A former Labour member who was expelled by the party has been charged with an offence under the Communications Act as part of a police investigation into anti-Semitism. Mohson Rasool, 60, is charged with sending “a grossly offensive message or other matter.” He is accused of sending a message on a “public electronic communications network” that was “grossly offensive.” 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)
THEODOR HERZL TAKE ACTION CONTEST – ROUND 2
Submit a plan for social venture to help stop anti-Semitism. The award prize will be a seed investment to jumpstart your social start-up. Creative solutions are needed to help end anti-Semitism. Propose an idea for a social venture that can contribute in a meaningful way to the struggle against anti-Semitism. Outstanding ideas will receive seed funding to turn the idea into action – with the top idea receiving up to $50,000.
Round 2 Deadline: June 15, 2020
Special Feature
(1 Piece )
Power of Protest: Lessons of the Soviet Jewry Movement For Today
Please join the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement in Philadelphia on March 15th for a conversation with Natan Sharansky on the “Power of Protest” and how lessons of the Soviet Jewry Movement can be applied today.
UNITED STATES
(11 Articles)
1. US Authorities Arrest 5 Linked to Neo-Nazi Group
By VOA News
U.S. authorities arrested five figures linked to the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division. John Denton of Montgomery, Texas, a former leader of the group, was charged with making a series of phony bomb threats in Virginia. Authorities said Atomwaffen has been trying to incite a race war in the U.S. Read Here
2. FDNY boss sent anti-Semitic, homophobic texts about embattled underling, court papers say
By Larry Celona and Priscilla DeGregory
The boss of a New York City firefighter allegedly wrote anti-Semitic and homophobic text messages about his embattled underling, according to court papers. Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Michael Durkin of the Bureau of Fire Investigation allegedly sent a text message to someone else within the department referring to Jewish firefighter Jonathan Cummings as a “c–shot” and calling him “a Jewish wash woman,” court papers filed in Putnam County say. Read Here
3. Arizona Neo-Nazi Who Threatened Editor at Jewish Publication in Harassment Campaign Will Remain Behind Bars, Judge Rules
By Algemeiner Staff
An Arizona neo-Nazi involved in an anti-Semitic campaign of harassment against Jewish journalists and anti-hate activists will stay behind bars after a Phoenix judge determined that he remained a threat to the larger community. Judge John Boyle ordered Johnny Roman Garza, 20, of Queen Creek, Arizona, to remain in jail. Boyle expressed skepticism regarding Garza’s claim to have severed ties with the violent neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, noting that officers discovered a bulletproof vest during a search of Garza’s home. Read Here
4. Racially-motivated violent extremists elevated to “national threat priority,” FBI says
By CBS News
The FBI has elevated its assessment of the threat posed by racially motivated violent extremists in the U.S. to a “national threat priority” for fiscal year 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray said. He said the FBI is placing the risk of violence from such groups “on the same footing” as threats posed to the country by foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS and its sympathizers. Wray spoke in response to questions about how the FBI is “proactively” responding to an increase in hate-motivated crimes as anti-Semitic hate crimes have surged. Read Here
5. 2 months after deadly shooting, Jersey City’s kosher Supermarket To Reopen
By BEN SALES
Two months after his wife was murdered in the attack on this city’s only kosher grocery store, owner Moshe Ferencz was back behind the counter. The store, which has partially reopened in a new location, still doesn’t have regular hours. But the reopening signals an important moment for Jersey City’s small but growing community of Orthodox Jews. Read Here
6. WATCH: Jewish Man Assaulted in Brooklyn Gym
By AARON BANDLER
A Jewish man was assaulted inside a gym in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, N.Y. The Jewish man was using a machine at the gym when a man walked up behind him, slapped him and called him an “[expletive] Jew.” He then proceeded to throw the Jewish man’s headphones to the ground and stomp on them. Read Here
7. Tiffany Harris, accused of assaulting Jewish women and charged with hate crimes, released without bail by federal judge
By NOAH GOLDBERG
Tiffany Harris, a Brooklyn woman accused of going on a five-day assault spree targeting Jewish women, was released by a federal judge over the objections of prosecutors who wanted her jailed ahead of her trial. Harris, 30, faces federal and state hate crimes after going on a rampage Dec. 27 and assaulting three Jewish women in Crown Heights. She was released without bail by a judge on Dec. 28, only to assault a fourth Jewish woman. Read Here
8. Swastikas Found Near Downtown Miami Government Buildings
By Ty Russell
Authorities are investigating after someone drew swastikas near Government Center in downtown Miami. Thousands of people passed by them along busy Northwest 1st Avenue. Since then, crews have covered it with paint. Read Here
9. TikTok swamped with sickening videos of terror attack murders, Holocaust denials and vile racist slurs
By Richard Wheatstone
Kids as young as 13 are being exposed to sickening videos glorifying terror attacks, anti-Semitism and racist slurs on TikTok. The video-sharing app popular with teenagers has faced a backlash over its failure to protect youngsters from toxic footage. Scores of posts feature sickening anti-Semitic taunts – with cartoons depicting Jewish men with large noses and joking about the Holocaust receiving hundreds of likes and comments. Read Here
10. Anti-Semite Who Assaulted Jewish Student on NY Subway Will Be Tried for Hate Crime
By Algemeiner Staff
A woman was indicted on hate crimes charges by a grand jury in Manhattan for an anti-Semitic attack on a Jewish student on the New York subway. Zarinah Ali pleaded not guilty to the charge of assaulting Israeli national Lihi Aharon as the pair were traveling separately on the subway last December. A date for Ali’s trial is being scheduled. Read Here
11. As Coronavirus Spreads in New York Jewish Community, Fears Rise of Anti-Semitic Backlash
By Benjamin Kerstein
As the coronavirus spreads through the Jewish community in Westchester County, New York, concerns are being raised about a possible rise in anti-Semitism as a result. Now, there is growing evidence that an anti-Semitic backlash is occurring as a result of the spread of the virus in the community. A major concern is that racist attitudes toward Asian Americans due to the virus’ origins in China could now extend to the Jewish community. Read Here
ISRAEL AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
(4 Pieces)
1. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE UK
Former Labour member charged after police probe into anti-Semitism allegations
