Brussels – The World Jewish Congress, together with the American Jewish Committee, B’nai B’rith Europe, B’nai B’rith International, European Jewish Congress, and the European Union of Jewish Students, called on European Commission leaders to strengthen measures to address online antisemitism. The letter addressed to European Commissioner Thierry Breton, European Commission Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology Roberto Viola, and Deputy Director-General Renate Nikolay comes following the entry into force of the Digital Services Act (DSA) earlier this week.
The surge in antisemitic incidents across Europe, both online and offline, has been staggering. This disturbing trend is further exacerbated by the proliferation of Holocaust distortion and the glorification of terror. The impact on Jewish communities is profound, with individuals facing harassment and violence in online spaces. The response of digital platforms to hateful content has been inadequate, perpetuating further fear and frustration.
As the DSA moves into implementation, we urge the European Commission to prioritize combating antisemitism and to ensure platforms meet their due diligence obligations. The simultaneous proper implementation of the EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life is paramount, alongside proactive engagement with Jewish civil society and national authorities.
It is imperative to address this urgent issue and safeguard the online safety of Jewish Europeans.
The full text of the letter can be found below:
Brussels, 23 February 2024
RE: Addressing Online Antisemitism, Rampant since 7 October
Dear European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton,
Dear Director‑General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Roberto Viola,
Dear Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Renate Nikolay,
On the occasion of the entry into full application of the Digital Services Act (DSA) on 17 February 2024, we, the undersigned Jewish organizations, write to express our deep concern with the increase in online antisemitic hate speech, as well as content grossly distorting the Holocaust and content endorsing and glorifying terror – in the wake of the 7 October Hamas attack in Israel.
As the European Commission finalizes its compliance assessment of over 20 very large online platforms (VLOPS), and as member states complete their appointment of national coordinators on the way to actioning the DSA, we urge the Commission to prioritize in this process the online safety and wellbeing of Jewish Europeans as well as all consumers exposed to unprecedented levels of antisemitic hateful content online.
Scale of the phenomenon
The rise of antisemitic incidents and rhetoric since 7 October – both off- and online - has been staggering and has affected Jewish communities across Europe. A 1000% increase in incidents was documented in France; a 320% increase in Germany, an 818% increase in the Netherlands and a 300% increase in Austria in the one to three months following the attack.
Online antisemitic content has seen dramatic increases as well. In the week following the attack, the Anti-Defamation League documented a 919% increase on X and a 28% increase on Facebook. Furthermore, TikTok, a platform that remains difficult to study due to the lack of data it shares with civil society, has seen millions of antisemitic content published on its platform and has been accused of not being a safe place for Jewish users. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue documented a 51-fold increase in antisemitic comments on YouTube in the four days after Hamas’ attack.
The same patterns of alarming growth have predictably been visible on alternative platforms as well. Within 48 hours after 7 October, the use of slurs and violent speech against Jewish communities on 4chan and other unmoderated platforms grew by nearly 500%, as documented by the Global Project against Hate and Extremism.
Such antisemitic content is often underscored by violent language. According to digital investigations by Memetica and the World Jewish Congress, the hashtags #DeathtotheJews and #DeathtoJews appeared over 51 000 times in the one month following the Hamas attack, an over 800% increase as compared to the previous month.
Holocaust glorification and distortion has been in this context a particularly pernicious issue. The hashtag #HitlerWasRight was posted 48 000 times in the month following the Hamas attack before finally being removed from X. The use of Nazi symbolism, for instance memes including swastikas and eugenical discourse such as in text and images comparing Jews and Zionism to diseases or cancers and calling to “Keep the world clean,” have been pervasive.
Glorification of terror through celebration, support for, and justification of, the Hamas attacks has made up a significant part of antisemitic commentary, ranging between 19% in German Facebook comment sections and 53% and 54.7% in French Facebook and
UK YouTube comment sections, respectively – in contrast to previous studies where direct affirmation of violence was negligible.
Impact on Jewish communities
The groundswell in antisemitic hatred online has created an atmosphere of fear and silencing for Jewish Europeans online. Comments sections of Jewish civil societies’ social media channels are overrun with hateful and violent content. Individual activists, including students, regularly receive violent hate messages both publicly and privately. Student WhatsApp groups have become cesspits of antisemitic harassment, with Jewish students growing increasingly isolated – especially in the face of inadequate action from universities.
Social media platforms’ responses to hate content have been glaringly inadequate due to differing approaches to content removal and allocated resources. This is due to a lack of policies covering the various manifestations of antisemitism, its tropes and narratives, and due to insufficient enforcement by machine learning or human moderators at platforms’ disposal. This lack of response further fuels the sense of fear, frustration and hopelessness on the part of many Jewish Europeans, whose reported content remains unaddressed – or worse – qualified as in accordance with platform standards with no adequate appeal process.
Necessary action
The entry into application of the entire DSA, along with the appointment of national coordinators, is an opportunity to energetically reprioritize the fight against antisemitism, and the connected issues of Holocaust denial and distortion and glorification of terror, rampant since 7 October.
As the legislative package enters into full force, we urge the Commission to use its mechanisms to ensure platforms’ due diligence obligations are met, and that suitable platform-specific risk mitigation measures are put in place, especially with regard to algorithmic transparency. In addition, we urge you to ensure that the transversal provisions of the EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life, and its dedicated chapter on online antisemitism are reflected in the implementation of the DSA.
We further encourage Digital Service Coordinators to seek contact with representatives of Jewish civil society and with the national authorities tasked with combatting antisemitism, to ensure sustained awareness of morphing online trends targeting Jewish Europeans.
Sincerely,
Maram Stern, Executive Vice President, World Jewish Congress
Ted Deutch, CEO, American Jewish Committee
Serge Dahan, President, B’nai B’rith Europe
Daniel S. Mariaschin, CEO, B’nai B’rith International
Raya Kalenova, Executive Vice-President & CEO, European Jewish Congress
Emma Hallali, President, European Union of Jewish Students
