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New York, NY, December 12, 2017 … Anti-Semitism has emerged in forms both subtle and overt at anti-Israel rallies taking place globally in response to President Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem last week, according to a new analysis by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
ADL experts are monitoring incidents globally and in the United States. While there have been serious incidents overseas, including the firebombing of Jewish community sites in Sweden and hate-filled remarks by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, several protests in the United States have been marred by anti-Semitic chants and expressions as well.
Virulent anti-Israel protests were held in more than a dozen cities across the U.S. last weekend. Many of the demonstrations were marked by extreme anti-Israel and anti-Zionist messages, with some denying Israel’s right to exist and others supporting resistance by any means. In New York City, chants in Times Square of “Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the Army of Muhammad will return,” recalled a 7th century battle that ended in a massacre of Jews.
In the Middle East and Europe, protests and riots broke out in major capitals. Further escalating tensions, President Erdogan vowed to use “all means to fight” against U.S. recognition of Jerusalem and called Israel a “terrorist state” that “kills children.”
The League also voiced concern after a series of anti-Semitic caricatures appeared in Arabic language media across the Muslim and Arab world. An ADL survey of a dozen cartoons appearing in newspapers and websites across the Arab world shows that the Jerusalem decision is being characterized in deeply anti-Semitic terms. ADL has raised the issue of this most recent collection of anti-Semitic cartoons with members of Congress.
“Our concern is that the anti-Semitic expressions we’ve seen overseas and in the United States could escalate,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “While people have every right to voice opposition to President Trump’s position on Jerusalem, anti-Semitism as a response is completely unacceptable. This is especially true of world leaders and those Arab media outlets that are aiding and abetting the incitement by evoking dangerous anti-Semitic themes and conspiracy theories.”
ADL has a team of staffers in Israel and in the U.S. who monitor media across the Middle East for anti-Semitism. In the latest survey, taken in the days following President Trump’s announcement last week, viciously anti-Semitic cartoons have appeared in widely read Arab media publications in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait and the United Kingdom. The full survey is available on the League’s website.
Some of the cartoons suggest that Israel controls U.S. foreign policy, depicting President Trump as a puppet or pawn of the Israeli prime minister, while others evoke classic anti-Semitic themes, with Jews stereotypically depicted with large noses, pointed teeth and large ears. Several cartoons suggest that Israel and the U.S. are conspiring to wrest control of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem away from Muslims.