Former Labour MP Ruth Smeeth has attacked the party’s deputy leader candidates to their faces for doing nothing to help their Jewish colleagues over anti-Semitism from party members, calling their silence a “disgrace”. Ms Smeeth, who lost her seat in December’s disastrous election defeat for her party, singled out some of the candidates standing for the deputy role, saying they had dismissed her and even “shouted at me for raising those issues”. Read Here
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THIS WEEK’S CONTENT
WATCH THE WEEKLY CAS NEWSLETTER SUMMARY BELOW
TAKE ACTION
(1 Piece)
Learn More About Senate Bill 1250 in the Tennessee State Legislature
This week we ask you to take action by learning more about S.B. 1250, a bill in the Tennessee State Legislature that would requires LEAs, public schools, and state institutions of higher education to consider definitions and examples of anti-Semitism when determining whether an alleged practice was motivated by anti-Semitic intent in reviewing, investigating, or deciding whether there has been a violation of an education policy prohibiting discriminatory practices on the basis of an individual’s actual or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish ethnic characteristics. This bill specifies that the definitions and examples it provides are the same as those used in the fact sheet issued by the United States Department of State.
Tennessee assembly advancing bills against anti-Semitism
By JEREMY SHARON
Legislation is currently being advanced through the Tennessee state legislature to better define what constitutes anti-Semitism, so as to help determine whether an investigation by state authorities needs to be conducted. The legislation adopts the federal definition of anti-Semitism as laid out by the State Department, which is largely based on IHRA’s anti-Semitism definition. The bill is being advanced by Dolores Gresham, Tennessee state senator and chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, and Mark White, chairman of the House Education Committee. Gresham pointed out that Tennessee was the first state in the US to pass legislation condemning the BDS movement, and said it was critical that Jews enjoy protections against discrimination and racism in the state’s institutions of education. Read Here
UNITED STATES
(9 Articles)
1. Jewish groups call on SXSW Festival to remove Roger Waters from lineup
By JNS
Jewish and pro-Israel groups have called on music, film and media festival South by Southwest (SXSW) to remove an interview with former Pink Floyd frontman and anti-Israel activist Roger Waters from its events schedule. “By cloaking his anti-Semitic beliefs in anti-Israel invective, Waters apparently believes he has carte blanche to spew anti-Jewish tropes,” said B’nai Brith International. Read Here
2. Documentary filmmaker files federal lawsuit against Georgia’s anti-BDS law
By MARCY OSTER
A documentary filmmaker is suing the state of Georgia over its law against boycotting Israel, saying it violates the Constitution. Announcing her federal suit, Abby Martin said that after she refused to sign the required oath from the 2016 law pledging not to boycott Israel, her scheduled appearance at a media conference at Georgia Southern University was canceled. Read Here
3. Congresswoman calls AIPAC ‘hate group’ after the Israel lobby attacks her in an ad
By RON KAMPEAS
A Minnesota congresswoman called AIPAC a “hate group” inciting against her after the Israel lobby featured her in an attack ad. “AIPAC claims to be a bipartisan organization, but its use of hate speech actually makes it a hate group,” U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat, said in a statement. “By weaponizing anti-Semitism and hate to silence debate, AIPAC is taunting Democrats and mocking our core values.” Read Here
4. San Diego Padres pull ‘swastika cap’ due to fan backlash
By MARCY OSTER
The San Diego Padres’ new spring training cap unveiled will only be worn briefly following an outcry from fans who think the logo looks like a swastika. “Following our off-season uniform rebrand and the overwhelmingly positive response from Padres fans, we’ve decided to wear our regular season brown caps with the gold ‘SD’ for the majority of spring training,” Wayne Partello, the team’s chief marketing officer, said. Partello did not mention the controversy over whether the logo on the spring training hats looks like a swastika. Read Here
5. New documentary features, Bill Clinton examines anti-Semitism
By BEN SALES
A new documentary featuring experts on anti-Semitism, as well as former President Bill Clinton, examines anti-Semitism in the United States and several countries in Europe. “Viral: Anti-Semitism in Four Mutations,” which is set to be released this month, focuses on the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the anti-Semitism scandal in his British political party, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s campaign against Jewish liberal financier George Soros and anti-Semitic attacks in France. Read Here
6. Brooklyn grand jury fails to indict woman accused of New Year’s anti-Semitic attack
By Andrew Denney
A Brooklyn grand jury has refused to indict a woman accused of an anti-Semitic attack and robbery in January. Jasmine Lucas, 24, was held for seven days in Rikers Island on a charge of second-degree robbery as a hate crime after her New Year’s Day arrest in Williamsburg. Lucas was accused of roughing up a Jewish man while hurling anti-Semitic slurs, then snatching a phone that the man was using to record Lucas and her girlfriend and snapping it in half. Read Here
7. Boston police investigating anti-Semitic graffiti in South End
By Dan Atkinson
Police are investigating anti-Semitic graffiti painted in Boston, officials said. Officers responding to reports of vandalism at two Shawmut Avenue buildings found yellow Stars of David painted on the doors. Read Here
8. Nazi flag flying again in Poughkeepsie, NY
By Mid-Hudson News
In September of 2019 a Nazi flag hanging in an apartment window created substantial public outcry from the community. The flag was in a rear-facing window of a second-story apartment in the Town of Poughkeepsie. This week, several members of the community reported that the flag had been put back up on display. Read Here
9. White nationalist Nick Fuentes’ YouTube channel is banned for hate speech
By MARCY OSTER
