So we decided to view one of his latest videos called, ‘Do Not Sell Your Religion for the World’, (‘Do not sell your deen for dunya’).

In one of his latest videos posted 3 months ago, this is what he said,

“How much will the Yahudh (Jew) pay people to sell off their religion today, (22:18-22:21)”

This statement, along with the others that we have previously reported on should have meant that no mosque accept o rinvite him as a speaker. Yet, the mosque in this video is full of young impressionable minds who have no alternative point of view to the toxic comments of Rashid.

Rashid goes onto abuse the Caliph of the Ahmadi community in the U.K. in the video below. He says:

“….the so-called Ahmadi movement that he is a Khalifa of, according to the US congress…according to Islam he is a kaffir (unbeliever). Anyone who says he (the Khalifa of the global Ahmadi movement – Mirza Masroor Ahmad), is a Muslim, he is a kaffir too”

So much for tolerance, forgiveness and empathy!

Rashid continues to speak and preach in mosques in the United Kingdom to audiences of young men. When will this stop?

The post ‘Sheikh’ Asrar Rashid on Jews – Horrendous Language appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

The picture is heart-breaking and shows the love of a mother for her now deceased young son.

However, what AbuHilalal did, was to use an image that also placed a picture of what is assumed to be Mary, holding the body of Christ. It contained the text – “After 2,000 years and its the same killer”.

AbuHilalah has now deleted the tweet. However, what cannot be denied is the antisemitism within the graphic that is highlighted below and which was also raised by Adam Milstein, as being blatantly antisemitic in nature.

This also demonstrates the pernicious nature of antisemitism online and how graphics are produced and circulated and which at their core, seek to marginalise, dehumanise and spread intolerance against Jewish communities.

AbuHilalah calls himself a columnist and journalist on his Twitter account. You would think that he might be aware of the strong antisemitic resonances in the graphic below, however, this failed to be the case. With over 607,000 Twitter followers, you could say that antisemitism had already percolated through the platform within hours that his tweet was up on his account, given the transient nature of the platform.

We hope that journalists like AbuHilalah learn from this experience and realise that antisemitism is viral by nature and that it mutates in different forms. We also hope that he realises that groups like Muslims Against Antisemitism will not stand idly by and allow such online tweets to go unchallenged.

Al Jazeera isn’t even trying to hide their antisemitism anymore: pic.twitter.com/KmSP6yy0NB

— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) August 13, 2022

The post Former Managing Director of Al-Jazeera Circulates Antisemitic Material appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

A few weeks ago, I had the “joy” of being verbally abused online. Now, as an outspoken Muslim woman advocating for feminism, LGBT+ equality and stronger Jewish-Muslim relations, it’s nothing new.

However, what I’ve increasingly noticed is how trolls will attempt to “attack” me by using antisemitic discourse e.g. talking about my “Jewish nose” or me “being Jewish” – as though this would be a bad thing or that I’m “not really a Muslim” e.g. a liar.

Take for example the following message I received when I objected to Islamic polygamy when attempting to buy a kaftan for Eid:

“I don’t need women who does not share husband when she is after women. Sharing women with husband you must be jocking [sic] telling me 3ib [shame on you].

“Please don’t try to be smart, Islam is clean and you don’t even look 33 plus you look juwish [sic]. Don’t say you are Muslim.. Anyway I ask Allah to guide you..

“Next time tell people you like to have sex with dogs and blame Allah that made you like that.

“Like your crazy EU people do get married to anything dogs cow animals…” (Male, 40s, Algeria/UK)

Yep, biphobia, antisemitism and misogyny rolled into one. There are a lot of elements there.

And once again, I was supposed to be offended by the thought of being “Jewish”. Ridiculous.

However, this isn’t just gibberish.

What this abusive rant reveals is that not only is antisemitism present in the Muslim community (as we already know), but that we need to be aware of the intersectionality of hate.

Yes, as a woman, he was going to make sure I got knocked down for being a woman too as well as an apparent Jewish “fake (queer) Muslim”.

And this got me thinking. What are the experiences of our Jewish sisters as women in an increasingly antisemitic climate?

Well, we’d heard of the terrible abuse faced by Tracy-Ann Oberman, Rachel Riley and Luciana Berger during the election campaign. Strong, inspirational women who all faced a tirade of abuse.

