Israel: Majority of Antisemitism Online Stems from Pro-Palestinian Progressive Left

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The overwhelming majority (68 percent) of antisemitism online originates from the pro-Palestinian progressive left, according to a new report released by Israel, debunking the popular theory that most anti-Jewish hatred comes from the right-wing.

The report released by Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry found that of antisemitic discourse on social media, sixty-eight percent “originates in Palestinian or in progressive pro-Palestinian circles,” Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said when he presented the findings during a cabinet meeting .

According to Chikli, “antisemitism is changing the way it manifests and it is increasingly focusing on hatred towards the Jewish state and the denial of its right to exist.”

While the report showed a decrease in 2022 antisemitic incidents in general from the previous year, there was a 13 percent increase in antisemitic incidents that were categorized as violent from the year before. France recorded three murders motivated by antisemitism and 50 percent of the total number of antisemitic incidents in the past year were physical attacks. 2021 saw many antisemitic incidents coinciding with the May war with Hamas and the months following it.

The notable exception was the U.S., where there was a “noticeable jump” in the number of antisemitic incidents in 2022, Chikli said, and attributed the increase to “hostile atmospheres” towards Jews on some college campuses, “especially if they identify as Zionists.”

The report found a significant spike in antisemitic discourse online in 2022 from the previous year, as well as with the four years prior to that.

The countries with the highest rates of antisemitic attacks in 2022 were the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Franc

“The State of Israel has a duty to lead the fight against antisemitism and to act in order to expand the adoption of the IHRA definition [for antisemitism], in as many countries and institutions as possible,” Chikli said.

In addition, the Diaspora affairs report specified a sharp increase of 13 percent in the scope of violent antisemitic events in 2022 compared to 2021.

Three U.S. cities – New York, Lost Angeles and Washington — made the list of top 5 cities for online antisemitism, joined by Paris, France and Berlin, Germany.

In an interview with the Hebrew language Ynet news site, Chikli said the Palestinian Authority was a “neo-Nazi entity” that was “antisemitic to its core” and that Israel needs to investigate other alternatives to it because it is “the source of the problems and terrorism.”

“The most anti-Semitic political entity on earth is the Palestinian Authority, in which 93 percent of the population advocates anti-Semitic positions,” he said, citing an Anti-Defamation League report.

He went on to note that its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is “an avowed Holocaust denier, who accused Israel of committing 50 holocausts while standing on German soil,” and went on to note that its “law that the more Jews you kill, the more money you get,” in reference to its pay-for-slay policy paying salaries to terrorists and their families.

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