THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT
As summer began, several high-profile antisemitic incidents targeted Jewish communities in the United States and elsewhere.
In Boston, 24 year-old Khaled Awad attempted to abduct Rabbi Shlomo Noginsky at gunpoint and stabbed him eight times outside of his synagogue. The incident shook the Boston Jewish community, days after a white supremacist attempted to target a synagogue in nearby Winthrop after murdering two African-American residents.
Jew-hatred has increasingly entered mainstream political discourse. This week, Democratic Congressman Ilhan Omar accused fellow Jewish lawmakers of not being “partners in justice.” Meanwhile, Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar is holding a fundraiser with a white supremacist Holocaust denier and former Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinnney accused Zionists of being behind 9/11.
A kosher bakery in Montreal experienced an arson attack and dozens of graves were desecrated at another Polish Jewish cemetery. On campus, the Yale University student council passed a resolution accusing Israel of “genocide and apartheid.”
Antisemitism isn’t taking a summer vacation, so neither can we. Join us alongside dozens of Jewish community organizations and allies for No: Fear: A Rally In Solidarity With The Jewish People in Washington, D.C. on July 11th as together we speak out against Jew-hatred.
CAM’s weekly global antisemitism report highlights 40 new media reports of antisemitic incidents, including 13 (32.5%) from the far-right and 11 (27.5) from the far-left, as well as 8 (20%) with Islamist motivations, and 8 (20%) unidentifiable in nature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SPECIAL FEATURE
ANTI-SEMITISM WATCHDOG CALLS FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST SPANISH TV HOST OVER ANTISEMITIC COMMENTS
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) is calling for disciplinary action against a reporter from a television station in Spain who made anti-Semitic remarks during a broadcast about Israeli athletes. TV3’s commentator Clara Basiana made the offensive remarks while reporting live on air on June 10 about Israeli artistic duet swimmers Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritzky after they performed and awaited their results from judges at an Olympic qualifier in Barcelona.
Read Here
TWITTER REFUSES TO TAKE DOWN EX-CONGRESS MEMBER’S ANTISEMITIC 9/11 TWEET
Twitter’s rules enforcement team have turned down a request from the CAM to remove an antisemitic tweet by ex-congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, which featured a conspiratorial graphic blaming “Zionists” for 9/11. In an emailed response, the social media giant informed CAM of their shocking decision – to leave the widely-shared tweet, which remains pinned at the top of Cynthia’s feed, untouched. “Upon review, our enforcement team decided the tweets flagged are not in violation of our rules at this time” read yesterday’s statement from Twitter. While insisting “antisemitism has no place on Twitter” and that the company’s rules “prohibit hateful conduct”, a supposed lack of clarity regarding the tweet’s antisemitic nature was cited as a rationale for the company’s decision.
NOT JUST NEO-NAZIS WITH TIKI TORCHES: WHY JEWISH STUDENTS SAY THEY ALSO FEAR CLOAKED ANTISEMITISM
Antisemitic attitudes are consistently higher among young people, in contrast to other forms of prejudice where the more youthful tend to be more tolerant, according to a study last fall by researchers at Tufts University and Harvard University. For Jassey and Blake Flayton, a 20-year-old senior at The George Washington University, the greatest concern is the more insidious, seemingly regular and casual antisemitism, the cloaked language being used — whether knowingly or not — in progressive circles they once considered themselves integral parts of.
