Category Archives: Antisemitism

UK and Israel sign deal strengthening tech, trade and security ties

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Timing is controversial given actions of Israel’s far-right government towards settlements and judiciary

The UK and Israel have signed a long-term agreement strengthening ties in the fields of defence, security and technology following plans announced last year to put relations between the two countries on an elevated footing.

The timing of Tuesday’s agreement is controversial since it will be seen as a mark of approval for Israel’s far-right government, which has put settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank at the top of its agenda and faces a massive backlash over plans to neuter the role of the judiciary.

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Steven Spielberg says antisemitism today is ‘standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler’

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The director, whose Oscar-nominated film The Fabelmans depicts the racial abuse he faced in the 60s, said he was very surprised by its current resurgence

Steven Spielberg has spoken out about his impression of the current levels of antisemitism in the US.

Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Spielberg was asked whether the abuse faced in 1960s California by the young Jewish hero of his new film, autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, was something he recognised today.

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Luciana Berger rejoins Labour after Keir Starmer’s antisemitism apology

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Jewish MP left party four years ago over its handling of the issue under Jeremy Corbyn

Luciana Berger has returned to the Labour party after an invitation and apology from Keir Starmer, four years after leaving the party over its handling of antisemitism cases.

“The Labour party has turned a significant corner under Keir’s leadership,” Berger said in a tweet on Saturday. “I’m pleased to be returning to my political home.”

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Los Angeles Jewish community shaken after two alleged antisemitic shootings

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Suspect Jamie Tran was arrested in nearby Riverside county after two men were wounded in separate shootings last week

Los Angeles was left reeling after alleged antisemitic hate incidents in which two Jewish men were shot and wounded as they left synagogues in the city last week.

Law enforcement say that over the course of two days Jaime Tran, 28, shot two men who were wearing black coats and head coverings identifying their faith. Both men survived the shootings. Tran, who had a “history of antisemitic and threatening conduct”, allegedly targeted the victims in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood because they were Jewish. He has been charged with federal hate crimes.

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Abbott denies Starmer privately defied Corbyn over antisemitism

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Corbyn ally says suggestions Starmer challenged handling of issue while in shadow cabinet are ‘nonsense’

A senior ally of Jeremy Corbyn has dismissed as “nonsense” suggestions Keir Starmer privately fought against the former leader’s handling of antisemitism while in his shadow cabinet.

Diane Abbott, who at the time was shadow home secretary, disputed the defence levied by Starmer supporters that he had spoken up about the issue at the time, given the criticism he has faced for serving in Corbyn’s top team as shadow Brexit secretary.

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Labour out of EHRC special measures after progress on tackling antisemitism

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Keir Starmer says party heading in right direction but there is still work to do, 18 months after watchdog’s report

Labour has been taken out of special measures by the equalities watchdog, with Keir Starmer hailing progress in tackling antisemitism as a watershed moment for the party.

In a speech on Wednesday, Starmer will herald the party’s progress while saying there is still significant work to be done.

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Australian universities split on decision to adopt controversial definition of antisemitism

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Push by parliamentary MPs to take up IHRA interpretation has been criticised as an ‘outright attack on academic freedom’

Australian universities are split on whether to adopt a controversial definition of antisemitism following a push from parliamentary MPs that has been criticised as an “outright attack on academic freedom”.

On 25 January, the University of Melbourne became the first institution to publicly announce it would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as part of its broader “anti-racism commitment”, leading to backlash from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) who said they were denied repeated requests for consultation.

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Melbourne university first in Australia to take up controversial definition of antisemitism

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International code adopted as part of ‘anti-racism commitment’ could be used to shut down genuine criticism of the state of Israel, critics warn

The University of Melbourne has become the first tertiary institution in Australia to adopt a controversial international definition of antisemitism, in a move critics say could be used to shut down legitimate criticism of the state of Israel.

On Wednesday, the university announced it would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as part of its broader “anti-racism commitment”.

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UK charities watchdog ‘assesses concerns’ about Campaign Against Antisemitism

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Commission opens ‘regulatory compliance case’ after complaints that the charity is politically partisan

The Charity Commission has said it is “assessing concerns” about the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was at the forefront of antisemitism allegations against Labour under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

The commission has opened a regulatory compliance case against the CAA, after complaints including that the charity is politically partisan.

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Calls for more antisemitism teaching in UK schools to tackle rise in hate

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Adviser urges governments to act ‘before this form of racism poisons the minds of many more young people’

Schools should be required to teach about contemporary antisemitism, not only the Holocaust, as part of a drive to combat an “alarming” rise in hatred towards Jewish people among British pupils, a government adviser has said.

The former Labour MP Lord Mann, who now sits as a non-affiliated peer, urged ministers across the UK to take action after an investigation found antisemitic incidents in English schools had almost trebled over the past five years.

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Kanye West suspended from Twitter after posting swastika inside Star of David

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Elon Musk intervenes after rapper posted image hours after airing antisemitic views in Alex Jones interview

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has been suspended from Twitter after he tweeted an image of a swastika blended with a star of David, less than two weeks after he returned to the platform.

