THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTISEMITISM REPORT
The Canadian government is set to outlaw Holocaust denial in a measure with backing from the both the governing coalition and the opposition Conservative Party. Legislators in the State House of the U.S. State of Tennessee passed a measure to combat antisemitism in schools on the basis of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. The legislation now moves to the State Senate.
Amid a 92% increase in antisemitic hate crimes in New York City, an orthodox Jewish man in New Jersey was stabbed by a car-jacker shouting antisemitic invective. Two other Jewish men were hit by the attacker’s stolen vehicle. Hate crimes charges were filed against a Chicago woman, claiming Palestinian ancestry, who accosted a bartender for wearing a Star of David necklace, telling him she hates Jews.
The Guardian news outlet corrected a headline about last week’s terror attack in Israel that read “Israeli forces kill Palestinian after Tel Aviv Shooting Attack Leaves Two Dead,” implying Israel was at fault.
In Germany, a Neo-Nazi was charged with plotting to start a violent race war, and a Belgian car shop owner announced publicly that he will no longer serve local Jews because of alleged policies of the State of Israel on Ukraine.
The Prime Minister of Peru drew rebuke for praising the economic policies of Adolf Hitler, and Joseph’s Tomb – a Jewish holy site – was vandalized and set ablaze by rioters.
On campus, CAM is calling on the New York University School of Law to take disciplinary measures against a group of students who signed a statement justifying terrorism and legitimizing the murder of Israelis while employing antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish-controlled media and politicians.
During a university funded-program at Arizona State, Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd threatened to shoot hecklers who disagreed with him, before claiming that Jews control the media. Meanwhile, a BDS referendum failed at Princeton University.
This week’s global antisemitism report highlights 37 new media reports of antisemitic incidents. The total includes 11 (29.7%) from the far-right, 7 (18.9%) from the far-left, 8 (21.6%) with Islamist motivations, and 11 (29.7%) unidentifiable in nature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNITED STATES
JEWISH MAN STABBED IN ANTISEMITIC ATTACK IN LAKEWOOD, NJ
By TZVI JOFFRE
A Jewish man was stabbed in an antisemitic attack by a man who stole a car and rammed into two other victims in Lakewood and Jackson Township in New Jersey. After an investigation, detectives arrested the suspect, Dion Marsh, at his residence in Manchester Township. All of the victims in the incident were Orthodox Jews. The victim who was stabbed was transferred to the hospital in serious condition. The suspect first assaulted a driver and stole his car before hitting a pedestrian with it. He then stabbed a male Jewish victim in the chest and about two hours later, hit another pedestrian with the same vehicle. Marsh was charged with three counts of bias intimidation, three counts of attempted murder, carjacking, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
HATE CRIME CHARGE FILED AGAINST CHICAGO WOMAN ACCUSED OF THROWING DRINK AT NEAR NORTH SIDE BARTENDER
By NBC Chicago
An Orland Park woman is charged with a hate crime after throwing a drink at a bartender who was wearing a Star of David necklace. The bartender, 28, was working at The Underground Chicago, when 30-year-old Sara Abdulrasoul called the bartender a “ho,” according to a Chicago police report. Abdulrasoul saw the bartender was wearing a necklace with the Star of David — and allegedly told the bartender to “take the necklace off.” Abdulrasoul then made several antisemitic statements and commented that the bartender’s “people” were killing her “people,” according to the police report. Abdulrasoul said that she “hates Jews” and again told the bartender to remove the necklace before throwing “her entire drink cup, which was full,” at the bartender.
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
THE GUARDIAN CORRECTS TEL AVIV TERROR ATTACK HEADLINE THAT ‘IMPLIED ISRAEL WAS AT FAULT’
By SABRINA MILLER
The Guardian has corrected the headline on its report of the Tel Aviv terror attack from “Israeli forces kill Palestinian after Tel Aviv shooting leaves two dead” to “Israel: two dead after gunman opens fire in Tel Aviv bar”, after complaints that the newspaper was implying “Israel is at fault”. The Board of Deputies announced it would be submitting a formal complaint against The Guardian’s original headline and blasted the publication for its “disgraceful” coverage. It said: “A Palestinian terrorist murdered two people and injured many others. How can any self-respecting publication invert the story to imply that Israel is at fault here? Disgraceful from The Guardian”.
