Showing posts with label anti-semitism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anti-semitism. Show all posts

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Bergen-Belsen Survivors Mark the 80th Anniversary of Camp’s Liberation

Survivors of the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen and their families have gathered at the site in northern Germany to officially commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation by British troops. Representatives of victims’ associations and the military took part in the ceremony along with the British deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner. During the second world war, Soviet prisoners of war and later Jewish prisoners were held at the camp under extremely hostile conditions. According to the foundation responsible for the upkeep of the camp as a memorial site, about 20,000 prisoners of war and at least 52,000 concentration camp prisoners died there, including Anne Frank, the Jewish diarist, and her sister, Margot.

Accompanying about 180 British Jews, including survivors and their relatives, the UK’s chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, read a psalm. Lola Hassid Angel, 88, from Greece, described the camp in an interview with the Guardian earlier this month as “an abomination that historians will one day refer to as a dark page but which we, as the last survivors, are duty-bound to describe”.

At the ceremony, another survivor, 100-year-old Albrecht Weinberg, from Germany, recalled being taken half-dead by train from Auschwitz to Belsen. “I found myself lying amid the dead and the living on a wagon in Bergen-Belsen. Our bodies were tipped out. Two days later, a tank drove in. I thought now I’ll finally be freed by death, but it was British soldiers coming to liberate us. They later told me I’d weighed 29kg [4st 8lb].”

At the time in April 1945, the Guardian (London) reported that a senior medical officer with the British army had witnessed thousands of typhus, typhoid, and tuberculosis cases on entering the camp, calling it “the most horrible, frightful place” he had ever seen.

“There was a pile - 60 to 80 yards long, 30 yards wide, and 4ft high - of the unclothed bodies of women all within sight of several hundred children. Gutters were filled with rotting dead and men had come to the gutters to die, using the curbstones as back rests,” the correspondent David Woodward wrote. Accounts from the camp by soldiers and journalists were spread around the world and proved more shocking in many ways than other discoveries of death camps to the east, such as Treblinka, Sobibor, and Auschwitz, as they had either been demolished to hide evidence of the crimes committed there, or emptied of their inmates, who, like Weinberg, were sent on death marches.

At Belsen, the camp construction and the evidence of what had occurred there remained intact. Some of the Nazi soldiers involved in the death machine were still on site. The large number of prisoners and the conditions at the camp led to mass outbreaks of dysentery, typhus, and malnutrition, leading to about 500 deaths a day, most during the final weeks of the war. A documented 14,000 survivors died by the end of June 1945, many of whose digestive systems had been unable to cope with the food they were given after the liberation of the camp.

Every year, about 250,000 people visit the Memorial and over 1,000 groups take part in guided tours, study days, and projects here.

Read the April 27, 2025 the Guardian article.

Saturday, June 29, 2024

Baltimore Mayor and Police Commissioner Release Statements Condemning Recent Antisemitic Incidents

Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley released the following statements condemning recent antisemitic incidents that occurred in Baltimore City. Mayor Brandon M. Scott said:

“These recent incidents are a horrifying display of hate and simply will not be tolerated in the City of Baltimore. Our Baltimore Jewish community has endured violence, vandalism, and other acts of hate that only seek to intimidate and threaten. To those individuals who are responsible, we only have one message: these antisemitic acts are despicable, and you will be held accountable. We stand with those victims who have endured these acts and with the broader Jewish community who are deeply impacted by the concerning rise in these types of incidents. I have confidence that through BPD’s investigations, the perpetrators will be found and held responsible for their hateful actions.”

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said:

“Our Department has witnessed an alarming increase of hate crimes towards our Jewish community, to include antisemitism speech, vandalism, intimidation and even violence. We will not tolerate any form of hate, towards any community or any person in our city. I remain resolute that the BPD will investigate all acts of hate, intimidation or violence towards anyone or any community. Any individual found to be responsible will and must be held accountable, and we will work with our local, state and federal partners to pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law for these incidents.

"We know that hate crimes have a larger impact than just a singular offense, and its impact is felt by not only the victim(s), but also by their loved-ones and community. BPD will continue to support the victims and stand with communities against hate and harassment in all forms, towards anyone.”

Last week, WBFF, a Fox affiliate in Baltimore, reported that “Baltimore’s Jewish community is struggling with a soaring number of antisemitic acts.” As reported on June 29th, hate-filled symbols and offensive graffiti  - yellow and black swastikas alongside profanity - were discovered spray-painted on the pavement of Fordham Court in northwest Baltimore, a street known for its Jewish residents, with the abhorrent messages targeting the heart of the community. The street the spray paint was found on has 10 homes and houses many Jewish residents. The act has been universally condemned by community leaders and advocates, such as Baltimore City Councilmember Issac "Yitzy" Schleifer, who has spoken out on social media against the defacement of his district. Howard Libit, the executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, expressed his dismay at the hate crime, lamenting the emotional toll on the families directly affected.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number of antisemitic incidents tripled in 2023 compared to the previous year. Most of the incidents involved harassment, vandalism, and assault. The number of incidents climbed following Hamas' October attack on Israel.

