The silence has been the worst

I’ve been tackling antisemitism for over 20 years, first during my time in the UK for my PhD, where I served as National Secretary of the Union of Jewish Students at the height of the academic boycott of Israel, and since then tackling antisemitism online.

Since October 7, not only has antisemitism skyrocketed online, but it feels like support for the Jewish community has evaporated. It feels as if some, led by Palestinian activists, have succeeded in convincing people that antisemitism is acceptable or excusable, at least when it is done by them. Then they went further, rejecting a two-state solution and seeking to excuse the Hamas attack of October 7, and violent extremism against Israel, Israelis, and Jews in general.

Those on the far Left, who have in the past been allies in opposing neo-Nazis, began attacking Jews, claiming “Zionists are Nazis” and this made anyone expressing support for Israel in the face of the October 7 attack and the ongoing hostage situation a target.

Coalitions tackling all forms of online hate collapsed and relationships with experts in hate outside the Jewish community broke as many of them jumped on the bandwagon, at best ignoring or dismissing the antisemitism and at worst contributing to it.

Discussing antisemitism was now only acceptable when paired with a discussion on Islamophobia. While both have risen and are important issues, each is its own issue.

Support against antisemitism today feels at best conditional. Worse still has been the silence. The unwillingness to call out this evil, not in general but in specific cases. And the efforts by one particular law firm which is making spurious defamation claims against anyone who calls out antisemitism from the Muslim or Palestinian activist communities seek to create a chilling effect, particularly for those working against antisemitism.

The pressure on those of us on the frontlines is intense, unrelenting, and occurring in a climate of broad isolation. There is so much to be done and so few resources to do it. Concern over the situation, and what might happen if we drop the ball, keeps me up at night. The whole team is doing everything we can, and the backlog of things to do just keeps growing.