The synagogue where I grew up in Harrisburg PA was vandalized with swastikas. I learned this from a synagogue newsletter. I opened it, thought, hmm, that’s upsetting. Oh, look, my dad is in the picture. Hi dad! How insane is it that I was pretty much unfazed by what amounts to threatening vandalism on our place of worship?! THAT realization was more upsetting to me than the graffiti. Read Here
Watch this Week's Summary of Anti-Semitic Incidents Around the World.
This past week again witnessed multiple incidents that remind us anti-Semitism manifests itself in multiple ways and from all across the ideological spectrum. All forms of anti-Semitism must be called out whenever and wherever they occur.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
THE SYNAGOGUE WHERE I GREW UP IN HARRISBURG, PA WAS VANDALIZED WITH SWASTIKAS
By Arielle Salkin
SUSAN LIBBY’S COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM STORY DURING THE AIDS EPIDEMIC
By CAM
Susan Libby, a Jewish health worker in Chicago in the midst of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, found herself facing conspiracy theories about Jews intentionally spreading the virus to African-Americans. Susan’s story took place in 1989, but unfortunately, this kind of anti-Semitism still happens today in the era of COVID-19. Read Here
UK’S LORD JOHN MANN JOINS COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM MOVEMENT’S ADVISORY BOARD
By CAM
The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) announced that advisor to the UK government on anti-Semitism and House of Lords member, Lord John Mann, has joined its Advisory Board. Lord Mann joins an impressive list of advisors helping the organization spearhead the fight against anti-Semitism across the world. Read Here
FARRAKHAN AND THE PROMOTION OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN POPULAR CULTURE
By ISGAP
In recent years, Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have regularly promoted overt and dangerous anti-Semitic narratives. In this important video, ISGAP discusses how Farrakhan and his supporters have routinely used popular culture to spread anti-Semitism widely and accuse Jews of controlling the levers of world power. Read Here
UNITED STATES
ANTI-SEMITIC VANDALISM AT HISTORIC CONGREGATION MIKVEH ISRAEL IN PHILADELPHIA
By CAM
Anti-Semitic scribbles were found on a sign posted outside Philadelphia’s historic Congregation Mikveh Israel. “Jews are Scum,” “Long Live Hitler” and a swastika were drawn on the sign which asks people to abstain from feeding animals in the congregation’s grove of trees. Read Here
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NYC COUNCIL CANDIDATES CALLS FOR ISRAEL BOYCOTT
By CAM
The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), in its survey of 2021 candidates, called for a pledge to refrain from travel to Israel. In a section entitled, Foreign Policy, the questionnaire asked candidates “Do you pledge not to travel to Israel if elected to City Council in solidarity with Palestinians living under occupation?” Read Here
LONG ISLAND MAN THREATENED TO OPEN FIRE AT JEWISH SUMMER CAMP
By CAM
Police on Long Island said that a man in Inwood has been arrested and accused of making a terroristic threat toward a Jewish summer camp. 58-year-old Nicola Pelle was in possession of several guns including two assault rifles. Read Here
NAZI SYMPATHIZER IN OKLAHOMA WHO SHOT WOMAN FOR PULLING DOWN SWASTIKA FLAG RELEASED ON BAIL
By Algemeiner Staff
Alexander Feaster, a Nazi sympathizer who opened fire on a woman attempting to remove a swastika flag from his property in Oklahoma has been released on bail after claiming self-defense. Read Here
BRADDOCK, PA RESTAURANT OWNER APOLOGIZES FOR COMPARING GOV. WOLF, LEVINE TO NAZIS
By TEGHAN SIMONTON 
A Braddock business owner made a Facebook post comparing Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine to Nazis. Robert Portogallo, owner of Portogallo Peppers N’AT, posted the photo of Nazis on Facebook, with Levine and Wolf’s faces superimposed. Read Here
MORE US HEADLINES
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
UK ARCHITECT BANNED FOR CALLING JUDAISM A ‘CULT,’ URGING DISCRIMINATION
By TOI STAFF
A British architect has been banned from practicing over a Facebook post in which he called for discrimination against Jews and called Judaism a “cult” that “creates resentment and suspicion.” Britain’s Architects Board removed Peter Kellow’s name from the list of practicing architects after 47 years. Among several offense things, Kellow stated, “…Judaists were the inventers of European racism…..” Read Here
