Stop Antisemitism

[Sixties Fan]

Flyers claiming that “challenging Jewish privilege” is “social justice” were distributed to homes in Brighton and Hove recently.

The flyers utilise classic antisemitic tropes of power and control in asking why Jewish people “get special privilege when it comes to top universities?”

It goes on to state: “Challenging White Privilege and Jewish Privilege is not antisemitic. It is not defamatory. It does not insult anyone. It is social justice.”

The flyers also depict the yellow star containing the word German ‘Jude’, meaning ‘Jew’, that was forced upon Jewish people during the Holocaust and advertises the online domain of the Goyim Defense League (GDL).

The GDL is a hate group whose membership reportedly contains several neo-Nazis and is understood to be led by Jon Minadeo II, who created t-shirts carrying antisemitic slogans such as the Holocaust was “a hoax”. The GDL is responsible for stunts such as hanging a banner from a bridge in Austin, Texas that read “Vax the Jews” and driving around Los Angeles dressed as Nazis.

(full article online)

Flyers asserting that “challenging Jewish privilege” is “social justice” distributed to homes in Brighton and Hove

Flyers claiming that “challenging Jewish privilege” is “social justice” were distributed to homes in Brighton and Hove recently. The flyers utilise classic antisemitic tropes of power and control in asking why Jewish people “get special privilege when it comes to top universities?” It goes on to...

antisemitism.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

An artificially intelligent chatbot that shared antisemitic conspiracy theories and anti-Israel messages in conversations with users highlights the challenges of bias and discrimination within the booming AI industry as it continues to grow, an Israeli AI expert told The Algemeiner on Monday.

BlenderBot 3, a chatbot released by Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. on Aug. 5, was found saying in one conversation with a Wall Street Journal reporter last week that it believes Jewish people control the economy and that Jews have “been a force in American finance and are overrepresented among America’s super rich.”

“This recent Meta experience underscores the need for being vigilant,” Yoav Shoham, CEO of AI21, an AI product company, told The Algemeiner. “But at the end of the day it’s solvable. Cars today are much safer than they were 20 years ago. Language models — and systems built on them — will be that way too, and sooner than 20 years from now.”

Artificial intelligence, which uses computer science, machines and data to copy the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of humans, is a rapidly growing industry. Globally, it is valued at over $65 billion and is expected to reach over a trillion dollars by 2030, according to a report cited by Yahoo in June. Seventy percent of businesses around the world are expected to use AI by the end of the decade.

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“Just as there are rules of civil discourse among people, there can and should be such rules for discourse with (and among) bots,” Shoham said. “We know a lot about how to control for it — from cleaning the training data, to monitoring the output and blocking toxic output that got through anyway, and a variety of other methods.”

In Meta’s case, the issue with its chatbot was fixed shortly after the problems surfaced in the press.

Shoham said that though he was surprised that “Meta fell into this trap,” he recognized that that AI is still a relatively new technology, and more work needs to be done to prevent similar incidents.

(full article online)

Meta’s Antisemitic Chatbot Highlights Challenges of Toxic Content in Evolving AI Industry

Entrance sign at Meta’s headquarters complex in Menlo Park, California. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. An artificially intelligent chatbot that shared antisemitic …

www.algemeiner.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

A Northern Ireland lawmaker accused the European Union of using Brexit paperwork to block the import of kosher food on Monday.

Brandon Lewis, the MP for Great Yarmouth was on Sky News discussing allegations of antisemitism in the British civil service when he leveled the charge against the EU.

“Where I saw anything against the Jewish community it was coming from the EU who were trying to block the Jewish community of Northern Ireland from getting access to kosher products,” Lewis told presenter Niall Paterson.

(full article online)

EU Accused of Blocking Kosher Food Deliveries to Northern Ireland | United with Israel

A Brexit protocol is making life for Belfast Jews increasingly untenable.

unitedwithisrael.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

Lately there has been a flurry of articles about whether recent harsh criticism of George Soros is antisemitic.

Since I have written my definition of antisemitism, I have been keenly interested in boundary cases to see if my definition can clarify the issue of whether a specific utterance or act is antisemitic or not.
My definition says:



In an academic paper that I submitted along with my presentation on the topic at ISGAP earlier this month, I tackled this exact topic, comparing specific criticisms of Sheldon Adelson and George Soros to see whether they are antisemitic or not. There is no doubt that some criticism of both of those men is antisemitic, but each case must be judged on its own.
Here is what I wrote in the paper:

