Surge in anti-Semitism on the Internet

by Gideon Allon, Shlomo Cesana, Nitzi Yaakov and Israel Hayom Staff

Anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment are on the rise in online social networks • Pig heads mailed to Jewish institutions in Rome ahead of international Holocaust Remembrance Day • Largest Knesset delegation to date to be at Auschwitz for ceremony.

Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, online anti-Semitism is on the rise | Photo credit: Reuters

The number of anti-Israel demonstrations has declined over the last year, but the drop appears to be countered by a rise in anti-Semitic activity on social networks, according to a report presented to the Knesset. The report was prepared ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, held on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

"Social networks have the growing ability to mobilize crowds to attend events, and [have increasing] influence in the political public sphere. They have also become a means of communication reaching hundreds of millions of people, also on aspects related to the disclosure of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism," the report found. 

The report also covers research conducted by the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency, which found that 75 percent of respondents considered online anti-Semitism to be a growing problem in their countries. 

In a gruesome show of anti-Semitism in Rome, three pig heads were mailed to Jewish institutions on Friday and Saturday, according to a report in La Repubblica.

The parcels containing the pig heads were sent to the Israeli Embassy, the city's main synagogue and the Jewish Museum of Rome, which is currently showcasing a Holocaust memorial exhibit.

The package mailed to the embassy was intercepted after the other Jewish institutions had received the offensive parcels.

The packages reportedly contained notes with references to Theodor Herzl, founder of the Zionist movement, as well as Holocaust denial slogans.

On Saturday morning, anti-Semitic graffiti, including slurs against Anne Frank, were found sprayed across the Italian capital.

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, director-general of the Association of Jewish Organizations in the European Union, said: "This is not a local incident, but another expression of anti-Semitism in Europe rearing its head."

Police are investigating the incident, which comes at a time of unprecedented anti-Semitism in Rome ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Meanwhile, the largest Knesset delegation to date was preparing to depart for Poland on Monday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The delegation, which includes six ministers and 56 MKs, will travel on two airplanes and will participate in a memorial ceremony of over 1,000 people at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. 

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who was to have led the delegation, canceled his participation following his wife's death on Thursday night. 

The Israeli delegation will also include 24 Holocaust survivors, State Comptroller Yosef Shapira, Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau and Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum Chairman Avner Shalev.

Gideon Allon, Shlomo Cesana, Nitzi Yaakov and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=15013

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