Baltimore event to address rise in modern anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism has reached a global peak with levels of Jew hatred not so high since World War II, according to a report conducted by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and published last month by the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism. Some eight murders were attributed to anti-Semitism in 2009 and a striking number of incidents were categorized as extremely violent.

The Baltimore Jewish Council will address the issue of rising anti-Semitism in April through its annual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Day) commemoration. The keynote address will be delivered by Mark Weitzman, Director of Government Affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

In an interview with the Baltimore Examiner, Weitzman reiterated the profundity of the recent spread of anti-Semitism. He noted that while many of the tactics anti-Semites are utilizing are not new, the Internet and social networking era have offered anti-Jewish propaganda a fresh and viral life of its own.

“The internet makes the images travel somewhat instantaneously and they are given their own life,” Weitzman said.

There have been several incidents in the last year, he noted, of modern-day blood libels that have gained ground thanks to the Internet. One of the most prominent cases took place in August when a report in Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet implied a connection between a ring of organ traffickers in New York City and claims made by Palestinians that the IDF had shot their relatives during Operation Cast Lead (the recent war in Gaza) and then stolen their organs during autopsy. The story was widely repeated by the Arab media and picked up hook, line and sinker by anti-Israel Internet bloggers who reported it as a factual account. The reporter himself later revealed he could not verify the story, which was relayed to him by some Arab families.

More recently, a clip uploaded by an American man to YouTube warned Haitians against attempts to steal their organs by the IDF rescue team stationed there.

Weitzman said the danger of this modern-day blood libel stems from the fact that anti-Semites are drawing on one or two isolated incidents and then encapsulating them into an organized, Jewish-wide conspiracy. As the myths are spread throughout the Internet, it becomes difficult to differentiate between truth and falsehood - and even if the truth is revealed, the damage is already done - and this can lead to violence.

“The Internet … feeds the fire,” Weitzman said. “People out there are sitting comfortably, urging others to do things and every now and then people pay attention.”

Weitzman said that despite the report’s findings, he does not believe that anti-Semitism is experiencing national patronage, except for in countries such as Iran and Venezuela. However, he does see a blurring of lines between acceptable and unacceptable discourse. The Swedish government, for example, failed to condemn the reporter who published the rumor-based organ harvesting report on grounds of free speech. In addition, many countries allow for the dissemination of virulent anti-Israel statements, which Weitzman said he considers equivalent to anti-Semitism.

“De-legitimization of Israel or of Jews that support Israel is unacceptable. Having a double-standard for Israel is unacceptable and anti-Semitic, even when couched under academic freedom or freedom of the press,” he said. “People who are generally to the left like to claim they are opposed to discrimination and in favor of human rights, but they make an exception when it comes to Jews living in Israel and they slide into anti-Semitic discourse. It’s the claim that Israel is an apartheid state and that sort of thing.”

Weitzman said that while he does believe Jews need to be proactive against anti-Semitism, he does not believe we are on the cusp of another Holocaust – in any country. He explained that what led to the rise and success of the Nazi regime was the convergence of religious, scientific and political anti-Semitism.

Today, there is a basic recognition that all forms of racial/scientific anti-Semitism are false. Likewise, the Church has made incredible strides in objecting to anti-Semitism. While this does leave political anti-Semitism, the target of which is generally Israel, he said Jews today are not powerless and can stand up in the face of this type of propaganda.

“Jewish societies were decimated during the Holocaust. We lost a tremendous amount in creativity and diversity, things that have an impact on our collective Jewish lives today. Our promise to ourselves needs to be awareness. We need to be aware of the levels and types of anti-Semitism out there,” Weitzman said. “We have a home, in Israel and in other societies as well. … We are not powerless anymore. Israel and the Jews have survived and we have learned from the past. We can achieve and move beyond [anti-Semitism].”

This year’s local Yom HaShoah commemoration is titled, “Promises Made, Promises Broken, Promises Kept.” It will be held Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Krieger Auditorium. For more information, contact BJC at bjcrsvp@baltjc.org or 410-843-4558.