The investigation by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission into institutional anti-Semitism within Labour remains “on-going” despite the coronavirus outbreak bringing the country to a standstill. An EHRC spokesperson refused to comment on suggestions that publication of the completed report could now be delayed, saying a “timeline” for the equality watchdog to complete the probe had never been confirmed. Read Here
Please forward to your family and friends and ask them to join the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement today!
THIS WEEK’S CONTENT
WATCH THE WEEKLY CAM NEWSLETTER SUMMARY BELOW
TAKE ACTION
(1 Piece)
AJC’s Campaign to Encourage Good Deeds
AJC’s #BeAMensch campaign encourages and highlights acts of kindness and decency, which lift us all up and illuminate the darkness of the current period with countless points of light. Amid the chaos and uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis, we are seeing countless individuals, groups, institutions, organizations, companies, and even countries engage in mensch-y behavior: from providing comfort to those in quarantine to reaching out to those most vulnerable and speaking up for groups targeted by hate and xenophobia.
The term mensch is Yiddish for “a person of integrity and honor”—or, put simply, a good person. AJC’s #BeAMensch campaign will share tips on the sorts of things you can do to be a mensch and lend a helping hand—or elbow—during this challenging time.
Special Feature
(1 Piece)
1. The Emma Lazarus Art Award Winner – ‘Get it Right’
By David Kerner
The Emma Lazarus Art Award for the Combat Anti-Semitism Venture Creative Contest was inspired by Lazarus, a Latina Jew whose poem “The New Colossus” transformed the meaning of the Statue of Liberty. People were encouraged to revive her poem to tackle anti-Semitism.
One of our Emma Lazarus Art Award winners is David Kerner! His song called “Get it Right” shows his passion and love for Israel, sung while strumming his guitar. You can listen to his song below.
UNITED STATES
(7 Articles)
1. Rosanna Arquette Apologizes for Israel Coronavirus Tweet
By AARON BANDLER
Actress Rosanna Arquette apologized for her tweet alleging that Israel knew about the coronavirus outbreak for a year and put “lives at risk for profit.” The initial tweet, which has since been deleted, read: “So Israel has been working on a coronavirus vaccine for a year already? (so they knew it) Vaccines take a long time to know if they are safe and KUSHNER OSCAR is the major investor in the new vaccine that is supposedly coming here. Lives at risk for profit.” “KUSHNER OSCAR” is a reference to Jared Kushner, and brother Josh Kushner, who co-founded Oscar, a health care company that helps locate coronavirus testing centers. Read Here
2. Washington state man arrested for alleged anti-Semitic threats to neighbor
By MARCY OSTER/JTA
A Washington state man was arrested on suspicion of making anti-Semitic threats against a neighbor who took in his 13-year-old child when the teen needed a place to live. According to the criminal complaint against Matthew Douglas Kane, he threatened to harm her on multiple occasions. It also said that “Kane posted anti-Semitic comments and threatened to harm state Child Protective Services workers, members of law enforcement and Jews.” Kane, 48, identified himself as a white nationalist and used a screen name and images involving Nazi symbols. Read Here
3. White supremacists encouraging their members to spread coronavirus to cops, Jews, FBI says
By Josh Margolin
Racist extremist groups, including neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, are encouraging members who contract coronavirus to spread the contagion to cops and Jews, according to intelligence gathered by the FBI. The FBI alert told local police agencies that extremists want their followers to try to use spray bottles to spread bodily fluids to cops on the street. The extremists are also directing followers to spread the disease to Jews by going “any place they may be congregated…” Read Here
4. Hasidic man refused service by Toyota dealership ‘because you’re spreading the virus’
By Ari Feldman
A Hasidic man was refused service at Johnstons Toyota, in New Hampton, N.Y after being accused of “spreading the virus.” In several videos shared on WhatsApp, the man described making an appointment and then being asked to leave without having his car serviced, even as other customers brought their vehicles in. In an exchange with an employee of the dealership, the man asked why he was being refused service. “Because you’re spreading the virus,” the employee can be heard saying. “You gotta go.” Read Here
5. Anti-Israel NGOs Are Exploiting Coronavirus to Spread Hate
By BECCA WERTMAN