A few years on, I now wanted to find out more.

Being a Jewish woman: the overlap of hate

Hate is intersectional – just as our identities are. And hate crime figures back this up.

In 2018/2019, the Home Office found that 12% of hate crimes were motivated by more than one factor. This can of course include religious identity and gender identity.

For Jewish women, misogynistic and antisemitic discourse are a sad reality – stemming from both the Far Left and increasingly the Far Right.

A recent report by Hope Not Hate (2021) explores these overlapping issues, noting how age is also a factor:

“The relationship between misogyny and racism and antisemitism is particularly concerning due to the pervasiveness of anti-feminist sentiment among young men in the UK.”

In their research of young people across the UK, they found that anti-feminist sentiment was most common amongst males. In fact, 78% of people in their research who claimed that “feminism has gone too far and makes it harder for men to succeed” were male.

At the same time, 19% of young men they surveyed parroted antisemitic negative tropes such as “Jewish people have an unhealthy control over the world’s banking system”.

This is worrying. And add to this the increase of online abuse, we need to take this seriously.

Research into online abuse of women carried out in 2017 found that 21% of respondents had experience online abuse. What’s more, 48% included misogynistic elements.

Further research into online abuse has shown that Jewish women in positions of power were 14% more likely to face abuse than their male counterparts. A further study conducted by the NGO Media Matters found that between 2015 to 2017 there was an 80% increase of posts containing both antisemitic and misogynistic abuse on the alternative platform 4Chan.

The research is there. The facts are there. And so are the lived experiences.

We need to shed light on these experiences and call the abuse out for what it is.

With that in mind, I spoke to three Jewish women about their experiences of antisemitism and misogyny. These are their stories.

—————————————————–

Nicole Lampert 

Nicole is a Jewish freelance journalist based in the UK. 

A few weeks ago, a photo of me and three other women who had vocally fought against antisemitism was posted on Twitter under the headline: “It was as a scam”. It also said: “Say hello to the GnasherJew troll group that gave you Boris Johnson”.

I know it was designed to hurt – and the popular Twitter phrase “it was a scam” about the Corbynite antisemitism claiming Jews made it up certainly does – but I just found it stupidly funny.

The sad fact is that I’ve become almost immune to antisemitic misogyny.

Left to right: Tweet targeting Nicole and colleagues, Eve Barlow speaks out against misogynistic antisemitism. 

Jewish women have always been attacked the most in the fight we have had against the far left. This is not a surprise as this group are as misogynistic as they are antisemitic.

I’ve been called a b**ch, a w***e, stupid, a witch, a baby killing apartheid-loving Zio. To counteract their hatred, I try and use what we Jews have always used: humour.

We have no choice but to laugh at them, I won’t let them win. They do this because they think it will shut us up…. They don’t know Jewish women.

Laura Marks OBE

Laura is an interfaith activist and consultant based in London specialising in Jewish-Muslim relations and interfaith social action.

She is Co-Founder of Nisa-Nashim, Founder of Mitzvah Day and Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

People say things to me as a Jewish woman that basically put me down but, they do it subtly.

An example the other week was of someone in a meeting explaining to other people there that I am Jewish and that this means that I am apparently “overprotective of my kids”.

She meant well but this is a negative stereotype and has left me struggling with what to do with such cliches.

We have endless examples at Nisa-Nashim of people talking about “powerful Jewish women”. It’s a trope and it is negative.

We are told we are “good with money” or we “look after our own” or we have “powerful networks”. Sadly, you hear it in Nisa-Nashim all the time.

Jews are good at looking after themselves/each other. They are so well connected and networked. We’ve had to be.

This stuff is deep down prejudice. It’s an interesting issue as she didn’t mean to be negative – but it was in that context as it was othering me. I keep hearing: “the Jews are so GOOD at looking after their own, and SO good getting their kids into the best universities etc.”

This “positive antisemitism” a challenge.

Rabbi Charley Baginsky

Rabbi Charley Baginsky has been involved with the Liberal Jewish movement since childhood – as both a youth leader with LJY-Netzer and an educator.

She is now the Chief Executive Officer of Liberal Judaism. She is the mother to Joshua, Eliana and Cassia.

