THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT
This week, a large swastika was found inside the U.S. State Department, close to the office of the Special Envoy to Monitor & Combat Antisemitism, setting off alarm bells inside the U.S. government, at a time of heightened antisemitic political rhetoric.
In Canada, a yarmulke-wearing Jewish man was physically assaulted while walking his dog by a man who yelled “F*** you, you Jews, you’ll never take Israel — free Palestine!” – another example of rising violent anti-Zionist Jew-hatred.
In the Netherlands, a top soccer player was targeted with a grotesque Nazi mural, depicting him in antisemitic caricature as a concentration camp inmate, after he signed with Club Ajax – widely known for its Jewish fanbase. In Jordan, an Islamic State terrorist cell was arrested for plotting to kill IDF soldiers and Jewish foreign-nationals in the kingdom.
These highly public displays of antisemitic intimidation and violence demonstrate the intensity with which Jew-hatred has penetrated the mainstream of society, and reinforces the need to vigorously combat it in its many forms. Meanwhile, after months of relative silence, recognition of the threat of growing antisemitism is on the rise. Streaming-giant Netflix voiced a stand against antisemitism and Holocaust denial on its social media platforms, linking to a Holocaust documentary.
Yesterday, lawmakers from seven Central American countries joined Guatemalan President Dr. Alejandro Giammattei and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid for the first-ever Central America Forum for Israel, in a united display of solidarity with the Jewish people and the State of Israel against rising antisemitisim and anti-Israel hatred.
Several U.S. states are looking at options for enforcing anti-BDS lawks in the wake of the Ben & Jerry’s Israel boycott. After the antisemitic vandalism at the U.S. State Department, President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken condemned antisemitism and announced the nomination of Emory University professor and Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt as the U.S. Ambassador-At-Large to Monitor & Combat Antisemitism. After being upgraded to an ambassador rank position last year, Lipstadt’s nomination requires confirmation in the U.S. Senate.
CAM’s weekly global antisemitism report highlights 31 new media reports of antisemitic incidents, including 13 (42%) from the far-right, 5 (16%) from the far-left, 8 (26%) with Islamist motivations, and 5 (16%) unidentifiable in nature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SPECIAL FEATURES
WINNERS OF UNITED HATZALAH ‘BREAKING BARRIERS’ CONTEST HONORED AT VIRTUAL AWARDS CEREMONY
The winners of the “Breaking Barriers: Life Saving Video Sharing Contest” were honored at a special virtual awards ceremony hosted by CAM and United Hatzalah. United Hatzalah CEO Eli Beer congratulated the prize recipients — contest winner Shani Fisher and runners-up Georgia Leatherdale Gilholy and Fitra Wicaksana. “United Hatzalah is an example of unity — Jews, Muslims, and Christians, from all sectors, are working together hand-in-hand, saving lives of each other,” Beer said.
‘WE’RE DOING SOMETHING VERY UNIQUE’: NEW MONITORING NGO SEEKS TO FIGHT SKYROCKETING ONLINE ANTISEMITISM WITH FRESH APPROACH
With online antisemitism skyrocketing in recent years, particularly following the Israel-Gaza flare-up in May, the need to monitor and report Jew-hatred on social media sites has never been more urgent. Last year, 28-year-old Haifa resident Tomer Aldubi — a freelance journalist for the Mako website and aspiring theater director who has written a play on the Palestinian LGBTQ community — founded a new NGO dedicated to this mission. Aldubi sat down to talk about his organization, Fighting Online Antisemitism (FOA), with CAM.
CLARA BASIANA NOW KNOWS WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE SAID ABOUT ISRAELI SWIMMERS
Earlier this month, CAM launched the “Clara, This Is What You Should Have Said” campaign to teach Catalan TV3 commentator Clara Basiana how to cover sports without being antisemitic, following the offensive remarks she made on live TV in June regarding the performance of Israeli artistic duet swimmers Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritzky at an Olympic qualifying event in Barcelona.
