THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT
White Supremacist groups continued harassing Texas communities with antisemitic messages, including with leaflets that read, “Fight Terror, Nuke Israel.” Prior to the anniversary of Kristallnacht, an Ohio synagogue had rocks thrown through its windows. Jew-hatred at the George Washington University continued, with one student having her mezuzah stolen, and the campus Chabad rabbi received antisemitic messages. After these recent antisemitic incidents, students and community members rallied in solidarity against anti-Jewish prejudice in two Texas communities and in Arizona.
Also on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom was rushed by security out of an event at the London School of Economics, to protect her from Pro-Palestine activists who threatened to harm her and smash her car. An Iranian military leader threatened Israel, saying the country was “doomed for termination.”
In France, a teenager terrorized a Jewish school, waving a 2-foot long machete while shouting “Dirty Jews.” Amid the release of a new European Union report that found antisemitism increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, anti-vaccine protests in Germany have turned crudely antisemitic, including comparing vaccinations with Zyklon B, and statements claiming Judaism is responsible for the pandemic.
Following a flurry of recent antisemitic incidents in European football, the Chelsea FC Foundation is hosting a global conference to discuss football’s role in combating antisemitism. A French court sentenced the antisemitic murderer of Holocaust survivor Mirielle Knoll to life in prison, news that was welcomed by French Jews following a French court’s refusal to prosecute the antisemitic murderer of another Jewish grandmother, Sarah Halimi earlier this year.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out against all forms of antisemitism – including Israel-related antisemitism – saying, “when Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or their identity, when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism. And that is unacceptable.” In Austria, the nation’s police force will undergo mandatory training against antisemitism.
This week’s global antisemitism report highlights 44 new media report s of antisemitic incidents. The total includes 21 (47.7%) from the far-right, 4 (9.1%) from the far-left, 7 (15.9%) with Islamist motivations, and 12 (27.3%) unidentifiable in nature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SPECIAL FEATURES
AFK CO-FOUNDER DILIMAN ABDULKADER SPEAKS ON PLIGHT OF KURDISH PEOPLE IN MIDDLE EAST
CAM hosted a virtual conversation with Diliman Abdulkader, co-founder of the American Friends of Kurdistan (AFK) organization. Founded in 2019, the AFK — based in Washington, D.C. — advocates for Kurdish-Americans and the Kurdish community in the Middle East. Seeking to safeguard the national security interests of both the Kurdish people and the United States, the AFK works to advance the Kurdish-U.S. partnership domestically and internationally.
FIRST-EVER CENTRAL AMERICA FORUM HANUKKAH CELEBRATION TO BE HOSTED BY GUATEMALAN EMBASSY IN U.S. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CAM
The Embassy of the Republic of Guatemala in the United States — in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement — will host later this month the first-ever Central America Forum Hanukkah Celebration. The festive gathering will be held at the Washington, D.C. residence of Guatemalan Ambassador to the U.S. H.E. Alfonso Quiñónez, on November 29th, 2021, the second night of Hanukkah. This special event follows the inaugural Central America Forum for Israel that brought together top leaders from the region earlier this year for a united stand against antisemitism and resolute display of solidarity with the Jewish state.
NEW ‘THE BLESSING ISRAEL’ MUSIC VIDEO DELIVERS POWERFUL INTERFAITH MESSAGE AGAINST ANTISEMITISM
A new music video sending a moving interfaith message against antisemitism has racked up nearly one million hits on YouTube since its release three weeks ago. The clip — an initiative of Passages, which brings U.S. Christian college students on organized group trips to Israel — features a diverse collection of well-known Jewish and Christian singers from the U.S., Israel, and Africa coming together to perform the “Birkat Kohanim,” or “Priestly Blessing.”
SERIES OF HIGH-PROFILE ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS SWEEP ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES
Recent weeks have seen a troubling string of high-profile antisemitic incidents across the southwestern United States, largely in Texas and Arizona. The epicenter of this antisemitic outburst was in Austin, the state capital of Texas. These developments culminated on Oct. 31, when an Austin synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, was set on fire by a suspected arsonist. While antisemitism on the East and West Coasts of the United States has often drawn media attention in the past few years, the appearance of this age-old societal scourge in the southwestern region of the country merits closer scrutiny.
UNITED STATES
OHIO CONGREGATION AHAVAS SHOLOM VANDALIZED WITH ROCKS
By Eli Nahum
Congregation Ahavas Sholom in Bexley, OH issued a news release that its synagogue suffered damage from rocks thrown at the building. However, no one was injured. One rock damaged the glass covering of one of the stained glass windows and another rock shattered a glass office door. The synagogue reported that protective film on the door prevented any glass from falling inside or allowing anyone inside.