By Lee Harpin
Labour leadership hopefuls clash over party’s anti-Semitism crisis
By David Hughes
The Labour leadership candidates have clashed over responsibility for the party’s anti-Semitism crisis. Lisa Nandy, who quit Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet in 2016, said she spoke out on the issue but questioned her leadership rivals’ response to the allegations of anti-Jewish prejudice. Campaign frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer insisted he fought on the issue from within Mr Corbyn’s top team, while his main rival Rebecca Long-Bailey said she also spoke out. Read Here
Labour asks Facebook to ban groups pushing anti-Semitic hate to its supporters
By MATHILDE FROT
Labour has petitioned Facebook to take action against left-wing groups sympathetic to the party in an extraordinary bid to stamp out anti-Semitism. Staff working in Labour’s governance and legal unit, which investigates disciplinary cases, are thought to have contacted Facebook last year to demand some 11 groups identified as containing anti-Semitic content be moderated or removed. Read Here
WATCH BARONESS TONGE MAKE YET ANOTHER ANTI-SEMITIC STATEMENT IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, CALLING THE ISRAEL “AMERICA’S PUPPETMASTER”
By CAA
The disgraced peer, Jenny Tonge, has made yet another anti-Semitic statement, describing Israel as “America’s puppetmaster” in a remark in the House of Lords. Baroness Tonge, who was suspended from the Liberal Democrats before eventually resigning, has a long history of Jew-baiting, suggesting that the anti-Semitic attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue might be Israel’s fault, blaming Israel for a rise in anti-Semitism, and sharing a cartoon comparing Israel’s policies to those of the Nazis. Read Here
“I HATE YOU JEWS…THE ONLY REASON I DON’T KILL YOU IS BECAUSE I JUST GOT MY BRITISH PASSPORT AND I DON’T WANT TO LOSE IT,” JEWISH TOURIST TOLD AT GREEN PARK TUBE STATION
By CAA
A passerby told an American Jew visiting the UK: “I hate you Jews, you are all full of bulls***, you f*** up the country – the only reason I don’t kill you is because I just got my British passport and I don’t want to lose it.” The Jewish tourist was on the westbound platform of the Piccadilly Line at Green Park Underground Station, waiting for the train to Heathrow to travel home, when the incident took place. Read Here
Welsh party activist suspended over anti-Semitic posts to run for Assembly
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An activist for Plaid Cymru, a social-democratic Welsh nationalist party, who was previously suspended for making anti-Semitic Twitter posts, is now planning to run for a seat in the Welsh General Assembly. Sahar Al-Faifi, who was caught posting anti-Semitic content in 2017, according to her own admission, was reinstated by the party following an investigation. Read Here
Candidate for Labour deputy leader asks members to ‘distance themselves’ from those booted out
By Jacob Judah
Labour deputy leadership candidate Rosena Allin-Khan has told Labour members to “distance themselves” from activists that have been expelled from the Labour Party for “abhorrent” views. Dr Allin-Khan was responding to former Labour member Tony Greenstein’s claim that supporting both Israel and the Palestinians was similar to supporting Nazis and Jews. Dr Allin-Khan said that the comments were “disgusting” and that he had since been expelled from the party. Read Here
Calls for neo-Nazi Satanist group to be banned as terrorist organisation
By MATHILDE FROT
A neo-Nazi Satanist group that promotes extreme violence and sexual abuse should be banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK, anti-racism campaigners said. The counter-extremism charity Hope Not Hate urged the government to proscribe the Order of Nine Angles (O9A) in an annual report. The charity says members seek to “harness supernatural forces” to overthrow what they describe as the Jewish “Nazarene/Magian” influence on society. Read Here
London councillor to Labour Party: Drop ‘zero-tolerance’ to anti-Semitism
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A councillor from the London borough of Haringey has asked that the Tottenham Constituency Labour Party should remove a clause from a motion stating that the party should adopt a “zero-tolerance policy on anti-Semitism.” The request came from Councillor Noah Tucker, and added that the motion on Jew-hatred should also drop the claim that anti-Semitism “leads to a perception of complacency and collusion with anti-Semitism that is not without foundation” when the claims are not handled properly. Read Here
Man who shouted ‘dirty Jews’ and shoved baby’s pram convicted of racist assault
By Tim Wyatt
A man who launched an anti-Semitic tirade at a Jewish family after bumping into their buggy has been convicted of racially aggravated assault. Adam Cassidy, 20, was caught on film calling the Mendelsohn family “dirty Jews” three times and then kicking a hoarding towards them on a busy high street last year. Read Here
SNP to readmit MP who was suspended for online anti-Semitism
By JEWISH NEWS REPORTER
An MP who was suspended from the Scottish National Party for using anti-Semitic language on social media is to be readmitted to the party. Neale Hanvey was dropped by the party in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath while an investigation took place but remained on the ballot paper and won the seat in the 2019 election. Read Here
Palestine Solidarity Campaign director says IHRA definition ‘drains anti-Semitism of any meaning’
By Lee Harpin
The director of the controversial Palestine Solidarity Campaign has claimed the internationally-recognised definition of anti-Jewish racism “drains anti-Semitism of any meaning”. At a meeting of the Stop The War Coalition and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in London, Ben Jamal also accused Israel of “coordinating a global campaign” that was “designed to frame activism for Palestine as something hostile, something extremist, as something anti-Semitic.” Read Here
2. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY
17-year-old attacked and insulted in anti-Semitic incident in Berlin
BY Michael Thaidigsmann
A teenage boy was attacked at a bus stop in the Treptow-Köpenick district of Berlin and was insulted in an anti-Semitic manner. The perpetrator is said to have been drunk and described himself as a National Socialist, the police said on their website, citing the information from the 17-year-old victim. Read Here
3. IN DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST
Egypt and Oman Urged to Remove Anti-Semitic Titles From Annual Book Fairs
By Benjamin Kerstein 
The Anti-Defamation League called on Egypt and Oman to remove anti-Semitic materials from their annual book fairs. The fairs, which are state-supported and take place in the capital cities of Cairo and Muscat, have long featured virulently anti-Semitic titles. At the 2020 Cairo International Book Fair, among the books sold were The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and The International Jew, both based on a conspiracy theory charging that the Jews control the world. Read Here