The YouTube channel of white nationalist Nick Fuentes has been banned for hate speech. Fuentes leads the Groyper Army, a group of young far-right activists who want to push mainstream conservatism towards white nationalism. He has questioned the number of Jews who were killed in the Holocaust and believes that Israel has a malicious influence on U.S. policy. Read Here
ISRAEL AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
(4 Pieces)
1. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE UK
Ruth Smeeth tells Labour deputy leader candidates they should be ‘ashamed’ of being silent on anti-Semitism
By JC Reporter
Corbyn adviser appears to suggest chief rabbi was ‘resource’ that the ‘bourgeoisie’ used against Labour
By JC Reporter
Jeremy Corbyn’s adviser Andrew Murray has appeared to suggest the chief rabbi intervened in the General Election because he was being used by the “bourgeoisie” to defeat Labour. Mr Murray wrote in Tribune Magazine that “the bourgeoisie…threw all its considerable resources” to ensure Labour’s historic defeat in December, “from the mass media to nominally retired security officials to religious leaders.” Read Here
Labour expels 25 people over anti-Semitism in a single day
By Lee Harpin
Labour recently expelled 25 party members in a single day over anti-Semitism as a result of “significant reforms” to disciplinary procedures made by General Secretary Jennie Formby, the party has revealed. Party sources confirmed the crackdown on those found to be guilty of anti-Jewish racism and said those who were expelled were among Ms. Formby’s most recently published breakdown on figures. Read Here
Foreign Office under pressure over Malaysia visit
By MATHILDE FROT
The foreign office has come under pressure to challenge Malaysian leaders over allegations of anti-Semitism stalking the country’s prime minister amid trade talks. The foreign secretary Dominic Raab met the Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad during a trip to four countries in the region. The foreign secretary’s trip to Malaysia drew a reaction from the Board of Deputies, who cited Mohamad’s previous “use of hateful tropes.” Read Here
Richard Burgon’s remarks show how deep Labour’s anti-Semitism problem runs
By Mark Gardner
Remarks by Richard Burgon MP, standing in Labour’s deputy leadership election, give a profound but very simple insight into how deep the party’s anti-Semitism problem runs. Burgon, a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn, speaking at a Jewish Labour Movement event in Manchester, clarified his objectionable 2014 remark that “Zionism is the enemy of peace.” He told the JLM this was “a crude oversimplification” that he would not now use. Read Here
Jewish Labour Movement nominates Lisa Nandy for party leader
By Lee Harpin
The Jewish Labour Movement has nominated Lisa Nandy, the chair of Labour Friends of Palestine, for party leader and Ian Murray for deputy leader. Ms Nandy, who received huge applause for her condemnation of Labour anti-Semitism at JLM’s hustings, won the votes of more than half of its members who cast ballots to determine whom it should nominate. Read Here
Lisa Nandy backs Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s pledges, including right of return
By JC Reporter
Labour leadership candidate Lisa Nandy has endorsed a series of pledges issued by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on the Israel/Palestine conflict, including refugees’ “right of return”. A day after the Jewish Labour Movement nominated her to be party leader, Ms Nandy tweeted she backed the pledges which include recognise Palestinians’ “collective right to self-determination and to return to their homes.” Read Here
“THE TERRORIST SHOULD COME AND STAB YOU – I AM AGAINST ZIONISTS”, JEWISH FAMILY IS TOLD IN COVENT GARDEN
By Campaign Against Anti-Semitism
A Jewish family was told by a male passerby that he is “against Zionists” and that a “terrorist should come and stab you.” The encounter saw the racist individual rantingly tell the family that “You should not come out because you supported Boris; the terrorist should come and stab you! I am against Zionists.” The incident took place in Covent Garden. Read Here
Keir Starmer interview: I will work to eradicate anti-Semitism ‘from day one’
By JACK MENDEL
Labour leadership frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to work with the Jewish community “from day one” to eradicate anti-Semitism if he becomes party leader – and revealed plans for his first family holiday in Israel. Following the Jewish community’s leadership hustings, the shadow Brexit spokesperson said he was “among the loud voices in the shadow cabinet challenging” on anti-Semitism, and would take action “on day one”, if he got the top job. Read Here
TalkRadio fined £75,000 over George Galloway’s anti-Semitism comments
By JEWISH NEWS REPORTER
TalkRadio has been fined £75,000 for allowing George Galloway to breach impartiality rules when discussing anti-Semitism. The left-wing former MP and talk show host broadcast skewed views of Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis when railing against those who felt the Party had a problem. He said they were “literally summoning up the demons of Nazism against Britain’s finest anti-fascist”. He added that it was “a giant Goebbellian lie that Jeremy Corbyn not only hates Jews but that…the existence of Jewish life in Britain is threatened.” Read Here
2. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY
German state launches investigation into police response to Halle synagogue attack
BY TOBY AXELROD
A surveillance video of the Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, has raised questions about police response and readiness, leading to an investigation by the state government there. The surveillance video shows that eight minutes passed before the first police car arrived. Following the attack, the head of Germany’s Jewish community questioned why police had not been assigned to protect the synagogue on Yom Kippur. Read Here
Police probe Nazi swastika graffiti and fire at German restaurant
By Kate Martyr
Hate symbols, including two swastikas, were sprayed on the back wall of a restaurant and its windows were smashed during an attack in Syke, a town in northern Germany. The restaurant appears to then have been deliberately set on fire in what police are investigating as a probable arson attack. Fire services evacuated six people after the fire threatened to spread to a neighboring house. Read Here
