Mark S. Young is director of JResponse®, a signature program of JCC Association of North America that trains and deploys professionals to respond to natural and person-made crises. Originally developed in 2018 to deploy JCC professionals following natural disasters only, JResponse has expanded its scope during the last three years, in part, as anti-Semitic incidents in North America have increased. Read Here
THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT
In the past week, CAM documented 30 new anti-Semitic incidents (53% far-right, 20% far-left, 7% Islamist, and 20% unidentifiable) around the world.
A Holocaust survivor in London was punched in the head by an assailant shouting “I hate Jews.” A Dutch Jewish student’s home was defaced with a swastika and his mezuzah was smashed. Hundreds of Neo-Nazis marched through Spain’s capital city shouting anti-Semitic invectives. A shocking new report suggests the late Iranian leader Qasem Soleimani set up secret centers to spy on Persian Jews.
Meanwhile, Romania’s Prime Minister appointed the country’s first-ever Special Envoy to Combat Anti-Semitism. In the world of sport, Pittsburgh Steeler Offensive Tackle Zach Banner urged the National Football League in the United States to adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. CAM recorded 3 new IHRA definition adoptions this week, including the German Football League.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SPECIAL FEATURE
INTERVIEW WITH MARK S. YOUNG, DIRECTOR OF JRESPONSE
By CAM
FIRST-EVER GLOBAL MAYORS SUMMIT AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM TO TAKE PLACE ON 16 MARCH
By CAM
The City of Frankfurt am Main will host the first-ever Mayors Summit Against Anti-Semitism alongside the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) on March 16th. The digital summit will bring together municipal and local leaders from across the world, empowering them to eradicate anti-Semitism, prejudice and hatred from their cities. Read Here
MAYORS ACROSS THE WORLD JOIN FORCES TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM, HATE
By Jerusalem Post
Mayors across the world are set to come together next month for the first global mayors summit against anti-Semitism. The digital summit will be hosted by Frankfurt and the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement, and will include key speakers such as Frankfurt Mayor Uwe Becker, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, Brussels Mayor Philippe Close, Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj and others. Read Here
UNITED STATES
FREMONT, CA SYNAGOGUE DEFACED WITH SWASTIKA
By Gabe Stutman
A maintenance worker at Temple Beth Torah, a Reform synagogue in Fremont, discovered a swastika etched on the outside of the building. The swastika appeared to have been drawn in black marker or thick pen onto a stucco wall. It measured about 5 square inches. Read Here
GREAT NECK, NY: TEMPLE BETH-EL TORAH STUDY ZOOM EVENT HIJACKED WITH HATE SPEECH
By Robert Pelaez
A Temple Beth-El virtual Torah study event was interrupted by anti-Semitic intruders. Several unknown people logged onto the Shabbat Torah study Zoom event and proceeded to “post offensive material and speak words of hate.” Read Here
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
UK LABOUR FACING 25 NEW LEGAL CLAIMS OVER INQUIRY INTO REPORT DEFENDING CORBYN OVER ANTI-SEMITISM
By Lee Harpin
Labour faces being plunged into further financial peril after 25 individuals – including Jewish members and party staffers – were set to begin legal action after their private messages were passed to the inquiry looking into the leaking of a controversial report into anti-Semitism. Read Here
HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR AND SON REPORTEDLY PUNCHED IN HEAD BY PERSON SCREAMING “I HATE JEWS”
By Rachel Steinberg
A Shoah survivor and her rabbi son were punched in the head and subjected to horrific verbal and physical abuse on a London bus. Neighbourhood watch group Shomrim reported that a female had punched the 80-year-old and her son in the head whilst screaming: “I hate you Jews, it’s not your place, you took our money.” Read Here
OTHER WORLD NEWS
NETHERLANDS: MEZUZAH SMASHED, SWASTIKA CARVED INTO DOORFRAME OF JEWISH STUDENT’S HOME IN THE NETHERLANDS
By JTA
A swastika was carved into the doorframe of a Jewish student’s house in the Dutch city of Maastricht and the mezuzah was torn off. The Maastricht University student discovered the damage to his mezuzah and made a police complaint. Read Here
SPAIN: ‘THE JEW IS GUILTY,’ 300 NEO-NAZIS HEAR AT RARE FAR-RIGHT GATHERING IN SPAIN
By JTA
Jewish leaders in Spain are calling for an investigation after a far-right event in Madrid featured anti-Semitic speeches and a Nazi salute. About 300 people attended the event held near a cemetery in the Spanish capital where veterans who fought alongside Hitler’s troops are buried. In one speech, a young woman said: “Our duty is to fight for Spain and Europe now weakened by the enemy, which remains the same but wears many masks: the Jew.” Read Here
THE MIDDLE EAST
IRAN’S SOLEIMANI SET UP CENTERS TO MONITOR JEWS FOR ZIONISM: REPORT
By Benjamin Weinthal
The Iranian regime Islamic scholar Ahmed Abedi declared in a bombshell report that the late IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani created centers to spy on Jews in the Islamic Republic. “Regarding the Jews in this country who spy for Israel, [Soleimani] established centers for monitoring the Zionist spies. He established many such centers,” said Abedi, according to MEMRI. Read Here
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY MINISTER OF JUSTICE COMPARES ICC RULING ON ISRAEL TO NUREMBERG TRIALS