UNITED STATES
SWASTIKA FOUND ETCHED INTO STATE DEPARTMENT ELEVATOR
By Hans Nichols, Jonathan Swan
A swastika was found etched into the wall of a State Department elevator near the office of its special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. The defacement raises troubling questions about security inside the nation’s foreign policy nerve center, and the potential for antisemitism within an outward-facing element of the United States government. Read Here
NY POLICE ARREST THREE MEN FOR ANTISEMITIC ROBBERY OF JEWISH MAN WALKING FROM SYNAGOGUE
By Algemeiner Staff
Three men have been arrested for carrying out an antisemitic assault and robbery against a Jewish man in the village of Fleischmanns, located in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The assailants, in their 20s, assaulted the victim as he walked home from the local synagogue. State Police noted that one of the men “got out of a pickup truck and stole the victim’s shtreimel (fur hat). The suspect returned to the truck, which was occupied by the two other suspects, who all shouted antisemitic slurs.” Read Here
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
STAFF AT LONDON HOSPITAL SENT SICKENING ANTISEMITIC ABUSE ‘BY FELLOW EMPLOYEE’
By Josh Salisbury
Staff on an intensive care ward at a top London hospital have been targeted with sickening antisemitic abuse – seemingly from one of their own colleagues. Critical care staff at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Bloomsbury have been targeted with vile threats alongside antisemitic falsehoods about Jews. Read Here
BARNARDO’S INVESTIGATING TEACHER OVER SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ABOUT ISRAEL AND JEWS
By Lee Harpin
Barnardo’s has investigated one of its teachers for social media posts, which claimed Israel has world governments “in their pockets”, “controlled” the media and massacres “thousands”. Rubina Halim, a Yorkshire-based staffer with the leading children’s charity wrote on Linkedin this month: “Israel is not looking at taking over Palestine. There is far more to it than that!” Read Here
GERMANY
CANADA
‘PEOPLE USE ISRAEL TO ATTACK JEWS,’ SAYS TORONTO MAN WHO SURVIVED ‘FREE PALESTINE’ ANTISEMITIC ASSAULT
By Ben Cohen
A Jewish man in Toronto has given a moving account of his experience of an antisemitic attack, during which the assailant yelled the anti-Zionist slogan, “Free Palestine.” Toronto resident Sam Brody explained that he had been walking his dog in the Eglington neighborhood. Brody, who wears a kippah, said that the male assailant body checked him into a wooden fence, knocking him onto the ground. The assailant then told Brody: “F*** you, you Jews, you’ll never take Israel — free Palestine!” Read Here
JEWISH KELOWNA RESIDENT TARGETED WITH SWASTIKA AT WORK
OTHER WORLD NEWS
TOP DUTCH SOCCER PLAYER STEVEN BERGHUIS TARGETED BY LURID ANTISEMITIC MURAL AFTER SIGNING FOR ‘JEWISH’ CLUB AJAX
By Ben Cohen
A top Dutch soccer player who announced that he had signed for a top-flight team associated by some fans with the Jewish community has been targeted by a lurid, Nazi-style wall mural. 29-year-old winger Steven Berghuis was depicted wearing a concentration camp uniform marked with a “Judenstern,” or “Jews’ Star.” He was also shown wearing a kippah and with an outlandishly large “Jewish” nose. A slogan alongside the drawing declared, “Jews always run away.” Read Here
AUSTRALIA: ‘A COWARDLY ACT OF PURE HATRED’
By EVAN ZLATKIS
Antisemitic graffiti daubed on Melbourne’s Gary Smorgon Oval, which is home to AJAX sporting clubs, has been described as a “cowardly act” of “pure hatred”. The words “Abo (sic) land not kike land” were found scrawled on a wall of the club’s rooms. A swastika and the words “Nazi” and “Jews” were spray-painted alongside the slur. Read Here
THE MIDDLE EAST
JORDAN SAID TO NAB ISLAMIC STATE TERRORISTS FOR PLOT TO ATTACK ISRAELI SOLDIERS
By TOI Staff
Four Jordanians allegedly involved with the extremist Islamic State terror group have been charged with plotting to attack Israeli soldiers near the Jordanian border. The four suspects, who were arrested by Jordanian intelligence, planned to attack and overcome Jordanian border guards before reaching the Israelis on the other side of the border. The four allegedly discussed targeting not just Israeli soldiers, but also Jews — likely foreign nationals — living in the kingdom. Read Here
TURKISH JEWISH MEDIA OUTLETS HIT WITH CYBERATTACKS AMID GLOBAL ANTISEMITISM SURGE
ON CAMPUS
UK JEWISH STUDENTS CHARGE BRISTOL UNIVERSITY WITH ‘SILENCE’ OVER PROFESSOR ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITISM
By Dion J. Pierre
The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) criticized the University of Bristol administration over a lack of details on an investigation into sociology professor David Miller, who accused Jewish student groups of being “pawns” of the State of Israel. A review into Miller’s conduct was announced in March, after it emerged that he had advocated the “end of Zionism” in a lecture and accused Jewish students on campus of being “directed” by Israel to pursue a campaign of censorship.
ANTISEMITISM NOW HAS ‘ACADEMIC MANDATE,’ LEADING EXPERT ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM TELLS INDIANA CONFERENCE ON JEW-HATRED
By Ben Cohen
The latest wave of anti-Zionism now sweeping through some academic departments at US universities is having a chilling effect on how scholarship on Zionism, Jewish history and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is being conducted, the former head of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) argues.