For about as long as I can remember sexist comments, inappropriate body language and mild-mannered groping were just part of the everyday of being a woman. But there are moments when I can almost look about them nostalgically in comparison to the new levels of online abuse bestowed on women today.

Abuse against women in the public eye has never been of more concern. Not only vile, it is prolific and without question focused on women. When two minority identities (not of course that women are a minority numerically you understand) intersect the potential material for the online trolls is multiplied.

Thus, as a Rabbi who happens to be a woman (often by the way still introduced by my gender before my title – female rabbi, Charley Baginsky – can you imagine that happening to a man, “and here we have male rabbi x?!”), I regularly see the cross over between antisemitism and misogyny.

Whenever I’ve spoken on a controversial issue, I’ve received abuse. Unlike the message my male colleagues receive on social media, which are focussed on the argument itself, the comments I receive are almost always about my looks and graphic descriptions of sex.

I’ve had these tweeted to me, emailed to me and posted on forums. Almost every female rabbi and faith leader I’ve spoken to has experienced the same thing – being told they are ugly or enduring repulsive sexual comments for having the temerity to offer an opinion.

This is then combined with comments about Jewish stereotypes or the common references to the gas chambers.

In a survey by the APPG, it was demonstrated that misogyny and antisemitism can be linked and that the language used in the abuse is particularly venomous as it combines hatred of women.

There is a distinct irony that two parts of my identity that I strongly believe enhance and strengthen each other are used together for such powerful hate filled words.

—————————————————–

Standing in solidarity: What can we do?

Here at Muslims Against Antisemitism (MAAS), we see it our duty to stand up against antisemitism and support the Jewish community – including of course Jewish women.

So, how can we and you help?

Well, there’s a couple of ways you can offer support:

• Report abuse to the Community Security Trust (CST) (both online and offline)
• Send messages of solidarity to Jewish woman facing abuse
• Speak out (if safe to do so) – call out hate for what it is!
• Share this blog and help raise awareness of the issue

We stand in solidarity with our Jewish sisters – will you? 

The post Where antisemitism meets misogyny: 3 Jewish women share their stories  appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

The sad fact is that Sheikh Asrar Rashid, incorporates a politicised and aggressive narrative within his religious edicts. Whilst religious leaders have sometimes historically strayed into political speech, we have to highlight the deeply corrosive speech that Asrar Rashid gave on the 13th of June 2021, at a lecture entitled ‘Al-Aqsa and the future of Islam and ‘Free Palestine’.

This is the You Tube video: https://youtu.be/vdQ9fkmPRKM.

We have listed excerpts of the video below highlighting some of the comments by Asrar Rashid:

1:13 mins: “Remember in Jerusalem, the Olive Tree is the tree of the Palestinians and the Boxthorn tree is the tree of the Jews. So the Olive tree has deep roots and it gives shade and it gives olives and oil – benefit. The boxthorn tree was known as the tree of the Jews even in the time of the messenger of Allah, (Muhammad). It also has deep roots but it is just thorns and they (Jews) preferred this tree over the date and olive trees. But the olive tree is known as the tree of the Palestinians and the Israeli occupying forces are known to uproot the trees of the Palestinians. So even planting an olive tree in Palestine is an act of Jihad.”

“And retaking the land forcefully, by force, is an act of Jihad. That if a Muslim goes there and he takes the land, if this Jacob, this Jew from America, can go and claim a house of a Muslim family in Sheikh Jarrah, then every Muslim in the world has a right to go back to Palestine and forcefully take the house of the settlers. I mean they belong to Muslims.”

1:18:43: “Today some people think that the Arabs were treacherous to the Ottoman Caliphate. This is incorrect. There were two groups from amongst the Arabs who were treacherous. Who were the two groups? One was the Sharif of Mecca who was treacherous and from his progeny is the Jordanian Royal Family. And the second was the Al-Saud who govern the Arabian peninsular today. But David Lloyd George from the British Cabinet at the time mentioned two things if you read the historical accounts, they mention two things. One, they were unable to communicate because remember, you have ‘uncle toms’ everywhere in India and Pakistan, otherwise how was a small nation like Britain able to govern a nation of millions.”