POLICE CONDUCT LAWYER QUITS LABOUR BLAMING ‘INCREASED ANTI-INDIAN, ANTI-SEMITIC SENTIMENT’
By Lee Harpin
A lawyer and ex-Labour councillor resigned from the party blaming “increased anti-Indian, anti-Semitic, and anti-worker sentiment of recent years.” Read Here
ANTI-FASCISTS WARN OF NEW ANTI-SEMITIC GROUP WITH NEO-NAZI ADHERENTS
By Jewish News Reporter
Anti-fascist campaigners in the UK have warned of a virulent new far-right group that spreads Holocaust denial in its efforts to push a white nationalist agenda. Researchers at Hope Not Hate (HNH) reported on the threat from Patriotic Alternative (PA), an anti-Semitic group attracting neo-Nazi adherents. Read Here
‘DISGUSTING AND DOWNRIGHT ANTI-SEMITIC’: COUNCILLOR’S FURY OVER REMARKS ATTACKING PLANS FOR JEWISH ENCLOSURE
By Nick Statham
A furious councillor has hit out at ‘disgusting and downright anti-semitic’ comments made about plans to create a Jewish enclosure known as an ‘eruv’. Cllr. David Meller told of his anger over remarks which said proposals to create a ‘symbolic boundary’ in Stockport would ‘ghettoise’ Gatley and were tantamount to the Jewish community ‘marking their territory.’ Read Here
GERMANY
SUSPECTED FAR-RIGHT ARSON AT JEWISH-OWNED BAR INVESTIGATED BY BERLIN POLICE
By CAM
Berlin police are investigating an arson attack at an Israeli-owned bar that has been targeted with anti-Semitic harassment several times. Neighbors called the fire department and after they smelled smoke at the “Morgen Wird Besser” (“Tomorrow will be better”) bar. Read Here
THE MIDDLE EAST
TURKEY GRANTS CITIZENSHIP TO HAMAS OPERATIVES PLOTTING TERROR ATTACKS FROM ISTANBUL
By James Rothwell
Turkey is granting citizenship to senior operatives of a Hamas terrorist cell, raising fears that the Palestinian group will have greater freedom to plot attacks on Israeli citizens around the world. Turkish identity papers show that at least one of 12 senior Hamas members, who are using the country as a base of operations, has received Turkish citizenship. Read Here
OTHER WORLD NEWS
AUSTRIAN AIRLINES FIRES FLIGHT ATTENDANT CAUGHT ON VIDEO CHANTING ANTI-SEMITIC SLOGANS
By Algemeiner Staff 
Austrian Airlines fired one of its flight attendants after video emerged of her chanting anti-Semitic slogans at a far-right demonstration in Vienna. The national carrier confirmed that Christina Kohl was no longer its employee. Read Here
OUTRAGE OVER ‘HEIL HITLER’ SLOGAN SPRAYED ON HOUSE IN HISTORIC CENTER OF FRENCH CITY OF LYON
By Algemeiner Staff
French politicians warned against a resurgence of the far right after a house in the historic center of the city of Lyon was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed in a lurid orange color. One message read “Heil Hitler,” while the other read “Juden” — the German word for Jews. Read Here
NEIGHBOR OF PARIS SYNAGOGUE SMASHES ITS MEZUZAH TO ‘RESTORE RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY’
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ 
A mezuzah was torn off the doorframe of a Paris synagogue in a suspected anti-Semitic incident. Marc Dayan, the president of the Yismah Moché Synagogue, discovered the vandalism after returning from a vacation. Dayan asked a neighbor if he had seen anything. The neighbor said he had done it to “restore religious neutrality” to the building. Read Here
NEWSPAPER IN BELGIUM PUBLISHES CARTOON CALLING JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD ‘CORONAVIRUS VILLAGE’
By CAM
A newspaper in Belgium is facing scrutiny for publishing a cartoon that labels Antwerp’s Orthodox Jewish neighborhood as “coronavirus village.” The cartoon was published in Le Soir by artist Pierre Kroll, who has been accused of fomenting anti-Semitism in several of previous cartoons. The drawing depicts a tour bus under the banner “Go Visit Antwerp.” Read Here
ONTARIO ARABIC NEWSPAPER BLAMES ISRAEL FOR BEIRUT BLAST
By CAM
B’nai Brith Canada has filed a complaint with the City of Toronto after an Arabic-language newspaper distributed suggested Israel was responsible for the recent deadly blast in Beirut. Read Here
SHULE TARGETED IN BRISBANE
By AJN STAFF
Police have been alerted after a neo-Nazi group targeted Brisbane Synagogue, with a sticker proclaiming “Australian Fascist Action. National Socialist Network” stuck on a pole outside the shule. Read Here
ON CAMPUS
GOV. NEWSOM SIGNS CALIFORNIA ETHNIC-STUDIES BILL INTO LAW
