By Georgiana Yawitz, Hasbara Fellowships High School Intern
Antisemitism is constantly excused on social media. When someone makes an antisemitic “joke” or comment, or denies that the Holocaust even happened, people excuse these types of statements as if they are just political speech. They fail to recognize that this is antisemitism.
These comments are extremely harmful to the Jewish community. Antisemitism has taken a major rise within the past year. This is largely due to social media. As everyone is staying home during the covid-19 pandemic, more people are on social media, witnessing this antisemitism, and learning to think that it is acceptable. This is not okay.
I, myself, have been a victim of antisemitism many times, in person as well as on social media. A pattern I have noticed is that people often excuse antisemitism by referring to their comments as a “joke,” thinking that it is therefore okay. This is not an excuse. Antisemtic comments are not funny, nor are they acceptable.
On social media, I saw a post about the events of the Holocaust and the comments were flooded with antisemitism. Many comments said that the Holocaust did not exist or that people are overreacting. Another video I saw was simply of a Jewish man making challah for Shabbat. His comments were telling him to kill himself. Other comments were about how Israel does not exist. If a post is about Judaism and people in the comments mention that Israel is bad and doesn’t exist, then that is antisemitism. This is because the man did not even bring up Israel, but simply due to the fact that he was Jewish, he was attacked about it (even though he hadn’t even mentioned his stance on the topic). According to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which is the most widely accepted definition around the world, holding all Jewish people responsible for the actions of the State of Israel is a clear example of antisemitism. This morning I saw a comment on a different post about the burning of Jews in the Holocaust. When someone made a post and said that it was antisemetic, they were told that they were being too sensitive and that it was “just a joke.”
These “jokes” should not be excused and those who make them must be held accountable. Feeling badly, or scared, or angry about this, is reasonable and valid, but these feelings are just not enough. It is time to take action and speak up. We need to come together and protect one another. This means that when you see an antisemetic comment, respond and call out that person. When responding to antisemetic comments, make sure not to attack the person. This is because sometimes people don’t understand why something they said was offensive, so it is important to educate rather than attack them. Present them with facts about the topic and politely explain why what they said was wrong and antisemetic. If it becomes clear that they are not willing to listen, then don’t waste your time trying to teach someone who doesn’t care enough to be educated. Rather, educate those who are willing to listen in order to get your point across and successfully respond to antisemitism. Even if you are not a part of the Jewish community, your help is necessary to come together to defeat antisemitism.