“You still have these Uncle Toms. You have this Uncle Tom who goes to Israel – ‘occupied Palestine’ and lays down flowers at the graves of Holocaust victims, these people will never recite Al-Fatiha for Hamas fighters for instance. Yes, they will deem them or designate them as terrorists. Which is fine, you want to deem them as terrorists, that is your opinion, but they will recite their Al-Fatiha for those people who died in the Holocaust. Of course, Holocaust victims were innocent people, they were innocent people, but the fact that you go under the Israeli occupation and go to that place and ignore the Palestinian cause and the Muslim cause of emancipating the city of Jerusalem, and then when you do release a statement regarding what is happening, your statement is neither here nor there. The statement is not unequivocal. So we still have these Uncle Toms….”

1:24.00: “This is why the Caliphate will descend on the city of Jerusalem and this is the future of Al-Islam. It is interlinked and intertwined with the future of Jerusalem. So even when Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of the occupied state of Palestine, Muslims as a whole and Muslim Ulema as a body should declare and must declare the city of Jerusalem as the future of the Islamic Caliphate. This is an important action.”

The statements made by this preacher are abhorrent, particularly suggesting that Muslims who visit places of the Holocaust in Israel are ‘Uncle Toms’. The use of force to take material items from people in Israel is also unacceptable. Everyone has the right to challenge political ideology and we in Muslims Against Antisemitism believe that any form of racism, prejudice or intolerance, whether directed at Israelis of Arab or Jewish heritage, should be roundly condemned. However, the use of force is not acceptable.

We believe that Asrar Rashid should answer for these statements. His words will have an impact as a religious leader and can influence minds.

Read more: Growing antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate in Europe is a wake up call for us all

The post Sheikh Asrar Rashid’s Politicised & Aggressive Narrative Is Abhorrent appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

              (Daniel Netz)

At a time when Jews were being held hostage in the US, a Jewish follower on my Facebook, Daniel Netz, asked: “Are we Jews forever doomed to live in fear?”

This not only brought tears to my eyes, but I was also left speechless as I considered the intense pain and fear that Daniel felt for his community.

His fear is not irrational, and I am sure he witnessed many antisemitic incidents in his life.

Jews have remained and still are, a soft target for Islamists in the West because they consider Jews a “mastermind” behind all the problems Muslims have faced over the decades. Almost all of the key leaders from major Islamist terrorist organisations have delivered speeches against the Jewish community as well as Israel. Because they cannot fight Israel directly, these so-called ‘leaders’ promote revenge on local Jewish communities by inciting against them in their places of worship, shops, streets and transports, etc.

Let us not forget the toxic hate against Jews spewed out by Osama Bin laden when he said: “The blood pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged. You must know that the Palestinians do not cry alone; their women are not widowed alone; their sons are not orphaned alone.”

This violent Islamist mindset translates to hurting Jewish communities so that Israel should ultimately feel the pain. In other words, the ultimate target for violent Islamist groups are Jewish communities and inflicting as much horror and pain on them is one way of attacking Israel. This violent antisemitism runs throughout their thinking, their Islamist ideology and their way of seeing the world.

“The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes…..The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased. Each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the contribution towards this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily.”

(Osama Bin laden, Head of Al-Qaeda)

Jihadist leaders believe that Jews are at fault for the taking up of arms against them. Intertwined within this thinking is a core belief that ‘Islam is under threat’ and that the main protagonists are Israel and Jews. This conspiratorial thinking is no different to the ideology that pervades far right groups and shows a virtual mirror image in thinking.

Depressingly, many Muslims across the globe buy into this thinking as they read online material that promotes such messages, dressed up as Islamic thought or interpretations. Let us therefore not forget that such ideology creates the mood music that people like Iraq’s one time Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, wanted to enhance in his murderous drives.

“The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque…”

(Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda leader)

The ideology of antisemitism is key tool of Islamists and at one point, nationalists, to generate hate and violence against Jews, so that it can be used to whip up hatred against Israel. Terrorist attacks against Jews, and the expulsion of Jews in Muslim majority Arab countries have all been examples of this.