By Algemeiner
The Palestinian Authority’s minister of justice went on an anti-Semitic rant comparing the International Criminal Court’s recent ruling confirming its jurisdiction to investigate Israel for possible war crimes to the Nuremburg trials of Nazi officials. Read Here
ON CAMPUS
UCL ACADEMIC BOARD REJECTS IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTI-SEMITISM
By Rachel Hall
University College London’s governing body will reconsider its definition of anti-Semitism after an internal academic board rejected the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition, which the university had adopted. The revolt by senior academics at the London university is the latest incident in an emerging tussle with the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, who threatened sanctions against universities that failed to adopt the IHRA definition. Read Here
BRISTOL UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR CALLS FOR END OF ZIONISM AS FUNCTIONING IDEOLOGY OF THE WORLD
By Lee Harpin
Bristol University’s Professor David Miller has called for the “end” of Zionism as a “functioning ideology of the world” after launching an astonishing attack on the Jewish student groups who have lodged formal complaints about his conduct. Speaking at an online campaign event, Professor Miller said: “It’s a question of how we defeat the ideology of Zionism in practice. How do we make sure Zionism is ended essentially. There’s no other way of saying that.” Read Here
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
WANTED: CHRISTIANS TO DECLARE TO THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES ‘NOT IN OUR NAME’!
By Rabbis Abraham Cooper and Yitzchok Adlerstein
STUDIES & STATISTICS
POLICE STATS SHOW RECORD-HIGH NUMBER OF ANTI-SEMITIC HATE CRIMES IN GERMANY IN 2020
By CAM
A record-high number of anti-Semitic hate crimes were documented in Germany in 2020, according to new German government statistics. The data showed there were 2,275 crimes with an anti-Semitic motive last year, including 55 of a violent nature — up from 2,032 in 2019 and 1,799 in 2018. This marked the largest total of anti-Semitic hate crimes since police in Germany began keeping track of “politically-motivated criminality” in 2001. Read Here
NEW GAZA EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS CONTINUE TO PROMOTE VIOLENCE
By Melissa Weiss
One month after the head of UNRWA acknowledged that anti-Israel content had been printed in workbooks distributed throughout Gaza, the organization is again under scrutiny for materials distributed in December and January that glorify violence. A report released by IMPACT-se, highlighted learning materials that it claims glorify violence. Read Here
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
ROMANIA’S PM APPOINTS COUNTRY’S FIRST-EVER SPECIAL ENVOY TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM
By CAM
Romania’s Prime Minister Florin Citu announced the appointment of the country’s first-ever special envoy to combat anti-Semitism and preserve the memory of the Holocaust and communism. Liberal MP Alexandru Muraru — a 38-year-old historian — was picked for the role, and he will advise the prime minister on policies to quell Jew-hatred, among other tasks. One of Muraru’s assignments will be overseeing the opening of Romania’s National Museum of Jewish History and Holocaust. Read Here
U.S. COURT REVIVES CHALLENGE TO ARKANSAS LAW THAT RESTRICTS STATE BUSINESS WITH ISRAEL BOYCOTTERS
By RON KAMPEAS
A federal appeals court struck a blow to the legality of an Arkansas law that aims to penalize the boycott Israel movement. In 2017, the state passed the law, which financially penalizes companies that do not renounce the boycott Israel movement. A federal Arkansas judge dismissed a challenge to it in 2019. But a federal appeals court revived the challenge and ordered the district court in Little Rock to reconsider the case. Read Here
HUMANITY
PITTSBURGH STEELERS’ ZACH BANNER URGES NFL TO ADOPT IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTI-SEMITISM, SPEAKS OUT ON LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
By Shiryn Ghermezian
Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Zach Banner is encouraging the National Football League and its teams to adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. “The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Anti-Semitism has been adopted by 30+ countries & companies around the world. I encourage the @steelers and teams across the @NFL to adopt the IHRA Working Definition as we stand against hate,” he said. Read Here
HOW A TEXAS SYNAGOGUE GOT HUNDREDS VACCINATED AFTER POWER OUTAGES THREATENED DOSES
By Dr. Eric Silberman
After an unprecedented winter storm cut off power to the freezers storing vaccines in Harris County, thousands of doses were at risk of expiring. Seeking a place that was accessible, they settled on an unlikely venue: United Orthodox Synagogues, a local Houston synagogue. Rabbi Barry Gelman, the synagogue’s spiritual leader secured the building and rallied locals via email and WhatsApp to receive vaccine doses. Read Here
The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of individuals and organizations, across all religions and faiths, united around the goal of ending anti-Semitism in all its forms. Since its launching in February 2019, 294 organizations and 299,000 individuals have joined the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement by signing the campaign’s pledge. The CAM Pledge draws upon the IHRA international definition of anti- Semitism and its list of specific behaviors used to discriminate against the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel.
