Antisemitism peaked globally in 2021

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Centre for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Humanities has published its 28th Annual Report on Antisemitism Worldwide.

The Report, which covers events in 2021, is based on an analysis of dozens of studies from around the globe, alongside information from law enforcement authorities, the media, and Jewish organizations in various countries.

The disturbing findings indicate a sharp increase in the number of antisemitic incidents in many countries, even compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The authors report a dramatic rise in the number of antisemitic incidents in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia – as well as other countries. According to the report, the increase stems from the strengthening of both the radical Right and Left political movements in different countries and the vast reach of social networks for spreading lies and incitement. Specifically, the boom in conspiracy theories resulting from the pandemic, as well as the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in May 2021, generated acute surges of antisemitism.

Prof. Uriya Shavit, Head of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry said: “Something just isn’t working. In recent years the fight against antisemitism has enjoyed extensive resources worldwide, and yet, despite many important programs and initiatives, the number of antisemitic incidents, including violent assaults, is rapidly escalating. The easy thing is to say that more laws and more funding are required. But what we really need is a courageous and unsparing examination of the efficacy of existing strategies.”

Prof. Shavit added that “Russian war crimes, accompanied by the cynical distortion of the memory of the Holocaust, prove that some of those who declared their commitment to the fight against antisemitism, were not really serious about it, and had not truly learned the lessons of World War II. The Jewish world must pull itself together and understand that the fight against antisemitism and the fight for liberal democratic values are one and the same.”

The Centre’s Founder, Prof. Dina Porat, wrote an analysis of the reasons for the increase in antisemitic incidents, underlining the negative impact of social networks in amplifying antisemitism.  According to Prof. Porat, exposure to conspiracy theories that thrive on the internet increased during pandemic lockdowns, which kept people at home, glued to their screens. These toxic ideas included claims that the Covid-19 virus had been engineered and spread by Israel and the Jews, she explains. Some of those poisoned by such theories for such a long period of time emerged from the lockdowns bitter and aggressive. Prof. Porat also emphasizes Iran’s efforts to spread antisemitic propaganda through social media and to fund specific channels, and the need to make these efforts known and denounced throughout.

The extensive, in-depth reviews by the Report’s authors reveal disturbing phenomena in a range of countries. Dr Inna Shtakser discusses the rise of state-sponsored antisemitism under Belarus’ authoritarian leadership; Dr Carl Yonker and Dr Lev Topor describe how antisemitic white supremacists are penetrating mainstream American conservatism; Dr Ofir Winter analyzes voices in the Arab world that paint the Abraham Accords with unmistakably antisemitic colours; and Adv. Talia Naamat demonstrates the challenges for French courts to recognize Islamist antisemitism for what it is.

The annual Antisemitism Worldwide Report 2021 demonstrates a significant increase in various types of antisemitic incidents in most countries with large Jewish populations during 2021:

• USA: In 2021, the NYPD recorded 214 anti-Jewish hate crimes compared to 126 in 2020, and the LAPD recorded 79 such crimes compared to only 40 in 2020. 251 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the US in only three weeks during the riots around the Israel-Hamas conflict in May.

 

According to the annual survey of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), 2.6% of American Jews said they had been the victims of antisemitic physical attacks in the past five years.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recorded a 27% increase from 2020 and a 113% increase from 2019 in incidents of white supremacist antisemitic propaganda. These data are particularly disturbing given that there was a slight decrease in the overall number of white supremacist propaganda distributions.

• France: The Service de Protection de la Communauté Juive (SPJC), in cooperation with the French Ministry of Interior, recorded 589 antisemitic incidents in 2021, a 74% increase from 2020 and a 14% decrease from 2019.

 

• Canada: In May 2021, B’nai Brith Canada reported 61 assaults against Jews – a 40-year record (since monitoring began in 1982) in antisemitic physical violence in one month. Altogether 226 incidents were recorded during May – a 54% increase from the same period in 2020.

 

• UK: The Community Service Trust (CST) recorded 2,255 antisemitic incidents in 2021, an increase of 34% from 2020 and 24% from 2019. A sharp rise of 78% compared to 2020 was recorded in physical assaults against Jews.

 

• Germany: The German Police recorded 3,028 antisemitic incidents during 2021 – an increase of 29% from 2020, and 49% from 2019.

 Another worrying phenomenon registered in 2021: German anti-vaxxers likened their situation to that of the Jews in the Holocaust. The authors of the Report argue that this has led to the trivialization of the Holocaust.

• Australia: 447 antisemitic incidents were recorded in 2021 – an increase of 35% from 2020 and 21.5% from 2019. The highest monthly total ever was recorded in May – 88 incidents.

Reasons for the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents worldwide:

The Report suggests that the number of antisemitic incidents in the world was directly impacted by two major events: The conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in May 2021 (Operation Guardian of the Walls), and the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Operation Guardian of the Walls (conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza), May 2021: The authors of the Report note that the operation in Gaza led to a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents around the world, and state that “The conflict exposed an unacceptable reality: when Israel defends itself, Jews across the world are attacked.” Social networks played a major role in this wave. This raises concerns regarding the utility of legislation and agreements reached with social media companies on banning antisemitic expressions from their platforms. The gravest concern is the dark web, which shelters extremists of all types, and where antisemitic content is freely and openly spread. The Report also notes that Iran invests substantial time and funding in spreading antisemitic propaganda online, focusing their campaigns mainly in the United States and Latin America.

 

• The Covid-19 pandemic: Right at the outset of the pandemic in 2020, conspiracy theories began to sprout around the world, blaming the Jews and Israel for spreading the virus. These accusations were reminiscent of centuries-old blood libels. The lockdowns, which glued people to their screens at home, contributed significantly to popularizing toxic antisemitic discourse on social networks. In 2021, when the lockdowns were gradually eased, antisemites returned to the streets, and physical violence against Jews increased. At the same time, activity on social media did not diminish, becoming a definer of identity for some participants.

 

• Some anti-vaxxers accused the Jews of developing the vaccines in order to make a fortune. The vaccines’ success, and Israel’s efficient vaccination campaign specifically, only served to reinforce these false accusations. Anti-vaxxers also introduced flawed comparisons between government-required vaccination and the situation of Jews in the Holocaust, leading to the trivialization of the Holocaust. In one instance, a photo of Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO and the son of Auschwitz survivors, was published alongside that of infamous Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele, to imply that both experimented on human beings.

Co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry Peter Wertheim told J-Wire: “Professor Shavit is right.  The traditional approaches to combating antisemitism adopted by Israel and Jewish communities around the world are becoming less effective.

As societies become more polarised under a variety of stresses, hate-content on social media and peer-group pressure exercised via social media preys on the ignorance of the young and breeds extremism.  Education has to be a part of the answer, but it needs to be education that is adapted to the dramatic shifts that are occurring in the contemporary world.

In addition to teaching about the Holocaust, the Australian, State and Territory curricula need to include mandatory education of children to recognise and counteract specific forms of prejudice which are prevalent in Australia, including anti-Jewish, anti-Indigenous, anti-Muslim and anti-Asian prejudice.  Generic human rights and citizenship education are not sufficient. The focus needs to be on identifying and counter-acting specific forms of racism, and it needs to begin at the start of primary school and be included in core subjects like History, English, Science and Geography, and developed and reinforced throughout school.’

TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY