In the future, as we tell the tales of the stange year that is 2020, it may be commonly described as the year where everything as we know it stopped; social life, schooling, trade, travel, public attendance of sporting events, and even the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics. However, there is one thing that didn’t get cancelled or go into decline: anti semitism.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University have claimed the pandemic has “unleashed a unique worldwide wave of antisemitism,”. As the world adapted to socialising via Zoom, the anti-semites followed suit. In a phenomena known as zoombombing, anti-semetic attackers have been targeting jewish groups on the now widely used video-conference site. Hackers sent abusive messages, displayed swastikas and other antisemetic imagery in there profile pictures, or even shouted abuse at the participants.
But this isn’t the only manifestation of antisemitism during the times of Covid-19. Anti-semites have used social media platforms to transmit elaborate conspiracy theories reminiscent of those spread during the black plague, 1930’s Germany or post 9/11. Once again, the Jews are being blamed, this time for coronavirus and the subsequent chaos that has ensued because of it. According to research conducted by the CST (Community Services Trust) of the UK, there have been several manifestations of conspiracy theories linking the Jews to covid-19, including claims that Jews started the virus or the virus is a hoax run by Jews for to collapse the economy and allow for Jewish and Israeli run businesses to capitalize. Then there is the idea that the jews are the primary spreaders of the virus - anti-semites have used genuine stories of high infection rates amongst some Jewish neighbourhoods, to spread such false claims. It has even been dubbed by many online as the Jew Flu.
The spread of some of the Anti-Semetic conspiracy theories can even be attributed to some high profile culprits such as Rapper Ice Cube, who was guilty of spreading a mural depicted wealthy Jewish bankers playing a game of monopoly on the backs of the poor, a mural alluding to anti-semetic tropes that Jews run the world.
The tactics used by the anti-semites to spread false and harmful information about the Jewish community are no surprise in the age of social media. It doesn’t take long to search through Twitter and to gain a glimpse of the problem being faced online. Though more work needs to be done, the big tech firms are reportedly trying to clamp down on the spread of anti-semtism and other forms of hatred.
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