German paper changes headline after blaming Israel for Hamas attacks
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
German weekly Die Zeit published a headline claiming Israel first attacked the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, finally correcting it after an uproar on social media unfolded. “Israel attacks Hamas in Gaza again,” read the headline on Die Zeit’s website in connection with the attack on Sunday. The paper later changed the headline to: “Israel responds to shelling from the Gaza Strip,” adding a correction at the end of the article explaining: “Our report was initially published with a misleading title. We apologize for this error.” Read Here
12 arrested on suspicions of far-right terrorism
By i24NEWS
German police arrested 12 men suspected of being affiliated with a far-right group believed to have planned attacks against minorities and pro-immigration politicians. Four of the 12 were arrested on suspicion of founding and participating in “a right-wing terrorist organization,” while the other eight were held on suspicion of “supporting a terrorist organization.” The bust comes amid a resurgence of racist and anti-Semitic attacks that has prompted questions over how the German state combats right-wing extremism. Read Here
3. IN DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST
Anti-Semitic Fatah tweet removed
By Yoni Kempinski
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan attacked on Twitter the hypocrisy expressed by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas in his speech at the UN Security Council. “While Holocaust denier Abu Mazen claimed he was interested in peace…His hatred of Jews is a nauseating reminder of what a two-faced liar he is,” Erdan wrote, displaying an anti-Semitic image which had been on the official Fatah Twitter page. Read Here
Report: Iran threatens to raze ancient Jewish site in favor of Palestinian consulate
By Hanan Greenwood
Iranian authorities are threatening to destroy the historic tomb of Esther and Mordechai in the city of Hamedan, in favor of constructing “a consular office for Palestine.” Members of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force attempted to raid the historic site in “an act of revenge against the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan by President Trump.” Read Here
4. IN DEPTH: OTHER WORLD NEWS
Anti-Semitic material sent to Jewish community in Melbourne, Australia
BY YOSSI LEMPKOWICZ
Two envelopes containing anti-Semitic material have been sent to a Melbourne Jewish community organisation and to a well known individual in the community. The envelopes contained a CD with the wording “The Aryans” on it, as well as a threatening note “Death of the Jews Secret Masterplan”.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria reported that the material was handed to the Community Security Group immediately and both matters have been reported to Victoria Police for further investigation. Read Here
Al-Wahwah rant slammed in Australia
By GARETH NARUNSKY
Another tirade against Jews and Israel by Australian Hizb ut-Tahrir spiritual leader Ismail al-Wahwah has surfaced. In footage uploaded to YouTube, al-Wahwah sermonised, “The entire world – the media, the rulers, and the leaders – are flocking to the Jewish entity…in order to commemorate the so-called Holocaust.” Al-Wahwah went on to say he didn’t plan to “prove or disprove” the Holocaust or talk about the “dirty political exploitation by these criminals from among the occupying Jews, who exploit this issue … in order to justify their crimes.” He decried high-profile Islamic leaders who “went to Poland to pray for the Holocaust”, saying, “May Allah take you to the Holocaust!” Read Here
Nazi swastika spotted flying from light tower at Robertson Oval in Wagga Wagga, Australia
By Rachel McDonald
A swastika was spotted flying from a Wagga Wagga light tower. Wagga police Superintendent Bob Noble said police had not yet been contacted, but they may not be able to charge the culprit should they be found. Read Here
European Jewish leaders call for better policing of online hate speech
BY DAVID RISING
Jewish leaders called for better policing of hate speech on social media platforms over concerns prompted by recent attacks that people on the margins of society are being incited online to violence. Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis and chief rabbi of Moscow, said online radicalization was giving rise not only to more anti-Semitic incidents, but also hate crimes directed at Muslims and others. Read Here
Woman kicked off Swedish ‘Big Brother’ for anti-Semitism
By TOI STAFF
Sweden’s version of “Big Brother” was rocked by scandal when contestant Isabel Pereira made an anti-Semitic statement. Pereira’s comments came after fellow contestant Kim Kamal mentioned that her former boss was Jewish. “I liked her husband very much, because he was very kind and he understood me, but she was a Jew, so I understand,” Kamal said. “I hate Jews,” Pereira laughed. Read Here
UN human rights agency releases blacklist of 112 companies that aid settlements
BY RAPHAEL AHREN
Nearly four years in the making, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights unexpectedly published a list of more than 100 companies that conduct business in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel reacted angrily to the publication of the blacklist, denouncing the UN body responsible for compiling it and vowing to protect Israeli financial interests. The Palestinians, meanwhile, celebrated a “victory for international law.” Read Here
UNHRC Worked With NGOs With Terror Ties to Compile Blacklist of Firms
By JNS
NGOs with terrorist ties were involved in the UN Human Rights Council’s blacklist of 112 companies with ties to Israeli settlements. NGO Al-Haq, and its director general, Shawan Jabarin, were heavily involved in calling for the creation, publication and release of the UNHRC database. Jabarin is a former senior member of the PFLP who has served time in prison due to his role in numerous terrorist activities. In August 2019, Jabarin met with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and handed her a letter demanding publication of the database. Read Here
Anti-Semitic writings against the president of Montespaccato Football Club in Rome, Italy
BY Roma Today
