THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTISEMITISM REPORT
The U.S. State of Nebraska declared May as Jewish American Heritage Month, and adopted the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, becoming the 27th state to do so, in a ceremony hosted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. The Australian State of Victoria also adopted the definition, becoming the second state to in the country to endorse the definition.
In New York City, three antisemitic attacks on Jewish men took place in the span of five days. During one, the attacker yelled “the Nazis should have killed you Jews.” In another, a group of five attackers shouted “Free Palestine” while assaulting the victim. In Germany, police thankfully foiled a Neo-Nazi terror attack and arrested a teenage suspect.
In Bilboa, Spain, a group of visiting Israeli basketball fans were attacked by pro-Palestinians who threw chairs, glasses and bottles at them. In Montreal, Canada a Jewish man celebrating Israel’s independence day was assaulted by two attackers attempting to steal his flag.
A man was arrested after vandalizing a second Portland, Oregon synagogue and a mosque, while in New York, a swastika was spray-painted on a Holocaust awareness ad from CAM coalition partner JewBelong. In Florida, a Nazi flag was hung outside the entrance to Disney world.
A swastika was also plastered on a Melbourne, Australia Jewish community center, and the JCC in Albany, NY received a bomb threat.
A speaker at a Pro-Palestinian rally in Michigan called for the murder of Jews, and the leader of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah railed against Jewish-American negotiator Amos Hochstein in maritime demarcation talks, saying, “continue negotiating…but not with Hochstein, Frankenstein, or any other Stein coming to Lebanon.” Meanwhile, three more Israeli civilians were murdered in another Palestinian terrorist attack.
This week’s global antisemitism report highlights 46 new media reports of antisemitic incidents. The total includes 19 (41.3%) from the far-right, 7 (15.2%) from the far-left, 9 (19.6%) with Islamist motivations, and 11 (23.9%) unidentifiable in nature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNITED STATES
MAN CHARGED IN PORTLAND, ORE., SYNAGOGUE AND MOSQUE VANDALISM SPREE
By PHILISSA CRAMER
A man who once reported about political extremism in Portland, Oregon, was arrested in connection with a string of vandalism incidents at synagogues and a mosque there. Michael Bivins was charged with one count of arson and three counts of criminal mischief. The charges stemmed from three incidents at local houses of worship: a rock thrown through a window at Congregation Shir Tikvah; a fire and graffiti at Congregation Beth Israel; and a fire at the Muslim Community Center of Portland.
DAYLIGHT ANTISEMITIC BEATDOWN SENDS JEWISH MAN TO NYC HOSPITAL
By NBC 4 New York
Police say a violent attack in Brooklyn hospitalized a 32-year-old man wearing traditional Jewish clothing. The victim was approached by an unknown assailant at President Street and Utica Avenue in Crown Heights. The suspect started punching the man in the head and kicking him in the legs, all while making antisemitic remarks. The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is said to be investigating the incident. Police said the victim was transported to a hospital in Cobble Hill.
‘FREE PALESTINE’: YESHIVA STUDENT ASSAULTED IN THIRD ANTISEMITIC ATTACK IN BROOKLYN IN FIVE DAYS
By Algemeiner Staff
A yeshiva student was assaulted in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, the third antisemitic attack in the New York City borough since last Friday. The unnamed student was surrounded by five males at the intersection of Avenue M and East 18th Street in Flatbush who punched him in the face. One of the assailants reportedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the assault.
SWASTIKA SPRAY PAINTED ON MADISON, WI RESIDENT’S TRANS FLAG, PART OF GROWING TREND OF ANTISEMITISM
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
LIB DEM COUNCILLOR SUSPENDED AFTER POSTING ANTI-SEMITIC TIKTOK VIDEO
By Josh Kaplan
A councillor in Wales has been suspended by the Liberal Democrats after an inflammatory antisemitic video they’d posted was surfaced. Little Brighouse, who identifies as non-binary, posted a video on TikTok with a burning Israeli flag and the phrase ‘from the River to the Sea’. According to political blog Guido Fawkes who first reported the video, Brighouse was reported to the Welsh Liberal Democrats for their TikTok post which was captioned ‘#endapartheid”
MAN ARRESTED AFTER NEWLY-ELECTED COUNCILLOR TARGETED IN ANTISEMITIC CAMPAIGN
By Lee Harpin
A Jewish Labour candidate elected as a councillor in Camden has revealed she faced “levels of antisemitism I’ve never had before” in the run-up to Thursday’s local election. Police were called in after Izzy Lenga, a South Hampstead ward Labour candidate, was targeted with an intimidatory poster campaign in which voters were urged to reject her because of claims she was a supporter of “apartheid.” The campaign is understood to have revolved around historic reports, which had appeared on anti-Israel sites such as The Electronic Intifada in 2014, that Lenga has once taken part in a basic training course in Israel with the IDF.
FEARS OF ANTISEMITIC VANDAL ATTACK ON LICORICIA STATUE IN WINCHESTER
GERMANY
FACING LEGAL ACTION FOR ALLEGED DISCRIMINATION AGAINST JEWISH PASSENGERS, GERMAN AIRLINE LUFTHANSA ISSUES APOLOGY
By Ben Cohen
The German airline Lufthansa has apologized for an incident in which more than 100 Orthodox Jews traveling in separate groups were collectively prevented from boarding a connecting flight in Frankfurt, following a dispute over masking regulations on the first leg of the journey from New York. However, Lufthansa could still face legal consequences after a prominent advocate for the Jewish community accused the airline of violating German laws on equal treatment.
GERMAN POLICE FOIL ‘NAZI TERROR ATTACK’ AT SCHOOL; TEEN SUSPECT ARRESTED
By AFP
German investigators say they foiled a school bomb attack, as they arrest a 16-year-old who is suspected to have been planning a “Nazi terror attack.” “The police prevented a nightmare,” says Herbert Reul, interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state. Police in the city of Essen had stormed the teen’s room overnight, taking him into custody and uncovering several explosives, as well as antisemitic and anti-Muslim material.
CANADA
MONTREAL POLICE INVESTIGATE ASSAULT ON JEWISH MAN AS A HATE CRIME
By Ainslie MacLellan
The Montreal police hate crimes unit is investigating after two young men were caught on video trying to grab an Israeli flag from a man and hitting him with a stick in Westmount. A video shot by a witness from a nearby office building shows two younger men trying to wrestle a rolled-up flag away from the victim, who was on his way back from an event celebrating Israel’s independence. When the two eventually let go of the flag, one of the attackers is seen picking up a stick from the ground and striking the victim in the upper body. He then repeatedly strikes a bystander who intervened, before the two assailants run away up Wood Avenue.
OTHER WORLD NEWS
SWASTIKA STICKERS PLASTERED AT BETH WEIZMANN
By AJN STAFF
Two men have been arrested after plastering swastika stickers on the exterior of the Beth Weizmann Community Centre in Melbourne while Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon was inside. Maimon was in the building to meet with leaders from several Jewish organisations. One of the men made a lewd gesture with his finger the building’s CCTV cameras, while swastika stickers were also found on telegraph poles and tram shelters along Hawthorn Road.
ISRAELI BASKETBALL FANS ATTACKED BY PRO-PALESTINIAN GROUP IN SPAIN
By JNS
A group of Israeli basketball fans was attacked in the Spanish city of Bilbao by pro-Palestinians. The Israelis, supporters of Hapoel U-Net Holon, were in Spain for the team’s FIBA Basketball Champions League game against Germany’s MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. Hapoel supporter Boaz Yitzhaki told Ynet the Israeli group had been “ambushed” while on the way to the stadium. “We marched to the stadium together. Suddenly, a group of pro-Palestinians started throwing objects at us from a bar decorated with a Palestinian flag,” he said. “They threw chairs, glasses and bottles at us. We had families and children with us. It was a very, very scary incident,” said Yitzhaki, who added that police stationed nearby were slow to react.
AN ANTISEMITIC CONSPIRACY THEORY IS BEING SHARED ON TELEGRAM TO JUSTIFY RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE
MIDDLE EAST
3 KILLED, SEVERAL INJURED IN INDEPENDENCE DAY TERRORIST AXE ATTACK
By AJN STAFF
Three people were killed and several others seriously hurt in a terror attack in the central Israeli city of Elad. The attack came at the end of Israel’s Independence Day, and followed a wave of terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks, and repeated threats by Palestinian terror groups over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Two terrorists attacked several people with an axe and a knife at a central park and a nearby road in the largely ultra-Orthodox city. At least one of the wounded was in critical condition, and up to seven were hurt in the attack.
‘NO STEINS’: NASRALLAH REJECTS ISRAEL-BORN US ENVOY TO MARITIME TALKS WITH JERUSALEM
By TOI STAFF and AGENCIES
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, expressed his fierce opposition to the US-mediated talks aimed at settling a maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel — in particular lashing out at Washington’s Israeli-born envoy to the negotiations, Amos Hochstein. “I am saying to the Lebanese state: If you want to continue negotiating, go ahead, but not in Naqoura, and not with Hochstein, Frankenstein, or any other Stein coming to Lebanon,” the terror chief said in an address to the Lebanese government. “The path of negotiations, and especially via the conspiring, collaborating, and dishonest American broker who supports Israel, will not lead us to any results.”