TWO CONSERVATIVE BURY CANDIDATES ACCUSED OF POSTING ANTISEMITIC COMMENTS
GERMANY
SUSPECTED NEO-NAZI CHARGED WITH PLOTTING GERMAN ‘RACE WAR’
By AFP
German federal prosecutors say they have charged a suspected neo-Nazi with attempting to set off a “race war” in Germany with planned attacks using explosives and guns. A week after authorities swooped on alleged far-right militant cells in raids across Germany, the federal prosecutor’s office names the suspect only as Marvin E. and says he has been in detention since September 2021. Marvin E., whose age is not provided but who was a minor at the time, now faces charges of attempting to form a terrorist organization, as well as preparation of a grievous seditious attack and various weapons law violations. Prosecutors say that he “shares the ideology” of Atomwaffen Division, an international neo-Nazi terrorist network.
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR CHARGES GERMAN-ISRAELI SINGER WITH LYING ABOUT ALLEGED ANTISEMITIC INCIDENT AT HOTEL
By TOBY AXELROD
A public prosecutor’s office has charged the German-Israeli singer who said he was denied service at a hotel in Leipzig for wearing a Star of David pendant with false accusation and slander. Gil Ofarim, 39, was indicted on March 31 by the Leipzig public prosecutor’s office. It is now up to the Leipzig Regional Court to decide whether to proceed with a trial. At issue are Ofarim’s claims that an employee of Leipzig’s Westin Hotel insulted him on Oct. 4, 2021, refusing to give him a room because he was wearing a visibly Jewish symbol. Ofarim posted his own video to social media purporting to show the incident. The accusation went viral, and Jews and others protested outside the hotel on his behalf. The employee was temporarily suspended.
“JUDAS FIRE” (“JUDASFEUER”) WILL BE IGNITED IN PARTS OF BAVARIA
CANADA
GREATER TORONTO HOCKEY LEAGUE INVESTIGATING ALLEGATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM DURING GAMES
By Rick Westhead
The Greater Toronto Hockey League has hired a private investigator to scrutinize allegations that Jewish players with the U-13 Avenue Road Ducks and their family members were targeted with antisemitic slurs during games this season. GTHL was first contacted after antisemitic slurs were allegedly made before a game between the Ducks and Don Mills Mustangs. The slur was allegedly made by a Don Mills parent in an arena hallway, but no investigation took place at the time because the person who reported the slur to Avenue Road coaches did not agree to be interviewed.
“KILL ALL JEWS” GRAFFITI IN QUEBEC
FRANCE
FRENCH JEWISH LEADERSHIP URGES ‘MASSIVE’ VOTER TURNOUT FOR MACRON TO KEEP FAR RIGHT OUT OF POWER
By Algemeiner Staff
The umbrella organization representing the Jewish community in France has called for a “massive” turnout in favor of incumbent Emmanuel Macron for the second round of the presidential election on Apr. 24. Macron will face off against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen of the National Rally (RN)), which became the most influential neo-fascist party in postwar Europe. In Sunday’s first round involving 12 candidates, Macron won 27.8 percent of the vote against 23.2 percent for Le Pen. Pollsters believe Le Pen can expect a much stronger showing, as she is likely to win support from voters for parties on the extremes of right and left, which performed well in Sunday’s first round. The organization called for a “republican union to prevent the far right from coming to power.” It underlined that Crif had always been opposed to Le Pen’s party, “whose history and positions are contrary to the republican values carried by the Jews of France.”
OTHER WORLD NEWS
BELGIAN CAR SHOP OWNER SAYS HE WON’T SERVE JEWS DUE TO ISRAEL’S STANCE ON UKRAINE
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
The owner of a car repair shop in Belgium said he will not serve Jewish clients to protest Israel’s position over Russia’s war on Ukraine. The Forum of Jewish Organizations, a group representing Flemish-speaking Belgian Jews, said it will take legal action against Ludo Eyckmans, the owner of the shop in Stabroek near Antwerp. Denying service to individuals based on their faith, race or sexual orientation is illegal in Belgium. “As of today, our Jewish clients are no longer welcome for maintenance of their cars or solving electronic problems,” Eyckmans wrote in an email that he sent to Belgian media last week. He cited Israel’s “failure to recognize war crimes” by Russia’s army in Ukraine.
WAVES OF PROTEST AFTER PRIME MINISTER OF PERU PRAISES HITLER
By Campaign Against Antisemitism
The Prime Minister of Peru has claimed that remarks appearing to praise Hitler were misunderstood. Anibal Torres praised the Nazi leader for turning Germany into the “first economic power in the world”, a comment met with protest by both the Israeli and German embassies. The Prime Minister made the remark in an Andean town at the centre of ongoing protests over the economic situation. Mr. Torres praised Hitler’s and Mussolini’s infrastructure policies, saying: “On one occasion Hitler visited the north of Italy, and Mussolini shows him a highway built from Milan to Brescia, Hitler saw this and went to his country and filled it with highways, airports and turned Germany into the first economic power in the world. We have to make an effort, make sacrifices to improve our roads.”