“Cowardly Jew” (“Vile ebreo”) was spray-painted on a wall of the sports facility for the Montespaccato Football Club, directed at the president of the club, Massimiliano Monnanni. Read Here
Swastika on partisan daughter’s home in Turin, Italy
By ANSA
NeoNazi stickers appeared on the buzzer of the home of a WWII partisan’s daughter in Turin, the second such episode there in less than three weeks. The two small labels bore the words ‘Re Hitler’ (King Hitler) next to a swastika and a Celtic cross. Read Here
Media asked not to show anti-Semitic caricatures at Aalst Carnival
BY Maïthé Chini
Three professors who are specialised in anti-Semitism at the universities of Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven, have asked media to be careful with showing images of floats with Jewish caricatures at the Aalst Carnival. “In Hitler’s time, these caricatures were used to change people’s opinions,” said Klaas Smelik, professor at the University of Ghent. Read Here
ON CAMPUS
(16 Articles)
1. Swastika found at Duke University
By Shannon Fang and Jake Satisky
A red swastika was found painted on the East Campus Bridge on Duke’s campus. The bridge is the site of murals from Duke students and members of the Durham community. The swastika was found on the forehead of a design of a character from the Adult Swim television show “Rick and Morty.” It was promptly painted over and the white space was later edited with the words “STOP THE HATE LOVE IS FREE.” Read Here
2. UC Berkeley student government votes down resolution condemning pro-Palestinian display
By MARCY OSTER
The student government at the University of California, Berkeley, erupted into chaos, delaying a vote on a measure to censure a display by a pro-Palestinian student group. The student government met to debate a resolution titled “Condemning Bears for Palestine for Their Display in Eshleman Hall Glorifying Violent Terrorists.” The student group Bears for Palestine put on a display featuring convicted Palestinian terrorists Rasmieh Odeh, Fatima Bernawi and Leila Khaled. “Jewish students were repeatedly harassed, heckled and threatened with physical threats of violence, Tikvah: Students for Israel, said. Read Here
3. After six-hour debate, University of Illinois student government passes BDS resolution
By JACKSON RICHMAN
After more than six hours of deliberation, the student government at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign passed a BDS resolution that calls on the university to divest from “companies that profit from human-rights violations in Palestine. The final vote was 20 in favor, nine against and seven abstentions. The university’s administration already said it would not enforce the resolution. Read Here
4. University of Illinois student president vetoes BDS bill
By JNS
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student president has vetoed a BDS resolution that was passed by the student government. The bill will now likely be heard again by the student government, where it will need a two-thirds majority to override the president’s veto. Read Here
5. UIUC Jewish Leader Berates Student Government for Sign Equating Pro-Israel Activists With Nazis
By Karys Rhea
A Jewish student leader at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign berated members of the university’s student government after she was called a Nazi while voicing opposition to an anti-Israel divestment resolution under consideration. “I was called a Nazi right in front of your eyes while the authors of this bill clapped in support of the statement,” freshman Nina Raab is seen telling the gathering in video footage from the event. “I’m sorry, but if that is not anti-Semitic, I don’t know what is.” Read Here
6. Student steals mezuzah, Jewish classmate takes him to Holocaust memorial
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Michigan State University student, Maddy Gun, came back to her apartment and saw that the mezuzah she had hanged on her door had been ripped off and stolen. After asking her apartment manager to check the video footage to identify the perpetrator, she filed a police report. However, when the police identified an MSU male student as the suspect, Gun sat down with him and asked if he would be willing to take a guided tour of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington, which he agreed to. As a result of the visit, the suspect paid for the vandalized and stolen mezuzah. Read Here
7. UCSB Students for Justice in Palestine Calls for Boycott of SB Hillel Trip To Israel and Palestine
By Sanya Kamidi
UC Santa Barbara’s Students for Justice in Palestine released a petition calling for a boycott of the Santa Barbara Hillel’s Perspectives trip to Israel and Palestine, arguing that the trip “targets student leaders … in order to ensnare them in a right-wing effort to combat the movement for Palestinian human rights and self-determination.” Read Here
8. Collective of Rutgers Student and Community Organizations Demands University Commit to Broad-Based Ethical Divestment
By Insider NJ
The Endowment Justice Collective, a coalition of over a dozen Rutgers student and community organizations, will become the first major organization at the university to officially submit a divestment request to the Joint Committee on Investments (JCOI). EJC will send the JCOI a request demanding that the university divest from Israeli apartheid, the military-industrial complex, the prison-industrial complex, sweatshop/exploitative labor, and fossil fuels. Read Here
9. Anti-Semitic, Sinophobic vandalism found on floor of East Campus at Columbia University
By GRIFFIN JONES
On the morning of Feb. 14, swastikas were found painted in the East Campus building at Columbia University. The vandalism recalls two incidents, one in 2007 and one in 2018, during which a Jewish Teachers College professor’s office was graffitied with swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs. Read Here
10. Anti-Israel Protesters Disrupt Talk by Renowned Holocaust Scholar Deborah Lipstadt at UC Berkeley
By Benjamin Kerstein
Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt was disrupted by a group of anti-Israel activists during a talk on anti-Semitism at the University of California, Berkeley. Lipstadt pointed out that her lecture was on present-day anti-Semitism and had nothing to do with Israel, implying that the protesters had targeted her because she was a Jew speaking on Jewish issues. “When I spoke about anti-Semitism from the left, I mentioned that many people refuse to see anti-Semitism as legitimate,” Lipstadt said. “They dismiss claims of anti-Semitism as simply being a sop to protect Israel. I want to thank the protesters for making my point more clearly than my words could,” she stated. Read Here
