ZOA Demands DOJ Action on Antisemitism, Urges Broad Adoption of IHRA Definition
Uncategorized
January 30, 2023

According to comprehensive research carried out by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, 68% of the antisemitic discourse on social media “originates in Palestinian or in progressive pro-Palestinian circles.” Minister Amichai Chikli reported at a cabinet meeting that “there has been a noticeable jump in the number of antisemitic incidents specifically in the U.S., where a hostile atmosphere is emerging on some college campuses towards Jewish students, especially if they identify as Zionists.”

  • The Ministry recommended trying to expand the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism in as many countries and institutions as possible. It has already been adopted by the U.S. State Department, 30 States, and hundreds of municipalities.
  • There was a 13% increase in violent antisemitic events in 2022 compared to 2021.
  • The countries with some of the largest Jewish communities outside of Israel also had the highest rates of antisemitic attacks in 2022:
    • the United States
    • the United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • France
  • The cities with the most antisemitic online discourse in 2022 were:
    • Paris
    • New York
    • Los Angeles
    • Washington
    • Berlin
  • In the past few days, hundreds of Florida and New York homes have been targeted with antisemitic hate flyers and a New Jersey synagogue was attacked with a Molotov cocktail.

Zionist Organization of America National President Morton A. Klein stated, “It is no surprise that the vast majority of antisemitic social media content stems from Palestinian Arabs and their progressive allies. Agitators in these groups hate the Jewish state and work toward its destruction because of its Jewish identity. Seeking the elimination of Israel is, for them, only a part of the mission to eliminate all Jews everywhere. Anti-Zionism cannot be separated from antisemitism.

“All American states, social media platforms, and universities must adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism and use it to guide their policies. Every single example listed in the definition regularly appears in the hateful conduct found on college campuses and in social media: comparing Israel to the Nazis, espousing the myth of a world Jewish conspiracy, Holocaust denial and diminishment, accusations of dual loyalty, falsely slandering Israel as an apartheid state, and on and on. Instead of holding Jew-haters to account, universities protect them, district attorneys refuse to prosecute them, and the Biden FBI downplays the danger. The scourge of antisemitism is shockingly on the rise in the United States, driven by Palestinian militants and a surge in left wing Jew-hate, and the Department of Justice must focus on it.”

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