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
THE MEDIA’S INABILITY TO UNIQUELY CONDEMN THE UNIQUENESS OF ANTISEMITISM
By Rachel O’Donoghue
STUDIES & STATISTICS
LONDON POLICE: ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS IN THE CITY SKYROCKETED IN MAY
By Benjamin Kerstein
Antisemitic violence in London skyrocketed in May, with Israel’s 11-day conflict with Hamas used as pretext to attack Jews in the city, new police data revealed. Statistics released by the Metropolitan Police showed 87 incidents of antisemitic violence in May, which was four times higher than any month since 2018, Sky News reported.
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
DEBORAH LIPSTADT TO BE NAMED STATE DEPT ANTISEMITISM ENVOY
By Gabby Deutch & Marc Rod
After months of deliberation and calls from congressional and Jewish community leaders, the White House will name Emory University professor and historian Deborah Lipstadt to be the administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. Lipstadt is a noted Holocaust historian whose most recent book, Antisemitism: Here and Now, won a 2019 National Jewish Book Award. She has served as a consultant to and a fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and is widely known for successfully defeating a lawsuit in which she was accused of libel for referring to writer David Irving as a Holocaust denier.
US OFFICIALS DENOUNCE ANTISEMITISM AFTER SWASTIKA IS FOUND IN STATE DEPARTMENT ELEVATOR
By PHILISSA CRAMER
President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are among the top U.S. officials to make statements condemning antisemitism after a swastika was found in the State Department building in Washington, D.C.. Blinken, whose stepfather survived the Holocaust, condemned the graffiti in a series of three tweets.Biden echoed those comments in a tweet when he shared a CNN story about the swastika.
MULTIPLE US STATES LOOK AT OPTIONS FOR ENFORCING ANTI-BDS LAWS IN WAKE OF BEN & JERRY’S PULLOUT
By Melissa Weiss
At least four states with laws targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement are assessing whether the recent decision by Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company, Unilever, to cease selling the ice cream company’s products in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” runs afoul of anti-BDS legislation. Officials in New York, Florida, Illinois and Texas are looking into whether Monday’s announcement forbids them from including the companies in their pension portfolios.
HUMANITY
NETFLIX VOICES STAND AGAINST ANTISEMITISM: ‘WE MUST NEVER FORGET’ THE HOLOCAUST
By Shiryn Ghermezian
Netflix voiced its opposition to antisemitism in a statement calling on the public to remember the horrors of the Holocaust. “We stand united against antisemitism in all its forms, including the worrying increase in hate crimes and Holocaust denial,” the streaming giant said. “We must never forget that appalling chapter in human history.” Netflix also shared the link to “The Last Days,” an Oscar-winning Holocaust documentary produced by Steven Spielberg and the USC Shoah Foundation.
‘JERRY MAGUIRE’ CHILD STAR JOINS VOLUNTEER GROUP ESCORTING LA JEWS TO SYNAGOGUES AMID UPTICK IN ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE
By Shiryn Ghermezian
Jewish former actor Jonathan Lipnicki has joined a volunteer group in Los Angeles that helps Jews safely go to and from their synagogues following a slew of antisemitic attacks in the area. The child star — who is most famous for his roles in “Jerry Maguire,” “Stuart Little” and “The Little Vampire” — helps synagogue goers in the Fairfax District on Fridays and Saturdays. Lipnicki, who became a jiu-jitsu black belt last year, told TMZ that after learning about the attack on Jewish diners outside in Los Angeles in May, he and fellow actor and martial artist Remington Franklin decided to take action to prevent future incidents.
NEW CAMPAIGN ‘ATHLETES AGAINST ANTISEMITISM’ LAUNCHED
AT CUFI GATHERING, CHRISTIANS AND JEWS ALIKE VOW TO FIGHT BDS ‘ECONOMIC ANTISEMITISM’
IDF SAYS IT RECOVERED OVER 80 PERCENT OF MISSING VICTIMS IN SURFSIDE CONDO COLLAPSE
‘SPORT IS SPORT, NOT POLITICS’: IRANIAN, ISRAELI JUDOKAS JOIN IN VIDEO MESSAGE OF FRIENDSHIP FROM TOKYO
RETALIATING AGAINST BOYCOTT DECISION, NYC GROCERY CHAIN TO REDUCE BEN & JERRY’S SALES
FORMER BEN & JERRY’S EMPLOYEE DETAILS EFFORTS TO SWAY COMPANY ON ISRAEL DECISION
FRENCH BISHOPS CALL OUT HOLOCAUST COMPARISON FROM ANTI-VAXXERS
IN FIRST, UNESCO GRANTS WORLD HERITAGE STATUS TO ‘JERUSALEM ON THE RHINE,’ JEWISH CULTURAL SITES IN GERMANY
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.
