JNS publishes a weekly listing of antisemitic incidents recorded and found by Jewish, pro-Jewish and pro-Israel organizations; national and international news; and social media. By the Anti-Defamation League’s count, an average of seven instances of varying measure occur daily in the United States. (Dates refer to when the news was reported, not when the events took place.) Also included are news items detailing efforts to combat antisemitism and research anti-Jewish bigotry.
May 26
The U.S. Education Department launched an antisemitism awareness campaign in conjunction with the national White House strategy. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) claimed that the latter is a tool to target conservatives. Sarah Silverman explores antisemitism in a new HBO special. Associates of white supremacist Nick Fuentes posed at Columbine High School with fake guns. Also in Colorado, a neo-Nazi (and convicted felon) was arrested with an arsenal of weapons. Swastikas were found in a park in Greece and at a Tennessee nonprofit. On her eponymous show, Kim Kardashian said ex-husband Kanye West’s (“Ye”) antisemitism is worse for their children than a sex tape of her that leaked years ago.
May 27
The NYPD is investigating a swastika that was found scrawled on an abandoned building in Coney Island, N.Y. Germany is increasing efforts to counter the rise of far-right groups, as statistics reveal such individuals were responsible for 41% of the country’s 60,000 politically motivated crimes (including antisemitic ones) last year.
May 28
In the Pittsburgh synagogue mass-shooting trial, the judge ruled that graphic crime images and autopsy photos would be included in the proceedings. Russia accused U.S. investments in Germany of causing World War II and the Holocaust. A new report claims that Nike tried to warn Adidas about problems with Ye.
May 29
Antisemitic fliers were found in Roswell, Ga. Honest Reporting released a report about the history and activities of Jewish Voice for Peace.
May 30
In the trial of Pittsburgh mass shooter Robert Bowers, the defendant’s lawyer suggested that the massacre was not driven by antisemitic hate but by anti-immigration beliefs. Antisemitic fliers were found in a Michigan neighborhood. Personal items of Adolf Hitler are to be auctioned in Ireland, including a pencil engraved with “AH,” believed to be a gift from Eva Braun. Protests are taking place at Sacramento’s City Council due to regular call-in appearances from a man making antisemitic statements. A neo-Nazi in England was jailed for seven-and-a-half years for smuggling a gun into the country from South Africa.
May 31
A California school district ended ties with Acosta Educational Partnership after alleged antisemitic materials and statements. Antisemitic stickers were found in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh following the first day of the trial. Former KKK leader David Duke supported Roger Waters, whose recent concert had antisemitic imagery, in a video. In Chicago, antisemitic slurs were yelled during a high school soccer game. IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace defended CUNY law-school commencement speaker Fatima Mohammed, who criticized Israel in her commencement address. A park sign in Olympia, Wash., was graffitied with a swastika, and swastikas were painted on California homes. In Scotland, volunteers who painted over swastikas on a public pavilion found their good work undone two days later with new hateful graffiti. Ye reportedly stands to earn $140 million from Adidas selling its remaining Yeezy stock.
June 1
Iran has executed more than 300 people this year. The Guardian praised a Waters concert. The White House directed the Pentagon to research antisemitism in the military, as part of the new federal strategy. A new report from the Middle East Media Research Institute explores how neo-Nazis and other extremist groups plan to use artificial intelligence to spread their ideologies. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is often criticized for being anti-Israel, turned 29.
June 2
In the Pittsburgh trial, city police officer Michael Smidga became the first witness to identify Bowers as the shooter. In California, a swastika was found painted at an elementary school. In England, Islamist Matthew King was sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison—with the possibility of serving a life sentence—for planning a terrorist attack.
