The annual report of the Center for the Study of Modern European Jewry on the state of anti-Semitism in the world reveals: 2021 was a record year for anti-Semitism
In preparation for Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Center for the Study of Modern European Jewry at the Lester and Sally Antin Faculty of Humanities is publishing its 28th annual report on the state of anti-Semitism for the 28th year. . The solution is not necessarily more budgets, more conferences and more legislation. The report, which covers the year 2021, is based on an analysis of dozens of studies conducted around the world, along with information provided by law enforcement agencies, media outlets and Jewish organizations in various countries.
“It must be said courageously: the struggle has failed”
The alarming findings indicate a sharp increase in the number of antisemitic incidents in many countries around the world, even compared to 2019, pre-Corona plague. The report’s authors report a dramatic increase in the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. According to the report, the increase is related to the strengthening of far-right and far-left movements and the generous stage that social networks provide for spreading lies and incitement. Conspiracy theories that thrive in the wake of the corona crisis, and Operation Wall Guard in Gaza, have particularly sparked antisemitic waves.
“Something is not working. In recent years, enormous resources have been invested around the world in the fight against anti-Semitism, which included important and welcome programs, but the number of antisemitic incidents, including serious ones, is on the rise,” said Prof. Uriah Shavit, head of the Center for European Jewry. Publication of the report.
Prof. Dina Porat, the center’s founder, emphasized in a review she wrote about the reasons for the increase in the number of antisemitic incidents the negative impact of social networks on the strengthening of the phenomenon. According to Prof. Porat, during the Corona period and the closures, in which people sat hidden in their homes in front of computers, there was increased exposure to thriving conspiracy theories on the Internet, including the accusation that the virus was created and spread by Jews and the State of Israel when the closures were lifted. Some of those who have been poisoned for a long time from these theories have come out more aggressive and bitter, as they continue to be affected by the lies they have internalized. Prof. Porat stressed that Iran’s efforts to spread antisemitic propaganda on the networks should be taken seriously.
An alarming rise in anti-Semitic incidents on all continents of the world
The in-depth reviews published in the report point to worrying phenomena in different countries. “Dr. Ina Texer points to the strengthening of institutionalized anti-Semitism in the dictatorship of Belarus; Dr. Carl Junker and Dr. Lev Topur point to the penetration of right-wing anti-Semitic movements into the mainstream of American conservatism; Dr. Ophir Winter points to voices in the Arab world that paint” Abrahamic Agreements “in distinctly antisemitic colors; And Advocate Talia Naamat points to the difficulty of the French legal system in calling Islamist anti-Semitism by its name.
From the main part of the report:
- USA: New York City Police reported 214 incidents of hate crimes against Jews in 2021 compared to 126 incidents in 2020. Los Angeles Police reported in 2021 79 annual crimes against Jews, compared to only 40 in 2020. During the events of May 2021 And Operation Guardian reported 251 antisemitic incidents across the U.S. in just about three weeks.
- According to the annual survey of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), 2.6% of U.S. Jews have experienced physical antisemitic assaults in the past five years.
- According to the Anti-Defamation League data, there has been a 27% increase compared to 2020 and 113% compared to 2019 in the number of incidents of spreading antisemitic propaganda by white supremacist organizations. These figures are particularly worrying, as the number of incidents of spreading white supremacy in general has actually declined.
- France: The Service for the Protection of Jewish Communities, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, reported 589 antisemitic incidents in 2021, an increase of 74% compared to 2020, but a decrease of 15% compared to 2019.
- Canada: In May 2021, Bnei Brit recorded a 40-year record (since documentation began in 1982) of physical violence against an antisemitic background in one month – 61 assaults. A total of 266 incidents were recorded in the same month, an increase of 54% compared to the same period in 2020.
- United Kingdom: In 2021, the Community Service Organization (CST) reported 2,255 antisemitic incidents, an increase of 34% compared to 2020 and 24% compared to 2019. A sharp increase of 78% compared to 2020 was recorded in the number of physical attacks against Jews.
- Germany: According to data from the German police, 3,028 antisemitic incidents were recorded across the country in 2021, an increase of 28.8% compared to 2020 and 49% compared to 2019.
- The report points to a disturbing phenomenon that intensified in 2021: opponents of German vaccines comparing their situation to that of Jews in the Holocaust. According to the authors of the report, the result is a trivialization of the Holocaust.
- Australia: In 2021, 447 antisemitic incidents were recorded across the country – an increase of 35% compared to 2020 and 21.5% compared to 2019. In May, the largest number of incidents in one month ever occurred – 88 antisemitic incidents.
As Israel defends itself, manifestations of anti-Semitism rise
According to the report, Operation Wall Guard in Gaza in May 2021 and the corona plague had a direct negative impact on the number of antisemitic incidents in the world. “This is an unbearable reality: when Israel defends itself – Jews are attacked,” the report’s editors say. The uproar on social media played a major role in this wave. The phenomenon raises doubts about the effectiveness of the legislation and agreements signed with social network operators, who have pledged to prevent the raising of antisemitic remarks on the various platforms. The most serious problem in the online arena is the dark web, which is a platform for extremists of all kinds and allows the distribution of antisemitic content without restriction and without supervision. The report notes that Iran is investing a lot of effort and money in spreading anti-Semitic and anti-Israel messages on the Internet, especially in Latin America and the United States.
Already with the outbreak of the corona plague in 2020, conspiracy theories were circulating around the world that accused Jews and Israel of spreading the virus. These accusations were based on centuries-old antisemitic blood libels. In 2021, with the easing of closures, anti-Semitism returned to the streets and physical violence against Jews increased. At the same time, the increased activity on social networks continued, and even became an essential component in shaping the identity of some of the participants. Among the opponents of the vaccines are those who accuse the Jews of developing them in order to get rich. The success of the vaccines in general, and Israel’s effective immunization campaign in particular, only intensified these claims. Opponents of the vaccines even made distorted comparisons between the requirement to be vaccinated and the situation of Jews in the Holocaust, which led to the trivialization of the Holocaust. For example, the Jewish CEO of Pfizer, Albert Burla, the son of an Auschwitz survivor, was compared to Joseph Mengele, claiming that they both conducted ‘experiments on humans’.
“The easy thing is to say that we need more laws and more budgets. But what is really needed is a courageous and comprehensive examination of the effectiveness of existing action strategies. “They did not internalize the lessons of World War II. The Jewish world must recover and understand that the struggle against anti-Semitism and the struggle for the democratic-liberal order are the same struggle,” concluded Prof. Shavit.
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