11. MSU Student Spray-Paints Swastika In Front Of Own Frat House
By Corrie Colf
A member of the Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity at Michigan State University spray-painted a swastika on the grounds of his own fraternity house. He has since been suspended from the fraternity. The swastika was accompanied by an unrelated message that named a female student but did not appear to be anti-Semitic in nature. Read Here
12. German university hosts pro-BDS event with alleged anti-Semite
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
The Berlin-based Humboldt University, which expelled Jewish academics and students during the Nazi-era, is slated to host an event with pro-BDS academic, Georg Meggle, who critics allege is anti-Semitic and has helped mainstream the delegitmization of Israel. The Humboldt University media spokesman Hans-Christoph Keller plans to moderate the panel titled “Who is an anti-Semite – a philosophical clarification of the concept.” Read Here
13. Anti-Israel students protest UK and Israeli military speakers at University of Bristol
By Jewish News
Supporters of Israel clashed with pro-Palestinian activists at the University of Bristol, as students from an Israel advocacy group welcomed former British and Israeli military figures speakers to campus. A vocal protest greeted the arrival of former British Army commander Col. Richard Kemp and Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, an Israeli defence and security analyst, whose appearance had been facilitated by the Pinsker Centre. Read Here
14. Photo of students with swastika and Confederate flag roils Riverside, California school
By HANNAH FRY
A photograph of a group of Riverside teenagers posing with a Nazi symbol in front of a Confederate flag that began circulating on social media has prompted backlash from students and parents. The photo shows eight Martin Luther King High School students — some smiling — with a Confederate flag and a Trump 2020 banner. One of the students is holding a representation of a swastika and flashing a White Power symbol. Read Here
15. Long Island Robotics Competition Judge Makes Anti-Semitic Remark in Front of Students
By Ray Villeda
A parent recording what he thought would be a nice memory of his son competing at a robotics competition ended up capturing one of the judges making an anti-Semitic comment — right in front of a group of students. “God d— Jews,” one the judges can be heard saying quietly and under her breath to the other. The fellow judge next to her seems to nod along. The comment was made after a student mentioned a building owned by the Hebrew Community of New York. Read Here
16. Anti-Semitic graffiti outside 2 schools in Pomezia, Italy
By Redazione ANSA
Anti-Semitic graffiti was found scrawled outside the entrance of two schools in the town of Pomezia, near Rome. Pomezia Mayor Adriano Zuccalà said council workers were working to remove the graffiti outside the Pascal high school and the Istituto Largo Brodolini, condemning the “cowardly gesture.” Read Here
ANALYSIS
(6 Pieces)
1. Our Jewish solidarity is eroding
By SHUKI FRIEDMAN
The Israel Democracy Institute’s 2019 Democracy Index reveals that only 51% of Israeli Jews feel that they share a common fate with Jews in the Diaspora, indicating that Jewish solidarity is gradually being eroded. The limited sense of solidarity between Jews in Israel and abroad also contradicts a basic value. The continued existence of the Jewish people over thousands of generations was made possible by Jewish solidarity; the sense that we share a shatterproof bond and a common destiny has been the secret to the survival of the Jewish people. Read Here
2. How an anti-Semitic staple about Jewish power captured the left
By Sharon Goldman
Sadly, the anti-Semitic trope of supernatural Jewish power that can only be contained through elimination is no longer the exclusive province of the right. It is no longer deniable that the anti-Zionism which has become the bread and butter of the left flank of American political life has abandoned criticism of Israel in favor of calls for elimination of the Jewish state based on a totalizing portrayal of its power that borders on the supernatural. In this new 21st century version of anti-Zionism, the practically supernatural power that Israel is seen as wielding can only be met with demands that the Jewish state cease to exist. Read Here
3. Attacking Israeli Food? Your Racism Is Showing
By HEN MAZZIG
My Iraqi mother honors her mother by cooking traditional Iraqi Jewish dishes. Recently, anti-Israel activists launched a campaign to obliterate my grandmother’s Shabbat lunches. This attack was in reaction to a post on a website called Hey Alma, which asked people to announce their “unpopular Jewish food opinions.” By declaring Israeli cuisine doesn’t exist, these anti-Zionists are stealing Mizrahi recipes and delivering them to regimes that ethnically cleansed us. After the majority of Mizrahi Jews fled for their lives to escape anti-Semitic regimes throughout the Middle East, they resettled in Israel. We identify our food as Israeli because as members of the Jewish state we can cook it without the fear of being massacred. Read Here
4. BDS wins but the Palestinians lose
By Ben Dror Yemini
Criticism of settlements is not anti-Semitism, but according to the definition of anti-Semitism in the guidelines adopted by the EU in 2016, the anti-Israel obsession of the UNHRC is indeed a manifestation of this phenomenon. The industrial areas of the West Bank employ 20,000 Palestinian workers. Palestinians working for many of the companies hold senior positions and earn up to three times the salaries paid by companies operating within the Palestinian Authority. Their income is a vital part of the Palestinian economy and its removal would have long term implications they could not support. Read Here
5. From bialy to ‘Jew York,’ Oxford English Dictionary adds dozens of (sometimes offensive) Jewish-themed words and phrases
By GABE FRIEDMAN
