and college students from five countries took part in the Anti-Semitism Datathon and Hackathon, a virtual workshop and competition designed to teach students how to recognize anti-Semitism online and how to use programming to analyze large amounts of data. The workshop was created and organized by two Indiana University professors, Damir Cavar and Günther Jikeli, who conducted the workshop sessions online through video chat over three sessions. Read Here
2. ONTARIO PULLS VIDEO CALLED BIASED AGAINST ISRAEL FROM ONLINE HIGH SCHOOL COURSE
By MARCY OSTER
Ontario’s education minister ordered a video that a Jewish group said is biased against Israel be removed from an online course. Stephen Lecce tweeted that he is “very concerned that this offensive material was on a learning website” and that “I immediately ordered it to be taken down (it was that day) & investigated to ensure it never happens again. We will not tolerate anti-Semitism in any form.” The video was part of the curriculum of a Grade 10 online civics course. Read Here
3. STANFORD DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY INVESTIGATING SWASTIKAS DISCOVERED IN MEMORIAL CHURCH HALLWAY
By Stanford News
The Stanford Department of Public Safety is investigating the appearance of two swastikas drawn on a hallway wall. The swastikas, about six to nine inches in diameter and drawn in black marker, were discovered when an Office for Religious Life staff member entered the building to retrieve items from an office. One swastika had been covered by a Buddhist tapestry that had been stored in a box nearby during a renovation project. Read Here
ANALYSIS
(3 Pieces)
1. THE IHRA DEFINITION ISN’T SOLVING THE PROBLEM
By Gary Sinyor
Without Israel, Jews can be picked on, humiliated, ostracised and slaughtered. There is only one argument that really matters: Israel is a state of refuge. It was founded after many pogroms, exiles and massacres. Not just the Holocaust. The fact that the Jews won’t be slaughtered again is entirely because of Israel. When Jews stand up and say “Never again”, we can say it with confidence only because of that country. Without Israel, “Never Again” is a request, not a statement. without Israel, you send Jews back into the same old religious persecution – and that is indeed anti-Semitic. At a time when Christians and Muslims live in fear of the gun in Central Africa, in India, in Syria, it may be that there should be more States of Refuge for the persecuted. Could the World do with more States offering guaranteed sanctuary? More Israels, not less. Read Here
2. ISRAEL WAS GROUND ZERO FOR THE NEW WOKE RELIGION
By MATTI FRIEDMAN
Adherents of the thought system vaguely described as “woke” believe themselves to be fighting evil in the name of justice. They share a hierarchy of good, a lingo, purity tests, and a stark division of the world into friend and foe, all of which borrow heavily from religious modes of thought. But one of the most obvious signs that religion is in play, is the way this ideology has focused and amplified the condemnation of Jews. Today all of this seems almost wearily familiar from “cancel culture.” But it wasn’t widely familiar a decade ago, because in many ways Israel was patient zero. The successful creation and promotion of the Israel story transformed a real country into something so dangerous and disruptive to the desired order that it had to be canceled. Read Here
3. SPORTS, MORAL EDUCATION, AND THE NFL
By Dr. Asaf Romirowsky
Ancient Greece considered athletic ability both a measure of one’s value and a cure for social inequality. These are ideals after which Western Civilization still strives, but sports—along with all other cultural spheres—have become politicized. Sports are not immune to politics and radicalism. On the contrary: they have become vehicles with which to inject them directly into the American home and psyche. As an Eagle, Jackson should learn what the 1981 Super Bowl meant to the returning hostages and the kind of hope it gave them as Americans held against their will in Tehran. We are seeing a significant uptick in all forms of racism right now, but anti-Semitism is a form of racism as well, and it needs to be understood if we are to uproot it. The NFL can help by leading the way. Read Here
STUDIES AND STATISTICS
(2 Pieces)
1. ANTI-SEMITISM UP 24 PER CENT ACROSS AUSTRALIA
By EVAN ZLATKIS
[There were] some 451 instances of anti-Semitic behaviour in Australia reported to the Community Security Group (CSG) last year, revealed in a new report which saw a 24 percent increase in reported incidents from 2018. The report found the worst state for anti-Semitic abuse in the country was NSW, with a staggering 286 incidents (63 percent). This was followed by 127 incidents in Victoria, 18 in Queensland, 16 in Western Australia and four in the ACT. Read Here
2. 1ST HALF OF 2020 SEES NEAR-RECORD ANTI-SEMITISM IN UK DESPITE LOCKDOWN
By YAAKOV SCHWARTZ
Anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have dropped by 13 percent in 2020 compared to the year before, likely due to COVID-19 lockdown regulations, but the 789 events reported between January and June still represent the third-highest number on record for that period, according to the Community Security Trust (CST). Online anti-Semitism increased 4% from 332 incidents to 344 in the first half of 2020, as people spent more time at home, representing the highest-ever number recorded by the CST in the first half of a year. Read Here
FEATURED PARTNER
Combat Anti-Semitism is proud to be a partner of The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, the largest Sephardic benevolent organization of its kind in the United States. Learn more about The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America in the video below.
WHY ZOOM MEANS BOOM TIME FOR LADINO
By Aviya Kushner
A remarkable class in Ladino — held entirely online on Zoom — is attracting hundreds of people from around the world, all using the time locked down at home to take advantage of a rare and free course offered through the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America’s digital academy. Read Here
The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America is the largest Sephardic benevolent organization of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1916 by Jewish immigrants from Ottoman lands, the Brotherhood has worked to serve the most needy in our community and create a home for Sephardic Jews from around the world. The Brotherhood has expanded its programs to support the future generations of our community and reinvent what it means to be Sephardic in the 21st Century. New initiatives include a Sephardic Birthright Israel Trip, the annual Greek Jewish Festival in Lower Manhattan, and the Greek Jewish & Sephardic Young Professionals Network, which have all been created to ensure the needs of our young Jews are met.
PARTNER CONTENT
EUROPE’S NGO COLD WAR TO ‘MITIGATE PRO-ISRAEL VOICES’
By GERALD M. STEINBERG, NGO MONITOR
In Belgium, NGO Monitor exposed a project under the JSF strategic plan and funded by the government to target “pro-Israel voices”. This project is run by the Defense for Children International Palestine – a propaganda NGO linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization (the PFLP is on EU’s list of terrorist groups). As a result of the research, criticism in Europe has led to significant cuts, such as the closure of a Ramallah-based “human rights and international law” framework involving four countries. Read Here
JOIN #WERESOLVE MOVEMENT AND SIGN THE PETITION TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM
By Philos Project
This year, as the world is struggling with the COVID-19 Pandemic, the epidemic of anti-Semitism has been flourishing in new and creative ways. That’s why we are calling on you to sign the Philos Project’s petition and join their #WeResolve campaign. The best response to anti-Semitism isn’t anti-anti-Semitism. It is philosemitism or the love of the Jewish people. But a philosemitism of words will do nothing; it must be turned to action. Read Here
THE BLACK AND JEWISH COMMUNITIES MUST UNITE; BUT BLACK LEADERS MUST FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM
By Jeff Seidel
We’re partners in the same struggle for equality and against racism, and we share the same fate. That’s why it is so vitally important for the African-American community to continue to speak out against anti-Semitism within its ranks, as basketball greats Charles Barkley and Kareem Abdul Jabbar have so eloquently done, and as late Congressman John Lewis did throughout his life. Together, we can bend that arc towards progress. Read Here
SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP SHARES THE STORIES OF BEING A JEW ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS
By Zohar Levy
We are amidst a global awakening of reevaluating systemic racism and the ways in which minorities are persecuted and mistreated. During this wave of change, a group of Jewish college students from across the country, who have never met in person, has launched a platform to highlight the experience of Jewish students on campus. In the three weeks since @jewishoncampus first posted on Instagram, the account garnered over 11,000 followers, the team of students has since tripled in size from the original six co-founders, and the movement has received over 700 story submissions. Read Here
B’NAI BRITH TAKING ACTION AGAINST NAZI GLORIFICATION
By B’nai Brith Canada
B’nai Brith and the Canadian Polish Congress released a joint statement calling for the removal of a monument from a cemetery in Oakville, Ontario. The monument memorializes a World War II-era Ukrainian military unit that collaborated with the Nazis and murdered thousands of Jews, ethnic Poles and other minorities. The presence of monuments in Canada that whitewash the Holocaust and the evil ideology of Nazism are unacceptable. Read Here
Government & Policy Update
This section highlights the work of government officials around the world that are combating anti-Semitism in their official capacities.