How does this definition do with more controversial or ambiguous cases of potential antisemitism?
George Soros is a Jewish billionaire who funds many left-wing causes. Sheldon Adelson was a Jewish billionaire who funded many right-wing causes. Both have been the object of conspiracy theories. Are those theories antisemitic?
Frank Gaffney said about Soros:
Is George Soros the anti-Christ? While former New York mayor Rudi Giuliani has put the question in play, theologians may be better equipped to debate it than politicians.
The decades-long record of this billionaire financier and philanthropist, however, is one of such malevolence and destruction that he must at a minimum be considered the anti-Christ’s right-hand man. https://d.docs.live.net/b4ac6398dc7d22fb/Documents/antisemitism definition.docx#_edn1
This was regarded by the ADL as being antisemitic[ii]. Is it?
I’m no expert on Christian eschatology, but I have seen that non-Jewish rich people like Bill Gates[iii]and Jeff Bezos[iv] have also been accused of being the Antichrist, so without any mentioning or hinting of Soros’ religion, it does not fit my definition of antisemitism – the attack on him is as an influential rich person, not as a Jew, at least on the face of it.
In contrast, Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters had this to say about Sheldon Adelson[v]:
Sheldon Adelson believes that only Jews – only Jewish people – are completely human. That they are attached in some way…and that everybody else on Earth is there to serve them.
There is no record of Adelson ever saying anything remotely like this. Waters is – consciously or not – invoking antisemitic interpretations of the Talmud and ascribing that to Adelson.
Both Waters and Gaffney are accusing rich Jews of being puppet-masters, but only Waters is couching that accusation is clearly Jewish terms. Under my definition, he is showing hostility toward, denigration of and malicious lies about a Jew as an individual Jew. While Gaffney’s slur can be interpreted as being against any rich person, Rogers’ invective cannot be interpreted any other way except for being antisemitic.
To be sure, the puppet-master motif has been associated with Jews for more than a century. Yet it is not exclusively applied to Jews, so without additional evidence, we cannot say that the accusation itself is antisemitic when applied to an influential Jew.
This brings up another issue in determining whether something is antisemitic or not. The IHRA Working Definition takes pains to point out that much of the determination of whether something is antisemitic or not depends on context. I would be a little more specific and note that much of that determination depends on the mindset of the potential offender. Their intentions may have been wholly innocent, they may have been malicious, and they very possibly may have been clueless or careless as to the implications of their offensive actions or statements.
We cannot read minds, but we can take educated guesses based on other statements or actions by the person or group that is behind the offensive words or actions. In this example, if Gaffney has a history of antisemitism, or he has previously specifically referred to Soros’ being a Jew, or he has cited sources saying that the Antichrist must be a Jew, then we can reasonably assume that his statement was indeed antisemitic, because in that case it would also be hostility toward, denigration of and malicious liesabout Soros as an individual Jew.
Knowing the motivation of the person making the offensive comment is key in any determination. I believe that we should err on the side of caution and not assume antisemitic motives unless there is a compelling reason to do so, typically a history of other obviously antisemitic comments or a consistent pattern of singling out Jews for opprobrium.

(full article online)

When is criticism of George Soros antisemitic?

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Rigby5]

Lately there has been a flurry of articles about whether recent harsh criticism of George Soros is antisemitic.

Since I have written my definition of antisemitism, I have been keenly interested in boundary cases to see if my definition can clarify the issue of whether a specific utterance or act is antisemitic or not.
My definition says:



In an academic paper that I submitted along with my presentation on the topic at ISGAP earlier this month, I tackled this exact topic, comparing specific criticisms of Sheldon Adelson and George Soros to see whether they are antisemitic or not. There is no doubt that some criticism of both of those men is antisemitic, but each case must be judged on its own.
Here is what I wrote in the paper:



(full article online)

When is criticism of George Soros antisemitic?

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

This definition of "antiSemitism" is incorrect.
First of all, Semitism is a proper noun, so has to be capitalized.
Second is that Semitism comes from Noah's son Shem, so refers to all Arabs, not just Hebrew Arabs.
So does not refer to Jews alone, but all Arabs, including Jews.
Third is that it is immoral to associate any nation with any religion.
So Israel should not be a Jewish nation.

 

[Rigby5]

George Soros and Sheldon Adelson are both corrupt because they both believe only Jews are the Chosen People and are due special entitlements, like the Promised Land.
Christians are very much like Jews except that they reject this dangerous elitism and lack of empathy.

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

CNN will air on Sunday a one-hour special about the spread of American antisemitism, the reasons for its normalization in America and ways to help tackle the growing issue.

In “Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America,” CNN anchor and chief political correspondent Dana Bash examines antisemitism online, on neighborhood streets, in the halls of politics and across college campuses. Bash visits Jewish communities in America recently plagued with antisemitic violence. CNN cameras were the first allowed inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California since the deadly attackthat took place at the temple in 2019 and Bash also visited Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, where a gunman took congregants hostage earlier this year.