For anti-Israel advocacy NGOs, which constantly attempt to demonize and delegitimize the Jewish state, have decided to link their agendas to COVID-19. This is consistent with previous attempts by NGOs to capitalize on the prevailing public discourse, such as manipulating narratives of climate change and LGBTQ rights as part of their anti-Israel campaigns. Read Here
6. Charged man says he regrets defacing Louisiana synagogue
By AP
A man charged with spraying anti-Semitic graffiti on a Louisiana synagogue said he regrets his actions and wants to apologize to the congregation. Authorities arrested Caine Zander Brown in connection with the defacing of the Northside Jewish Congregation in the New Orleans suburb of Mandeville. “I want to make amends,” Brown said in a phone interview. “It’s part of my life that I regret. It was identity issues, social isolation, built-up anger and being a stupid kid.” Read Here
7. Syracuse, NY Imam: Women Who Expose Themselves Are Playing Games with Allah Like Jews
By MEMRI
Khadar Bin Muhammad, the Imam of Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabah in Syracuse, NY, said in a video that was uploaded to YouTube that when Allah decides to punish the infidels on their land, he may destroy anybody who is on that land. He said that this should serve as a reminder to Muslims in the U.S. that they are living in a land of infidels and that Allah may punish them by such means as COVID-19. Bin Muhammad criticized women who are lazy when it comes to covering their body parts, adding: “They are playing games [with Allah] like Jews.” Read Here
ISRAEL AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
(4 Pieces)
1. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE UK
EHRC’s Probe into Labour anti-Semitism ‘on-going’ despite coronavirus outbreak
By Lee Harpin
‘Miss Hitler’ and three others guilty of National Action membership
By BBC
A “Miss Hitler” contest entrant and her ex-partner have been convicted of being members of the banned far-right terrorist group National Action. Alice Cutter, 23, and Mark Jones, 25, were found guilty of being members of the neo-Nazi organisation after a retrial at Birmingham Crown Court. Garry Jack, 24, and 19-year-old Connor Scothern were also found guilty of being members of the group. All four will be sentenced at a later date. National Action was outlawed under anti-terror legislation after it celebrated the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox. Read Here
EVEN AS CORONAVIRUS KEEPS MOST PEOPLE AT HOME, ANTI-SEMITISM PERSISTS ON THE STREETS, AS MAN SHOUTS “ALL JEWS LOOK THE SAME” AT JEWISH PASSERSBY
By CAA
A man shouted anti-Semitic abuse at Jewish passersby, yelling “all Jews look the same!” The man also mocked the wig worn by an observant Jewish woman passing by, saying “bird like you with a wig”, and told passing Jewish men, “go to the hairdresser to cut your curls,” in reference to their religious Jewish side curls. The incident took place on Oldhill Street in Stamford Hill and was reported by Stamford Hill Shomrim. Read Here
2. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY
Neo-Nazis from U.S. and Europe build far-right links at concerts in Germany
BY Richard Engel and Luke Denne
As the deafeningly loud, rapid-fire music known as “hate rock” blasted out, hundreds of white nationalists, skinheads and neo-Nazis nodded their heads and swigged their drinks. Among them was Keith, 46, a welder from Las Vegas, who for the second year in a row had traveled from Nevada to Germany to attend several far-right events. He said he hoped to share ideas and strategies with like-minded people. German Interior Ministry figures showed that there had been 132 events of this type from January to September 2019. Read Here
3. IN DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST
Palestinian Writers: The Coronavirus Is A Biological Weapon Employed By U.S., Israel Against Their Enemies
By MEMRI
The coronavirus outbreak has been accompanied by the circulation of many conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus, which were published, inter alia, in the Arab media and especially Palestinian media. While Palestinian Authority spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said that the PA is taking measures against the virus in collaboration with Israel, some in the Palestinian media accused Israel and the U.S. of spreading the coronavirus in the world for various reasons: in order to weaken China and Iran, to help Trump’s reelection campaign and/or to facilitate Israel’s takeover of the region. Read Here
4. IN DEPTH: OTHER WORLD NEWS
South African BDS Advocate’s Claim That Israel Won’t Provide Coronavirus Advice to Arab Citizens Is Rebuffed
BY Ben Cohen
