THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTISEMITISM REPORT
Municipal leaders from more than 50 cities around the world convened in Athens, Greece, last week for the 2022 Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, where they signed a joint declaration underscoring their commitment to combating Jew-hatred in their communities and safeguarding an inclusive democratic future globally.
The summit was hosted by Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis and co-organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and Center for Jewish Impact (CJI), in partnership with the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and Jewish Community of Athens.
Meanwhile, U.S. rapper Kanye “Ye” West was suspended from Twitter for “incitement to violence” after publishing a picture showing a Nazi swastika interlaced with a Star of David. The post came shortly after West declared his “love” for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in an interview with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
The Washington Post reported on a rise in plots by the Iranian regime to kill its perceived enemies abroad, including Jewish figures, such as the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was also reportedly responsible for a string of recent attacks on synagogues in Germany, as well as the targeting of German Jewish leader Josef Schuster.
In Germany, the Cabinet adopted a “National Strategy Against Antisemitism and for Jewish Life,” with the federal government’s antisemitism commissioner, Dr. Felix Klein, calling it a “milestone” moment.
In the United States, a state commission appointed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin published an official report outlining a proposed set of actions to combat rising antisemitism. And in Washington, D.C., Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff hosted a roundtable discussion with Jewish leaders the “epidemic of hate” sweeping across the country, while a bipartisan group of Congress members issued a call for a “whole-of-government approach” to tackling the issue.
In New York, a man was charged with a hate crime for firing a BB gun at a Jewish man and his son outside a kosher grocery store on Staten Island, and Michigan man was indicted for “ethnic intimidation” after shouting antisemitic and racist threats at Jewish worshipers outside at a synagogue in Bloomfield Hills.
In Nice, France, Nazi symbols and antisemitic messages were scrawled along Maccarini Street in the heart of the city, and in Budapest, Hungary, an elderly Israeli father and his middle-aged daughter were kicked out of a Bolt taxi after the driver heard them speaking Hebrew.
This week’s global antisemitism report highlights 32 new media reports of antisemitic incidents. The total includes 14 (43.8%) from the far-right, 2 (6.3%) from the far-left, 6 (18.8%) with Islamist motivations, and 10 (31.3%) unidentifiable in nature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNITED STATES
NEW YORK MAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME AFTER ALLEGEDLY TARGETING JEWISH FATHER AND SON IN BB GUN ATTACK, POLICE SAY
By CHANTAL DA SILVA
A New York man was arrested and charged Tuesday with firing a BB gun at a Jewish man and his son who were out grocery shopping over the weekend, police said. Jason Kish, 25, of Staten Island, was charged with assault as a hate crime, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment and assault in connection with the incident Sunday afternoon, New York City police said. The victims, a 32-year-old man and his 7-year-old son, had been standing in front of a kosher grocery store on Staten Island and were wearing yarmulkes when they were hit with BB gun pellets Sunday afternoon, police said.
MICHIGAN MAN INDICTED AFTER ACCOSTING SYNAGOGUE-GOERS WHILE CURSING ISRAEL
By PHILISSA CRAMER
A man who was waved away by local police after hassling people arriving at one of the Detroit area’s largest synagogues on Friday was arrested Sunday on charges of “ethnic intimidation.” Hassan Chokr was arrested two days after video emerged showing local police questioning and releasing him, even after he said he intended to head to another synagogue. Chokr had allegedly shouted antisemitic and racist threats outside at Temple Beth El, a Reform synagogue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, as families were dropping children at the early childhood center on Friday morning.“He was hostile and verbally abusive, shouting profanity about ‘F Israel’ and ‘F the Jews’ — and threatening people, yelling at them that if they support Israel, they will pay or he will get them,” Rabbi Mark Miller, Temple Beth El’s senior rabbi, told the Detroit Free Press.
YE SAYS ‘I SEE GOOD THINGS ABOUT HITLER’ ON CONSPIRACY THEORIST ALEX JONES’ SHOW
By ANDREW LIMBONG
In an appearance on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show, Ye – the rapper formerly known as Kanye West – doubled down on a series of antisemitic comments he’s made in recent months. On Jones’ show Thursday, Ye’s statements were among his most brazen. “I see good things about Hitler,” Ye said during the nearly 3-hour interview. Later, he veered into Holocaust denialism.