The Oxford English Dictionary has just added a slew of Jewish-themed and Yiddish terms, some of which are sure to offend. The venerable institution’s list of new entries for January 2020 contains dozens of items with Jewish content, from “bialy” to “Jewfro” to “yeshiva bochur.” Responding to debate this week about the inclusion of yiddo, a term for fans of the British Tottenham Hotspurs soccer club that borrows from a derogatory term for Jewish people, the dictionary’s compilers said they judge proposed additions by their significance, not whether they offend. Read Here
6. Why the world needs to remember Ilan Halimi
By Jonathan A. Greenblatt
starved, tortured and beaten for 24 days before his captors gave up their plan to cash in on a young Jewish life. In Ilan’s case, his undoing was a single stereotype: Jews are wealthy and hoard their money. Why is the retelling of his story important for American audiences? Because we recently have seen in America what can happen when anti-Semitic tropes about wealth, secret control of governments, and treacherousness are taken by anti-Semites to their seemingly logical conclusion. Read Here
STUDIES AND STATISTICS
(9 Pieces)
1. Massive rise in spread of white supremacist propaganda in US, says ADL
By ELANA SCHOR
Incidents of white supremacist propaganda distributed across the nation jumped by more than 120% between 2018 and last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League, making 2019 the second straight year that the circulation of propaganda material has more than doubled. The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism reported 2,713 cases of circulated propaganda by white supremacist groups, including fliers, posters and banners, compared with 1,214 cases in 2018. Read Here
2. Ninety-two per cent of Momentum members think Labour anti-Semitism ‘wildly exaggerated’, poll shows
By JC Reporter
Members of Momentum – the pro-Corbyn campaign group within Labour – are more likely than other Labour members to think alleged anti-Semitism in the party was “wildly exaggerated” by the party’s opponents. A total of 73% of Labour members agreed with the statement that Jew-hate in the party was “wildly exaggerated by right-wing media and opponents of Jeremy Corbyn”, a poll by Lord Ashcroft found. But the figure rose to 92% among Momentum members, just 6% of whom felt anti-Semitism “was a real issue” in the party. Read Here
3. 20% of German university academics reject Israel’s existence
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
A fifth of German academics want the right to reject Israel’s existence on college and university campuses as part of free speech. The Kondrad Adenauer Foundation, the Christian Democratic Union party’s think tank, commissioned the Instituts für Demoskopie Allensbach survey to 1,106 academics about free speech within the university and college setting. Read Here
4. UN BDS Blacklist Analysis
By NGO Monitor
After multiple delays over legal, due process, and methodological concerns, which do not seem to have been addressed, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published its “Database of all business enterprises” that it claims contribute to “human rights concerns.” This UN blacklist, ordered by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), is meant to bolster BDS campaigns, singling out Israel. The unique treatment of Israel in this exercise, as with many other HRC initiatives, violates the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition of anti-Semitism. Read Here
5. Jews are still ‘treacherous’ according to Saudi textbooks
By JNS, Israel Hayom Staff
The first full review of the Saudi curriculum in more than a decade shows that while improvements have been made, extremist content still exists. For example, Jews are blamed as assassins, described as monkeys, and will be fought and killed on the day of resurrection, according to a new report by IMPACT-se. The books also teach that Jews and Israelis are eternally treacherous, murdering prophets who commit irreparable evil and determined to harm Muslim holy places. Israel is seen as conspiring and striving to control the Middle East. Read Here
6. The number of anti-Semitic crimes in Bavaria increased significantly in 2019
By Augsburger Allgemeine
The number of anti-Semitic crimes rose significantly in Bavaria last year. According to preliminary data from the State Criminal Police Office, 307 cases were registered in 2019, around 40% more than in the previous year. The security authorities attribute almost 300 of the acts to the right-wing political spectrum. Read Here
7. Record number of anti-Semitic incidents documented in the Netherlands
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
Dutch Jewry’s watchdog for anti-Semitism has recorded the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents ever observed in a calendar year. The group, the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, recorded 182 incidents in 2019 — an increase of 35% The category of real-life cases — involving threats, insults and assaults on the street or in the workplace — saw the largest increase, more than doubling from 27 cases in 2018 to 61 last year. Eighteen incidents of real-life anti-Semitism were committed by supporters of the BDS movement, who during rallies in central Amsterdam called counter protesters “cockroaches” and kikes.” Read Here
8. France is failing to fight its rising tide of anti-Semitism
By Judith Miller
The most dangerous place to be a Jew in Europe is France. That’s the conclusion of an unpublished, two-year report on anti-Semitism in 11 European countries, conducted by former NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Kelly’s report concludes that the threat to the 450,000 Jews in France is the most “acute.” Attacks and threats against French Jews surged 74% in 2018, and preliminary data for the first half of 2019 indicate “further intensification,” with another 75% increase last year. Read Here
9. Cases of anti-Semitism increased by 70% in one year in Italy”
By QDS.it
In the last year in Italy there has been a 70% increase in cases of anti-Semitism: from 197 in 2018, to 251 registered in 2019, of which 173 are ascribed to internet. This was announced by the anti-Semitism observatory of the Cdec Foundation. Read Here
FEATURED PARTNER
Combat Anti-Semitism is proud to be a partner of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), a nonprofit organization that gives all generations of Jews a unique voice in building a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people. Learn more about JNF’s activities in the video below.
