Following the dramatic rise in far-right extremism and antisemitism in recent years, Yfat Barak-Cheney, World Jewish Congress Director of International Affairs, addressed a United Nations panel on June 28 as part of UN Counter-Terrorism Week, calling on the international agency to convene influential actors, particularly civil society organizations and faith-based organizations, toward the collective fight against these evils. The theme of the UN counter-terrorism week is “Countering and Preventing Terrorism in the Age of Transformative Technologies: Addressing the Challenges of the New Decade.”
Barak-Cheney was invited to provide an intervention during a discussion entitled, “The critical roles of civil society and local actors in building partnerships for prevention.”
Barak-Cheney emphasized to attendees of the UN session, “We have seen antisemitic terrorism rise in recent years. Terrorist attacks in Halle, Germany, Poway, California, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, remind us that we are not in the clear of antisemitic pasts. In fact, violent antisemitism is spreading fast. Technology and social media are helping them spread faster. Global events, which were always conducive to the spread of conspiracy myths and antisemitism, such as the spread of COVID-19, added more fuel to this fire.
“We call on all UN entities and member states to communicate with their Jewish communities, big and small, and where there are no Jewish communities, to rely on the expertise of the WJC, when planning and implementing counter-terrorism strategies. We encourage all member states to adopt strategic plans for combating antisemitism.
“The views of civil society are important to consider, and the UN and member states must ensure they are taken into account when creating policies and strategies on countering terrorism. But civil society is so much more than that. Organizations representing affected communities such as faith-based organizations need to be properly and extensively represented at all levels – from prevention to enforcement and implementation.”
The World Jewish Congress has a long history of developing preventative and response tools, and advising independent entities, to combat antisemitism -- on the ground and online. As the ever-changing landscape of social media and technology have opened up new channels for the spread of online hate, the organization has focused on advocating for laws and social media company-led strategies that both emphasize self-regulation and clear platform guidelines to prevent the further spread of online hate.
Also on June 28, the World Jewish Congress organized an official side event to UN Counter-Terrorism Week organized by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism. The event, “Trends in Financing Far-Right Violent Extremism,” was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations, and the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. The conversation explored the financing of far-right violent extremism and how it has been influenced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Amber Weinber, World Jewish Congress Case Manager for Combating Antisemitism, moderated the WJC’s side event, saying: “Far-right violent extremism does not begin with terrorist incidents. Recent attacks showed an intersection between the belief in often antisemitic and xenophobic conspiracy myths, misogynistic ideals, and violent extremism. And in the past 18 months, since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and accompanying restrictions faced in everyday life, far-right violent extremist rhetoric and support for such ideals has been growing stronger. Far-right violent extremists use various methods of gaining funding including collecting donations, capitalizing on online monetization and an adept use of social media, selling merchandise, and doomsday survival kits and weapons.”
Bernd Heinze, who leads Germany’s Division on International Cooperation Against Terrorism, Organized Crime and Corruption, discussed how the obscure and cryptic nature of far-right financing has led to tragic instances of violence and what organizations can do to support amelioration of the situation.
“We need to know where this money comes from, where it goes, how and by whom it is being used, and what we can do to stop this cash flow.”
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, PhD, Director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab in the Center for University Excellence at American University, discussed the ways in which social media spaces are subject to the use of far-right propaganda if conscious regulation isn’t applied.
“The banning and de-platforming we currently see is useful in communicating an organization’s values and what crosses the line for its users. However, this has resulted in creativity from far-right organizations trying to push their extremist messaging through encoded ways that aren’t able to be banned or regulated due to their masked nature.”
An example of this can be found in far-right merchandise subtly promoting a seemingly unrelated symbol or design.
Collin Almquist, Director of Strategic Intelligence at Chainalysis, Inc., a leader in cryptocurrency investigations and compliance solutions, noted how the rise of new technologies like blockchain have served to support and enable far-right extremism and antisemitic efforts as a result of at lack in regulation due to their decentralized nature. Almquist previously served as a senior counter-threat finance analyst at U.S. Central Command and is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“Cryptocurrency has gained a strong foothold within far-right extremism as a result of its ability to act as a lifeline in preserving the wealth of certain far-right groups. It’s a great example of the mainstream being left behind.”
Karim Zidan, an investigative journalist who has covered far-right extremism for various news outlets, noted the recent rise in decentralized or “censorship-resistant” social media platforms being used by the far-right to advance antisemitic and racist messaging, including Telegra, which he referred to as a “cesspool of the far-right.” Touching on the necessity for community oversight on and regulation of all forms of hate speech, Zidan underscored the need for entities with a known base of far-right individuals, namely, those in the mixed martial arts realm including the Ultimate Fighting Championship, to restrict any and all forms of extremist behavior.
“It is their [these companies’ and movements’] utmost duty to denounce all forms of antisemitic or hate-driven behavior. With the recent rise in violence around the world, it is imperative to raise awareness against far-right extremism.”
