 | |
| Formation | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
Executive Director | Liora Rez |
| Website | stopantisemitism |
StopAntisemitism is an American non-profit watchdog organization focused on combating antisemitism.
| | |
| Formation | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
Executive Director | Liora Rez |
| Website | stopantisemitism |
StopAntisemitism is an American non-profit watchdog organization focused on combating antisemitism.
Social media influencer Liora Rez founded StopAntisemitism as StopAntisemitism.org in October 2018 to monitor and expose online antisemitism. Rez was born in the Soviet Union, where her family experienced antisemitism. [1]
As of September 2019, the organization's social media posts were viewed more than 750,000 times per month. [2] According to Rez, the organization is 100% privately-funded. [3]
StopAntisemitism receives real-time tips about antisemitic incidents via its website and social media accounts. The organization then vets the submission for accuracy, ensure it has not been edited, and to confirm the location of the incident. According to Rez, the organization does not post all the submissions it receives and can take several hours to vet a submission. Next, StopAntisemitism researches the individual and their employers, both internally and using crowdsourcing. The organization then takes an "offensive" approach, seeking to create consequences and "expose antisemites" and a name-and-shame approach. [2] [3]
The organization states "By publicly exposing antisemites, StopAntisemitism has created an environment where those who propagate hatred against the Jewish people are met with real-world consequences including but not limited to job loss and school expulsions." [4]
According to Rez, "We're not trying to stifle their first American speech. If you want to spew hatred and act in a hateful way, you have that right. However, we have that equal right to showcase it to millions of people on social media and make your employers aware and make your community aware and make your and make society aware". In the aftermath of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, StopAntisemitism reported receiving more than 500 reports of antisemitism per day, a 1,500% increase in submissions from before the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. [3]
Each week, the organization's website highlights an "Antisemite of the Week." [2] According to Rez, the "Antisemite of the Week" notifications went to 50,000 people per week in 2022. [1]
In April 2019, StopAntisemitism's tweet decrying Yale's invitation of French author Houria Bouteldja was viewed over 100,000 times and led to backlash against Bouteldja for comments interpreted as homophobic and antisemitic. [5]
In October 2019, StopAntisemitism sent a petition with 2,000 signatures to the US Department of Education calling on the agency to keep the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) out of college campuses. The petition said CAIR pushes "Islamist propaganda, anti-Semitism, and anti-American bias" onto college campuses. [6]
In November 2023, StopAntisemitism launched StopDontShop.org that offers the ability to filter businesses based on their perceived stances on the Israel-Hamas war and antisemitism. [7]
An article by The Washington Post in April 2024, revealed more than 36 people had been fired or suspended from their jobs after StopAntisemitism revealed comments they made relating to the Israel–Hamas war. [8] For example, one individual was posted on StopAntisemitism's social media pages after making comments critical of Israel. [8] After the post, they were fired from their job. [8] In another instance, StopAntisemitism revealed a professor made comments about Israel, who was later fired from their job. [8]
StopAntisemitism has reported instances of alleged antisemitism from people such as Ferris State University professor Thomas Brennan, [9] activist Marc Lamont Hill, [10] and journalist Christiane Amanpour. [11]
Starting in 2019, the organization began a yearly competition to select a figure to be named "Antisemite of the Year". Thousands of people voted in a poll, which resulted in Ilhan Omar beating out Louis Farrakhan and Richard B. Spencer as the inaugural winner of the contest. [12] [13] [14]
In 2020, StopAntisemitism named CUNY School of Law student and Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani "Antisemite of the Year"; [15] StopAntisemitism.org accused Kiswani of, among other things, glorifying terrorism and promoting violence in her social media posts and public speaking, and posted a video of Kiswani pretending to threaten to set on fire an Israel Defense Forces hoodie worn by a friend. [15] [16] Kiswani said the video was three years old, and criticized the organization. [15] The organization's naming of Kiswani came in response to an effort by a group of anti-Zionist CUNY students, many of them Jewish, to pass an alternate definition of antisemitism in the student senate rather than the IHRA definition. [17]
In December 2022, StopAntisemitism named Kanye West the "Antisemite of the Year". [18]
In 2023, Congressman Rashida Tlaib was named "Antisemite of the Year" by StopAntisemitism. Tlaib beat out Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and model Gigi Hadid. [19]
A lawsuit by a former university professor labeled "Antisemite of the Week" was dismissed by a court in Pennsylvania in 2023. [20] [21] CTECH questioned the organization's methods of doxxing pro-Palestinian protestors and others in a 2023 article. [22]
The organization releases an annual Antisemitism on U.S. College & University Campuses Report, using a report card-style grading system to assess 25 universities across the United States on their efforts to address campus antisemitism and protect their Jewish students. [23]
Journalist Jonathan Tobin has lauded StopAntisemitism for going beyond the education work of groups like the Anti-Defamation League. As a result of her work with StopAntisemitism, Rez was selected by Algemeiner in 2019 as one of 100 people "positively influencing Jewish life". [2]
Antisemitism at universities has been reported and supported since the medieval period and, more recently, resisted and studied. Antisemitism has been manifested in various policies and practices, such as restricting the admission of Jewish students by a Jewish quota, or ostracism, intimidation, or violence against Jewish students, as well as in the hiring, retention and treatment of Jewish faculty and staff. In some instances, universities have been accused of condoning the development of antisemitic cultures on campus.