1. KKL-JNF launches online ‘click and plant’ project ahead of Tu B’Shvat
By SUE SURKES
In the run-up to the annual Jewish festival of Tu B’Shvat, KKL JNF Jewish National Fund has come up with a tech-savvy idea to help save the planet (and raise funds) called Click and Plant — an online site for buying trees. To launch the site, it is running a promotional two-week campaign offering donors the chance to buy trees for $5.20 — half the usual price — in any of the many forests throughout [Israel]. For each discount-price tree that is bought during the promotion, KKL will plant an additional tree along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel to help shield Israeli communities from rockets launched from the Hamas-controlled enclave. Read Here
JNF is a nonprofit organization and United Nations NGO that gives all generations of Jews a unique voice in building a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) owns 13% of the land in Israel. Since its inception in 1901, JNF has planted over 240 million trees in Israel. It has also built 180 dams and reservoirs, developed 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) of land and established more than 1,000 parks. In addition to planting trees, JNF also builds houses, sources water solutions, provides fire trucks, and helps people with special needs. JNF also facilitate tourism to Israel, support Aliyah, provide Zionist education, build medical centers, lead culinary research, and run an American semester abroad program in Israel.
Government & Policy Update
This section highlights the work of government officials around the world that are combating anti-Semitism in their official capacities.
(10 Pieces)
1. Pompeo says settlement blacklist shows UN’s ‘unrelenting anti-Israel bias’
By RAPHAEL AHREN and TOI STAFF
The top US diplomat expressed outrage at the UN rights chief’s publication of a blacklist of companies that do business in the West Bank. The list’s publication “only confirms the unrelenting anti-Israel bias so prevalent at the United Nations,” Mike Pompeo said. “The United States will never provide any information to the Office of the High Commissioner to support compilation of these lists. We call upon all UN member states to join us in rejecting this effort, which facilitates the discriminatory BDS campaign and delegitimizes Israel…” Read Here
2. Senators condemn UN ‘blacklisting’ of US companies in Israeli settlements
By LAURA KELLY
The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee slammed a report by a United Nations human rights body for blacklisting U.S. companies that operate in the Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank. In separate statements, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the panel’s chairman, and Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), the committee’s top Democrat, criticized the report, saying it was politically motivated and encouraged the BDS movement against Israel. Read Here
3. Bahrain Center for Coexistence teaches tolerance amid anti-Semitism
By FELICE FRIEDSON
Seeking to advance projects with the United States that promote respect and cooperation among the various religions, the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence in Bahrain will be signing a memorandum of understanding with the US in Manama next month. US special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism Elan Carr, representing the Americans, will be honored at the event. “Bahrain recognizes that anti-Semitism is not only evil, but that it inflicts a terrible toll on the societies that embrace it. I am grateful to the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence for proposing this collaboration with my office to fight anti-Semitism, especially in the Arab and Muslim world…” Carr Said. Read Here
4. Cruz: UN has descended to a new anti-Semitic low
By Elad Benari
US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blasted the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights following the publication of [blacklist]. “The United Nations has descended to a new anti-Semitic low. This database of companies…is meant to facilitate boycotts of Israeli Jews. It extends a tactic for attacking the livelihood of Jews that stretches back centuries…It is straightforward, undisguised, pathological hatred,” Cruz said in a statement. Read Here
5. Rep. Brad Schneider fights BDS, anti-Semitism and puts past Israel experience to use in House
By JACKSON RICHMAN
Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider has been in Congress, serving Illinois’s 10th Congressional District since 2017. In a recent interview, Congressman Schenider said: “Anti-Semitism is rising not just in the United States, but across the globe. Anti-Semitism comes from many corners; it’s not a single-point source. We have it from the far-right, from the far-left and from international Islamist organizations. We need to speak out against it anywhere and everywhere. We need to establish an absolute intolerance, and we need to make sure that those who are trafficking in anti-Semitism are identified, are thwarted and, where appropriate, are punished.” Read Here
6. Lawmakers consider bill to require Holocaust education in Wisconsin schools
By Victor Jacobo
For the last five years in a row, the Milwaukee area alone has had an increase in anti-Semitic incidents, according to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Those incidents helped spark legislation to educate Wisconsin students about the Holocaust and other genocides in history. Assembly Bill 816 would require education about the Holocaust and other genocides into high school and middle school social studies curriculum. Read Here
7. Resolution tabled in Brussels parliament calls for urgency of appointing national coordinator for the fight of anti-Semitism in Belgium
By YOSSI LEMPKOWICZ
Three members of the Brussels regional parliament tabled a resolution on the fight against anti-Semitism in which they stress the urgency of appointing a Belgian national coordinator for the fight against anti-Semitism. The resolution was tabled by three MPs from the liberal Mouvement Réformateur party, Viviane Teitelbaum, Alexia Bertrand and David Weytsman who called for other democratic parties to co-sign it. Read Here
