Words Matter: Reflecting on the 25 Years Since Yitzhak Rabin’s Assassination
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Twenty-five years have passed since the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for his attempts to achieve a lasting peace with the Palestinian Authority. Inevitably, a sad milestone like this causes us to look back at that day, to assess its significance from the perspective of a quarter of a century later, and to consider continuing and relevant lessons for us going forward.
Electoral Misinformation on Twitter: 39% of Problematic Tweets Reported by ADL Go Unaddressed by Platform in Crucial Post-Election Timeframe
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A subset of high-profile, misinformation-laden posts reached a combined potential audience of more than 108M followers, with over 1.1M likes and retweets prior to ADL reporting them to Twitter.
As the COVID-19 vaccine was being shipped to frontline workers across the country, conspiracy theories took root in online spaces alongside mainstream concerns about vaccine distribution and effectiveness.
Instagram ‘freeze’ joined by celebs; Survey finds 'shocking' lack of Holocaust knowledge among Millennials and Gen Z; Israel, UAE, Bahrain sign peace deal
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Instagram ‘freeze’ joined by celebs; Survey finds 'shocking' lack of Holocaust knowledge among Millennials and Gen Z; Israel, UAE, Bahrain sign peace deal
Portland Shooter Had Online History of Antisemitism, Racism, Misogyny; Advocated for Violence
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ADL Center on Extremism has uncovered a history of racist, antisemitic and misogynistic comments by Benjamin Jeffrey Smith, the man who allegedly fired into a crowd in Portland, Oregon on February 19, killing one woman and injuring five people.
The 16th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), a series of worldwide anti-Israel events, took place in the United States and Canada March 21-28, 2022. Activities included celebrations of Palestinian heritage and criticism of Israel’s policies that, while contentious, were not problematic. However, a notable segment of the events engendered intense controversy and accusations of antisemitism.
ADL Finds Facebook Posts Linking to Problematic Sites at Alarming Rates
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Antisemitism, hate speech, and disinformation have spread widely on Facebook after the crisis in Ukraine exploded. ADL researchers found problematic posts on the platform and the prevalence of external links directing users to alternative platforms and sites popular among extremists.
Some 2022 Left-Wing Candidates Espouse Troubling Rhetoric on Israel
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Some candidates in the 2022 election cycle who hail from the political left have embraced themes related to Israel that range from incendiary to dangerous and antisemitic.
A week of violent Islamist extremist attacks in Israel beginning on March 22, 2022, left 11 people dead and many more wounded. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for two of the attacks, and released a video of two of the terrorists swearing an oath of allegiance to the terrorist group in a video released online.
Unmasking “Clandestine,” the Figure Behind the Viral “Ukrainian Biolab” Conspiracy Theory
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The ADL Center on Extremism has, with a high degree of certainty, identified “Clandestine,” the man behind the viral biolab conspiracy theory, as Jacob Creech, a self-described former restaurant manager and Army National Guard veteran living in rural Virginia. The discovery highlights how a fringe QAnon figure, harnessing the power of social media, sparked a viral conspiracy theory that – in just a few weeks – made its way from QAnon to the world stage, amplified by Tucker Carlson, white supremacists Nick Fuentes and Vincent James, members of the Proud Boys, and Steve Bannon – and even the Kremlin.
Multiple Terror Attacks in Israel; Lipstadt Confirmed as Antisemitism Envoy; BDS Vote Brings Backlash by Universities
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A Palestinian gunman killed five people in an ultra-Orthodox city outside of Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, the latest in a surge of terror attacks in Israel this month that has claimed 11 lives. The Senate in a voice vote unanimously confirmed Deborah Lipstadt, the Holocaust scholar who endured delays and a contentious hearing in her nomination to be antisemitism monitor. Multiple universities announced that they are disassociating themselves from the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) after the organization overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
3 million Refugees in Ukraine Crisis; Sierra Club Flips on Canceling Israel Trips; Amnesty Opposes Existence of Jewish State
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Nearly three weeks into Russia’s invasion, the number of Ukrainians fleeing abroad passed 3 million, the United Nations said. Following an advocacy campaign by national Jewish and pro-Israel organizations, the Sierra Club reversed its recent decision to cancel trips to Israel. Amnesty International is under fire again after an official said that the organization is opposed to Israel continuing to exist as a Jewish state.
Farrakhan’s Latest Antisemitic, Anti-vaccine Address Garners Over Half a Million Views on Facebook and YouTube
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Mainstream social media companies have allowed Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Farrakhan’s antisemitism and anti-vaccine disinformation to once again find a home on their platforms. In the days since Farrakhan’s annual Saviours’ Day address was broadcast on February 27, 2022, videos of the hours-long speech have received over 500,000 views across dozens of YouTube channels and Facebook pages.
Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories Abound Around Russian Assault on Ukraine
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Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, extremists and antisemites across the ideological spectrum have used the war as fodder for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories. Emanating from classic antisemites and white supremacists, as well as QAnon influencers and Proud Boys acolytes, classic tropes of Jewish power, financial control and “abuse” of the Holocaust narrative abound online. In just a few short weeks, tens of thousands of social media users have been exposed to these dangerous lies.