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Since the attack on Israel by the militant Islamist Hamas, the number of anti-Semitic comments on social networks has risen sharply. According to experts, this also leads to increased attacks in the real world.
There have been significantly more anti-Semitic comments on social networks in recent weeks. This is the result of one Analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). Accordingly, on YouTube alone, in the first three days after the attack by the militant Islamist Hamas, the absolute number of anti-Semitic comments on conflict-related videos increased by 4,963 percent compared to the three days before. In the following days there was a further increase, although much smaller.
Even taking into account that many more videos related to Israel and Gaza have been uploaded since the Hamas attack on October 7, the increase in anti-Semitic comments remains very high. The proportion of anti-Semitic comments per video increased by 242 percent. English-language comments were evaluated.
According to the investigation, anti-Semitic comments included dehumanizing language regarding Jewish people and comparisons of Israel and National Socialism. Widespread conspiracy stories of a supposed Jewish world conspiracy were also applied to the current war.
Increase also on “old-tech platforms”
The authors of the study also looked at other platforms, including so-called old-tech platforms such as “4chan” and Telegram. Alt-tech platforms are often less strictly moderated and are therefore also popular among extremists. Here, too, there was a sharp increase in anti-Semitic posts, especially on the “4chan” platform.
However, the increase on the other platforms is significantly lower, which, according to Hannah Rose, who worked on the study, may also be due to the data collection. “On Telegram, many of the chats are closed, so only those chats that are openly accessible can be captured,” says Rose. “For this reason, the data for Telegram is quite small.”
“Anti-Semitism is in the mainstream”
The war between Israel and Gaza has increased the threat to Jewish people, says Rose. There were threats against Jewish communities on many platforms. “There were direct calls for violence, both in Western countries and in Israel.” On Telegram, for example, images of killed Israelis were used to call for violence against Jewish people.
The YouTube comments in particular show that anti-Semitism is not just a problem on the fringes of society. “Anti-Semitism can have many different forms, from the far right to the far left,” says Rose. “And it is really a task for society as a whole to combat all forms of anti-Semitism, wherever it occurs.”
Calls for attacks
According to the study, there were calls for attacks on Jewish communities in extremist groups, for example from Islamist circles. Terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group published content that called for terrorist attacks against Jewish targets in Israel and Israeli embassies abroad.
“In large right-wing extremist Telegram chats, calls were again made to copy the tactics used by Hamas,” says Rose. According to the analysis, it is not unusual for even ideological material to be posted between Islamist and right-wing extremist online ecosystems. For example, in the past, right-wing extremist networks have expressed solidarity with militant Palestinians against the supposedly common “fight” against the Jewish people.
Not all comments are criminally relevant
Rose sees the platforms as having a responsibility to prevent the spread of anti-Semitic content. Because not all comments are always relevant to criminal law, so states are often powerless. “Companies have a responsibility to ensure that hate is not spread on their platforms, even if they are not explicitly obliged to do so.”
Because hate on the internet also ensures that attacks occur in real life, says Rose. “We have already seen attacks on synagogues, attacks on Jewish communities and vandalism at Jewish sites around the world. It is a very disturbing trend.”
More anti-Semitic attacks in Germany
Many countries have seen an increase in anti-Semitic attacks since the Hamas attack. In Germany, the Research and Information Center for Anti-Semitism Berlin (RIAS) recorded events from October 7th to 15th 202 verified anti-Semitic incidents – an increase of at least 240 percent compared to the same period last year.
The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, described the massive increase in anti-Semitism as a “breaking point”. The hatred of Jews on German streets is reminiscent of “the worst times in German history,” Haldenwang told “Spiegel.” Since Hamas’ attack on Israel, there have already been around 1,800 crimes in this context in Germany.
Other countries are also recording increases
The anti-Semitism reporting center of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG) also registered one in Austria significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents. 76 new cases have been reported since October 7th. This corresponds to an increase of 300 percent compared to the incidents reported throughout 2022.
In the USA, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported at least 312 reports of anti-Semitic incidents between October 7th and 23rd – in the same period last year there were 64. This corresponds to an increase of more than 380 percent.
In Great Britain during the same period, according to the Community Security Trust (CST) at least 600 anti-Semitic incidents registered. This is the highest number ever reported to the CST in a 17-day period.