Strong upturn in global anti-Semitism
Conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and Operation Wall Guardian, carried out by Israel against Hamas in 2021, are the two main causes of the sharp increase in anti-Semitism, according to the conclusions of the annual report published by the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Judaism at Tel Aviv University.
The United States, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia are the countries in which the most incidents have occurred against people from Jewish communities, in a classification in which Spain maintains a stable situation, even tending towards a decrease. The North American territory registered an increase in incidents and aggressions of 27% in 2021 and 113% since 2019. A large part of the anti-Semitic aggressions, 251, occurred in the aftermath of the heavy clashes between Israel and Hamas in May.
France (74%), Canada (54%), the UK (34%), Germany (29%) and Australia (21.5%) are, in that order, the countries where the uptick in anti-Semitism has been most noticeable, although the report highlights that outbreaks have also appeared in other countries in Europe and the Americas, leading its authors to conclude that there is a significant setback in a struggle that has intensified relentlessly since the Holocaust.
There is a clear connection between the policies pursued by the state of Israel and its perception by public opinion in countries that are home to Jewish communities. At the same time, political polarisation, the rise of radicalism on both the left and the right of the spectrum, and the spread of hate speech through social media, all play a decisive role in this global upsurge in anti-Semitism. "The explosion of conspiracy theories about the pandemic, as well as the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in May 2021, have triggered the outbreaks of anti-Semitism. All of this leads us to conclude that the fight [to eradicate it] is failing," the report notes.
For Professor Uriya Shavit, head of the Tel Aviv-based centre, "Russian war crimes, accompanied by a cynical distortion of the memory of the Holocaust, prove that many of those who declared their commitment to fighting anti-Semitism were not serious and have not really learned the lessons of World War II. The Jewish world must remain united in understanding that the fight against anti-Semitism and the preservation of the values of liberal democracy are one and the same.
The founder of the Tel Aviv University centre, Dina Porat, blames social media for being the best loudspeaker for the amplification of anti-Semitism, and especially the propaganda carried out by numerous media outlets financially supported by Iran, which is increasingly allocating funds for this purpose, focusing its target on the United States and Latin America. In addition to the regime of the ayatollahs, the report also points to campaigns directly promoted by governments in the orbit of or close to Vladimir Putin, such as Belarus.
Other analysts such as Carl Yonker and Lev Topor also highlight how the radical anti-Semitism of white supremacists in the United States is rapidly penetrating conservative public opinion. For his part, Ofir Winter, who analyses in depth what is happening in the Arab world, perceives an "unmistakable anti-Semitic colour" in the reports that refer to the Abraham Accords. And finally, Talia Naamat demonstrates with numerous examples the challenge for French courts to recognise Islamist anti-Semitism in their judgements and sentences.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also served to intensify anti-Jewish propaganda. The report specifically cites antivaccinationists, who spread on the networks that vaccine research by Israeli laboratories was primarily aimed at "making money", while trivialising the Holocaust by publishing a photo of Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer and son of Auschwitz survivors, next to one of the sinister Dr Joseph Mengele, implying more than subliminally that both were engaged in similar experimentation on human beings.