(12 Pieces)
1. US STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT HIGHLIGHTS ‘URGENT’ NEED FOR HOLOCAUST RESTITUTION
By Algemeiner Staff
The US State Department published a report on steps being taken by countries to provide restitution or compensation for property taken during the Holocaust. The report was released in accordance with the Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2017. “As we mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust…the legacy of the Nazis’ mass looting…remains largely unaddressed in too many places,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated. The report “called out Bosnia, Belarus, Ukraine and particularly Poland for not having acted on restitution claims.” Croatia, Latvia and Russia were also taken to task in the report. Read Here
2. HOUSE APPROVES TO DOUBLE BUDGET OF SPECIAL ENVOY TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM
By OMRI NAHMIAS
A new amendment approved by the House of Representatives would double the budget for the office of the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Democratic Reps. Max Rose (NY) and Ted Deutch (FL) filed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2021 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill to increase the office’s budget by $500,000. Read Here
3. GOV. WOLF CALLS FOR PHILLY NAACP LEADER TO RESIGN OVER ANTI-SEMITIC POST
By David Chang
Governor Tom Wolf is calling for Philadelphia NAACP president Minister Rodney Muhammad to resign after he shared an anti-Semitic photo on his Facebook page. Gov. Wolf described the meme as “vile” and called for Muhammad’s resignation. “Sharing this type of racist content is unacceptable—especially from a civic leader. I’m joining the call for Minister Muhammad to resign. Hate has no place in Pennsylvania.” Read Here
4. CALIFORNIA DEM PARTY BOARD PASSES RESOLUTIONS CONDEMNING THOSE BLAMING ISRAEL FOR U.S. POLICE BRUTALITY
By Aaron Bandler
The California Democratic Party Executive Board passed a resolution during its board meeting condemning those blaming Israel for police brutality in the United States. The resolution, titled “Condemning Anti-Semitism and Deadly Exchange,” states that there are people who claim that Israel’s training with U.S. law enforcement has resulted in police brutality. Read Here
5. UK HOME SECRETARY DEMANDS SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS ACT FASTER OVER HATE SPEECH
By Tom Pilgrim
The Home Secretary called on social media companies to act faster in removing “appalling hatred” from their platforms following outrage over anti-Semitic posts made by grime artist Wiley. Priti Patel said: “The anti-Semitic posts from Wiley are abhorrent. They should not have been able to remain on Twitter and Instagram for so long, and I have asked them for a full explanation. Social media companies must act much faster to remove such appalling hatred from their platforms.” Read Here
6. UK LORDS URGE PRESSURE ON POLAND OVER HOLOCAUST RESTITUTION
By Algemeiner Staff
Prominent members of Britain’s upper legislative chamber expressed concern at the Polish government’s continued opposition to the restitution of properties seized during the Holocaust. Debating the matter in the House of Lords, several speakers pointed out in frustration that no progress had been made with Poland after many years of effort. Lord Eric Pickles noted that the Polish government at the last moment withdrew a bill that “would have been a major obstacle to restitution,” praising the British ambassador in Warsaw for meeting with the speaker of Poland’s parliament to express his concerns about the legislation. Read Here
7. AUSTRIA DRAWING UP LEGISLATION TO BAN ANTI-SEMITISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDS
Austria’s government is drawing up legislation to require social media platforms to remove anti-Semitic material. Karoline Edtstadler, Austria’s minister for the EU and the constitution said “We support initiatives such as the Digital Services Act at European level, but we will go ahead in Austria and enforce clear rules.” Read Here
8. GERMAN ANTI-SEMITISM TSAR URGES INVESTIGATION INTO CELEBRITY CHEF TURNED CONSPIRACY THEORIST