WORLD NEWS
UNITED KINGDOM
UK – “YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF, BOY”: JEWISH MAN THREATENED OUTSIDE JW3
By CAA
A Jewish man was threatened outside JW3 (Jewish Community Center London), a Jewish cultural center in London. The incident occurred at around 22:00 on 27th November when the man, who was wearing a kippah (skullcap) at the time, was approached by a group of three, all wearing hoods. The man was talking to his friends when the group walked past and one member yelled “Free Palestine” at him. A verbal exchange took place between the two groups, culminating in one of the aggressors telling the man: “You better watch yourself, boy.”
UK – ANTISEMITIC GRAFFITI DISCOVERED AT TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM DURING BOXING EVENT
By CAA
Antisemitic graffiti was discovered last night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during a boxing event. The graffiti that was discovered during the event, which saw Derek Chisora take on Tyson Fury, read “Yid c****” accompanied by a swastika. The graffiti is understood to have been scrawled in one of the cubicles of the male toilets near block 118.
NOTORIOUS VICAR ‘ENGAGED IN ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITY’, CHURCH HEARING CONCLUDES
GERMANY
GERMANY – STUMBLING BLOCKS SPRAYED IN GEILENKIRCHEN
By PRESSEPORTAL
An unknown persons repeatedly sprayed white and silver paint on stumbling blocks to commemorate the victims of National Socialism on Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse in Geilenkirchen.
CANADA
ATTENDANCE OF MAN ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITISM AT HILL EVENT SPARKS OUTCRY FROM MPS, JEWISH GROUPS
By DARREN MAJOR
An all–party event on Parliament Hill this week has been hit by controversy after a number of MPs condemned one of the event’s attendees, who has been accused of anti-Jewish sentiments. On Tuesday, the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group hosted a reception to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The event was attended by Nazih Khatatba, editor of a Toronto-based Arabic newspaper. A number of Jewish groups called out MPs for allowing Khatatba to attend, saying he has a history of promoting antisemitism — a claim he denies.
FRANCE
FRANCE – ANTISEMITIC GRAFFITI FOUND ON SIGNS AND SHOPS IN NICE
By BFMTV
Antisemitic tags were discovered this Saturday on signs and shops rue Maccarini in Old Nice, said Christian Estrosi on Twitter. Swastikas and Nazi symbols were also found. Around 3:00 p.m., Pierre-Paul Léonelli, deputy mayor of Nice, assured that the tags had been erased by the City teams. “We do not tolerate any tags, especially offensive ones, and any wild postings,” he said. The police have also been seized to find the author or authors of the inscriptions and drawings.
OTHER WORLD NEWS
HUNGARY – A BOLT-TAXI IN BUDAPEST ORDERED HIS ELDERLY ISRAELI PASSENGERS OUT OF THE CAR
By 24.HU
A man was waiting for the ordered Bolt taxi with his Israeli friends at the VII. district Madách Imre út 2-6 before on October 2 at around 2 p.m. The driver arrived on time, and the three passengers got into the car. Instead of leaving, the taxi driver said to the passengers, who were speaking in Hebrew: Get out!. The two Israelis looked at each other confused, and the Hungarian member of the group thought at first that he was hearing badly. Then when he came to, he asked the driver what he meant. “I’m not taking you anywhere,” snapped the Bolt driver, saying he didn’t owe an explanation. Later he added that “because I don’t feel like it”. He rolled the car a few meters, then pulled over to the curb and again ordered the passengers to get out. They had no choice, so they did.
THE NETHERLANDS – ANTISEMITIC SLOGAN CARVED BY NEW JEWISH MEMORIAL STONES IN LOCHEM
By NL TIMES
The word “Jew” and the Star of David were carved near recently placed Jewish memorial stones, Stolpersteine, in Lochem. According to the Stolpersteine Lochem foundation, this was an act of antisemitism. The incident happened during the early hours of Saturday morning. The resident filed a police report. The foundation assumes the perpetrator carved the slogan in the hall of the home on Walderstraat 12 because of the memorial stones. They were placed on September 28 to commemorate the residents of the house who lived there in 1942 until they fell victim to the Nazis.