Palestinian School Prayer: ‘Oh Allah, Cleanse the Holy Land of Jews’
By Elder of Ziyon
Watania, a Gaza-based news organization, published a suggested script for morning announcements in Palestinian schools on the occasion of the new lunar month. The suggested broadcast was anti-Semitic, and included this fervent prayer: “Oh Allah we ask that this year be a year of good and peace and that you cleanse the Holy Land from the spiteful Jews, for they are no match for You. Oh Jews, we have a great Lord; take revenge on them, oh Vanquisher/Subduer, oh Allah, oh Allah, oh Allah.” Read Here
Palestinian cleric: Hating Jews is an Islamic religious obligation; Abbas is wrong to deny it
By MEMRI
In a sermon in Jerusalem that aired on Lebanon’s Hizb ut-Tahrir-affiliated Al-Waqiyah television, Palestinian cleric Yousuf Makharzah said that animosity towards Jews is an Islamic religious duty, and that any Muslim that does not show enmity to the Jews is a heretic. Read Here
Iraqi Political Analyst Muhammad Sadeq Al-Hashemi: Coronavirus Is an American, Jewish Plot
By MEMRI
Iraqi political analyst Muhammad Sadeq Al-Hashemi said in interview on Al-Ayam TV (Iraq) that coronavirus is an American plot to reduce the world’s population. He compared this American “conspiracy” to when the Jews used blankets infected with anthrax to wipe out 86% of the Native American population in order to have a real Jewish homeland. He said that the Zionist lobby similarly cleansed one third of the population of Scotland and that the Rothschild family has a monopoly of laboratories that develop biological and nuclear weapons. Read Here
Children’s sweatshirt featuring Nazi insignia removed from eBay affiliate following outcry
By Michael Daventry
A Turkish t-shirt maker has apologised for putting children’s sweatshirts featuring Nazi insignia on sale across the country. The long-sleeved top, featuring a black swastika within the Reichsadler (“Imperial Eagle”), the standard used by Nazi Germany, appeared on several auction websites worn by a child model. It was available on GittiGidiyor.com, which is owned by eBay, and Trendyol, majority-owned by the Alibaba Group. Read Here
Desecration at the Jewish cemetery of Sousse, Tunisia
By Espace Manager
Tunisian lawyer Yves Kamhi denounced the desecration of the Jewish cemetery in Sousse, illustrating it with photos that testified to the extent of the damage. According to the lawyer, these acts occurred as a result of “witchcraft” and the selling of the graves’ marble. Read Here
Man charged over swastika graffiti at British military cemetery in Haifa
By TOI STAFF
Prosecutors in the northern Israeli city of Haifa filed hate crime charges against a man accused of daubing swastikas on graves at a local cemetery for British casualties of World War I and World War II. According to the charge sheet, the 35-year-old suspect also uprooted two gravestones at the Haifa War Cemetery and adjacent Templar cemetery during the October 2019 incident, in addition to defacing dozens of British soldiers’ graves with the Nazi symbol. Read Here
4. IN DEPTH: OTHER WORLD NEWS
Spanish carnival apologizes for anti-Semitic Holocaust-themed parade
BY Reuters
A Spanish carnival troupe whose Holocaust-themed parade outraged Jewish human rights groups has canceled its remaining shows. The troupe has also apologized to the Jewish community over the parade in the small town of Campo de Criptana. In the parade, dancers wore Nazi uniforms and had machine guns, others wore striped death camp costumes, and girls in white paraded with Israeli flags. Read Here
At another Spanish carnival, dancers equate Jews and Nazis alongside train and Auschwitz floats
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
A second carnival in Spain has referenced the Holocaust with Nazi and concentration camp prisoner uniform costumes. The Holocaust-themed display at the event in Badajos occurred amid debate on the appropriateness of festive parades apparently making light of the murder of millions of Jews by the Nazis. Though the Badajos procession prompted less criticism than other events, it went further in equating Nazis and their victims. The show included a banner emblazoned with a swastika locked inside a Star of David. There were flags bearing only the swastika and other flags with the German-language word for Jew appearing inside a Star of David. Read Here
NGO Files Complaint Against Microsoft in Spain Due to Anti-Semitic Results in Search Engine Bing
By Algemeiner Staff
An American NGO that seeks to fight anti-Semitism, especially online, has filed a legal complaint against Microsoft in Spain because its search engine Bing links to an anti-Semitic website. The Lawfare Project holds that Microsoft has not taken action to stop anti-Semitic sites from appearing in search results. If the court decides against Microsoft in this case, it could set a legal precedent, as it would be the first time a company is found liable for third-party content. Read Here
Belgian MP Denounces ‘Jewish Lobby’ in Wake of Anti-Semitic Aalst Carnival
BY Ben Cohen
A Belgian MP who previously served as the country’s deputy prime minister was roundly condemned following a tweet he posted concerning “the Jewish lobby.” Vincent Van Quickenborne, who has sat in the lower house of the Belgian parliament since 2012, took to his Twitter feed to denounce what he portrayed as outsize Jewish political influence in his own country and abroad. “The Jewish lobby is working overtime. After Aalst, now Washington,” Van Quickenborne remarked. Read Here
Polish MP says pogroms were good for Jews, assisted natural selection
By JEREMY SHARON
Pogroms against Jews benefited the Jewish people because they winnowed out the weak through natural selection, according to a Polish parliamentarian. Janusz Korwin-Mikke, a leading member of a coalition of far-right parties, made his remarks on a Polish Polsat TV news program about the effects of the coronavirus epidemic. There was an upside to the coronavirus because it is eradicating the weak through natural selection and improving humanity’s gene pool, he said. Korwin-Mikke tried to prove his point by citing Jewish history. Read Here
Drunken man beats up journalist in Ukrainian synagogue
BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
A drunken man broke into a synagogue in western Ukraine and assaulted a congregant after shouting about “beating up the kikes.” The incident occurred in Vinnytsia. The man, who was identified by police as a 42-year-old native of the nearby town of Yampil, “attacked Igor Braverman, a well-known journalist and a member of the community, trying to strangle him, wringing his hands, spat upon the portrait of Hafetz Haim and crushed it.” Read Here
Anti-Semitic phrases and swastikas on the walls of abandoned buildings and underpasses in Assisi, Italy
By Flavia Pagliochini
The walls of the abandoned buildings of the Municipality of Assisi become an open-air mural for teenagers drawing swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols and phrases. There are at least three documented cases: in Capodacqua of Assisi in an abandoned building in via Cannella (where you can see a swastika and the word Duce), in the Rivotorto area and in the area of the green path between Assisi and Bastia Umbra. Read Here