Over the course of 2021, there have been a number of violent antisemitic attacks in England, including:

• On the 16^th of May, police arrested four men in connection with a video appearing to show antisemitic abuse being shouted from a car in north London.
• On the 5^th of July, a Jewish man was subjected to antisemitic abuse twice in an hour in central London, including physical threats, because of his appearance.
• On the 4^th of September, a man (Abdullah Qureshi) was charged in connection with a string of antisemitic attacks against a Jewish grandfather in London.
• On the 1^st of December, a bus full of Jewish passengers, many of them children and celebrating the festival of Hanukkah, were targeted by a group of “Middle Eastern men” who attacked their vehicle while shouting abuse and spitting at them.
• On the 24^th of Dec, a man was injured in an antisemitic attack and received death threats in London during Hanukkah.

Furthermore, according to the Community Security Trust, over 1,300 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the United Kingdom over the first six months of 2021, a 49 percent increase over the same period last year.

And now, in the beginning of 2022, we witnessed another harrowing ordeal after a British man who travelled to Texas to free an Al-Qaeda convicted Antisemitic terrorist, Afia Siddiqui. After a ten hour-long standoff, he was shot by law enforcement agents after the Jewish hostages escaped.

Islamists certainly do not have a monopoly on antisemitic violence and, moreover, Islam is not a historical home to antisemitism. Under the Islamic Caliphate in Spain, Al-Andalus, the Jewish-Muslim community experienced a “Golden Age” of coexistence after Jews sought refuge from European persecution. Jews mingled freely and comfortably with Muslims and were immersed in Arabic Islamic culture including the language, poetry, philosophy, science, medicine and the study of Scripture.

It is important to highlight three Quranic verses in which Allah has not only protected the religious rights of the People of the Book, but also commanded Muslims to eat with them and make close relations (marriages) with Jews and Christians.

Religious rights and protection: “Had Allah not been repelling some people by means of some others, the monasteries, the churches, the synagogues and the mosques where Allah’s name is abundantly recited would have been demolished. Allah will definitely help those who help Him (by defending the religion prescribed by Him.) Surely Allah is Powerful, Mighty.” (Quran: 40:22)

Muslims are also permitted to eat good food of the people of Book, including Jewish meat: “This day [all] good food has been made lawful, and the food of those who give the scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them” (Quran: 5:5)

Intermarriage is permissible among the People of the Book: “And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers (Muslims) and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) before you…” (Quran: 5:5)

If Jews were our enemy, Allah would not have commanded us to eat, marry and have close ties with Jews.

As a Muslim I find all hateful attitudes abhorrent. All violence against non-Muslims (particularly Jews) not only hurts innocent souls but also defames Islam. Moreover, militant Islamists who violently attack communities of other faiths are not only against progressive notions like human rights, they are also against the very principles of the Quran.

Noor Dahri is a Patron of Muslims Against Antisemitism and an executive director of Islamic Theology of Counter Terrorism (ITCT), a UK based think tank. His opinions can be viewed at @dahrinoor2.

Read More: Even After the Beth Israel Terrorist Attack, Few Voices Tackle Islamist Extremism

The post The scourge of Islamist Antisemitism appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

Whilst the vast majority of British Muslims abhor the brutality and medieval nature of the Taliban, there are some who believe that the Taliban encompass a form of ‘liberation army’ that has freed Afghans from some form of colonial yoke. Not only is this laughable, it is dangerous sentiment that glosses over the acts of this murderous group that was involved in the killings of British soldiers in places like Helmand.

Anyone supporting or hinting towards support for the Taliban, will no doubt harbour some form of antisemitic sentiment or antisemitic conspiracy theories. You simply cannot support such a brutal regime which has already made clear that it will not engage with Israel, and then harbour thoughts that antisemitism is a bad thing. The two do not go together, however much some may try and undertake a form of mental gymnastics to do so. 

The sad reality is that Islamist extremist groups like the Taliban, will depressingly, inspire young men seeking some form of purpose and identity and who hold a set of grievances against the wider liberal culture of this country. It does not even have to be this deep and it could be people seeking some form of purpose and thrill, allied to the consumption of extremist antisemitic material which seeks to build up their ego through acts of violence against perceived enemies.

Such a scenario therefore does not bode well for the threat of attacks against synagogues and places of Jewish culture and life. The sad fact is that Islamist groups seem to have a fixation on Jewish communities and their threads of conspiracy theories, allied to hatred against Jews, foolishly places them as ‘victims’ and Jews as the ‘all powerful aggressors’. By any definition, it is classical antisemitism at work.