DENMARK – PUBLISHER WITHDRAWS ADVENTURE BOOK AFTER REACTIONS TO PORTRAYAL OF JEWS
MIDDLE EAST
BAHRAIN KING, ISRAELI PRESIDENT DISCUSS BILATERAL RELATIONS, ECONOMIC COOPERATION
By BNA
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received Israeli President Isaac Herzog, in the presence of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, at the Gudaibiya Palace in Manama and discussed bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of common concern. The Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said that the King of Bahrain welcomed the Israeli President, hoping the visit would enhance relations between Manama and Tel Aviv. Addressing the Israeli President, King Hamad said: “We are confident that this visit has an important role in consolidating relations between our two countries and supporting our common aspirations in terms of consolidating peace and sustainable development in the region and the world.”
IRAN – IRANIAN REGIME HAS PLOTTED TO KILL JEWS OVERSEAS, INCLUDING PHILOSOPHER BERNARD-HENRI LÉVY
By JTA
The Iranian regime has launched dozens of plots to kill its perceived enemies abroad, including Jews, among them the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, according to a report in The Washington Post. The Iranian regime dramatically intensified its targeting of overseas figures after the United States assassinated a top general, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020, the report posted Thursday said, citing 15 unnamed officials in the United States, Europe and the Middle East as well as documents its reporters have seen. According to the report, the regime has since 2020 shifted from identifying and tracking targets for possible attack should there be an intensification in tensions between the West and Iran, to launching plots, which one expert said so far number 36.
ON CAMPUS
NEVADA’S HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM BECOMES THE FIRST TO VOTE TO ADOPT IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM
By JNS
With antisemitism spiking across the United States, the Nevada Board of Regents voted on Friday to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism for anti-bias and anti-discrimination education and training in the state’s higher education system. The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) thus become the first U.S. state higher education system to adopt the IHRA definition on its own rather than having it mandated through legislation or executive order. About 105,000 students attend the system’s degree-granting campuses.
USA – JEWISH SYMBOL ON MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT’S DOOR VANDALIZED
By CLAUDIA SELLA
The Jewish community at Michigan State University raised concerns after a Jewish symbol hanging on a student’s door was vandalized. The incident comes at a time when antisemitic hate crimes are on the rise across the country. In the first week of December, the headlines have been full of high-profile celebrities and athletes spewing antisemitic thoughts. A student at Michigan State University is speaking out after her own property was vandalized. When freshman Adina Peysakhov returns home from class, she’s welcomed by a scribe on her doorpost. It’s called a mezuzah and it’s a form of protection.
WITH ANTISEMITISM ON THE RISE, ONE CT SCHOOL DISTRICT VOTED TO ‘DELETE’ JEWISH HOLIDAYS
By RACHEL PAULA ABRAHAMSON
A school board in Farmington, Connecticut is reversing its controversial decision to “delete” Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish faith’s holiest holidays, as days off on the schools’ academic calendar. The move comes after protest from the community and weeks of criticism that drew a spotlight to the district.
USA – ANTISEMITIC JOKES AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
STUDIES & STATISTICS
POLICE: ANTISEMITIC CRIMES UP 125% IN NEW YORK CITY
By JNS
The New York Police Department on Monday reported 45 antisemitic crimes in the city in November, compared to 20 over the same period in 2021, according to police data. In the most high-profile incident, two men were arrested for plotting to attack Jewish targets in the city. One was in possession of a hunting knife and a swastika arm band at the time of his arrest, with authorities later seizing a handgun and 30-round magazine from a bag one of the men had been filmed carrying earlier.
NUMBER OF ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS ON THE RISE IN GERMANY
By CNE.NEWS
Last year, more than 3000 incidents with an antisemitic connotation were reported in Germany. That is an increase of 700 cases compared to a year earlier. Also, hate and hate speech are increasing on the internet, the German anti-Semitism coordinator Felix Klein announced during the presentation of the National Strategy Against Anti-Semitism and for Jewish Life. That is reported by the German press agency Idea reports. The German government approved the strategy on November 30.
