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Antisemitism in Context
Reporting that leads to a greater understanding of antisemitism
Opinion | Is Our Fear of Antisemitism Poisoning Our Discussion of Israel?
Over the past 2,500 years, antisemitism has been one of the world’s most resilient scourges, erupting spasmodically but never going away, and spanning much of the globe. This virus has mutated into a mélange of tribal turf wars, religious jealousy, economic envy and pure, abstract, intellectual hatred, attracting adherents who may never have met a Jew in their lives. And it is again on the rise, although the degree is subject to dispute.
If indeed antisemitism is spreading like an infectious toxin, though, how Jewish communities seek to treat it can also cause damage to those communities’ health.
A Day of Hate or a Day of Resolve?
Last week, extremist groups including the Goyim Defense League and the National Socialist Movement declared a “National Day of Hate” on Telegram for Saturday, February 26. According to the Times of Israel, organizers called on their followers to distribute antisemitic fliers and stickers, hold rallies, and vandalize with graffiti.
The ADL and Secure Community Network urged Jewish communities to be vigilant and to avoid confrontations with potential demonstrators. Synagogues in New York City and elsewhere worked with law enforcement to have additional police presence during Shabbat services, provoking some discomfort in more progressive-leaning communities. Some rabbis and other religious leaders also encouraged a “Day of Resolve” on Saturday. One Upper East Side synagogue held an outdoor Shabbat service in response to the antisemitic threats.
As of Wednesday March 1, however, no actual incidents had been reported.
Netherlands, February 10, 2023
An antisemitic message was projected onto the Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam. The message, “Anne Frank, inventor of the ballpoint pen,” refers to a far-right conspiracy theory that Frank’s famous diary was partially written in ballpoint pen, which was invented after the war and Anne Frank’s death. Holocaust deniers have long claimed this proves the diary’s inauthenticity, despite the results of a thorough examination by the Dutch government released in 1989.
Germany, February 14, 2023
The Berlin-Tiergarten district court sentenced Reza Begi, a notorious Holocaust denier, to a fourteen month prison sentence with no possibility of parole. Begi has repeatedly violated Germany’s legal prohibition against Holocaust denial. These violations include giving an antisemitic speech at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and proclaiming Holocaust denial conspiracy theories outside the Israeli Embassy in Berlin.
Brazil, February 14, 2023
A 17-year-old wearing a Nazi armband attempted to blow up a school near Sao Paolo. Police arrested the teenager, who had explosives and a hatchet in his possession, and seized an airsoft gun and Nazi propaganda from his home. School attacks are uncommon in Brazil, but they have increased in frequency these past few years. In November 2022, a different 16-year-old with a swastika pinned to his vest shot people at two different schools in the small town of Aracruz. Equipped with a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver, he killed four people and wounded 12 others. He has been arrested as well.
United States, February 15, 2023
A New York City man was photographed creating racist and antisemitic graffiti in the subway stations of the L and M lines. Commuters saw the man, dubbed the “L Train Nazi” on Twitter, tagging a neo-Nazi slogan, “1488” on a support beam. “1488” is a neo-Nazi code that encompasses two popular white supremacist numeric symbols. People have reported other “1488” tags written in similar handwriting and style for years, but the “L Train Nazi” continues to evade arrest.
Also, the State Department withdrew its nomination of Professor James Cavallaro to be a commissioner with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) after tweets came to light in which he accused US House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) of being “Bought. Purchased. Controlled” by pro-Israel groups and accused Israel of being an apartheid state.
Watch on MomentLive!
Watch Moment editors in conversation with thinkers and experts
The “Normalization” of Antisemitism—with Gavriel D. Rosenfeld and Amy E. Schwartz
The number of antisemitic incidents throughout the country continues to rise at an alarming rate. With so many reports of antisemitism on a daily basis, are people becoming desensitized? Gavriel D. Rosenfeld, president of the Center for Jewish History, and professor of History at Fairfield University, and Moment Book & Opinion editor Amy E. Schwartz, discussed this normalization and what we can do about it.
Resources
Key reports and studies on antisemitism around the globe