By Jackson Richman / JNS.org 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law to require an ethnic-studies course requirement for matriculation from California State University. Spearheaded by the AMCHA Initiative, 90 education, civil-rights and religious groups had called on Newsom to veto the bill, AB-1460. The groups noted that vetoing AB-1460 was necessary because anti-Zionist advocacy and the promotion of BDS are an intrinsic part of critical ethnic studies. Read Here
THESE COLLEGES CLAIMED ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS WEREN’T HATE CRIMES
By Aiden Pink
As part of its investigation into universities’ compliance with the Clery Act, the Forward created a list of anti-Semitic incidents between 2016-2018 that conceivably fit the criteria for inclusion in a school’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report as a hate crime motivated by religious bias, but were not listed there. Read Here
AFTER TURMOIL, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT SAYS ANTI-SEMITISM HAS ‘NO HOME’ ON CAMPUS
By MARCY OSTER
Six weeks after thousands of Florida State University students petitioned for their student body president to be removed over social media posts they described as anti-Semitic, the school’s president announced several changes aimed at making FSU more hospitable for Jewish students. Read Here
CONGRESSMAN TAKES UP STUDENTS’ CLAIMS OF ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS AT UC BERKELEY
By GABE STUTMAN
Pro-Israel students at UC Berkeley have a powerful new ally in the form of a Colorado member of Congress. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs, co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, sent a letter pressing the U.S. Department of Education to investigate whether federal funds earmarked for international and foreign language study are being misused in the service of overly ideological, biased instruction on the Middle East and Israel. Read Here
ANALYSIS
JEWS WITHOUT ISRAEL
By EINAT WILF AND OREN GROSS
Unfortunately, many Jews have discovered in recent years that under the mantle of “intersectionality,” groups have coalesced around a vision of America that is identitarian and resolutely anti-Zionist. Whether you believe that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism, or whether you believe it has become the new shiny and respectable veneer behind which anti-Semitism hides, there is no question that professed and vocal anti-Zionism has become the price of entry of Jews into progressive spaces. Read Here
‘A WARM PEACE’: JEWS IN THE UAE THRILLED ABOUT NORMALIZATION
By Israel Hayom / JNS.org
Following Israel’s signing of peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, the Arab side remained obstinate about not building bridges between their people and the Israelis. With the normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, things are already different. For example, an online poll conducted by Israel’s Foreign Ministry among Gulf state residents found that 44 percent of Emiratis would like to visit Israel to see the country’s Islamic holy sites. Read Here
USC FALLS SHORT AFTER JEWISH STUDENT’S RESIGNATION
By CAM 
Dr. Naya Lekht argues that Jewish student Rose Ritch’s resignation from her position as vice president of the student government at the University of Southern California (USC) highlights both the growing level of campus anti-Semitism and the inadequate responses by campus leadership to appropriately address it. Read Here
SARASOTA RABBI CALLS FOR VIGILANCE AGAINST RISING ANTI-SEMITISM
By Rabbi Samantha O. Kahn, Temple Sinai
While the Jewish community has become scapegoats for outlandish things throughout history, I truly believed it was limited in modern America. I was wrong. We need to realize we’re not living in a place where anti-Semitism has stopped, but rather where it has been slowed and temporarily hidden. Read Here
STUDIES AND STATISTICS
WATCHDOG GROUP DISCOVERS FACEBOOK ALGORITHMS DIRECTING USERS TO HOLOCAUST DENIAL CONTENT
By Benjamin Kerstein
Facebook’s search algorithms routinely send people to content denying the Holocaust, a new investigation by a UK-based watchdog organization has found. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which monitors extremism, searched for the word “Holocaust” and discovered that they were immediately directed to Holocaust denial pages, which included links to literature by deniers such as the fascist pseudo-historian David Irving. Read Here