An event scheduled to take Anti-Zionist agitators in South Africa are pushing the false claim that Israel has not published Arabic-language guidelines for dealing with the coronavirus out of contempt for its Arab citizens — despite the fact that these materials, including a video in Arabic, are readily accessible on the Israeli Health Ministry’s website. Ronnie Kasrils — a leader of the BDS movement in South Africa alleged that coronavirus advice in Israel had only been issued in Hebrew, echoing similar claims made by other BDS activists. Read Here
Violent anti-Semitic antifa activist released, re-offend
By Ari Hoffman
A violent Antifa activist with a long felony record, who was released to treatment rather than being incarcerated for an anti Semitic assault, has been arrested yet again, this time for violating the conditions of his release. Jamal Oscar Williams, 44, “…failed to report, call or provide verification of his whereabouts to the Community Center for Alternative Programs (CCAP).” Read Here
‘Swastikas should have rung alarm bells’
By PETER KOHN
An artistic display in a gallery connected to the RMIT University campus in Carlton, Australia which included designs almost identical to Nazi swastikas has been concealed by management after a Jewish passer-by was distressed at sighting it. The artwork, by Melbourne textile artist Paul Yore, displayed as part of an exhibition of his works, features an ornamental dress, with an embroidered band on its hem that includes a series of swastikas. Read Here
Murdered French Jewish Holocaust Survivor Remembered on Two-Year Anniversary of Death
BY Algemeiner Staff
Jewish groups around the world marked the two-year anniversary of the anti-Semitic killing of Mireille Knoll — an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who was stabbed and burned to death by two intruders in her Paris apartment. Two men — 28-year-old Yacine Mihoub, Knoll’s neighbor, and 21-year-old Alex Carrimbacus — were arrested following the incident and charged with murder aggravated by anti-Semitism. Read Here
ON CAMPUS
(3 Articles)
1. CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY’S STUDENTS’ UNION DRESSED UP AS A HOLOCAUST VICTIM
By CAA
One of the two candidates running to become President of Edge Hill University’s Students’ Union recently dressed up as a Holocaust victim for a “Movie and TV Show” themed night out. Sam Farrell is seen in images posted on social media dressed in striped pyjamas and wearing a cap, reminiscent of an inmate at Nazi concentration camps. Captions accompanying the images referred to “needing a shower” and “feeling gassed”. The student who published the photographs complained to the university and Mr Farrell was advised to remove the images from social media, but apparently no further action was taken and he was permitted to continue to stand in the election. Read Here
2. 70-plus faculty members thank Columbia university president for battling BDS vote
By JNS
More than 70 Columbia faculty members have signed a letter thanking university president Lee Bollinger for expressing opposition ahead of an undergraduate student referendum next month calling on the university to divest from companies doing business in Israel. The 74 faculty members signed the open letter—organized by the Academic Engagement Network (AEN)—to applaud “Bollinger’s forceful and unequivocal declaration against bigotry and prejudice, which are intolerable, as he said, when directed against any group, especially within a university.” Read Here
3. Ex-SJP Leader at NYU Responds to Israel’s First Coronavirus Death With Nasty Tweet
By Benjamin Kerstein
The former president of the New York University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine responded to Israel’s first coronavirus fatality with a nasty tweet. Aryeh Even, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, passed away, becoming the first Israeli to die of the disease. When the news broke of Even’s death, Leen Dweik, a prominent pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist, tweeted, “Anyway should I paint my nails red or green today?” Read Here
real story
We highlight here the victims of anti-Semitism to raise awareness and to humanize the issue. If you have a story to share, we want to hear from you! Contact us for more information.
Professor Channa Newman filed a lawsuit against Point Park University for employment discrimination based on her Jewish and Israeli ancestry, after a concerted effort led by anti-Zionist faculty and students to create a hostile work environment. Professor Newman, a Holocaust survivor with U.S., Israeli and Czech citizenship, has been employed by Point Park since 1964 and is the chair of the department of humanities and social sciences. Watch and share Channa’s story to help combat anti-Semitism today!
ANALYSIS
(4 Pieces)
1. The World’s Newest Virus Intersects With the World’s Oldest
By Abraham Cooper
The coronavirus pandemic may be new, but Jews have a long and tragic history when it comes to viruses — wrought by nature or conceived by man.