ANTISEMITIC FLYERS DISTRIBUTED IN BOSTON’S ROSLINDALE NEIGHBORHOOD
WORLD NEWS
United Kingdom
ISRAELI ENVOY RUSHED FROM LSE EVENT AMID THREATS TO ‘SMASH’ HER CAR
By Jewish News
A top London University has warned any students involved in threatening behaviour towards the Israeli Ambassador this week will face disciplinary action. Footage showed Tzipi Hotovely rushed away in a car as pro-Palestine demonstrators opposed her speaking at the London School of Economics – with one activist account threatening to “smash” her car windows. An LSE spokesperson said the university values free speech but it “must be in a mutually respectful manner. Intimidation or threats of violence are completely unacceptable.”
WEST HAM CONDEMNS VIDEO OF FANS’ ANTISEMITIC CHANT AT JEWISH MAN
By Jack Mendel
West Ham United has condemned antisemitic chanting by its supporters directed at an Orthodox Jewish man on a plane. The incident took place on a flight to Belgium, where fans were travelling to watch the London club play Genk in the Europa League. In a clip posted on social media, supporters of the club can be heard singing about arch-rivals Tottenham, referencing genitalia and circumcision, as an Orthodox Jewish man walks down the gangway of the Ryanair flight.
GERMANY
ANTI-VACCINE PROTESTS IN GERMANY ARE USING HOLOCAUST SYMBOLISM
By MARVIN ZIEGELE
There is increasing use of Nazi and Holocaust symbolism at protests taking place in Germany against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccinations. At a rally in Leipzig, signs and posters were displayed that “largely contained conspiracy ideology and antisemitic but also Shoah-relativizing content.” One participant wore a Star of David on his jacket with the word “Unvaccinated” on it. “Other examples… were the equation of vaccinations with Zyklon B, statements that Judaism was responsible for the pandemic and all the evil in the world, and that a new Holocaust was imminent…”
ANTISEMITIC GRAFFITI IN EISENACH
CANADA
POLICE INVESTIGATE ANTISEMITIC POSTERS FOUND AROUND OTTAWA
By CBC News
Police are investigating eight incidents where posters with hateful and antisemitic messages were found in public places around Ottawa. The posters have been seen in neighbourhoods like Kanata, Barrhaven and most recently at a skatepark near Centrepointe Drive. The Ottawa police hate and bias crime unit is investigating the incidents.
ELDERLY MAN CONFRONTS ANTISEMITIC HAIR SALON EMPLOYEE
FRANCE
TEENAGER ARRESTED AFTER WAVING LARGE KNIFE IN FRONT OF FRENCH JEWISH SCHOOL
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
French police arrested a teenager who brandished a large knife in front of a Jewish high school outside Lyon while shouting antisemitic slogans. The incident took place outside College/Lycee Juive de Lyon in Villeurbanne. He also hurled marbles at students in the school and called them “dirty Jews” as he waved the knife, a machete with a 2-foot-long blade.
‘JUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE’: ANTISEMITIC MURDERER OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR MIREILLE KNOLL SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT BY FRENCH COURT
By Ben Cohen
The murder trial that compelled France to confront the violent antisemitism in its midst came to a dramatic close, as a court in Paris sentenced one of the two men accused of the brutal killing of Mireille Knoll, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, to life imprisonment. Following almost ten hours of deliberation by the jury, 32-year-old Yacine Mihoub, a former neighbor of Knoll’s, was found guilty of murder aggravated by antisemitic hatred. The terms of Mihoub’s life sentence require that he serve a minimum of 22 years. The second accused man, Alex Carrimbacus, Mihoub’s 25-year-old associate, was acquitted on the murder charge but found guilty of aggravated theft. The court sentenced him to a 15-year prison term.
“DIRTY JEW, WE’RE GOING TO GAS YOU”, AN 11-YEAR-OLD ATTACKED IN A SCHOOL IN ESSONNE
OTHER WORLD NEWS
NETHERLANDS: JEWISH RESTAURANT HACARMEL IN AMSTERDAM AGAIN TARGET OF THREATS
By Eli Nahum
The kosher restaurant on Amstelveenseweg St., is repeatedly called anonymously by a screaming man who fires cannonades and makes threats. “Cancer Jews, Hitler did not burn or kill you,” he says. But also an outright threat: ‘I’ll burn your business down’, according to the police. The restaurant was first attacked at the end of 2017 by a Syrian status holder who went wild with an iron bar on the windows of the restaurant.
THE MIDDLE EAST
ISRAEL ‘DOOMED TO TERMINATION,’ IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS
By TOI STAFF and AFP
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force said that Israel is “doomed to termination” and that any move by Jerusalem against the Islamic Republic will expedite that demise. Speaking at a ceremony in Tehran, Amir Ali Hajizadeh mocked Israel for being the “only regime in the world arguing about how to survive”. “The (Zionist) regime that discusses its existence is doomed to termination and cannot talk about destroying other countries,” Hajizadeh was quoted as saying.
