The first example in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism states, “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion" is an example of antisemitism.
While this may seem exceedingly obvious to well-intentioned people, on several occasions respected people, courts, and authority figures have acted otherwise.
For instance, in 2014, arsonists attempted firebomb the Bergisch Synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany. While the perpetrators were found guilty of arson and were sentenced to prison, they were not found guilty of committing an antisemitic hate crime. Rather, the court ruled that the three men intended to express criticism of the Israeli government’s policies towards Palestinians.
Another example is the murder of Ilan Halim, who in 2006 was kidnapped and tortured and eventually succumbed to his wounds. His kidnappers believed that because Halimi was Jewish, his family would be able to pay a large ransom in order to get their son back. French police refused to see the incident as antisemitic in nature.
Why it’s antisemitic:
Despite ostensibly committing an act of protest against the Israeli government, the criminals did not attack an Israeli embassy or consulate. Rather, they attacked a Jewish institution—a direct act of intimidation against Jews. Should we also conclude that attacking a home with a mezuzah on the doorpost is not antisemitic because its inhabitants are likely to be supporters of Israel?
Conflating Israeli policy with Diaspora Jews and claiming that it justifies attacks on Jews implies that Jews are to blame for the decisions of the sovereign Israeli government, a territory in which they do not live. The allegation furthers conspiracy myths about Jewish world domination, which have historically been used to claim that Jews control the media, banks, and governments and is rooted in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Implicit in this is the charge of dual loyalty, historically leveled against Jews to justify harassment, marginalization, oppression, and even murder and for centuries has led to Jews being viewed as a fifth column.
This phenomenon is not just a relic of the past. Recently, in May 2021, a spate of violence against Jews in various countries followed the outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas. Across the Diaspora, synagogues and Jewish Community Centers were attacked with firebombs and graffiti. Jewish individuals were assaulted in public, including in restaurants and parks, and on the street.
Most importantly, a synagogue is a religious not a political place and attacking one, regardless of where it is or what one claims his intent is, can never be a political statement but will always be a hate crime. The same is true for attacking a church or a mosque. Attacking a place of worship isn’t simply an attack on that particular place, rather it is an attack on that community, albeit Jewish or another religion, and against faith groups in general.
What are other manifestations?
Other examples include:
- Chanting “death to Zionists”
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Attacking synagogues or JCCs (for example to protest Israeli policy)
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Kidnapping Jews in order to receive a large ransom or convince the authorities to release a prisoner
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Justifying physical and verbal assaults on Jews by claiming that those acts express opposition to Israeli policy
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Justifying physical and verbal assaults on Jews by expressing belief in conspiracy myths. Conspiracy myths were a driving force of antisemitic attacks against the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and Halle synagogue in Germany on Yom Kippur, and the hostage situation in Colleyville, Texas.
Understanding Antisemitism:
Antisemitism is a complex, multifaceted hatred. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism is considered the gold standard of understanding antisemitism and has been used by governments and institutions to identify and monitor the phenomenon.
It is antisemitic incidents, particularly ones where they are antisemitic hate crimes, that demonstrate the importance of an internationally accepted definition that can assist authorities in determining whether an incident is antisemitic or not.
The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism states:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The definition includes a list of eleven reference examples, including, most relevantly:
- Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
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Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
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Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel.
What the WJC is doing about it:
In addition to raising awareness of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and condemning antisemitic incidents across the globe, WJC publishes reports bringing attention to trends revolving around antisemitism. For instance, in 2020 WJC published a report providing an overview of some of the most blatant antisemitic social media posts during the Hamas-Israel conflict. Many of those included examples featuring Holocaust imagery, conspiracy myths, and Nazi glorification, in particular evocations such as “Hitler was right.”
In addition, WJC also published two reports finding that harmful conspiracy myths targeting Jews have become increasingly widespread online, and that the once United States-centric QAnon movement has begun to take hold across Europe since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reports, “Antisemitic Conspiracy Myths” and “QAnon: A Conspiracy Myth,” explain how misinformation campaigns regarding the origins and spread of the coronavirus have flourished on social media, with tech companies struggling to appropriately address the issues.
WJC also actively combats antisemitism and disinformation online. For example, WJC and UNESCO worked with Facebook and Instagram to direct users who search for Holocaust-related information to the website AboutHolocaust.org, a comprehensive resource developed by the two organizations.
In addition, in 2019, WJC partnered with Facebook to help identify the specific ways in which antisemitic stereotypes are manifested against Jews today, such as posts conveying the message that “Jews run the world” or “Jews control the media.” Since the partnership was established, Facebook has expanded the scope of these activities to identify and remove content perpetuating other harmful stereotypes.
WJC has had similar success with TikTok, working closely with the tech giant to identify specific examples of harmful content.
In addition, WJC along with UNESCO, has worked with both social media giants to direct users searching for Holocaust information to AboutHolocaust.org, an authoritative informative website about the Holocaust.