Ameinu is a left-wing American Jewish Zionist organization. Established in 2004 as the successor to the Labor Zionist Alliance, it is the continuation of Labor Zionist activity in the United States that began with the founding of Poale Zion, which came together in the period 1906.
Different opinions exist among historians regarding the extent of antisemitism in American history and how American antisemitism contrasted with its European counterpart. In contrast to the horrors of European history, John Higham states that in the United States "no decisive event, no deep crisis, no powerful social movement, no great individual is associated primarily with, or significant chiefly because of anti-Semitism." Accordingly, David A. Gerber concludes that antisemitism "has been a distinctly minor feature of the nation's historical development."
Antisemitism —prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews—has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-Christian civilizations of Europe.
Al-Aqsa TV is a television channel run by Hamas, which is based in the Gaza Strip. Its programs include news and propaganda promoting Hamas, children's shows, and religiously inspired entertainment. It is currently directed by Fathi Hamad, who is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Interior Minister of the Gaza Strip. The channel is named after Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.
Rashida Harbi Tlaib is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 12th congressional district. She is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.
Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times reported that "S.J.P., founded in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, has become the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus."
Joshua S. Gottheimer is an American attorney, writer, and public policy adviser who has served as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 5th congressional district since 2017. The district stretches along the northern border of the state from New York City's densely populated metropolitan suburbs in Bergen County northwest through exurban and rural territory in northern Passaic and Sussex Counties.
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis. Her congressional district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its first-ring suburbs.
IfNotNow is an American Jewish group which opposes the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Its membership demonstrates against politicians, United States policies, and institutions it perceives as supporting occupation, usually seeking to apply pressure through direct action and media appearances. It has been characterized variously as progressive or far-left.
Laura Elizabeth Loomer is an American far-right and anti-Muslim conservative political activist, white nationalist, conspiracy theorist and internet personality. She was the Republican nominee to represent Florida's 21st congressional district in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, losing to Democrat Lois Frankel. She also ran in the Republican primary for Florida's 11th congressional district in 2022, narrowly losing to incumbent Daniel Webster.
The working definition of antisemitism, also called the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism or IHRA definition, is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads: "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." Accompanying the working definition, but of disputed status, are 11 illustrative examples whose purpose is described as guiding the IHRA in its work, seven of which relate to criticism of the Israeli government. As such, pro-Israeli organizations have been advocates for the worldwide legal adoption of the definition.
The Squad is an informal group of nine Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives. It was initially composed of four women elected in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. They have since been joined by Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, and Greg Casar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, and Delia Ramirez of Illinois following the 2022 elections. The Squad is well known for being among the most progressive and left-wing members of the United States Congress.
Eli Valley is an American cartoonist and author. He is best known for his political cartoons, which often feature prominent politicians, businesspeople, and media personalities.
Inna Vernikov is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the New York City Council for the 48th District. The Minority Whip of the City Council, her district includes the neighborhoods of Brighton Beach, West Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Gravesend, and parts of Midwood and Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. Formerly a Democrat, Vernikov is a member of the Republican Party.
Zionist antisemitism or antisemitic Zionism refers to a phenomenon in which antisemites express support for Zionism and the State of Israel. In some cases, this support may be promoted for explicitly antisemitic reasons. Historically, this type of antisemitism has been most notable among Christian Zionists, who may perpetrate religious antisemitism while being outspoken in their support for Jewish sovereignty in Israel due to their interpretation of Christian eschatology. Similarly, people who identify with the political far-right, particularly in Europe and the United States, may support the Zionist movement because they seek to expel Jews from their country and see Zionism as the least complicated method of achieving this goal and satisfying their racial antisemitism.
Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war, there has been a surge of antisemitism around the world. Israeli Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer has stated that Israel is bracing to expect a large wave of Jews migrating to Israel due to the rising antisemitism around the world.
Within Our Lifetime - United For Palestine (WOL), is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist organization primarily active in New York City. The group, which expresses support for the Palestinian right to resist against Israel, has been one of the key organizers in the city's Israel-Hamas war protests, alongside Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Democratic Socialists of America.
In the early 21st century, antisemitism was identified in social media platforms with up to 69 percent of Jews in the US having encountered antisemitism online according to the 2022 report released by "The State of Antisemitism in America". Jews have encountered antisemitism either as targets themselves or by being exposed to antisemitic content on their media page.
Antisemitism studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of antisemitism and anti-Jewish prejudice. Antisemitism studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of Jewish studies, social sciences, history, public policy, psychology, and law.