CNN to Air Special on Rising Antisemitism Featuring Interviews With Victims of Hate, Former Skinheads and More

Antisemitic graffiti shown in the CNN special “Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America.” Photo: Screenshot. CNN will air on Sunday a …

www.algemeiner.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

The FIFA World Cup, which is set to take place in Qatar from Nov. 21 through Dec. 18, has a website that offers the public help in purchasing hospitality packages, but Israelis looking for their country were originally given the sole option of “Palestinian Territories, Occupied” rather than “Israel.”

After multiple news reports drew attention to the omission, the option of “Palestinian Territories” was removed and replaced with “Palestine.” Israel is still not listed on the website.

StopAntisemitism.org pointed out the continued error on Sunday in a Twitter post, asking the FIFA World Cup, “Why is Israel STILL not listed?”

ERASED: World Cup Hospitality Website Lists ‘Palestine,’ Not Israel | United with Israel

Multiple news reports drew attention to Israel's omission, but web site organizers merely replaced 'Palestinian Territories' with 'Palestine.'

unitedwithisrael.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

Entertainment industry veteran and author Lana Melman fights antisemitism in Hollywood out of her love for Judaism and Israel.


In 2011, Melman found herself in the center of a storm when the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement began picking up speed in Hollywood. BDS activists were boycotting, threatening and harassing artists with any Israel-related associations.


Melman became premier director of Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), a pro-Israel nonprofit organization that works to combat antisemitism in the entertainment industry. She counseled artists who were unprepared for this type of harassment and helped them to understand that these attacks were not going to have long-term effects on their careers.

She explains, “BDS tosses out threats to artists, like, ‘We’re dragging your name through the mud, we’re calling you a racist for going to Israel, and now no one’s going to want to buy your music, and your career is going to be over.’”

She says artists were “shocked to be attacked and victimized by a cancel culture campaign. They didn’t have any clue that their name and brand were going to be used to spread disinformation about Jews in Israel.”

Melman explains in her book, “BDS singles out minority artists, implying that if they do not support the boycott, they are betraying their community. It claims that artists who perform for their Israeli fans are giving a ‘stamp of approval’ to the false claims of Israeli colonialism, apartheid, oppression and ethnic cleansing.”


BDS activists then sent a petition filled with lies about Israel’s abusing and torturing children to the board of directors of Keep a Child Alive, a nonprofit Keys co-founded and of which she is the global ambassador.


Keys didn’t cave to the pressure. Not only did she not cancel her concert, but she extended her trip by five days and later performed in New York with Israeli and Palestinian musicians.


Other artists, such as actress and singer Demi Lovato, capitulated to BDS. In 2019, she took a trip to Israel with her mother, where she described having a spiritual experience seeing the places she had read about in the Bible, and being baptized in the Jordan River. It was a healing experience for her after battling addiction and nearly dying from a drug overdose the year before.


On an Instagram post that has since been taken down, Lovato wrote: “There is something absolutely magical about Israel. I’ve never felt such a sense of spirituality or connection to God… This trip has been so important for my well-being, my heart and my soul. I’m grateful for the memories made and the opportunity to be able to fill the God-sized hole in my heart.”


Lovato’s words were met with a barrage of hate from BDS supporters, who bullied her into apologizing. BDS also accused her of “being recruited to whitewash Israel’s far-Right apartheid regime” because her trip was free, although celebrities accept free trips all over the world and post about them.


Artists Under Fire describes how some BDS proponents take harassment and intimidation a step further, to the point of threatening artists’ lives. When former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney announced he would be performing in Tel Aviv to celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary, he was warned by Islamic activist Omar Bakri Muhammad that if he went through with it, “sacrifice operatives will be waiting for him.” McCartney said he does what he thinks and performed in Israel anyway.


Irish singer-songwriter Sarah McTernan received “sinister threats” after she sang in the Eurovision song contest in Israel. Melman describes the campaign against her as “genuine intimidation.” Some of the foreboding messages said, “You have to be careful”; “Watch where you go”; “You never know where I’ll be”; “Be careful who you’re with.”


Prior to having a show in Israel, Angela Gossow, lead singer for the Swedish band Arch Enemy, posted a message on the BDS Facebook page that warned: “If the constant threats, bullying, and slander of Arch Enemy via email and online does not stop immediately, we will publish some of the threats we have received from your supporters, where they claim they will come to some of our shows and threaten to attack us, both verbally and physically.”

(full article online)

Hollywood insider Lana Melman puts BDS on trial

Lana Melman's new book, Artists Under Fire: The BDS War Against Celebrities, Jews and Israel, is a call to action against censorship and deprivation of artistry.

www.jpost.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Efforts to encourage interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims have been denounced during the meeting of an anti-Israel organisation.

Speakers at a meeting of the anti-Israel group Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) have reportedly described attempts for Jews to enter into dialogue with Muslims as “faithwashing”.

The group held a meeting at an art gallery in London entitled “How interfaith groups are being used to normalise Israeli apartheid”.