“Liliana Segre in the ovens”, written with swastika in Vicenza, italy
BY Benedetta Centin
“Liliana Segre in the ovens”. This is the disturbing writing, accompanied by a swastika, which appeared for a few days on the wall of a building of Cont ‘Santa Lucia in Vicenza. The author used red color spray to write against the life-long senator, Holocaust survivor and Holocaust witness. Read Here
Vatican opens archives on highly controversial Holocaust-era pope
By CATHERINE MARCIANO
The Vatican unseals the archives of history’s most contentious pope, potentially shedding light on why Pius XII stayed silent during the extermination of six million Jews during the Holocaust. Two hundred researchers have already requested access to the mountain of documents, made available after an inventory that took more than 14 years for Holy See archivists to complete. Read Here
3 assault Jewish man in Brazil, tell him ‘Hitler should’ve killed more Jews’
BY MARCUS M. GILBAN
Three attackers assaulted a kippah-wearing Jewish man walking on a street in Brazil while yelling anti-Semitic slurs. They held down the 57-year-old victim, broke his teeth and tore his kippah with a pocketknife in Jaguariuna, a city of 50,000 located in southeastern Brazil. He was not robbed. Read Here
List found of 12,000 Nazis in Argentina with money in Swiss bank
By AARON REICH
An investigation by Argentine investigator Pedro Filipuzzi revealed a list of 12,000 Nazis in Argentina that apparently have money in accounts at the Zurich-based Credit Suisse investment bank, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said. The list, which Filipuzzi gave to Simon Wiesenthal Center, was found in an old storage room at the former Buenos Aires Nazi headquarters. “We believe very probable that these dormant accounts hold monies looted from Jewish victims, under the Nuremberg laws of the 1930s,” the center said in a letter addressed to Credit Suisse vice president Christian Küng. Read Here
Police in Innisfil, Ontario. searching for witnesses after animal carcass found inside briefcase
BY DAINA GOLDFINGER
Officers say they’re looking for witnesses following a “suspicious” incident that took place in Innisfil. Police say they were called to Corner Avenue and Killarney Beach Road after an animal carcass was found inside an open briefcase with an anti-Semitic symbol on it. The package was removed by employees from the town. Read Here
Canadian Arabic Newspaper Runs Terrorist Official’s Anti-Semitic Article
By B’nai Brith Canada
An Arabic-language newspaper in the Greater Toronto Area has published an article by a Hamas figure, praising terrorism, peddling outlandish conspiracy theories and blaming Israel’s supposed faults on Judaism itself. The edition of al-Meshwar, published by Holocaust denier Nazih Khatatba, dedicates a half-page to “The Abuse of the Martyrs and the Manipulation of Their Bodies Are Jewish Commandments and Israeli Directives” by Dr. Mustafa Yusuf al-Lidawi. Read Here
‘Open outburst of pure neo-Nazi hate’ in Tasmania
BY AJN Staff
Calls for a ban on public displays of swastikas have intensified after Tasmania became the latest Australian state to see the Nazi symbol on show. The latest incident occurred in the town of Perth where a local resident daubed a swastika on her window. Police apparently told a shocked neighbour they would speak with the person responsible but were powerless to have it removed. Read Here
Anti-Semitic Malaysian PM won’t rule out comeback if he has majority support
By TOI STAFF and AGENCIES
Mahathir Mohamad said he would return as Malaysia’s prime minister if he has majority support from lawmakers. Breaking his silence after the abrupt collapse of his ruling coalition and his shocking resignation, Mahathir said that he had quit to show he isn’t power crazy and because he cannot work with the former Malay party that he had ousted in 2018 polls. Mahathir, who has called himself a proud anti-Semite, has come under fire on more than one occasion for comments he has made about Jews. Read Here
ON CAMPUS
(10 Articles)
1. University of Maryland Student Charged With Sending Anti-Semitic Messages
By Mariela Patron
A student was charged with committing a hate crime for sending anti-Semitic messages to another student’s cell phone at the University of Maryland. The incident happened inside of the McKeldin Library. The victim reported that she received anti-Semitic messages on her cell phone from a person she didn’t know. The student who sent the messages is 24-year-old Muqarrab Ahmed Abdullah from La Plata and attends the University of Maryland. Read Here
2. Anger at student event promoted by publisher of ‘anti-Semitic’ material at SOAS University of London
By MATHILDE FROT
Jewish students have expressed disgust at an event to be held at the School of Oriental and African Studies promoted by the publisher of an “anti-Semitic” booklet. The talk on 7 March, entitled “Student Workshop: Advocacy for Palestine on Campus,” will be hosted by the university’s pro-Palestine society. The student society’s event has been promoted on social media by the non-profit EuroPal Forum, which has its logo on the event poster. A pamphlet published by the EuroPal Forum last year refers to the “vast majority of Jews today” as the descendants of the Khazar people. Read Here
3. Jewish Student Says She Left City University of New York Law School After Being Targeted by Anti-Semitic Harassment for Supporting Israel
By Benjamin Kerstein
A Jewish former law student at City University of New York described anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist harassment she faced due to her pro-Israel activism, which caused her to ultimately leave the school, saying that “no one helped me, no one came to my defense.” Rafaella Gunz — a journalist focusing on LGBT and feminist issues — was studying at the CUNY School of Law when she became a target of pro-Palestinian groups, particularly Students for Justice in Palestine, as a result of her criticism of their attitudes toward Jews and Israel. Read Here
4. Toronto U. academics urge school to take steps against anti-Semitism
By DEBORAH DAHAN
A committee of University of Toronto faculty members published an open letter urging the school’s administration to take “concrete goals” against anti-Semitism on campus. The letter is addressed to the President of the University, Professor Meric Gertler, and Ms. Claire Kennedy, Lieutenant Governor and Council Member. While the initiative was first launched by Jewish faculty members from the medical and dentistry schools, it has broadened to appeal to other academics, current and past. Read Here
5. Holocaust Survivor and Israeli Professor Is Being Targeted at Pittsburgh College
By Abby W. Schachter and Anat Talmy
