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Antisemitism
S'brent
Here is what the US Anti-Defamation League says in an Open Letter on September 22nd:
According to our own J7 Annual Report on Antisemitism (representing the organized Jewish communities of Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States: the seven countries with the largest Jewish diaspora populations in the world) 2025 was the deadliest year for antisemitic attacks in the Jewish diaspora in over 30 years: 20 people were murdered across J7 countries, antisemitic incidents exceeded 23,000, and total incidents are up 136% compared to 2022, the year before the Hamas attack on Israel. Jewish students across dozens of countries conceal their identity for fear of harassment. Jewish institutions operate under constant security threat. And yet within the very system charged with defending human rights, antisemitism has been normalized and even given platforms.
The Global Antisemitism Monitor lists 930 incidents in September todate (24 September). By extension, this amounts to c. 1200 incidents over a whole month.
Leafing through the news items on my screen and in my post, I present here an incidental ‘taster’ sample of news headlines from the past three days alone: 21 to 24 September. Health warning: it tastes bitter.
4 Days of Antisemitism
This tsunami of hatred, discrimination, intimidation, cancellation, deliberate injury, incidental harm and indifference threatens to engulf us all. We are reminded of the prophetic 1938 Yiddish poem-song S’brent by Mordechai Gebirtig written in response to the 1936 Pryztyk and 1937 Brest pogroms.
Are we back in 1938? Will we be onlookers only?
Yochanan Altman
S’brent! Briderlekh, s’brent!
Oy, undzer orem shtetl nebekh brent!
Beyze, vintn mit yirgozn
Raysn, brekhn un tseblozn
Shtarker nokh di vilde flamen,
Alts arum shoyn brent.
Un ir shteyt un kukt azoy zikh
Mit farleygte hent,
Un ir shteyt un kukt azoy zikh-
Undzer shtetl brent!
It burns! Brothers, it burns!
Our poor shtetl pitifully burns!
Angry wind with rage and curses
Tears and shatters and disperses
Wild flames leap, they twist and turn,
Everything now burns.
And you stand there looking on
Hands folded, palms upturned,
And you stand there looking on
Our shtetl burns!
Antisemitism
IHRA working defintion of Antisemitism:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
To guide IHRA in its work, the following examples may serve as illustrations:
Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.
Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to:
Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion.
Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.
Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.
Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.
Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
Antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law (for example, denial of the Holocaust or distribution of antisemitic materials in some countries).
Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries – are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.
Antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services available to others and is illegal in many countries.
Further information on the IHRA working defintion of Antisemitism can be found on the website of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Applying the IHRA working definition
Below an extract from the Master Thesis written by Felix Meusburger can be accessed. The extract treats the topic of how to apply the IHRA working defintion of Antisemitism and provides a decision tree to facilitate doing so.