Which is why we at Muslims Against Antisemitism, believe that whilst Afghanistan may be 3,500 miles away, it is imperative that we all maintain support and vigilance for our Jewish brothers and sisters at this time. There is a heightened risk at this time and which should rouse communities to work together to stand and act in solidarity with Britain’s Jewish communities.

Which is why we say that if you come across any material that is targeted antisemitism or if you see or hear about threats against British Jewish communities, please do call 101 and report them in. You can also report incidents through to the Community Security Trust, also know as the CST. You can report here through their web-site.

Read more: We Muslims Need to Talk About Muslim Antisemitism

The post The Rise of the Taliban Inspires Islamists. In Doing So, It Raises Risks for Jewish Communities appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

Antisemitism came to the public consciousness no greater than when the Labour Party, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, failed the Jewish community. So spectacular was this failure, that it led the Party to be investigated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). To put this into context, the only other party to gain the EHRC’s attention and therefore be subjected to an investigation was the British National Party (BNP) widely accepted as a racist Party.

Could this have been prevented? Yes. Was it prevented? No. Is this the only example of the Jewish community being let down? No. So why are Jews being let down?

The thesis underlying the book Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel is that there is a hierarchy of racism. That some racisms are more equal than others. That whilst other ethnic minorities can suffer from it, so too can Jews. But the significance between racism towards Jews and other ethnic minorities is starkly different. It is Jews that are the losers when it comes to highlighting and tackling the racism.

Jews are seen as white and privileged, therefore the impact of racism against them is less than that of other ethnic minorities. Jews hold a double status. For example, they are seen as white by progressives and not white by white supremacists. Jews therefore are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If many Jews felt politically homeless because of Jeremy Corbyn, then antisemitism has also made them ethnically homeless when it comes to who they are.

Baddiel calls this “double racism”. The idea that – for example – Jews are rich and black people are poor. Therefore, Jews cannot be victims, but black people can. There is an original sin analogy somewhere here. That you are either born powerful, or born weak and the two are immutable characteristic assigned to each ethnic minority as if it is essential to their being and identity. This is a bigotry of low expectations towards black people and a complete erasure of the struggles and discrimination faced by Jews. Baddiel advances this argument further:

“The problem is that Jews occupy a socio-cultural grey area. Jews, although marginal, are not thought of as marginalised.”

“One’s Jewishness, just like one’s skin colour, is an accident of birth, and as far as the racists are concerned – and they, sadly, are the people that matter as far as racism goes – you can never lose either.”

Jews have been let down by progressives. There is no victory, or perhaps not even any value is standing up for the Jew. So much so that the double standards of calling out Piers Morgan for his apparent mistreatment of Meghan Markle is seen as more worthy, than perhaps calling out the former Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn. Baddiel goes onto explain:

“It is the prerogative of those on the receiving end of any specific racism to define that racism. They get to say what is and what isn’t racism and Piers Morgan does not.”

So why isn’t this the case for Jews? The book explains this is more detail.

The holocaust is an inconvenience for some of these progressives. Whilst antisemitism predates WW2, the fact that Jews suffered horrendously as a result of it, leaves these progressives with nowhere to turn other than to admit that it was the worse kind of antisemitism to have ever taken place. It seems like this is a bitter pill to swallow, a truth they wish was false. Because all that matters to them is, minorities do not and should not include Jews. Progressives are the gatekeepers of who qualifies as an ethnic minority. This is why the concept of whataboutery is employed and is then used against Jews, particularly in the case of the Palestinians.

What 9/11 is for Muslims, the actions of Israel are for Jews. There is an expectation that Jews must condemn the actions – whether justified or not – of Israel when it seen as the aggressor against Palestinians. Baddiel points out that invoking the actions of Israel when talking to Jews is a form of antisemitism. That holding all Jews to account, or for them to have a view on the actions of Israel is no different to holding all Muslims to account when terrorist acts are perpetrated by Islamist extremists.

David Baddiel provides further examples of how Jews are let down and he goes into much more detail than this review will allow me to write. Jews Don’t Count is an excellent read. It is accessible, funny and honest. It seeks to bring non-Jews into the Jewish world where aggressions against them occur every day, yet are either dismissed or ignored. It highlights a blind spot that progressives fail to see in themselves. It seeks to ensure that their plight does not matter anymore than any other ethnic minority, just that when they are attacked, they are treated in the same way.