8. French PM gives Ilan Halimi award to initiatives fighting anti-Semitism
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Fourteen years ago, 23 year-old Ilan Halimi was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Paris by a gang who believed that ‘all Jews have money’. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe awarded the 2020 Ilan Halimi prize during a ceremony at the Hotel Matignon marking the anniversary of his death. The prize was created in the memory of Halimi and rewards initiatives launched by youths under 25 that contribute to the fight against anti-Semitism. During the ceremony, Philippe warned against the spread of anti-Semitic stereotypes, saying that those ideas can lead to actions, as it was the case for Ilan’s death. Read Here
9. Berlin’s commissioner to fight anti-Semitism slams university for BDS event
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
The city-state of Berlin’s commissioner to combat anti-Semitism, Lorenz Korgel, criticized Humboldt University for holding an event with an alleged academic anti-Semite who promotes the BDS campaign targeting Israel. “If anti-Israeli boycott and delegitimization campaigns are directly supported, the line regarding Israel-related anti-Semitism was crossed. The Berlin Senate has clearly taken a stand against campaigns of this kind,” Korgel said. The Berlin-based Humboldt University hosted an anti-Israel event with the pro-BDS academic Georg Meggle. Read Here
10. US contributes to project aimed at conserving historic Jewish cemetery in Cairo
By ADAM RASGON
The US Embassy in Egypt recently announced that the State Department will support a project aimed at conserving a historic Jewish cemetery in the Bassatine district of Cairo that dates back to the 9th century. The cemetery, which contains the graves of many notable Jews including Rabbi Haim Capusi, who lived in Cairo in the 17th century, has long suffered from accumulation of trash, urban encroachment and theft. Read Here
HUMANITY
(6 Pieces)
1. Homecoming: Alexandria synagogue hosts Egypt’s largest Jewish prayers in decades
By FLORIS BOSSCHER
The largest Jewish prayer gathering in Egypt for decades recently took place. From across the Diaspora, some 180 Jews of Egyptian origin have flown to the land of their fathers for a Shabbat dedicated to marking the newly restored 14th-century Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue in Alexandria. Once the largest in the Arab world, the Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue was recently reopened in a festive gathering of government officials and Egyptian Jews. Read Here
2. South Hams, England adopts Working Definition of Anti-Semitism
By Daniel Clark
South Hams District Council has become the second council in Devon to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Anti-Semitism. Councillors unanimously agreed to back the motion that Cllr Judy Pearce, leader of the council, had put forward. Read Here
3. Newark and Sherwood, England District Council unanimously voted to adopt IHRA Working Definition of Anti-Semitism
By Rachel Armitage
Councilors in Newark and Sherwood in England unanimously voted to adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Anti-Semitism to help eliminate prejudice. Robert Jenrick, Newark MP and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government wrote to all local authorities encouraging them to formally do so back in January. Read Here
4. Iceland welcomes its first permanent Torah scroll
By MARCY OSTER
Iceland welcomed its first permanent Torah scroll. The final letters of the Torah were written at a reception at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Iceland, Jeffrey Ross Gunter, who is Jewish. The new scroll, which took a year to write, was donated to the Jewish community of Reykjavik by Uri Krauss of Zurich, Switzerland. Read Here
5. Conference of Presidents: Jewish mission to Saudi Arabia the result of ‘two decades of effort’
By ALEX TRAIMAN
A delegation of 30 Jewish American leaders was hosted by senior government officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a four-day summit organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the first such specifically Jewish delegation to the Sunni Muslim kingdom in nearly three decades. The mission to the Saudi Arabia took place after a report that efforts are underway to organize a public summit between Israel’s prime minister and Persian Gulf leaders. Read Here
6. Chelsea teams up with Jerusalem Post for anti-Semitism policy conference
By Jack Mendel
Chelsea Football Club is teaming up with one of Israel’s top newspapers for a policy conference, in a bid to continue its battle against anti-Semitism. The Blues announced the March event at Stamford Bridge with the Jerusalem Post, which will feature politicians from the UK and Israel, as well as community leaders and sports personalities. The battle against anti-Semitism in sport will be at the fore. Read Here
OVER 160,000 INDIVIDUALS AND 180 ORGANIZATIONS HAVE SIGNED OUR PLEDGE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
“Combat anti-Semitism (CAM) is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of interfaith individuals and organizations united to combat anti-Semitism. CAM exposes anti-Semitic activity from across the ideological spectrum and highlights those working to fight against its resurgence. One of the most pernicious forms of modern anti-Semitism is the effort to deny and delegitimize the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and their profound historic, religious and cultural connection to their ancestral homeland, Israel. Humanity flourishes when religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity is respected, and we hope to encourage understanding and set an example through our work. Anti-Semitism is the oldest form of bigotry and by working to eliminate it, we hope tragedies like the holocaust or any incidents of hate inspired speech or violence perpetrated against the Jewish people, Israel, or any discriminated group are reduced significantly.”