Anti-Israel activists have weaponized anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws in an attempt to end the academic career of a local Holocaust survivor and the only Israeli professor at Point Park University (PPU) in Pittsburgh. In October 2018, Dr. Channa Newman was accused by a female student of violating Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination or harassment at educational institutions that receive federal funding. According to a recent lawsuit by Dr. Newman, the accusation and the harsh steps taken by PPU in response, are the low point in an ongoing campaign by two of Dr. Newman’s colleagues, with the acquiescence of the administration, targeting Dr. Newman because she happens to be a citizen of Israel. Read Here
6. Canadian student body rejects IHRA definition of anti-Semitism
By Arutz Sheva Staff
The Canadian Federation of Students is rejecting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism. The CFS issued a press release claiming Bill 168, known as the “Combating Anti-Semitism Act,” violates freedom of speech. The bill, up for a second reading in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, looks to officially adopt the IHRA definition in Ontario. Read Here
7. More anti-Semitism accusations at Palm Beach County schools
By LOIS K. SOLOMON
In the latest accusation of anti-Semitism at Palm Beach County schools, an administrator is accusing the district of a “long-term pattern” of bias against Jewish people. Laurence Greenberg, an assistant principal at Palm Beach Central High in Wellington, filed a discrimination charge with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Greenberg was reassigned to a job in the school district’s transportation department in May after he and his principal were accused of improperly changing students’ grades. The principal, Darren Edgecomb, got his job back after six weeks, but Greenberg remains under investigation. He believes it’s because of anti-Semitism, according to his EEOC complaint. Read Here
8. Montclair, NJ considering educational program after third anti-Semitic incident at high school
By Abbott Koloff
Swastikas found carved into a chair at Montclair High School marked the third anti-Semitic incident at the school during the academic year amid rising concerns about hate crimes across the nation. Police labeled it a bias incident, saying a school employee “reported discovering two swastikas and an anti-Semitic phrase carved into a chair in the school.” Read Here
9. Scripps College Helping Spread a Deadly 1,000 Year-Old Virus
By RABBI ABRAHAM COOPER AND HAROLD BRACKMAN
The humanities department of Scripps College has invited to their campus a hate merchant. Rutgers University’s Jasbir Puar peddles a thousand-year-old, still-toxic anti-Semitic fantasy: The blood libel accusation against Jews updated in the 21st century and applied to Israelis. Puar, associate professor at Rutgers, doesn’t accuse Israelis of genocide. She accuses them of something worse. To the Israelis, “the Palestinians are not even human enough for death.” Worse than Nazis, they don’t kill them en masse because that would win Palestinians sympathy as victims of “a new Holocaust.” Read Here
10. Lawsuit Filed Against N.J. High School Over Handling of Anti-Semitism
By AARON BANDLER
A Jewish girl and her parents filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey high school, alleging the school did not address anti-Semitic bullying against the student. When students at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology went on a school trip to the Jersey Shore, an unidentified male student took a photo of the words “I h8 Jews” written in sand and sent it to a group-texting chat. The Jewish girl, identified as Paige, was part of the group chat and was infuriated at the photo, prompting her father to send a screenshot of the chat to MAST Principal Earl Moore. Paige’s classmates froze her out of social interaction. In June, Paige found a rock with the word “Adolf” written on it placed on top of a water cooler behind her desk. Read Here
ANALYSIS
(4 Pieces)
1. From Belgium, with shame
By Bertin Sanders
As a Belgian citizen, I wish to apologize for my country, especially for the authorities and some politicians, about what has happened in the city of Aalst. I cannot accept how Christian politicians did not interfere. Especially the federal minister of international affairs, Mr. P. De Crem. As a citizen, as a human being, as a son, as a brother, as a father, and as a grandfather, I feel sorrow for the pain these events cause to the Jewish community. This parade was not about humor, it was not about carnival. Traditionally, carnivalists mock the people or events of current affairs that have recently given the world reason to mock them. That definitely is not the case with the Jewish people. Read Here
2. I enjoyed Belgium’s Aalst Carnival, then looked for homes in Israel
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
Dismissing any historical context of how Jews were caricatured in pre-Holocaust Europe, parade organizers have defended the rat display and others as harmless satire. But to Jews, the displays here are jarring not only because of the stereotypes they betray, but also because they indicate how the borders have shifted on what can be said about Jews in the places where they were murdered only 75 years ago. It is this deeper shift that’s making us doubt our future in western Europe. If depicting Jews as insects is now permissible just outside the capital of the European Union, whereas it was unthinkable just 20 years ago, who knows what things will look like 20 years from now? With each new incident that reflects the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism in western Europe, I’m increasingly considering the merits of moving my family to the Jewish state. Read Here
3. The Gay Rights Movement Has an Anti-Semitism Problem
By BLAKE FLAYTON
To the devout gay rights activist, any display of Jewish gay pride is now conditional; it must totally and officially distance itself from the Jewish state to be valid. The queer liberation movement does not hold a queer person responsible for the actions of their government — unless of course, they are Israeli. Our religious and ethnic identities are being subjected to political litmus tests in order to be accepted in queer spaces. It is overtly anti-Semitic to expect Jews to shed part of their identity to conform to a movement they agree with politically. Why should I have to give up my Jewishness to oppose LGBTQ employment discrimination? Why should I give up my Zionism to support transgender people? Why must I disavow any celebration of queerness in the largest Jewish community on Earth, simply because I disagree with Netanyahu’s policies? My response to all these questions is simple: I shouldn’t have to, and I will not. Read Here
4. At AIPAC, UK Chief Rabbi Urges American Jews to Unite Against Anti-Semitism
By Aaron Bandler
Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Ephraim Mirvis called for American Jews to unite against anti-Semitism. “Please take a leaf out of our book and please speak with one voice,” Mirvis said, adding that “we cannot afford to be divided.” Mirvis urged those on the political left and right to confront anti-Semitism within their ideological movements. “There is only one path for us and that is the bipartisan route,” he said. Read Here
STUDIES AND STATISTICS