If Jews don’t count then David Baddiel has provided the reader with a persuasive case of why they should count. The fact that I am even concluding this, just goes to show why this book is needed and how we, the general public, need to take a hard look at ourselves when an ethnic minority is being let down. Never again must mean never again.

Read more: You can stand firmly against antisemitism and for Palestinian rights….

The post Jews Don’t Count. But Why Should They? A Book Review appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

Every year, on 27^th January, the world commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day.

Remembering the horrors of the past is essential in order to ensure to stop such tragic events from repeating themselves.

This date is particularly poignant as it marks the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where at least 1.1 people were murdered.

Throughout the Holocaust, Jews, Roma, members of the LGBT+ community, political prisoners, disabled individuals – the “unwanted” of the Nazi regime – were brutally and systematically killed.

Within the Jewish community, six million were murdered – simply for being Jewish.

Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, where 1.1 million people were murdered.

This horror, as we say every year, is something that we must never ever forget.

And it’s because we must never forget that commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day is so important. By doing so we can remind ourselves of the dangers and injustice of antisemitism and the tragic yet all too very real reality that antisemitism did not start or end with the Holocaust.

Last year marked 75 years since the liberation of the camp (one of many). And this year sadly, we continue to see the rise in antisemitism globally – across the USA, UK, wider Europe and further afield.

Online abuse, incidents of hate crime in the street – even terrorist attacks on synagogues – are showing us that there is still so much more work that needs to be done to counter such hate.

Antisemitism in Europe today: Growing hate

Antisemitism has grown in recent years across Europe.

Back in 2018, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) conducted the largest survey worldwide on the issue of antisemitism. After concluding their research, the results were far from positive.

The study involved analysing the responses of 16,395 self-identified Jewish people (aged 16 or over) in 12 EU Member States (pre-Brexit!). This included: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (4,731 samples), as these nations are where 96% of the EU’s estimated Jewish population were living at the time.

The research found that:

• 9 out of 10 respondents believed that antisemitism had increased in their country in the last five years
• 85% consider antisemitism to be “a serious problem” – the biggest social or political problem where they live
• Antisemitism poses the biggest problem online (89%) – including on social media (compared to: within public spaces – 73%, media 71%, political life 70%)

The most common antisemitic statements used on a regular basis included:

“Israelis behave like Nazis towards Palestinians” (51%)

“Jews have too much power” (43%)

“Jews exploit Holocaust victimhood for their own purposes” (80%)

Such antisemitic slurs were found predominantly online (80%), yet also in offline media (56%) and at political events (48%).

The report finally concluded that:

• Antisemitism pervades everyday life
• Pervasive antisemitism undermines Jews’ feelings of safety and security
• Antisemitic harassment is so common that it becomes normalised
• Antisemitic discrimination in key areas of life remains invisible

In fact, the Director of FRA Michael O’Flaherty declared:

“The findings make for a sobering read. They underscore that antisemitism remains pervasive across the EU – and has, in many ways, become disturbingly normalised.”

It makes disappointing reading. What’s more, despite the results and the calls for change, we’ve continued to see the rise of antisemitic discourse and hate crime both online and offline.

The year after the report in 2019, right here in London, a rabbi was taken to hospital after being attacked during Shabbat by two teenagers who yelled “kill Jews!”. And this wasn’t the only incident.

Then in 2020, in the UK, London mayoral candidate Geeta Sidhu-Robb was suspended after she’d stated “Don’t vote for a Jew” during a previous political campaign.

And let’s not forget, with the Covid-19 pandemic itself, which has blighted our country for the last year and has now carried on into 2021, Jews became subjected to further antisemitic abuse surrounding the Coronavirus.

Referred to as a “Jewish conspiracy” (either fake or real) and “The Jew Flu”, antisemites also revelled in celebrating Jewish deaths and encouraging others to “spread the ‘Holocough’ to the Jews”.

Sadly, as we can see: antisemitic conspiracy theories, violent attacks and racist tropes continue to poison our communities and harm our Jewish brothers and sisters.

