July 2021: Antisemitism in review

Australia

Antisemitic graffiti daubed Ajax sporting club

When: 24 July

Where: Victoria, Australia

What: Swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti were smeared on the wall of the Ajax Sports Club headquarters in Victoria. The graffiti was immediately removed following the conclusion of authorities’ investigation.

Ajax Football and Maccabi Ajax Cricket Club released a joint statement saying they were “absolutely appalled to see a direct antisemitic attack on our club rooms at Albert Park overnight.”

“There is no place for hate, racism or antisemitism anywhere in our community,” the clubs added, “Our resolve is stronger than ever to represent our great Jewish community proudly on the sporting fields of Albert Park and right across our great city.” Click here to read more.

Bulgaria

Bulgarian far-right candidate denies Holocaust and praises Hitler

When: 11 July

Where: Bulgaria

What: Ultra-nationalist Bulgarian politician Miroslav Ivanov denied the Holocaust and praised Adolf Hitler as a “fantastic personality” during an interview with Bulgarian broadcaster Nova Televizia (NTV). Among other offensive and vile remarks, Ivanov claimed the gas chambers operated by the Nazis were used for “deworming” and advocated for people to read Mein Kampf, saying “It is on a par with the Bible and the Koran.”

 The WJC-affiliated "Shalom" condemned the remarks by Ivanov and called on the prosecution to “take a stand on this case, based on both Bulgarian legislation and European practices related to the spread of fascist and antisemitic propaganda and Holocaust denial.” Click here to read more.

Canada

Man with swastika tattoo assaults two members of Toronto Jewish community 

When: July

Where: Toronto, Canada

What: A man with a swastika on his chest twice assaulted members of the Toronto Jewish community. Toronto Police have arrested the suspect, who was charged with assault with a weapon as well as two municipal bylaw infractions.

“Like all members of society, Jews should be able to walk down the street with confidence in our safety and security,” the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CJIA) and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto said in a statement.

“Antisemitism is a scourge that is quickly spreading throughout Canada and around the world. Over the past few months, Jewish Canadians — already the most targeted religious minority in this country according to Statistics Canada — have witnessed an alarming rise in hate-motivated harassment, vandalism, and assault.”

According to Statistics Canada, Jews are the most targeted religious group for hate crimes in Canada. Click here to read more.

Several shops in Manitoba were spray-painted with swastikas. A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Police Service confirmed police are investigating the incidents.

A swastika was also painted near a Jewish man's car in Kelowna, Canada.

Sgt. Joel Glen of West Kelowna RCMP condemned the incident saying, “Racism of any kind has no place in our community and will not be tolerated. We are conducting a fulsome investigation into this incident, and appeal to anyone who witnessed it to come forward.”

France

French protesters compare vaccines to Nazi horrors

When: 17 July

Where: France

What: As more than 100,000 people marched around France protesting government vaccine rules some demonstrators wore yellow stars and carried signs referencing the Auschwitz death camp.

The actions were strongly condemned by the WJC affiliated Representative Council of Jews of France, who said in a statement, “The comparison between the health pass and the yellow star is a shameful instrumentalization of history and an outrage against the victims of Nazi barbarism and their descendants.”

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal made similar comments, lamenting the “absolutely abject comparisons” of vaccine rules to Nazi atrocities. Click here to read more.

Two swastikas were carved with a blowtorch into a memorial plaque honoring the victims of those deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

A Parisian court sentenced nine individuals to prison sentences after they were convicted for gang robbery of a French Jewish family in 2017 that was motivated by antisemitism.

The gang also attacked Roger Pinto, beating him unconscious. Recounting the harrowing experience, Pinto said that as he regained consciousness, he heard one of the gang members tell him, “You are Jewish, we know that the Jews have a lot of money, and you will give us what you have. If you do not give us what we ask you, we’ll kill you.”

Germany

Five Berlin police officers’ apartments raided for far-right links

When: 7 July

Where: Berlin, Germany

What: Berlin police aided apartments and rooms connected to five of its officers after they shared racist and anti-government content in an online chat group. The officers distributed images depicting racist, right-wing imagery as well as unconstitutional symbols. Click here to read more.

Germany will not attend the UN event marking the 20th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. Other countries that announced in recent months they would not attend are Israel, US, Canada, Australia, UK, Hungary, Austria, Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. To read more about the upcoming Durban Conference click here. 

Holland

Antisemitic mural appears after Dutch soccer star signs with rival team

When: 28 July

Where: Holland

What: An antisemitic mural featured a Dutch soccer player, Steven Berghuis, with an enlarged-hooked nose, a kippah, and a concentration camp prison shirt with a yellow Jewish star, along with the words “Jews always run away.”

The mural contained the text “Jews always run away” and included a portrait of Berghuis with an enlarged-hooked nose, a kippah, and a concentration camp prison shirt with a yellow Jewish star.

The Israeli Information and Documentation Center (CIDI), an organization tasked with combating antisemitism in the Netherlands, said that it had filed a police complaint, adding there was a “good chance” the culprit would be caught thanks to nearby closed-circuit cameras.

“This image is extremely discriminatory against Jews and can’t be dismissed,” a CIDI spokesperson said.