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The MirYam Institute was established as a forum for leading Israeli experts of diverse and varied perspectives. At the MirYam Institute these experts come together to share their expertise and to exchange their opinions about the state of Israel. They do so for the consideration of our readership, listeners and viewers overseas, by way of online content and in-person presentations, lectures, debates and events. The MirYam institute champions rigorous debate about Israel, led first and foremost by Israelis who hold diverse opinions; but who are all unified by their dedication to the continued flourishing of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
YOU WON’T GET PEACE BY WEAPONIZING FALSEHOODS
By CADE SPIVEY
In this MirYam Institute Commentary Piece, Cade Spivey discusses how using the word “apartheid” to describe Israel is irresponsible, inappropriate, and unwarranted. The arguments made to establish Israel as an “apartheid state” have promoted key assertions which have become commonplace in the misinformed effort to establish Israel as an apartheid state. Read Here
CAM PARTNERS CONTENT
RI COALITION FOR ISRAEL CHARGES ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BANNER DREW ANTI-JEWISH COMMENTS ON FACEBOOK
By GoLocalProv News Team 
The Rhode Island Coalition for Israel said their recent public education campaign to combat anti-semitism drew numerous anti-Jewish and anti-Isreal comments on Facebook. “For three weeks this summer, the iconic Blue Bug ‘Nibbles Woodaway’ on Rt. 95 in Providence hosted a banner reading ‘STOP ANTI-SEMITISM,’” said the Coalition in a press statement. Read Here
90 GROUPS CALL ON CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR TO VETO ‘ANTI-ZIONIST’ ETHNIC STUDIES COURSES
By CAM
Over 90 civil rights, religious and educational groups including the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement have called on California Governor Gavin Newsom to use his executive powers to veto a bill that would require an anti-Zionist ethnic studies course as a requirement for graduation in the California State University (CSU) system. Read Here
THE LAWFARE PROJECT AIDS JEWISH SURGEON WHO FACED PUBLIC THREATS
By CAM 
The Lawfare Project came to the aid of a Jewish trauma surgeon subjected to harassment as a result of complaints about emails that were sent to employees during Easter this past April. The emails contained bible verses that reference deicide, which have been used repeatedly to promulgate hatred against Jews, and were sent hospital-wide. Read Here
OFF-CAMPUS, BUT IN TOUCH: STUDENTS LEARN TOOLS FROM CAMERA CONFERENCE TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM
By ELIANA RUDEE 
This year’s CAMERA student conference was held via Zoom, teaching students how to effectively combat anti-Israel and biased propaganda on college campuses and online. Unable to attend the typical five-day, in-person training session, more than 100 students from 66 universities in North America, the UK and Israel joined virtually. Read Here
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
HOW TEAM TRUMP IS COMBATTING IRAN’S MILITANT ANTI-SEMITISM
By Brian H. Hook, Former US Special Representative for Iran; Elan S. Carr, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
Even as the pandemic has taken a major toll on Iran, Tehran refuses to let up on its virulent hatred of Jews and targeting of Israel. Which is why the Trump administration’s pushback remains as vital as ever. President Trump has vowed never to allow the world’s chief state sponsor of terrorism and anti-Semitism to possess nuclear weapons. Rest assured: The United States will continue to employ every appropriate tool of national power against the Iranian regime and its anti-Semitism. Read Here
US SPECIAL ENVOY TO MONITOR AND COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM IMPLORES HOUTHIS TO FREE YEMENITE JEW
By CAM
US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr has urged the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to release an imprisoned member of Yemen’s small Jewish community. “The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have a record of persecuting religious minorities. Levi Salem Musa Marhabi, a member of Yemen’s small Jewish community, has endured 4 years in prison despite a legal order for his release. We join in calling for his immediate release,” Carr said in a statement released on Twitter. Read Here
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have a record of persecuting religious minorities. Levi Salem Musa Marhabi, a member of Yemen’s small Jewish community, has endured 4 years in prison despite a legal order for his release. We join in calling for his immediate release.