As we prepare for the long haul in our homes from Jerusalem to New Jersey, we should acknowledge that we have come a long way from the blood libel and Black Plague — that we may be isolated, but we and our neighbors are not alone. We are empowered to love and do acts of loving-kindness to our neighbors and for the stranger. If we do, we will succeed in overcoming the newest and oldest viruses. Read Here
2. The Coronavirus Preys on Jews’ Biggest Strength
By Bari Weiss
In the end, the point of community is to protect one another, especially those who are marginalized or lonely or overlooked. Like the virus, communal connection will have to mutate in Great Neck, and in every other city and town, as FaceTime replaces face time. At least for the time being. If Jewish history has a theme, it is resilience — the ability to renew and revive community during our darkest hours. Now, as ever, the people poised to show us the way forward are those who have been most connected all along. Read Here
3. Fellow Partisans: Enough with the Ignorance on Anti-Semitism
By Aaron Keyak
Being able to identify and call out anti-Semitism – from the far right or the far left, from a member of an opposing party or from within one’s own party – is critical to fighting this age-old scourge.We won’t be able to ever stop anti-Semitism in our local communities if our elected and community leaders aren’t able to prevent it from coming out of the mouths of their peers. It is often easy to call the other side out, and it is often almost impossible to recognize it from within. In these perilous times there’s no room in society – and certainly not among our leadership – for casual bigotry, microaggressions and slurs against the Jewish people. Read Here
4. Police need tools to track anti-Jewish hate
By Sean Mattson
Law enforcement tracks crimes that evidence bias based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender or disability. One matter that makes anti-Jewish crime unique is that it can fit in more than one of those categories. There are mirror bills at the Arizona Legislature that deal with defining anti-Semitism for use in evaluating, identifying and tracking anti-Jewish hate crimes. The adoption of the IHRA definition removes the requirement that the reporting policeman make that distinction because every anti-Jewish hate crime would simply be categorized as “anti-Semitism.” Read Here
STUDIES AND STATISTICS
(3 Piece)
1. Tens of Millions of Europeans Have Demonic Views of Israel
By Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld
Tens of millions of European citizens have a demonic view of Israel. This manifests itself in a variety of ways, the most serious of which is comparing Israel’s actions against the Palestinians to those of the Nazis against the Jews. The demonization of Israel leads to anti-Semitic insults directed against Jews in general. The EU and its member states, but also the Israeli government, have been greatly negligent in dealing with this problem. When 25% think of Israel’s politics, they feel they understand why some people hate Jews. Twenty-four percent think Israeli policy toward the Palestinians justifies an international boycott of Israel. The same percentage think Israelis behave like Nazis towards the Palestinians. Read Here
2. Eleven anti-Semitic crimes with an Islamist background in German State of NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA
By Welt.de
Police have recorded from 2017 to 2019 a total of eleven anti-Semitic crimes with suspected or proven Islamist background in North Rhine-Westphalia. This was announced by NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) in an answer published to an AfD request. Insults and sedition as well as property damage or threats were registered. Read Here
3. Classic anti-Semitic allegations arise over coronavirus, says gov’t report
By JEREMY SHARON
A report by the Israeli Strategic Affairs Ministry has highlighted the outbreak of anti-Semitism that has arisen alongside the coronavirus pandemic, in which classical anti-Semitic allegations have been made by anti-Israel organizations and individuals. The report cited several examples of anti-Semitic allegations on social and news media based around the coronavirus and said that the global crisis was providing “fertile ground” for anti-Semitism. Read Here
FEATURED PARTNER
Combat Anti-Semitism is proud to be a partner of The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), an organization dedicated to scholarly research into the origins, processes, and manifestations of global anti-Semitism. Learn more about ISGAP in the video below.
NGO LOOKS TO COMBAT ANTI-SEMITISM THROUGH ACADEMIA
By Paul Lungen
For too long, the opponents of anti-Semitism have been virtually silent in the world of academia, where the next generation of policymakers are being exposed to relentless attacks against Israel and a pro-Palestinian narrative that has caused a troubling number of anti-Semitic incidents on campus. It’s time to “take back the university” by supporting professors and lecturers who will offer dedicated courses in the study of anti-Semitism, to better prepare young people to understand the growing worldwide phenomenon of Jew-hatred. That, in a nutshell, is the mission of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), a New York-based non-profit organization. Read Here
Register For ISGAP’s March 30th Webinar: ISGAP-Merton College High Level Workshop for Government Civil Servants and Policy Experts on Understanding and Combating Anti-Semitism: Strategies and Best Practices. Register here
The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) is committed to fighting anti-Semitism on the battlefield of ideas. ISGAP is dedicated to scholarly research into the origins, processes, and manifestations of global anti-Semitism and of other forms of prejudice, including various forms of racism, as they relate to policy in an age of globalization. On the basis of this examination of anti-Semitism and policy, ISGAP disseminates analytical and scholarly materials to help combat hatred and promote understanding.
Government & Policy Update
This section highlights the work of government officials around the world that are combating anti-Semitism in their official capacities.