(8 Pieces)
1. 1 in 5 Europeans say secret Jewish cabal runs the world, survey finds
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
One in five Europeans believes that a secret network of Jews influences global political and economic affairs. The same number also agreed with the statement “Jews exploit Holocaust victimhood for their own needs.” The poll queried 16,000 respondents from 16 European countries. The results were presented by the European Jewish Association. A quarter of respondents said that Israel’s policies make them understand why people hate Jews. Read Here
2. Federal investigation into US Universities gains momentum
By ISGAP
Autocratic Middle Eastern regimes, organizations, foundations and affiliated private corporations, have funneled billions of dollars of unreported funding to American universities in order to demonize Israel on campus, research by the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy has found. Conducted as part of a seven-year research program ‘Follow the Money,’ the research project found that Federal reporting requirements and procedures have been inadequate at keeping track of funding coming in from abroad. This includes more than 3 billion dollars gifted by Qatar and the Gulf States, which were never reported by universities to the IRS or Department of Education. Read Here
3. Reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Wisconsin increase by 55 percent
By Julia Marshall
From 2018 to 2019, Wisconsin saw 55% more reports of anti-Semitic incidents, according to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Milwaukee Jewish Federation. This 55% increase brings the increase total since 2015 up to 329%. Anti-Semitic incidents include harassment, threats, assault, hate group activities, and references to the Holocaust, Nazis, and Hitler. Read Here
4. Prosecutor Claudia Vanoni Publishes Report on Anti-Semitism in Berlin
By Imanuel Marcus
The Berlin prosecution’s appointee on anti-Semitism, Claudia Vanoni published a report on anti-Semitism in Berlin. She says she believes that in 80% of all crimes involving anti-Semitism, the victims do not contact the authorities, meaning there is a large dark figure. During the second half of 2018, a total of 248 legal proceedings were initiated in cases involving anti-Semitism. Out of those, 104 of the suspected crimes were committed online. In 2019, 386 proceedings were initiated against known and unknown suspects, 156 of them were online cases. Read Here
5. Ultra-nationalism, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred: Council of Europe’s anti-racism commission raises alarm over the situation in Europe
By European Commission
Previous years had already seen a marked increase in anti-Semitic hatred. This dangerous trend continued in several member states during 2019. Violence is often triggered by a poisonous rhetoric spread by neo-Nazis and other political and religious extremists. When it comes to the Middle East conflict specifically, ECRI has repeatedly underlined it is, however, unacceptable when criticism of the Israeli government is used to stir up hatred against all Jewish people in Israel and elsewhere, including by allegations of a “Jewish conspiracy” at a global level. This image, which builds on century-old stereotypes, fuels resentment against all Jewish persons. In this context, ECRI is planning to initiate a revision of its General Policy Recommendation No. 9 on the fight against anti-Semitism. Read Here
6. STUDY: HIGH LEVEL OF RIGHT-WING EXTREMIST ATTITUDES AMONG AFD VOTERS
By Dr. Oliver Decker / University of Leipzig
Right-wing extremism, willingness to use violence, anti-Semitism, Muslim hostility and conspiracy mentality – AfD voters show significantly higher approval ratings than supporters of other parties in all areas of anti-democratic attitudes. This emerges from a representative study published by the Center of Competence for Right-Wing Extremism and Democracy Research at the University of Leipzig. Among other things, they found that there is a higher level of traditional anti-Semitism among AfD voters. The researchers also attested to them a high level of anti-Semitism, Social Darwinism and a “pronounced tendency to play down National Socialism”. More than half of the AfD voters find resentments against Jews at least partially understandable. Read Here
7. ANTI-SEMITISM IN FRENCH-SPEAKING SWITZERLAND 2019: INCREASE IN SERIOUS AND SERIOUS CASES
By CICAD
With 114 recorded acts, the CICAD report for 2019 ends with an increase in serious and worrying anti-Semitic acts (14 acts in 2019 compared to 6 in 2018) in French-Speaker Switzerland including insults, death threats against Jewish children going to school, desecration of the stele in memory of the victims of the Shoah, discriminatory comments in the context of a job interview. While the vast majority of anti-Semitic acts recorded by CICAD in recent years have concerned the Internet and social networks, in 2019 we note an increase in acts targeting people and property. Read Here
8. 2019 Report on Anti-Semitism in France
By Jewish Community Security Service
French Jews, who represent less than 1% of the total population, faced more than 41% of all racist acts committed in France in 2019. The number of anti-Semitic acts recorded in France is significantly lower than the actual figures because anti-Semitism is now so entrenched in daily life and has become so violent that victims of such acts are somehow resigned and show a kind of habituation. Many of them do not file a police report. Numerous victims of anti-Semitic acts do not believe that an investigation or a criminal charge will result in a successful conclusion. Read Here
FEATURED PARTNER
Combat Anti-Semitism is proud to be a partner of Hasbara Fellowships, a leading pro-Israel campus activism organization. Learn more about Hasbara Fellowships’ activities in the video below.
Amid BDS, students are given tools to battle misinformation spread against Israel
By NOA AMOUYAL
With anti-Israel groups and anti-Semitism gaining prevalence on college campuses, pro-Israel activists with the Hasbara Fellowship visit Israel to learn how to fight back. While students are given advice on how to be prepared to counter aggressive, anti-Israel rhetoric, the focus of their training is also on how to build strong, human-to-human relationships with their fellow students and not just go on the attack. Read Here
Hasbara Fellowships is a leading pro-Israel campus activism organization working with over 80 Universities across North America. Hasbara Fellowships, a program spearheaded by Aish Hatorah since 2001, brings hundreds of students to Israel every summer and winter, giving them information and tools to return to their campuses as educators about Israel. So far, they have educated over 3,000 students on over 250 campuses. Upon returning from the program, the Hasbara Fellows receive support from our staff, as well as access to various campaigns, programs, and other materials and tools.
Government & Policy Update
This section highlights the work of government officials around the world that are combating anti-Semitism in their official capacities.