ANTISEMITISM RAMPANT IN UK PUBLIC DISCOURSE, NEW STUDY SAYS
By DION J. PIERRE
Antisemitism was a major theme in the United Kingdom’s “national discourse” in 2021, according to a new report by Community Security Trust (CST), an English nonprofit that provides counsel and security services to British Jews. Released on Monday, the report, titled “Antisemitic Discourse in Britain 2021,” examined dozens of events in British society to demonstrate how discussions of antisemitism in media, politics, and campus activism intentionally and unintentionally affected the Jewish community, from students to political leaders.
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
AT WHITE HOUSE ANTISEMITISM ROUNDTABLE, DOUG EMHOFF LAMENTS ‘EPIDEMIC OF HATE’
By JACOB MAGID
US Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff on Wednesday lamented what he called an “epidemic of hate” facing the country, in remarks at a White House roundtable discussion with Jewish leaders on the recent rise of antisemitism. The gathering was held amid a surge in anti-Jewish vitriol spread by public figures, including famous rapper Kanye West. “Let me be clear — words matter. People are no longer saying the quiet parts out loud, they are screaming them,” Emhoff said. “We cannot normalize this. We all have an obligation to condemn these vile acts. We must not stay silent. There is no either or. There are no two sides. Everyone must be against this.”
BIPARTISAN COALITION PUSHES FOR NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ANTISEMITISM
By CAM
A bipartisan group of 125 U.S. Congress members sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday urging interagency coordination to monitor and combat the growing threat of antisemitism in the United States. The initiative was led by Representatives Kathy Manning (NC-06) and Chris Smith (NJ-04), and Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), Co-Chairs of the House and Senate Bipartisan Task Forces for Combating Antisemitism. “With Jewish communities worldwide facing increasing discrimination, as well as threats and acts violence, we believe a whole-of-government approach is needed to effectively address the scourge of antisemitism,” the letter — which can be read in full here — said.
GERMANY PRESENTS NEW STRATEGY TO COMBAT ANTISEMITISM
By CHRISTOPH STRACK
On November 30, the German Cabinet adopted its National Strategy against Antisemitism and for Jewish Life to take more decisive action against the hatred of Jews, the first report of its kind. “We have reached a milestone today,” Felix Klein, the government’s antisemitism commissioner, told the press.The 48-page action plan is also the German government’s attempt to implement a European Commission directive, which requires EU member states to present national strategies by the end of 2022. Katharina von Schnurbein, the EU representative against antisemitism and for the promotion of Jewish life, said at the presentation that Germany was now the seventh EU country to submit such a concept. Twelve others planned to adopt it by the end of the year or in the first half of 2023.
DIPLOMATIC SALON ON EU’S STRATEGY ON COMBATING ANTISEMITISM TAKES PLACE
HUMANITY
REDDIT USERS TURN KANYE WEST’S PAGE INTO A HOLOCAUST-AWARENESS FORUM
By JUSTINE MCDANIEL
Fans on Reddit have turned against Kanye West, transforming a subreddit dedicated to him into a page promoting Holocaust education within hours of Ye’s most recent antisemitic comments. r/Kanye, a 700,000-member space on Reddit where fans once discussed Ye’s music, fashion and other endeavors, has been flooded with posts providing information about the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust and denouncing antisemitism. The page offered a spontaneous show of support for Jewish Americans and a visual representation of pushback against West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, after weeks of his antisemitic remarks. It came after Ye on Thursday said he liked Adolf Hitler and later tweeted an image of a swastika.
NATALIE PORTMAN DECRIES “RE-EMERGENCE OF ANTISEMITISM” AND HATE SPEECH
By GREG EVANS
In an emotional Instagram post, actor Natalie Portman is condemning the rise of antisemitic hate speech and expressing gratitude to all who speak out against “all forms of racism.” “Seeing the re-emergence of antisemitism makes my heart drop,” Portman writes. “This hatred must be combatted with boundless love for each other. Today, I send extra love to all my fellow Jews. And I send love to all those standing with us against these violent words and actions. It’s been painful and frightening to listen to, and I’m extremely grateful to those who continue to speak up against antisemitism with us, and against all forms of racism.”
NEW COLLEGE COURSE AIMS TO COMBAT RISE IN ANTISEMITISM
OVER 375,000 INDIVIDUALS AND 550 ORGANIZATIONS HAVE JOINED OUR MOVEMENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The Combat Antisemitism Movement is a global coalition engaging more than 375,000 people and 550 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.