The incident occurred after Berghuis signed with Ajax soccer team, a team with many fans that affectionately call themselves “Jews” and wave Israeli flags at matches.  Ajax matches have frequently been disrupted by the antisemitic chants of opposing fans, including “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas.” Click here to read more.

Poland

Nationalist demonstrators disrupt commemorative ceremony for pogrom victims

When: 14 July

Where: Jedwabne, Poland

What: Dozens of nationalist protestors disrupted an event commemorating the 1941 Jedwabne pogrom. The group brought signs and flags to the site of the pogrom, including one which said, “we demand the truth about Jedwabne.”

“It was a small group of maybe 5-6 people who actually did nothing to interfere with the ceremony,” Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich said. He added that the incident indicates a “very serious issue,” involving the Polish government’s stance on Holocaust memory. Click here to read more.

Over 100 people attended an anti-vaccine protest in Poland, where people chanted that “Jews are behind the pandemic” and “rule the world.” At the protest, a man asked the crowd: “Who is behind this whole ‘plandemic’ and who rules the world, right?” In response, someone shouted “Jews”, and the man replied, “Of course it’s the Jews.”

Spain

New neo-Nazi group openly recruiting members

When: 10 July

Where: Ruzafa, Spain

What: A new neo-Nazi group originating from Madrid, known as Bastion Front, is openly recruiting members in Valencia and other surrounding area. The group openly boats about their hatred for members of the LGBTQ+ community, Jews, and immigrant. National and Local authorities are investigating the group. Click here to read more.

United Kingdom

Antisemitism rose 365% in UK following Israel-Hamas conflict

When: Published July

Where: United Kingdom

What: There were over 625 antisemitic incidents between 8 May and 7 June, more than four times that of the same period in 2020, and the month prior, according to a newly published Community Security Trust (CST) report, an organization which tracks antisemitism in the UK. Out of the 628 antisemitic hate incidents, 585 involved language or behavior linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

“CST’s report details the racist hatred, abuse and intimidation that British Jews suffered over a monthlong period,” said CST’s Gardner upon release of the report last week.

“This anti-Jewish rage was fueled by extremists and directed against everyone from schoolchildren to rabbis, coming as violence and intimidation in schools, streets and shopping centers,” he said.

“We need firmer action against the perpetrators, and an end to the selective anti-racism from those who passionately oppose most racism but uniquely ignore, misrepresent or make excuses for this type of anti-Jewish hate.” Click here to read more.

A man in London yelled about Hitler and Nazis at two Orthodox men on their way to synagogue. Police are investigating the incident.

A man who defaced a war memorial with racist and antisemitic graffiti turned himself into authorities, admitting to his crime and eventually pleading guilty. Prosecutors also noted that the man previously targeted a member of the Jewish community.

A Jewish man recorded the “torrent of antisemitic abuse” he encountered in one hour while traveling on the tube and bus in London. In both incidents, the Jewish man was verbally assaulted with slurs while in the latter incident, he was threatened to “slit his throat for Palestine.”

Siwan Hayward, Transport for London’s director of compliance, policing operations and security condemned the incident saying, “We are appalled by the shocking incidents. All our customers have the right to travel without fear of abuse or intimidation and hate crime has absolutely no place on our network.”

United States

Swastika discovered carved at the United States State Department

 When: 27 July

Where: Washington D.C., United States

What: A swastika was discovered in the State Department building near the office of the special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. President Biden responded, "Let me be clear: Anti-Semitism has no place in the State Department, in my Administration, or anywhere in the world. It’s up to all of us to give hate no safe harbor and stand up to bigotry wherever we find it.” Secretary of State Blinken wrote in a letter to State Department staff, “as this painfully reminds us, antisemitism isn’t a relic of the past,” Blinken wrote. Click here to read more.

A Chabad rabbi was hospitalized after being attacked and stabbed multiple times. Israel’s Consul General in Boston Meron Reuben told the Boston Herald “We are horrified by what has happened... We are very concerned, and we are following the situation very diligently.” The suspect was charged with hate crimes, in addition to charges of armed assault and battery.

Fireworks were thrown at yeshiva students in upstate New York as suspects yelled expletives.

“Hopefully, law enforcement will determine the motive behind this attack," Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC) Executive Director Yossi Gestetner said in a statement to The Jerusalem Post.

"There are plenty of places in Greene County, New York from where to launch fireworks in a safe way other than throwing it at teen Hasidic yeshiva students and at the staff’s young children. Finally, it’s hopeful that all those who besmirch the curriculum of Hasidic yeshivas out of supposed ‘care’ for the well-being of Hassidim, would speak up when Hassidim are repeatedly the victim of hate attacks.”

A man in California was arrested after police discovered in his car assault-style rifles, a handgun, body armor ammunition, and a racist and antisemitic manifesto saying he wanted to “wipe out” Jews, Black, and Hispanic communities.

"We definitely feel a crisis was averted," Campbell Police Capt. Ian White told CNN. "There was a significant threat to the public," he said, noting investigators hope to learn more to understand the motive behind the arsenal.

The potential crisis was averted after a local businessman alerted police that the man was “prowling in the area, peering into vehicles and a storage shed.”