The suspension took place hours after Ye praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in an interview on Infowars, a show hosted by the rightwing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

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Republicans delete tweet that appears to support Kanye West after he praises Nazis

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House judiciary committee account contained cryptic post - ‘Kanye. Elon. Trump’ – that seemingly expressed support for Ye

Leading Republicans in the US Congress have deleted a tweet that seemingly expressed support for Ye, a rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after he praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Since October, a Twitter account run by Republicans on the House of Representatives’ judiciary committee has contained a cryptic post that said: “Kanye. Elon. Trump” – apparently claiming Ye, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and former president Donald Trump as their own.

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Indonesian group first Asian artists to top power list after ‘antisemitic’ mural

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The ruangrupa collective’s last show was removed from key German exhibition for caricatures of Jews

An Indonesian collective that became embroiled in an antisemitism row earlier this year has taken the No 1 spot in the annual ranking of the contemporary art world’s most influential people and organisations.

The ruangrupa group, founded in Jakarta in 2000, are the first artists from Asia to top the ArtReview Power 100. Their position “reflects the growing influence of the global south and the move towards greater diversity in the art world,” ArtReview said.

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Jewish conservatives condemn Trump for meeting antisemite Nick Fuentes

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Mike Pence, Chris Christie and several Republican senators were also critical, to varying degrees, of former president

Several Republican lawmakers and prominent Jewish conservatives have condemned Donald Trump for meeting with white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes, in a rare distancing from the ex-president.

Trump’s former vice-president Mike Pence, the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, and several Republican senators were critical, to varying degrees, of Trump, who has come under fire after dining with Fuentes last week.

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Donald Trump ‘shied away from criticising Nick Fuentes’

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Advisers wanted ex-president to distance himself from white supremacist with whom he dined but Trump feared alienating supporters – insiders

Donald Trump repeatedly refused to disavow the outspoken antisemite and white supremacist Nick Fuentes after they spoke over dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort, rejecting the advice from advisers over fears he might alienate a section of his base, two people familiar with the situation said.

The former US president was urged publicly and privately to denounce Fuentes in the aftermath of the dinner, which included the performer Ye, previously known as Kanye West, who has also recently been propagating antisemitic remarks.

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NUS president plans to fight dismissal over antisemitism claims

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Shaima Dallali ‘considering all available legal remedies’ after ousting from national student body

Shaima Dallali, the president of the National Union of Students, plans to fight the organisation’s move to oust her, as supporters expressed alarm at the handling of the antisemitism allegations that led to her dismissal.

The NUS said Dallali was dismissed as president this week after an independent investigation into the allegations found “significant breaches of NUS policies” – but that it would not reveal further details because of employee confidentiality.

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Los Angeles leaders condemn Kanye West as antisemitic incidents rattle city

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Karen Bass, LA mayoral hopeful, told Adidas to sever ties with the rapper while talent agency CAA reportedly dropped him as a client

Kanye West is facing a growing backlash among Los Angeles’ political and Hollywood leaders following several antisemitic incidents in the city that came after the artist made bigoted comments about Jewish people.

On Monday Karen Bass, the congresswoman and LA mayoral hopeful, called for Adidas to cut ties with West, referencing an incident over the weekend in which protesters on a freeway overpass were photographed giving Nazi salutes with banners referencing antisemitic comments made by West. In addition, Los Angeles police are investigating a recent distribution around the city of fliers spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories.

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Unaired Kanye West-Tucker Carlson material contains more racist conspiracy theories

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Rapper deals in antisemitic tropes in interview after he wore ‘white lives matter’ T-shirt

Unaired segments of an interview between Kanye West and the Fox News host Tucker Carlson document the American rapper airing a series of comments based on racist conspiracy theories, adding to the growing controversy over the interview.

In the segments, first reported by the tech news outlet Motherboard, West, who has changed his legal name to Ye, detailed his belief in an unfounded and antisemitic conspiracy theory that Planned Parenthood was founded “to control the Jew population”.

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NSW becomes second state to ban Nazi flag and symbols

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Intentionally bearing swastikas can now land a person in jail for up to a year and a fine of over $100,000

Intentionally waving a Nazi flag in New South Wales or displaying memorabilia bearing swastikas could now land a person in jail for up to a year, along with a fine of over $100,000.

The Crimes Amendment (prohibition on display of Nazi symbols) Bill 2022 swiftly and unanimously passed the NSW upper house on Thursday.

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Antisemitism issue used as ‘factional weapon’ in Labour, report finds

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Report commissioned by Keir Starmer highlights ‘toxicity on both sides’ under Jeremy Corbyn

Labour under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn was riven by bitter infighting, with his supporters and opponents using the issue of antisemitism within the party “as a factional weapon”, a long-awaited report has said.

Corbyn declined to be interviewed for the Forde report but he signed a joint submission to the inquiry. It described the former Labour leader as “notably silent”.

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