(20 Pieces)
1. Pence Says at AIPAC, ‘Anti-Zionism Is Anti-Semitism’ Is Gov’t Policy
By AARON BANDLER
Vice President Mike Pence said during his speech at the AIPAC policy conference that the official policy of the Trump administration is that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. Pence called anti-Semitism a unique and potent evil that is on the rise worldwide, including on college campuses and in Congress. “We must root anti-Semitism out from every part of our society. It’s not just a threat to Jewish Americans and Jews around the world, it’s a threat to us all.” Read Here
2. Growing Support for ‘Never Again’ Holocaust Education Program Among US Senators
By Algemeiner Staff
New legislation to teach schoolchildren across America about the horrors of the Holocaust received a significant boost after it was endorsed by five more US senators. The latest development means that the number of senators sponsoring the bipartisan “Never Again Education Act” has risen to 52. If passed, the act would create a new federal program and fund to award Holocaust education grants to educational institutions around the country offering classes, resources, teacher training, and field trips to all students. Read Here
3. US anti-Semitism envoy criticizes France’s failure to try killer of Jewish woman
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
The US special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism criticized the decision in France not to try a man who killed his Jewish neighbor. Elan Carr referenced the decision on the killer of Sarah Halimi during a conference on anti-Semitism organized by the European Jewish Association in Paris. “You don’t dismiss hate crime charges for issues like the consumption of marijuana,” Carr said, referencing his credentials as a former prosecutor in Los Angeles. “It doesn’t explain away hate crimes that need to be prosecuted to the utmost severity of the law.” Read Here
4. Jewish leaders join N.Y. Gov. Cuomo in budget push to combat hate crimes and anti-Semitism
By DENIS SLATTERY
Jewish leaders joined Gov. Cuomo to denounce recent anti-Semitic attacks and push his plan to create a state law that would treat hate crimes as domestic terrorism. Cuomo launched a new campaign, dubbed #NoHateInOurState and called on the Legislature to get on board with his budget plan to create a domestic terrorism law, allocate $25 million for religious not-for-profit organizations vulnerable to hate crimes, create an education curriculum on diversity and tolerance for students and invest $2 million to support the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force. Read Here
5. Rosen, Lankford Applaud Senate Passage of their Bipartisan Resolution Commemorating 75th Anniversary of Liberation of Auschwitz by Allied Forces
By Office of Senator Jacky Rosen
U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), applauded the passage of their bipartisan resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Allied Forces during World War II. Rosen and Lankford introduced the resolution alongside Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Ben Cardin (D-MD). “I’m proud to see that my bipartisan resolution with Senator Lankford has unanimously passed the Senate, the first of many actions we will take to ensure that Never Again means never again for anyone.” Read Here
6. Oklahoma House passes pro-Israel bill
By CARMEN FORMAN
Oklahoma passed legislation in the House that would prevent the state from contracting with companies that boycott goods or services from Israel. The proposed law would apply to state contracts in excess of $100,000. If the legislation advances, Oklahoma would be the 29th state to pass such a law in response to the BDS movement. Read Here
7. Bill To Expand Holocaust Education Advances To Senate Floor in Florida
By ROBBIE GAFFNEY
Holocaust history lessons could be expanded in Florida if a bill heading to the Senate floor becomes law. The measure would require teachers to show current examples of anti-Semitism as well as historical ones. Holocaust education has been mandatory in public schools since 1994. However, this bill would specify what gets taught in those lessons. Teachers would show students current examples of anti-Semitism and how to prevent it. The proposal’s sponsor is Sen. Lauren Book (D-Plantation). Her plan is aimed at making sure Holocaust education is taught uniformly. Read Here
8. Congressman sends letter to DeVos about Mideast studies at University of Arizona
By JNS
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) has called for the U.S. Department of Education to investigate whether the Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) at the University of Arizona has misused federal dollars. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Gosar wrote that CMES has used federal funding under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to “support biased, anti-American, pro-BDS faculty and research.” The letter mentioned that CMES has received more than $7 million from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and that the university works with the Qatar Foundation. “Using federal money to promote blatantly anti-Jewish programs that promote violence and hatred of an ethnic and religious group is illegal under Title VI, and our great university should not jeopardize its research, social standing and reputation by promoting those who assert genocidal and racist agendas.” Read Here
9. Austrian parliament unanimously passes condemnation of anti-Israel boycotts
By TOI STAFF and RAPHAEL AHREN
The Austrian parliament unanimously passed a resolution that calls on the government to condemn the BDS movement against Israel. All five parties represented in Austria’s National Council supported the text of the “Israel-related anti-Semitism” resolution, which urges the government to “strongly condemn the BDS movement and its goals, especially the call for a boycott of Israeli products, businesses, artists, scientists or athletes.” “The National Council emphatically condemns all kinds of anti-Semitism, including Israel-related anti-Semitism, and calls on the federal government to confront these tendencies resolutely and consequently,” the resolution states. Read Here
10. Germany to assume chair of IHRA for 1 year; will fight Holocaust denial
By Jerusalem Post Staff
Germany is set to assume a one-year chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), with the aim of fighting Holocaust denial. Michaela Küchler, the German Foreign Office’s special commissioner for relations with Jewish organizations, is set to head the German IHRA team, and has stated that the aim was to “do more” to fight Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. Two IHRA assemblies in Germany are already in the works for 2020, and are set to focus on creating a worldwide task force to fight Holocaust denial and falsification. Read Here
11. Berlin’s commissioner to fight anti-Semitism urges Merkel to ban Hezbollah
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
The city-state of Berlin’s commissioner to combat anti-Semitism, Lorenz Korgel favors a ban of the entire anti-Semitic terrorist organization Hezbollah in Germany. A spokesman for Berlin’s justice ministry said Andreas Geisel, the State Minister of the Interior of Berlin, is examining a ban of the Iranian regime and Hezbollah organized Al Quds Day march in Berlin. Geisel has declined to test the law to implement a ban of the slated May Al Quds Day — an annual rally and march in the heart of Berlin which calls for the destruction of Israel. Read Here
12. Anti-Semitism Commissioner Criticizes German University’s Eva Braun Lecture
By Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
The German government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, has criticized the Technical University of Braunschweig for a planned lecture on Hitler’s lover Eva Braun. Klein called the planned lecture in a series about women in world history “completely incomprehensible and ahistorical.” The university distanced itself from the title of the lecture, which was “‘… I, the mistress of the greatest man in Germany and on Earth …’ – Comments on Eva Braun.” Read Here
13. ONTARIO MOVES CLOSER TO ADOPTING IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTI-SEMITISM