SOUTH AFRICA: VILE “JEW-BAITING” MEME DISGUSTS ANTISEMITISM EXPERTS
ITALY: CARTOON OF ZELENSKY WITH A HOOKED NOSE
MIDDLE EAST
ISRAEL CONDEMNS ‘SHOCKING’ VANDALISM OF JOSEPH’S TOMB AS PALESTINIAN RIOTERS TORCH HOLY SITE
By Sharon Wrobel
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the vandalism of the religious holy site of Joseph’s Tomb near the West Bank city of Nablus by Palestinian extremists, vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice. “Dozens of Palestinian rioters in a frenzy of destruction simply vandalized a holy place for us, the Jews. They shattered the headstone over the tomb and set fire to rooms in the complex; I have seen the shocking pictures,” Bennett said. “We will not tolerate such an attack on a place that is holy for us, on the eve of Passover, and will reach the rioters,” he warned.
2 JEWS SHOT AND WOUNDED WHILE TRYING TO VISIT JOSEPH’S TOMB IN THE WEST BANK CITY OF NABLUS
By SHIRA HANAU
Two Hasidic Jews were shot and wounded while trying to visit Joseph’s Tomb, a shrine in the West Bank city of Nablus believed by some to be the burial site of Joseph, the son of the biblical patriarch Jacob. The shooting came one day after the shrine became the site of a riot when a group of about 100 Palestinians vandalized the site and set parts of the shrine on fire. The shrine, which is also considered to be holy by Muslim and Christian worshippers, has been the site of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians several times in recent years.
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: “OUR WAR IS WITH THE JEWS,” SAYS FATAH OFFICIAL
ON CAMPUS
UNDER FEDERAL SCRUTINY, NYU LAW SCHOOL FACES UPROAR OVER ANTISEMITISM
By Aaron Sibarium
New York University School of Law may be legally obligated to punish some of its star students after nearly a dozen student groups signed a statement that defended terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and bemoaned the “Zionist grip on the media.” The statement, drafted by NYU Law School’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, has elicited harassment complaints from Jewish students who say that the letter—and some of the responses it sparked from students—constituted vicious antisemitic attacks. “The Zionist grip on the media is omnipresent,” the statement read. “Palestinians are not obligated to engage in racialized ‘nonviolence’ theory and wait around for a United Nations action that will never come as their homes are taken from them.”
NEARLY 40 UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS GATHER TO DISCUSS COMBATING CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM
By Ben Sales
Nearly 40 college presidents — including some from campuses that have seen high-profile anti-Israel or antisemitic activity — gathered at the Center for Jewish History in New York City to share best practices and discuss how best to create a safe environment for Jewish students. The conference was organized by Hillel International and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) along with the American Council on Education. Some of the universities that were represented have been the subject of federal complaints alleging that their campuses were hostile to Jewish students.
EX-PRESIDENTS OF UK NATIONAL UNION STUDENTS WARN STUDENT BODY IT MUST ADDRESS ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS
By Jessica Elgot
More than 20 former presidents of the National Union of Students, including three former cabinet ministers, have sent an unprecedented private warning to the organization’s trustees, urging them to address concerns from Jewish students. The letter, which has been leaked to the Guardian, was sent to the union’s trustees by 21 former presidents dating back to the 1960s, including the former cabinet ministers Jack Straw, Charles Clarke and Jim Murphy, the shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, and Maeve Sherlock. “This is not just a matter of protecting NUS’s reputation, but honouring NUS’s proud anti-racist principles,” the letter said. Others include the Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips, the Times columnist David Aaronovitch and former Labour MPs Lorna Fitzsimons, Stephen Twigg and Phil Woolas, as well as Shakira Martin, the first black woman to lead the NUS.
FUNDING FOR ‘BLATANTLY ANTISEMITIC’ SPEAKER DRAWS CONCERN FROM JEWISH STUDENTS AT ASU, DUKE
By Dion J. Pierre
High-dollar honorariums that several university student governments paid to bring a controversial Palestinian activist to campus are being denounced by Jewish student groups, pointing to his record of unrepentant antisemitism. An American college campus tour by 23-year-old Mohammed El-Kurd, in support of his new book, “Rifqa,” has included stops at Arizona State University (ASU), Duke University and American University. Currently a columnist for the left-wing magazine The Nation, El-Kurd has trafficked in antisemitic tropes, demonized Zionism, and falsely accused Israelis of eating the organs of Palestinians. In an apparent audio clip of Sunday’s talk, published Wednesday on Instagram by the StopAntisemitism group, El-Kurd is heard quipping, “I suspect some apartheid lovers are here too,” drawing snickers from the crowd. “I was going to read a couple of poems. If you heckle me, you will get shot.”