UNITED STATES
BOSTON RABBI STABBED 8 TIMES OUTSIDE SYNAGOGUE & SUMMER CAMP
By CAM
A Chabad Rabbi was hospitalized in a serious but stable condition yesterday following a brutal stabbing attack outside an Orthodox Jewish school in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood. Boston Police say they arrested 24-year-old local Khaled Awad at the scene, whom they charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. The shocking incident, which saw Rabbi Shlomo Noginski stabbed up to eight times by the lone assailant, unfolded in broad daylight just outside Shaloh House, a Chabad-affiliated synagogue and Jewish day school where Noginski works as an educator. Read Here
WHITE SUPREMACIST KILLER IN MASSACHUSETTS WAS ALLEGEDLY HEADING FOR LOCAL SYNAGOGUE, SAY WITNESSES
By Algemeiner
The white supremacist shot dead by police in Massachusetts after he murdered two African American bystanders was allegedly heading for a local synagogue in his stolen truck. Sandra Pellegrino — president of Temple Tifereth Israel in Winthrop, Mass. — told her local CBS News affiliate that the consequences could have been disastrous had the gunman, 28-year-old Nathan Allen, reached his target. Read Here
SWASTIKAS DRAWN ON CARS’ LICENSE PLATES IN WOODBRIDGE, VA
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
GALLOWAY FIRES BY-ELECTION AIDE OVER ‘HOLOHOAX’ POST
By Adam Decker
George Galloway has removed a member of his Batley and Spen by-election team after he was exposed as a Holocaust denier. Shammy Cheema took to Facebook in 2019 to brand the Nazi genocide a “holohoax”, “exaggerated” and a “big fat Zionist cow milked for the last 80 years” to generate “indefinite public sympathy.” Read Here
YELLOW STARS WORN AGAIN AT ANTI-LOCKDOWN PROTEST IN LONDON DESPITE PREVIOUS OUTRAGE
By Jewish News
Protesters at a central London demonstration against lockdowns were seen wearing the yellow Star of David, despite being repeatedly urged against offensively abusing the memory of six million murdered Jews in the Holocaust. Thousands descended on central London for the anti-lockdown rally, at which some protesters were seen proudly wearing the Nazi-era symbol. Read Here
CANADA
POLICE INVESTIGATING SUSPECTED ARSON ATTEMPT AT MONTREAL KOSHER BAKERY
By CAM
Police in Montreal, Canada, are investigating a suspected arson attempt at a kosher bakery. Firefighters were dispatched to the bakery on Saint-Louis Street in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough after an alarm system sounded. A broken window and what was described as a “source of heat” were found at the scene. The Montreal police arson unit is investigating the incident. Read Here
OMNI CUTS TIES WITH ARABIC-LANGUAGE PROGRAM FOLLOWING B’NAI BRITH COMPLAINT
OTHER WORLD NEWS
67 HEADSTONES DAMAGED AT JEWISH CEMETERY IN POLAND
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
Dozens of headstones were knocked down, with several destroyed, at a Jewish cemetery in Poland. The incident, the third of its kind since 2015, left 67 graves desecrated in Bielsko-Biała, in southern Poland. Police are investigating the incident. The Bielsko-Biala cemetery was founded in the first half of the 19th century and is still in use.
ROMANIAN POLICE ID GROUP OF MINORS IN SYNAGOGUE VANDALISM REPORTED ON EVE OF WW2 POGROM ANNIVERSARY
By Sharon Wrobel
Police in Romania have identified a group of minors who allegedly vandalized a synagogue in Orăștie, located in south-western Transylvania. The incident coincided with the eve of the anniversary of a Holocaust pogrom that occurred in the Romanian city of Iași 80 years ago, and led to the killing of more than 13,000 Jews. The identified minors aged between 9 and 14 years old are accused of smashing the windows of the synagogue building in Orăștie, a 19th-century historical monument.
NETHERLANDS: SYRIAN-TRAINED ISLAMIST ON TRIAL IN THE NETHERLANDS FOR ARSON ATTACK ON AMSTERDAM KOSHER RESTAURANT
By Algemeiner Staff
POLAND: DESPITE PRESENCE OF ‘LARGE AND INFLUENTIAL’ AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY, US-POLAND RELATIONS REMAIN SOLID, DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER CLAIMS
By Ben Cohen
POLAND: IN RESTITUTION PROTEST, YOUNG POLISH ULTRANATIONALISTS LEAVE CHUNKS OF BRICK WALLS OUTSIDE ISRAEL’S EMBASSY IN WARSAW
AUSTRALIA: MARTYRDOM CALLS AND ANTISEMITISM
THE MIDDLE EAST
ON CAMPUS
YALE STUDENT COUNCIL APPROVES STATEMENT ACCUSING ISRAEL OF ‘GENOCIDE’ AND ‘APARTHEID’
By RON KAMPEAS
Yale’s student council approved a statement authored by a campus pro-Palestinian group accusing Israel of genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Two campus Jewish groups condemned the statement as having “antisemitic overtones.” The Yale College Councilapproved the statement first authored by Yalies 4 Palestine, in an 8-3 vote with four abstentions. The statement also likened Israel’s actions during the conflict to police violence against Black Americans.
VANDALS AGAIN TARGET SAN DIEGO STATE CHABAD HOUSE, ATTEMPT TO TOPPLE MENORAH
By Dion J. Pierre
Two women were filmed vandalizing the Chabad House at San Diego State University (SDSU). The incident marked the second time since April that the Jewish center has been targeted. Security cameras captured video of the crime, showing one woman pulling on the decorative menorah mounted in front of the center until one of its branches broke, and another holding a torn piece of fabric from a Chabad banner commemorating Jewish heritage.