Read the June 27, 2024 City of Baltimore release.

Read the June 29, 2024 Hoodline Baltimore article.

Read the June 27, 2024 WBAL-TV article.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

 Free Program to Combat Anti-Semitism

Friday, August 19, 2022

 

Antisemitic Flyers Distributed in Virginia Beach on July 24th


The Anti-Defamation League says the flyers came from a loose network of people connected by their antisemitic beliefs.

Some Virginia Beach residents on Sunday morning found flyers with antisemitic rhetoric in their front yards. They had names and pictures of Disney executives and political figures with antisemitic messages and images on it.

Meredith Weisel with the Anti-Defamation League said the flyers came from a group called the Goyim Defense League, "a loose network of individuals connected by their antisemitism" that has done "campaigns like this on and off over the last few years." Weisel said the group did 74 anti-Semitic propaganda incidents in 2021 in 17 states. In the past weekend, flyers like the ones in Virginia Beach were distributed in Richmond and other states.

Rabbi Roz Mandelberg with Ohef Sholom Temple said some of her congregants received the flyer and were very upset. Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said the government was aware of the flyers and the Virginia Beach Police Department is trying to find who dropped the flyers off.

If you receive one of the antisemitic flyers or any other hateful flyers, Weisel said you can report it anonymously to the Anti-Defamation League.


Source: Read the July 26th Channel 13 Now (WVEC-TV Norfolk) news article.

 LARGEST ANNUAL SUMMIT ON ANTISEMITISM AND HATE WILL BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 10TH

ADL


Never is Now 

In the midst of increasing incidents of hate across the world, this Summit organized by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is crucially important. Attendees will tackle crucial conversations, engage with extraordinary experts, leaders, and visionaries - and be inspired to take immediate action that will create lasting change in your community and beyond.

Through meaningful dialogue, education and interpersonal connections, we will continue the fight against antisemitism, hate and bias in all its forms—together.

The only voice missing is yours.
REGISTER HERE

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Report Finds Big Rise in Global Anti-Semitism in 2021

According to a April 27, 2022 BBC article about the just-released report by the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Humanities, the number of anti-Semitic incidents globally significantly increased last year, particularly in nations with large Jewish populations. The study, based on dozens of studies around the world, found that the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia were among the countries with a significant rise. The major identified causal factors were radical left- and right-wing political movements and incitement on social media. The release of the report is on the same day - April 27, 2022 - as Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on this Wednesday night. Yom HaShoah commemorates the 6 million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany in Europe during World War II.


The Anti-Semitism Worldwide Report 2021 analyzed information from law enforcement entities, mass media, and Jewish organisations as well as literally dozens of studies from many countries. It found that:

  • In the US, which has the largest Jewish population other than Israel, the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes recorded in New York and Los Angeles were about double that of 2020.
  • In the UK, recorded physical assaults against Jews increased by 78% compared with the previous year.
  • German police-recorded anti-Semitic incidents increased 29% from 2020, and by 49% compared with 2019.
  • French recorded anti-Semitic incidents increased by roughly 75% compared with 2020.
  • A leading Canadian Jewish group reported that August, 2021, set a 40-year high in the number and extent of anti-Semitic physical violence.
  • Australia had a significant increase in recorded anti-Semitic incidents, with 88 in May, 2021, which was the highest ever monthly amount.

The report also said the increases were partially because of negative reactions to May 2021's fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. During that time, Israel and the militants fought for 11 days, killing 261 people in Gaza and 14 in Israel


In the report, social media was especially blamed for pervasively "spreading lies and incitement" leading to increased anti-Semitic incidents: "The data raise concerns regarding the utility of legislation and agreements reached with social media companies on banning anti-Semitic expressions from their platforms. The gravest concern is the dark web, which shelters extremists and where anti-Semitic content is freely and openly spread." The dark web is only accessible with special browsing software.

Also cited as a factor in the increases were the great increases and spread of conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic. "Right at the outset of the pandemic in 2020, conspiracy theories began to sprout around the world, blaming the Jews and Israel for spreading the virus," the report said, adding "The lockdowns, which glued people to their screens at home, contributed significantly to popularising toxic anti-Semitic discourse on social networks. In 2021, when the lockdowns were gradually eased, anti-Semites returned to the streets."


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Source: BBC Middle East News. April 27, 2022. "Anti-Semitism: Dramatic rise in 2021, Israeli report says." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-61228552.