GROUP OF ISRAELIS BARRED FROM ENTERING JORDAN OVER TEFILLIN IN BAGGAGE
ON CAMPUS
‘DISRESPECTFUL OF JEWS’: 70 HARVARD FACULTY REJECT STUDENT PAPER’S BDS ENDORSEMENT
By Luke Tress
Seventy Harvard-affiliated faculty have condemned the university’s student newspaper for endorsing the boycott movement against Israel 10 days ago, a move that whipped up a firestorm of controversy and was seen as a possible omen of changing sentiment toward Israel on campuses. An editor at the newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, and at least eight former staffers also condemned the editorial board’s endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The faculty statement was signed by leading scholars including Steven Pinkner, Ruth Wisse, Jesse Fried, Gabriella Blum, and Lawrence Summers, who is also a former president of the university and was the US secretary of treasury under former US president Bill Clinton.
JEWISH STUDENTS AT WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY IN PENNSYLVANIA CALL FOR ACTION AGAINST ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS
By CAM
Jewish students at West Chester University in Pennsylvania are speaking out and calling for action by the school’s administration following a series of antisemitic incidents on campus. A man carrying signs reading “Jews Caused 9/11 by Provoking Palestine” and “Jews Reject Jesus Christ, You Know What You Did” was seen walking around the WCU campus. Two weeks later WCU hosted a speaking appearance by anti-Israel activist Mohammed El-Kurd, who has a long track record of venomous antisemitic rhetoric. Also in April, antisemitic flyers were distributed in the nearby community of Ardmore.
JEWISH DIVORCE JOKE USED IN FLORIDA TEXTBOOK BRANDED ‘ANTISEMITIC’ BY ACTIVISTS
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
STUDIES & STATISTICS
ANTISEMITISM ‘DEEPLY ROOTED’ IN GERMAN SOCIETY
By Christoph Strack
Germany’s security services registered 3,028 antisemitic crimes in 2021. That is the highest official count since police statistics started tracking the figures. Now, the American Jewish Committee contracted the Allensbach Institute to conduct a survey on societal attitudes toward Jews. It shows that antisemitism is not just a problem on Germany’s political peripheries but is “deeply rooted” in mainstream society. While the issue is most prevalent among the far-right and observant Muslims, according to the study, 60% of those polled said antisemitism is “somewhat” or “definitely” widespread. About two-thirds see the problem as having grown in the last decade, with the worst cause viewed as coming out of far-right extremist circles, followed by anti-Israel attitudes, and Islamist influence. 31% of Muslim respondents saw anti-Israel views as the main reason for anti-Jewish sentiment, while overall only 21% of respondents said so.
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
U.S. STATE OF NEBRASKA BECOMES 27TH STATE TO ADOPT IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM
By JNS
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts inaugurated May as Jewish American Heritage Month in the State of Nebraska, becoming the first American state to do so. He made the announcement on May 5—Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day—during an event at the Nebraska Capitol building celebrating the country’s 74th year. He also announced that the state is officially adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. In doing so, the number of American states that have adopted or endorsed the IHRA Definition is now 27, plus the District of Columbia, meaning the majority of all states now officially recognize it.
AUSTRALIAN STATE OF VICTORIA ADOPTS THE IHRA ANTISEMITISM DEFINITION
By J-Wire Newsdesk
The announcement was made at an Israel Independence Day reception. Addressing the 200 MPs, community leaders and other dignitaries who attended, the Premier noted that antisemitism was on the rise globally and locally. Announcing the adoption of the IHRA definition, the Premier said, “I’m very pleased that the government has adopted the IHRA working definition of antisemitism… That will be really important across our state’s schools, our state’s institutions. We are very pleased to make that step.”
BAN ON SWASTIKA DISPLAYS IN STATE OF VICTORIA
HUMANITY
WITH ANTISEMITISM ON RISE IN CANADA, MOBILE EXHIBIT TEACHES NEW BRUNSWICK STUDENTS ABOUT HOLOCAUST
By CAM
Earlier this month, 200 Fredericton High School students in Canada’s New Brunswick province had a unique opportunity to learn about the Holocaust. The students were taken to a mobile exhibit organized by local woman Jasmine Kranat, an immigrant to Canada concerned about rising antisemitism in her new country. “A lot of our family members died in the gas chambers,” Krasnat said. “The comparison is hurtful, absolutely hurtful.” Feeling she had to do something to counter this bigotry, Kranat — backed by Sgoolai Israel Synagogue in Fredericton — created an interactive multimedia presentation to teach about the Nazi genocide of the Jews during World War II. Kranat said she aimed to replicate what she saw at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., during a visit as a teenager.
UK COUPLE OFFERS TO REMOVE HATE TATTOOS AT NO CHARGE
The Combat Antisemitism Movement is a global coalition engaging more than 360,000 people and 450 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.