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
STUDIES & STATISTICS
CANADA’S RECENT ANTISEMITISM SURGE ‘FAR WORSE THAN PREVIOUSLY REPORTED,’ NEW STUDY FINDS
By CAM
The surge in antisemitism which swept Canada during the recent Israel-Gaza flare-up was much worse than previously thought, a special report by B’nai Brith Canada concluded. Their findings were stark: 266 known antisemitic incidences were documented, including 154 incidents of harassment, 51 incidents of vandalism, and 61 incidents of violence. B’nai Brith Canada’s 2020 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents found just nine incidents of antisemitic violence during the whole year.
‘HOSTILITY FROM ALL DIRECTIONS’: NATIONAL REPORT CONFIRMS RISE IN GERMAN ANTISEMITISM FUELED BY PANDEMIC
By Sharon Wrobel
Germany saw a rise in antisemitic acts in 2020 driven by incidents related to the coronavirus and cases of abusive behavior at rallies against measures to control the pandemic. Antisemitic incidents documented by the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) last year amounted to 1,909 — an increase of 450 acts compared with 2019. That added up to an average of 159 antisemitic incidents per month, or over five incidents per day.
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
BIDEN TELLS RIVLIN HE WON’T ALLOW IRANIAN NUKES ON HIS WATCH
By JACOB MAGID, TAL SCHNEIDER and AP
US President Joe Biden sought to assure Israel that he would not tolerate a nuclear Iran as he met with outgoing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, amid growing apprehension over the US administration’s effort to reenter the Iran nuclear deal. “What I can say to you is that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch,” Biden said at the White House. “As American president, my commitment to Israel is… ironclad. It’s something that I often say, ‘If there wasn’t an Israel, we’d have to make one.’ This includes… an unwavering commitment to Israel’s self defense,” he said.
INAUGURATING EMBASSY IN UAE, ISRAEL TELLS REGION: ‘WE’RE HERE TO STAY’
By Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
Israel’s new foreign minister inaugurated its embassy in the United Arab Emirates and offered an olive branch to other former adversaries, saying: “We’re here to stay.” During his two-day visit, the first to the Gulf power by an Israeli cabinet minister since the countries established ties last year, Yair Lapid was also due to inaugurate a consulate in Dubai and sign a bilateral agreement on economic cooperation.
HUMANITY
‘THEY ALL PLAY TOGETHER’: 35 CHILDREN FROM WEST BANK, GAZA AND AROUND THE WORLD FIND LIFE-SAVING HEART CARE IN ISRAEL
By Sharon Wrobel
A Tel Aviv-area medical center is now treating about 35 children from around the world for life-threatening heart conditions, in what is the largest group of patients brought to the country by Israel-based non-profit Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) since the coronavirus pandemic began. The children — hailing from Gaza, the West Bank, Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Kosovo — include babies, toddlers, and teenagers, who are often accompanied by a guardian or parent.
‘THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE’: ISRAELI RESCUE UNIT CONTINUES TO HELP SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS OF SURFSIDE CONDO COLLAPSE
By Sharon Wrobel
The Israeli national rescue unit continued to relentlessly search for survivors in the tons of rubble of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, as the confirmed death toll from the tragedy continued to rise. The Israeli rescue operation “Helping Hand,” which arrived 72 hours after the disaster, is led by the commander of the National Rescue Unit in the IDF’s Home Front Command, Col. (res.) Golan Vach and consists of 10 reserve officers who are top experts in engineering and social care.
#NOHATE AGAINST JEWS: 86 BUS SHELTER POSTERS ARE NOW ALL AROUND TORONTO
RIGHTEOUS POLISH WOMAN WHO SAVED HUNDREDS OF JEWISH CHILDREN IS HONOURED
MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN TEEN DEDICATES HERSELF TO STOPPING ANTISEMITISM
ISRAEL’S NEW DIASPORA AFFAIRS MINISTER VISITS A JEWISH COMMUNITY IN CRISIS
ACTRESS DEBRA MESSING DEFENDS FORMER OFFICER AT CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHORS GROUP WHO RESIGNED OVER ANTISEMITISM STATEMENT ROW
FIRST JEWISH LATE-NIGHT TALK SHOW ON GERMAN TV
The Combat Antisemitism Movement is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of individuals and organizations, across all religions and faiths, united around the goal of ending antisemitism in all its forms. Since its launching in February 2019, 330 organizations and 341,000 individuals have joined the Combat Antisemitism Movement by signing the campaign’s pledge. The CAM Pledge draws upon the IHRA international definition of antisemitism and its list of specific behaviors used to discriminate against the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel.