Video footage of the meeting appears to show the Director of the news website Middle East Monitor, and the former Deputy Chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain, Daud Abdullah, saying that interfaith dialogue, which received the backing of “rich Jewish philanthropists” is used to “cover up the crimes committed against the Palestinian people” and soften the opinions of Muslims towards Israel.

James Thring, who has apparently been linked to the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke and who spoke unchallenged about Holocaust denial at a Keep Talking event, claiming that no deaths were recorded at the Auschwitz concentration camp, also appeared at this meeting and said that Israeli policy is determined by how Jews “think they are the chosen people, they think they have the right to attack other people, to deceive other people, to rob other people.”

Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Muslims Against Antisemitism and the interfaith network Faith Matters, told the JC that “Those who seek to smear, falsify and undermine interfaith work do not understand what binds our communities together, and their malicious attempt to politicise this must be rejected.”

Mr Mughal has spoken at Campaign Against Antisemitism’s events in the past and in May, he appeared on Podcast Against Antisemitism, which can be listened to here, or watched in its entirety here.

Rabbi David Mason of Muswell Hill synagogue said: “I’m proud we have built positive relationships with Muslim communities in my borough and across London…The idea that such positive interfaith work is a Zionist plot grotesquely misses the point of our achievements.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2021 showed that almost eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.

Palestinian Forum in Britain reportedly brands Jewish-Muslim interfaith work “faithwashing”

Efforts to encourage interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims have been denounced during the meeting of an anti-Israel organisation. Speakers at a meeting of the anti-Israel group Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) have reportedly described attempts for Jews to enter into dialogue with...

antisemitism.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

The incidents, data and experiences that have many American Jews on edge are getting a prime-time treatment this weekend as CNN premieres an hour-long special about antisemitism.

“Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America,” is hosted by Dana Bash, the CNN anchor and political correspondent who is herself Jewish. On Friday, Bash, whose first husband was the son of a Conservative rabbi and who briefly was a trustee of the nonprofit Jewish Women’s International, published an essay about her 10-year-old son’s request for a Jewish star necklace and the concerns it awakened in her.

“We got the Jewish star and a chain to go with it,” Bash wrote. “What I did not say — what I was ashamed to even admit to myself — was that my young son showing the world that he is Jewish made me nervous.”



(full article online)

CNN antisemitism special covers synagogue attacks, targeting of Zionist students

'Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America,' airing this weekend, tours through some low points in recent American Jewish history, offers analysis of ongoing spike in incidents

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

The event was set to be a part of the annual Flemish nationalist festival Ijzerwake, which takes place in the Flanders region of Belgium and is organized by a group of radical Flemish nationals also called IJerwake.

Scheduled to headline the festival was the Italian band Bronson, whose members belong to Italy’s neo-fascist CasaPound movement and regularly praise the late fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, Vice reported. The publication also noted that other acts in the lineup had ties to the neo-Nazi group Blood & Honour and the international white supremacist gang the Hammerskins.

The Ypres city council gave a permit to the IJzerwake group to organize the music festival when it was first announced in May but the permit came with conditions, Ypres city councilor of events Diego Desmadryl explained on Tuesday.

(full article online)

Belgium music festival cancelled after city officials discover lineup of acts with neo-Nazi ties

The Ypres city council on Tuesday revoked the permit of the Frontnacht music festival, which was due to be held the weekend of Aug. 27-28.

www.jns.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

Canada's Diversity Minister Ahmed Hussen announced he will take action against "unacceptable behavior" of senior anti-racism consultant Laith Marouf, whose project received over C$130,000, Canadian media reported Friday.

Who is Laith Marouf and what did he do?​

Marouf is an activist based in Beirut who is a senior consultant for the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), which receives funds of $133,800 Canadian dollars (a little over $103,000 US dollars) from Canada's Department of Canadian Heritage as part of its anti-racism action program.


Essentially, Marouf and CMAC are receiving funds to combat racism in Canadian broadcasting, and Marouf himself is set to go on a six-city tour to help discuss anti-racism with Canadian broadcasters, as explained by Canadian journalist Jonathan Kay.

However, Marouf has also made several controversial tweets, which have since resurfaced.


These tweets are made on his personal account and several of them seemed to be antisemitic in nature.


Specifically, screenshots of his tweets - as his account, @Laith_Marouf, is private and his previous account, @LaithMarouf, seems to have been banned and another account, @MaroufLaith, is also private - containing both quotes and his photo have surfaced over social media.

Canada to take action over anti-racist consultant's antisemitic tweets

Canada's Diversity Minister Ahmed Hussen called the controversial tweets of Laith Marouf "disgusting." Marouf is an anti-racist consultant whose firm is funded by the Department of Canada Heritage.

www.jpost.com

 

[Sixties Fan]