TURKISH MAN FINED FOR CALLING ERDOĞAN ‘A JEW PRETENDING TO BE A MUSLIM’
ON CAMPUS
BARNARD COLLEGE ANTI-ZIONISTS URGE CANCELLATION OF TALKS WITH AUTHOR OF IHRA ANTISEMITISM DEFINITION
By Dion J. Pierre
Charging school officials with “legitimizing apartheid,” the Barnard College chapter of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) circulated a petition demanding the cancellation of upcoming events featuring an author of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The petition said Kenneth Stern, who is scheduled to speak at events sponsored by the Barnard College Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board — Antisemitism Through a Hate Studies Lens and Difficult Conversations and Academic Freedom — has been “instrumental in cementing the erroneous conflation of Judaism and Zionism.”
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT REPORTS MEZUZAH STOLEN, RETURNED DAMAGED
By Zachary Blackburn
A Shenkman Hall resident said a mezuzah was stolen from her door and returned damaged, just days after a Torah was desecrated in the on-campus Tau Kappa Epsilon house. Sophomore Emma Reese said a GW-themed mezuzah was stolen from her door sometime Sunday night. She said the mezuzah reappeared on her door with some damage Tuesday morning after she demanded its return in a Shenkman group chat. Reese said a wire on the mezuzah was unwrapped and rewrapped onto it, had a torn bead moved from its glued position and appeared to show that someone tried to access the prayers inside. Reese said a hand on the mezuzah that normally points down was turned upwards.
CENTRAL BUCKS SCHOOL BOARD IN PENNSYLVANIA ACCUSED OF ALLOWING HATE SPEECH DURING PUBLIC COMMENT
GERMANY: ANTISEMITIC GRAFFITI AT FRIEDRICH–ALEXANDER UNIVERSITY
ANALYSIS & OP-EDS
STUDIES & STATISTICS
EU REPORT FINDS ANTISEMITISM ROSE DURING COVID PANDEMIC
By AFP
Antisemitism grew during the Covid pandemic, particularly online, a new European Union report said, but gaps in data make it difficult to measure how bad the problem really is. As well as old lies being revived, “new antisemitic myths and conspiracy theories that blame Jews for the pandemic have come to the fore,” the report said. “Antisemitism, especially online, grew during the pandemic,” said the report, by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. At the same time, the agency’s own research showed that antisemitic acts were consistently under-reported. The report based its findings on a review of official data compiled by EU member states, and what it called unofficial data collected by civil society organizations.
GOVERNMENT & POLICY
KAMALA HARRIS CONDEMNS SINGLING OUT OF ISRAEL SPURRED BY ‘ANTI-JEWISH HATRED’
By SHIRA HANAU
US Vice President Kamala Harris denounced the singling out of Israel “because of anti-Jewish hatred” in a speech at the Anti-Defamation League’s annual conference. “Three years ago, we suffered the most deadly attack on the American Jewish community in the history of our nation at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,” Harris said. “And I want to be very clear about this: When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or their identity when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred that is anti-Semitism. And that is unacceptable.”
AUSTRIA’S POLICE RECEIVE TRAINING AGAINST ANTISEMITISM
By Vikendi
Austria’s police officers will receive their own antisemitism training in the coming months: police students in the form of a full-day course, trained police officers as an online module. This is what Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said at a joint media talk with the President of the Israelite Community, Oskar Deutsch. With the special training, police officers are to be made more aware of antisemitism. In addition to explaining the phenomenon, the training also includes the legal basis, effects, victim protection provisions, investigative aids and technical recording.
HUMANITY
JEWISH ORGANIZATION BRINGS POLITICAL PERSONALITIES TO AUSCHWITZ TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ANTISEMITISM
By YOSSI LEMPKOWICZ
The European Jewish Association (EJA), brought around 130 political personalities and Jewish leaders from across Europe and abroad to Krakow for a symposium around the importance of education in combating antisemitism which was followed by a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau former death camps.
SAN ANTONIO COMES TOGETHER TO DENOUNCE RECENT DISPLAYS OF ANTISEMITISM
By Henry Ramos (KENS 5)
San Antonio’s Jewish and non-Jewish communities aren’t backing down after recent antisemitic attacks in the city. Anti-Jewish propaganda has popped up in the Alamo City in recent weeks, with hate-filled rhetoric posted on south-side businesses and a rally organized on the northwest side. At the Jewish Community Center, a crowded room of people did their part to show solidarity.
THE AUSTRIAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (ÖFB) ADOPT THE IHRA WORKING DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM
The Combat Antisemitism Movement is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of individuals and organizations, across all religions and faiths, united around the goal of ending antisemitism in all its forms. Since its launching in February 2019, 360 organizations and 355,000 individuals have joined the Combat Antisemitism Movement by signing the campaign’s pledge. The CAM Pledge draws upon the IHRA international definition of antisemitism and its list of specific behaviors used to discriminate against the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel.
