The WJC hosted a roundtable with the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Ashwini K.P., at WJC's New York headquarters on Tuesday, as part of the Special Rapporteur's country visit to the United States. The discussion focused on antisemitism and other pertinent issues within her mandate.
The Special Rapporteur was presented with personal testimonies on antisemitism in the United States from representatives of a diverse group, including university students and professors, Jewish organizational leaders, non-Jewish community members, and more.
Yfat Barak-Cheney, WJC International Affairs Director, asserted that the recent upswing in antisemitism has been accumulating for many years and is not attributable to any specific group, but rather extremists and antisemites on all sides are perpetuating antisemitic narratives and tropes. She also commended the U.S. national strategy on combating antisemitism and urged its full implementation, and called on the UN Special Rapporteur to ensure antisemitism receives proper attention at the UN level.
The Special Rapporteur thanked the participants for sharing their experiences and responded that the issue of antisemitism will be included in her report to the Human Rights Council next year.
In her press report following her visit, she expressed "great concern" that the October 7th terrorist attacks have served as a "catalyst for unacceptable rises in antisemitic hate speech, including online hate speech, threats, and violence," adding that she was "saddened to hear from Jewish individuals how scared they are within the current climate."