By Ron Csillag
An Ontario bill to combat anti-Semitism has passed second reading. MPPs voted 55-0 to send Bill 168 to committee. The bill, introduced by Conservative MPP Will Bouma and co-sponsored by fellow Tory Robin Martin, calls on the government to be “guided” by the working definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance when it interprets acts, regulations and policies, in order to “protect Ontarians from discrimination and hate amounting to anti-Semitism.” Ontario would be the first province to adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism should the bill be passed in its current form. Read Here
14. UK Government urged to include anti-Semitism in Prevent strategy
By JEWISH NEWS REPORTER
Jewish security groups and government envoys have begun pushing for the inclusion of anti-Semitism in the national Prevent strategy. It follows a call made by Lord Pickles, the government’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, for Jew hatred to be included in the country’s main terrorism-prevention programme. Speaking in the House of Lords, he said: “Given that anti-Semitism is often an open gateway to violent extremism, does the minister think that now is an appropriate time for the government to incorporate anti-Semitism into their Prevent strategy?” Read Here
15. Lord Pickles urges Lords to look into Tonge’s ‘puppet master’ remark
By Jack Mendel
One of Britain’s most senior politicians has called for the House Lords to investigate an anti-Zionist peer, who said Israel is America’s “puppet master”. Lord Eric Pickles called on authorities to look into remarks made by Jenny Tonge during a motion which she proposed, discussing Donald Trump’s peace plan. Read Here
16. EPP secretary-general demands that Brussels takes more steps to combat anti-Semitism
By Zoi Didili
“Hate speech and all types of violence against Jews are incompatible with EU values,” according to Antonio López-Istúriz, the Secretary-General of the European People’s Party (EPP), who made his comments while addressing the Annual Conference of the European Jewish Association. Istúriz, who is also Chairman of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Israel, called for the implementation of effective measures to combat racism and xenophobia and said better education policies are key. Read Here
17. ‘It’s going too far’: Belgian EU Commissioner backs ban on anti-Semitic carnival caricatures
By Catherine NICHOLSON
Jews with the bodies of ants; rabbis with hooked noses sitting on chests of gold – for EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, the kinds of anti-Semitic caricatures seen recently at a Belgian carnival parade go “too far” and should be banned. Reynders, Belgium’s former foreign minister, said that this and similar events “open the door to a real orientation towards racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism”. Read Here
18. Belgian PM says Jewish caricatures at anti-Semitic parade ‘damage’ the country
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
Belgium’s prime minister said that caricatures of Jews at the annual parade in the city of Aalst “damage” the country’s values and reputation. Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes’ statement was the harshest rebuke yet by Belgium’s highest elected official of the parade, which has for years drawn controversy for its ridicule of ethnic minorities, including Jews. Read Here
19. Compulsory Holocaust education for schools in Victoria
By PETER KOHN
The history and impact of the Holocaust will be taught in all Victorian secondary schools. The Andrews government announced an initiative with Gandel Philanthropy and the Jewish Holocaust Centre to adapt Holocaust studies resources to the Victorian curriculum. It makes Victoria the second Australian state after NSW to introduce mandatory Holocaust education in public schools and comes after horrific incidents of anti-Semitic bullying in two Victorian schools. Read Here
20. Serbia to open ‘official state office’ in Jerusalem as sign of ‘respect’ to Jews
By RAPHAEL AHREN
Serbia is planning to open an “official state office” in Jerusalem, the country’s president announced, joining a small number of countries that have diplomatic missions in the city according to President Aleksandar Vučić. “That’s our way of showing respect to Jewish people.” Read Here
HUMANITY
(6 Pieces)
1. Michael Douglas, Zeta-Jones to co-host Genesis Prize ceremony in Jerusalem
By JOSEF FEDERMAN
Hollywood power couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are set to return to Israel as co-hosts of this year’s Genesis Prize ceremony. The Genesis Prize Foundation announced that the US pair would co-host the June 18 event, where former Soviet dissident and Israeli politician Natan Sharansky is to be honored as the 2020 laureate. Read Here
2. European Jewish group unveils plan to ‘beat anti-Semitism’ amid rise in attacks
By JACOB MAGID
A European Jewish organization unveiled its “plan to beat anti-Semitism” to dozens of leaders from across the continent, calling on them to adopt the strategy in their countries as an antidote to the rise in attacks on Jews in the region. The plan introduced by the European Jewish Association at its annual conference in Paris calls on all European countries to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism; to appoint a special envoy on combating anti-Semitism; to mandate schools include lessons on anti-Semitism; and to legislate bans on anti-Semitic symbols in public, including Nazi imagery. Read Here
3. US National Library of Congress to accept book of Talmud for first time
By CELIA JEAN
The version of the Talmud translated by world renowned scholar Rabbi Adin Even Israel Steinsaltz, will be accepted into the US’s National Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. The translation from Hebrew to English took Rabbi Steinsaltz 8 years to complete. The event, first of its kind, will feature Jewish elected officials Congressman Eliot Engel, member of the United States House of Representatives, and Carla Hayden, Principal Director of the Library of Congress. Read Here
4. Yeshiva U men’s basketball team wins conference title to qualify for NCAA Division III tournament
By Marc Brodsky
Yeshiva University’s men’s basketball team won the Skyline Conference championship game to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament for the second time in three seasons. The top-seeded Maccabees defeated third-seeded Purchase College, State University of New York, 86-74, at home in the title game to run its record to 27-1. Yeshiva has not lost since falling in its opener to Occidental College in Los Angeles and is ranked No. 15 in the nation in Division III. Read Here
5. Ian Austin urges ‘good, fair-minded people’ to fight anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism in Aipac speech
By Lee Harpin
Former Labour MP Ian Austin delivered an emotional speech to the Aipac conference, calling for “good fair-minded people of all political persuasions to come together to fight anti-Zionism and rampant anti-Semitism.” Speaking as the UK Trade Envoy to Israel, Mr Austin told the audience in Washington of the debt he owed to his family, and in particular his Holocaust survivor father Fred. The former Dudley North MP then said that, until last year, he had been a senior figure within Labour but he had “left the party and parliament to fight extremism, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.” Read Here
6. A Syrian Muslim donated a tree in Israel for an Italian boy whose bar mitzvah party was canceled due to coronavirus
By Ben Sales
Aboud Dandachi isn’t Jewish. Or Israeli. Or Italian. Or sick with coronavirus. He’s a Muslim from Syria living in Canada. But when he read the story about an Italian boy whose bar mitzvah was curtailed because of the rapidly spreading virus, Dandachi responded by donating $18 in honor of Ruben Golran to plant a tree in Israel in the teen’s honor. After fleeing Syria as a refugee in 2013, he has been an outspoken supporter of Israel in appreciation of Israeli efforts to aid Syrian refugees. Read Here
OVER 170,000 INDIVIDUALS AND 200 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.”