— U.S. Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism (@USEAntiSemitism) August 17, 2020
DOZENS OF STATE LEGISLATORS SLAM DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA FOR ‘BLATANTLY ANTI-SEMITIC LITMUS TEST’ OF NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES
By Benjamin Kerstein
Dozens of members of the New York State Assembly condemned the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) for issuing a “blatantly anti-Semitic litmus test” to City Council candidates. The assembly members said, “This blatantly anti-Semitic litmus test is abhorrent. Singling out the only Jewish state — a strong democracy in the region, where women’s rights, freedom of speech, and religious freedom are protected — is detestable.” Read Here
LITHUANIA BANS HEZBOLLAH-AFFILIATED PERSONS FROM ENTERING ITS TERRITORY
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
Lithuania has banned affiliates of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah from entering its territory. “Hezbollah-affiliated persons were banned from entering Lithuania,” the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ban will remain in force for 10 years. Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius thanked Lithuanian and Israeli national security agencies for information that led to the decision. Read Here
ORIT FARKASH-COHEN BRINGS NEW ENERGY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST BDS
By LAHAV HARKOV 
Farkash-Hacohen, now strategic affairs minister, admits that as someone born and raised in Israel, she was “tone deaf” about what life was like for a Jewish person in the Diaspora. As strategic affairs minister, Farkash-Hacohen is now prioritizing calling out social media companies for providing “a haven for misinformation and classic anti-Semitic tropes.” Read Here
GERMAN FEDERAL COMMISSIONER WANTS TO REPORT ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS IN SCHOOLS
By Tagesspiegel
The federal government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, has called for Germany-wide reporting of anti-Semitic incidents in schools. “In some federal states, anti-Semitic incidents in schools have to be reported. That should be nationwide ” said Klein to the Tagesspiegel. “Then such incidents can no longer be swept under the carpet.” He also spoke out in favor of further developing the culture of remembrance. Read Here
EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND UNESCO BATTLE AGAINST ANTI-SEMITIC THEORIES ONLINE
By DANIEL NISINMAN
Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have seemingly spread faster than the disease itself. The European Commission and UNESCO have taken measures to counter this phenomenon, albeit ignoring its anti-Zionsint or anti-Israeli aspects, focusing only on anti-Semitism. Read Here
HUMANITY
ISRAELI HOSPITAL REPORTS SUCCESSFUL TRIALS FOR SALIVA-BASED CORONAVIRUS TEST
By JNS
An Israeli hospital’s innovation center announced a 95 percent success rate in clinical trials for a new saliva-based coronavirus test that provides nearly instant results. Read Here
GROUP SET UP BY GERMAN SOCCER STARS DONATES $80,000 TO AUSCHWITZ MUSEUM
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
A German organization that two professional soccer players established to fight the coronavirus has donated $80,000 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland. Read Here
RABBI IN KENTUCKY RESPONDS TO ANTI-SEMITISM WITH EDUCATION
By CAM 
Rabbi Shlomo Litvin of Lexington, Kentucky wants to educate people about Judaism and anti-Semitism in response to recent anti-Semitic incidents in his community. After being threatened by a Neo-Nazi for denouncing anti-Semitic leaflets scattered around his community, Rabbi Litvin and his wife are gearing up to offer two classes to counter hate. Read Here
AFTER PEACE DEAL, UAE GIRL PLAYS ISRAEL’S NATIONAL ANTHEM, ‘HATIKVAH’
By Algemeiner Staff
In the wake of the normalization deal reached by Israel and the United Arab Emirates, a video of a young Emirati girl playing the Jewish state’s national anthem, “Hatikvah,” has appeared on Twitter. Read Here
An Emirati girl from Dubai playing Israel’s national anthem ‘Ha’Tikva’ – ‘The hope’.
‘The hope’, written in the 19th century, reflects the Jewish People’s 2,000-year-old hope of returning to the Land of #Israel.
Now that we’ve returned, our hope is for peace with our neighbors. https://t.co/dDUpFcpeHP— Dan Poraz (@PorazDan) August 19, 2020
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, 265 organizations and 280,000 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.