(4 Pieces)
1. German police stage nationwide raids on anti-Semitic group
By AGENCIES
German police raided sites across the country linked to a far-right group banned by the interior ministry, weeks after a suspected extremist gunman shot dead nine people of migrant backgrounds. Germany’s top security official, Horst Seehofer, issued a ban on the United German Peoples and Tribes, the first time a group associated with the so-called Reichsbuerger movement has been proscribed. “We are dealing with a group that distributes racist and anti-Semitic writings and in doing so systematically poisons our free society,” Seehofer said. Read Here
2. Head of British Foreign Office’s Coronavirus Operations Condemns ‘Sad, Hateful’ Pandemic-Related Anti-Semitism
By Algemeiner Staff
The head of the British Foreign Office’s coronavirus operations denounced anti-Semitism connected to the pandemic. “So much of this corona-related #antisemitism now infesting our TLs – it’s a Jewish/Zionist/Israeli plot, say the conspiracy theorists. Just sad, hateful nonsense,” tweeted Jon Benjamin, who has served as a prominent diplomat since 1986. Concerns about anti-Semitism arising from the coronavirus crisis, akin to medieval claims that Jews were responsible for the bubonic plague, have been rising in recent weeks. Read Here
3. Palm Beach Gardens adopts resolution denouncing anti-Semitism
By SERGIO CARMONA
The city of Palm Beach Gardens passed a resolution adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism. The resolution denounces hate crimes and anti-Semitism in all forms and expresses solidarity with members of the Jewish community. It also denounces the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Read Here
4. CÔTE ST-LUC ADOPTS IHRA ANTI-SEMITISM DEFINITION
By CJN Staff
Côte St-Luc has become the third Quebec municipality to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. The council passed a resolution endorsing the definition and calling upon other levels of government and jurisdictions to do the same as a means of combatting anti-Semitism. The Côte St-Luc council described the IHRA working definition as “the most universally accepted and expertly-driven definition of anti-Semitism available today.” Read Here
HUMANITY
(5 Pieces)
1. Coronavirus Crisis Brings Israel and Arab World Together, at Least Online
By Benjamin Kerstein
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has been receiving messages of solidarity from across the Arab world as the coronavirus crisis intensifies. The messages came in response to a social media post by the ministry, which showed a photo of three employees making heart signs with their hands. The accompanying Arabic-language text read, “This is a message to you from Israel: We pray to Allah to protect the inhabitants of Arab countries.” “We are all human beings; we are all brothers.” The post was viewed by approximately four million people in Arab countries, and received responses such as, “May Allah protect you and bless you.” Read Here
2. Israel, Palestinians set up joint operations room to combat coronavirus
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Israel and the Palestinian Authority have set up a joint operations room to combat the coronavirus pandemic, PA government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem revealed. “Our shared borders and relations do not leave room for hesitation to take severe measures and cooperate on the highest levels to prevent the spread of the virus,” Milhem said. “We have been working with the Israeli authorities from day one to fight the virus,” said a Palestinian health official. “Most of the measures we took in the Bethlehem area after the first cases were detected were done in full coordination with Israel.” Read Here
3. Teva donates potential coronavirus treatment to hospitals across the US
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
As the coronavirus spreads across the world, and the number of people infected is increasing every day, there is an urgent need to find treatments against COVID-19 that could reduce complications and improve recovery. Teva, the giant Israeli pharmaceutical company, has announced that it will donate more than six million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets through wholesalers to hospitals across the United States, starting March 31. Over 10 million tablets are expected to be shipped within a month. Read Here
4. Gal Gadot leads star-studded cover of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’
By The Jewish News
Actress Gal Gadot led a star-studded cover of John Lennon’s Imagine as celebrities including Natalie Portman and Jamie Dornan attempted to lift spirits amid the coronavirus outbreak. In a video viewed more than two million times on Instagram, Israeli Wonder Woman star Gadot explains she has been in isolation for six days and the global crisis has left her feeling “philosophical”. Read Here
5. In quarantine, Holocaust survivor celebrates 94th birthday with community support
By REA BOCHNER
In the midst of the Coronavirus, when the health of the elderly may be at risk, isolation could affect their social and emotional needs. Holocaust survivor Elizabeth Goldstein turned 94 on March 19 but fortunately she did not have to celebrate alone. Goldstein, who lives on her own in Mount Laurel, NJ, had multiple celebrations throughout the week, including a delivery of food and flowers and a visit from her great-grandchildren, who had lunch outside her window to celebrate. Read Here
OVER 200,000 INDIVIDUALS AND 210 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.”