Lighting a candle: Shutting out hate

Light a candle with us this Holocaust Memorial Day.

As we near the end of January 2021 – another yet new year – we must Holocaust Memorial Day and say: “enough is enough”! And that’s why we’re calling on you to join us in lighting a candle and spreading hope and peace.

The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day this year is: Be the light in the darkness. A light in the darkness offers a ray of hope in a world of hate – a chance for change and a critical symbol of solidarity.

So this 27^th January (and beyond!), please join us in commemorating the Holocaust and committing to combatting antisemitism:

• Join us and light a candle: Share a message of solidarity with the Jewish community by tweeting a photo of your candle with the hashtags #LightTheDarkness #WeRemember and #MuslimsAgainstAntisemitism
• Learn more: Find out more about the Holocaust and educate others around you
• Stand up: Speak out when you hear/see antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories
• Join us: Get involved with MAAS and volunteer to help us in the fight against antisemitism!

Let’s all light a candle this Holocaust Memorial Day – let’s all stand up against antisemitism

Dedication

This blog is dedicated to the memory of all of those who were killed in the Holocaust. May your memories be a blessing.

Read more: With a new year comes renewed commitment to fighting antisemitism.

The post This Holocaust Memorial Day, we need to stand together against antisemitism appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

The perpetrator in the latest attack was arrested and a piece of paper with a Swastika was found in his pocket. Whilst details of the perpetrator have not been released, the attack looks to be inspired by far right extremist ideology.

Over the last decade, the sharp rise use of social media platforms has led to the spread of such virulent ideas, particularly between 2010-2015 when social media platforms did little to remove antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate, including some of the most aggressive forms of racist and anti-Roma hate online. These forms of ideology have now simply moved to other platforms and ‘pandora’ has been let of out of the box. Putting her back in, is a monumental task that will take decades of work that will see such hate mutate and adapt into various forms. There are difficult times ahead.

We within Muslims Against Antisemitism have repeatedly said that antisemitism is a hatred that British Muslims must challenge since it is a joint threat against both Jews and Muslims. Antisemitism is an indicator, a form of a weather vane, telling  us all when something terribly wrong is happening in society and when diverse communities are under threat. It also should form the moral compass by which we activate, mobilise and build allies to counter those who seek to dehumanise Jewish and diverse communities.

Right now, some countries in Europe are looking inwards and their politicians are using the language of fear to instill a form of ethno-nationalism in their populations. This populism is growing, creating fertile ground for conspiracy theories and with these theories comes the hate of Jewish and Muslim communities. Which is why, more than ever, antisemitism is a threat that needs us all to vigorously challenge and counter.

We are moving into a difficult time, which is why we within Muslims Against Antisemitism, stand tall with allies in this struggle to defend our identities and our futures.

Read more: MAAS (Muslims Against Antisemitism) statement on Twitter’s failings to address antisemitic abuse

The post Growing antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate in Europe is a wake up call appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.

What this nefarious term means to these hard core of activists, is that Jews are ‘all-powerful’ and ‘all dominating’. They will not say it, but they will couch it as ‘anti-Zionism’ to provide some cover for their anti-Jewish hatred. Indeed, we know of one major funder of Islamic institutions with investments in the U.K. and internationally, who has used this term online, supported groups who have been divisive between Muslims and Jews and repeated such language. The individual’s financial largesse has trickled into organisations and Islamic institutions as a means of gaining influence and control and as a means of providing legitimacy so that Government could be feted on the back of that ‘community legitimacy’. Thankfully, this Government has seen past this tactic.

We have said time and time again, that Palestinians do not need such supporters. Much of the antisemitism that has crept into small but vocal parts of Muslim communities, came about because of Islamist campaigners, activists and literature. It needs to be called out, rejected and where possible, community education provided so that long term and real change can take place and mutual respect built up between individuals and communities.

We cannot allow antisemitism to fester within communities, just as we cannot accept anti-Muslim hate festering in some parts of wider communities. Both need to be countered, otherwise we will have another cycle and another generation of hate that we can ill-afford. In the end, such hatred costs lives and the dignity of people. We cannot accept this as a way forward.

The post Antisemitism Takes the Form of ‘Anti-Zionism’ Within Parts of Our Co-Religionists appeared first on Muslims Against Antisemitism.