By Algemeiner Staff
The German government’s top anti-Semitism official called for federal prosecutors to launch an investigation into a celebrity chef who has reinvented himself as a Jew-hating conspiracy theorist. In a radio interview, Felix Klein — the federal commissioner appointed to tackle rising anti-Semitism — denounced the behavior of chef Attila Hildmann as “scandalous.” Read Here
9. ONTARIO, CANADA INVESTS $1.7 MILLION IN ITS WAR AGAINST HATE CRIMES
By TOBIAS SIEGAL
The Canadian province of Ontario will be investing $1.7 million over the next two years in community-based programs that aim to combat hate-motivated crimes. The grant will be available to non-profit organizations. Canada’s Jewish population took notice of the announcement. While forming only 1% of Canada’s population, the Jewish community is the target of nearly 20% of all hate crimes. Read Here
10. ISRAEL’S STRATEGIC AFFAIRS MINISTRY PIVOTS TO TARGET DELEGITIMIZATION
By LAHAV HARKOV
The Strategic Affairs Ministry is shifting its focus from the BDS movement to delegitimization of Israel more broadly, its director-general Ronen Manelis told the Knesset State Control Committee. “Whoever doesn’t recognize Israel, in any boundaries, as a Jewish state, is delegitimizing the State of Israel,” Manelis said, giving the Strategic Affairs Ministry’s definition of the term. Read Here
11. BULGARIA COURT TO CONSIDER APPLICATION TO DE-REGISTER POLITICAL PARTY BEHIND ‘LUKOV MARCH’
By The Sofia Globe staff
The Sofia City Court said that it has agreed to hear an application by the Prosecutor’s Office to cancel the registration of the Bulgarian National Union – Edelweiss, organiser of the annual Lukov March held in the streets of Bulgaria’s capital city in tribute to a pro-Nazi general. The Lukov March, drawing neo-Nazis from other parts of Europe, was first held in 2003, though in February 2020 was prevented, after a court upheld a ban by the mayor of Sofia. Read Here
12. BULGARIA: SPECIAL PROSECUTORS ORDER PROBE INTO ANTI-SEMITIC CALLS BY CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE
By The Sofia Globe staff
Bulgaria’s Special Prosecutor’s Office has assigned to the State Agency for National Security an investigation into anti-Semitic appeals, including calls for violent and other illegal actions against people of different ethnicities and religions, the Prosecutor’s Office said. The subject of the investigation is understood to be Ventsislav “Ventsi Chicago”, who has a criminal record of drug convictions, and who has been appearing in central Sofia amid protests against Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s government and Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev. Read Here
HUMANITY
(8 Pieces)
1. NEW TWITTER ACCOUNT DEDICATES SPACE TO TELL PERSONAL STORIES OF ANTI-SEMITISM
By Lindsay Soberano-Wilson
Canada has been facing its own increasingly toxicity of anti-Semitism. Max Lightstone recently created a platform for Jews to document, and share, their personal stories of anti-Semitism, on the Twitter page “My Anti-Semitism Story” @myASstory. Lightstone says he made the Twitter page so people don’t feel like they’re alone, and for others to know that these are real people who experience these real examples of anti-Semitism all the time. Read Here
2. SURVIVORS APPEAL TO FACEBOOK TO REMOVE HOLOCAUST DENIAL POSTS
By GIL HOFFMAN
Well-known survivors of the Holocaust from around the world began a new online campaign to urge Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to remove Holocaust denial posts from the social media platform. The campaign was organized by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. In the first-ever digital campaign driven by Holocaust survivors, the message to Zuckerberg will be “Holocaust denial posts on Facebook are hate speech and must be removed!” Read Here
3. TWITTER ‘WALKOUT’ PLANNED AFTER BRITISH RAPPER WILEY’S ANTI-SEMITIC TWEETS
By Isobel van Hagen
Celebrities, politicians and other high-profile Brits pledged to join a 48-hour “walkout” from Twitter to protest what they say is an inadequate response to anti-Semitic tweets from a rapper. As a result, singer Jessie Ware, the actress Tracy-Ann Oberman and a host of other soap stars, actors, academics and politicians all pledged to boycott Twitter for 48 hours. Read Here