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
STUDIES & STATISTICS
ANTISEMITIC HATE CRIMES IN NEW YORK UP 92% IN MARCH – NYPD
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Antisemitic hate crimes in New York City were up a startling 92% in March 2022 compared to the same month in 2021, according to new data released by the New York City Police Department. A total of 23 hate crimes against Jews were reported in the city during the month, 11 more than were reported in March 2021. This follows an increasing trend in antisemitic incidents in New York in previous months. Taking in the aggregate total of reported incidents, however, there were more antisemitic incidents than any other type of hate crime during March, with only anti-Asian hate crimes coming close: 17 compared to 23.
GERMANY: INCREASE IN ANTISEMITIC CRIMES IN SAXONY-ANHALT
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
CANADA SET TO OUTLAW HOLOCAUST DENIAL
By RON KAMPEAS
Canada is set to outlaw Holocaust denial, a move that has the backing of the governing Liberal Party government coalition and the opposition Conservative Party. Language adding Holocaust denial to the criminal code is in the must-pass government budget. Coalition officials cast the change as consistent with existing Canadian laws criminalizing incitement to hatred and promotion of genocide. Irwin Cotler, Canada’s special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, said: “Holocaust denial and distortion constitute a cruel assault on memory, truth, and justice — an antisemitic libel to cover up the worst crime in history — and thereby a cruel and mocking rebuke to Holocaust survivors and their legacy.”
TWO TENNESSEE MEASURES TARGET ISRAEL BOYCOTTS, ANTISEMITISM IN CLASSROOM
By Dion J. Pierre
The Tennessee General Assembly passed a measure that prohibits companies participating in BDS-style boycotts of Israel from receiving state contracts, while separate legislation combatting antisemitism in the classroom advanced in the state House. Signed into law by Governor Governor Bill Lee, SB 1993 decreed that state contracts must include “a written certification that the company is not currently engaged in, and will not for the duration of the contract engage in a boycott of Israel.” The second bill, a measure applying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to K-12 disciplinary proceedings, was passed by the House, and will be voted on by the Senate on Friday.
COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS BOARD UNANIMOUSLY PASSES RESOLUTION AGAINST ANTISEMITISM
HUMANITY
GEICO CANCELS EVENT WITH LINDA SARSOUR, ISSUES APOLOGY
By Aaron Bandler
GEICO canceled their event with former Women’s March leader Linda Sarsour and issued an apology following backlash to the scheduled event. Stop Antisemitism tweeted out an email sent to GEICO employees touting the company’s Diversity and Inclusion event titled “GEICO’s Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month Celebration Featuring Linda Sarsour.” GEICO proceeded to share a statement to Twitter announcing they had canceled the Sarsour event. “We apologize to our employees, customers, and others for our initial plan to invite Linda Sarsour to speak at our internal event celebrating MENA Heritage Month. We quickly canceled the event. “GEICO does not condone hatred of any kind, and we do not stand for or with anyone who does. We are not aligned with any form of exclusion,” they added. “We will continue to celebrate MENA Heritage Month in a way that aligns our values.”
NEW MUSLIM-JEWISH INITIATIVE HIGHLIGHTS POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SHARED HISTORY
By David Isaac
One new project, the Mukhayriq Initiative, is named after a Jewish rabbi who gave his life fighting to defend the Prophet Muhammad at the legendary Battle of Uhud in 625 C.E. The story of the rabbi’s sacrifice—and his close friendship with Muhammed—is known mainly to Islamic scholars, but the founders of the initiative say it reflects a positive, if suppressed, aspect of Muslim-Jewish history. “The main goal is to celebrate a shared history of Jews and Muslims living together, in certain countries for millennia, as neighbors, as business associates and as friends. Secondly, we want to build unity between Muslims and Jews around the world,” Ellie Cohanim, former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, as well as one of the Mukhayriq Initiative co-founders, told JNS.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement is a global coalition engaging more than 360,000 people and 450 organizations from a diverse array of religious, political, and cultural backgrounds in the common mission of fighting the world’s oldest hatred. We act collaboratively to build a better future, free of bigotry, for Jews and all humanity.