4. COMMUNITY MEMBERS GATHER FOR PEACE MARCH IN SOUTH BEND
By Allison Zeithammer
The newly found multicultural organization, Mitzvah Mavens, stands with all people, no matter their color, gender or religion. The organization planned Unity in the Community peace march in South Bend to show their solidarity towards the African American community, and to confront issues of anti-Semitism and discrimination nationwide. Read Here
5. ABU DHABI PRESSES ALLIES TO NORMALISE WITH ISRAEL
By Middle East Monitor
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is gradually obtaining support in its endeavours to normalise relations with Israel, with economic and security interests alleged to be behind the rapprochement. The UAE has been in the process of normalising its relations with Israel for several years, and Abu Dhabi’s allies are now following their sponsor. Read Here
6. SLOVAK JOURNALIST DEDICATES LIFE TO MEMORIALIZING RIGHTEOUS
By GIL HOFFMAN
The stories of the righteous people who hid Jews during the Holocaust must be told as soon as possible, according to Dagmar Mozolová, a journalist at the largest Slovak radio station, Radio Slovensko. She was interviewed by Jonny Daniels of the organization From the Depths, which is dedicated to helping the last remaining righteous gentiles in Eastern Europe. Over the past seven years, Mozolová has documented the stories of 138 Slovaks who helped save Jews during the Holocaust. She went from having a small organization to working on 26 documentaries. Read Here
7. ZACH BANNER: WHY I SPOKE OUT ABOUT DESEAN JACKSON’S ANTI-SEMITIC TWEETS
By ZACH BANNER
I believe the best way to fight hate is through building empathy. And as my mom and my fraternity brothers showed me, the key to empathy is education. If we all took the time to hear the stories of those who are different than us, we’d go a long way toward fostering the empathy that is so desperately needed. It’s wrong that more of my NFL colleagues did not speak out against hate. And it’s right that the Jewish and Black communities — like all communities — commit to educating ourselves, opening our hearts and lifting ourselves up together. Read Here
8. GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF ANTI-NAZI RESISTANCE FIGHTER CONFRONTED A COUPLE WEARING SWASTIKA MASKS IN A US WALMART
By CNN Staff
When Raphaela Mueller saw a couple wearing swastika masks in a Minnesota Walmart, she knew she had to say something. “I never knew that I’d see this with my own eyes,” Mueller said. “But we have to be aware and be prepared to step in.” Mueller was born in Germany, and her great grandmother fought in the resistance against Nazis during the 1930s and 40s. Her personal history compelled her to speak out against the use of the hate symbol. “I thought to myself that if I don’t say something, what did my great grandmother risk her life for all those years fighting against the first wave of Nazis?” Read Here
OVER 280,000 INDIVIDUALS AND 260 ORGANIZATIONS HAVE SIGNED OUR PLEDGE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
“Combat anti-Semitism (CAM) is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of interfaith individuals and organizations united to combat anti-Semitism. CAM exposes anti-Semitic activity from across the ideological spectrum and highlights those working to fight against its resurgence. One of the most pernicious forms of modern anti-Semitism is the effort to deny and delegitimize the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and their profound historic, religious and cultural connection to their ancestral homeland, Israel. Humanity flourishes when religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity is respected, and we hope to encourage understanding and set an example through our work. Anti-Semitism is the oldest form of bigotry and by working to eliminate it, we hope tragedies like the holocaust or any incidents of hate inspired speech or violence perpetrated against the Jewish people, Israel, or any discriminated group are reduced significantly.”
