Covid 19, Intolerance and Antisemitism
How you can make a difference in a changing world
Since the Covid 19 pandemic first began, the world has been through a lot.
Our time in and out of lockdowns has been one of uncertainty and fear, but it has also allowed time for some introspection. During this time we have also seen a renewed interest in activism across the world, particularly in reference to the BLM movement, #StopAsianHate and the Climate Emergency.
But, the world has also seen a rise in intolerance, hate crimes and conspiracy theories.
As we slowly lift lockdowns around the world we must all face the music.
We must all educate ourselves.
We must all make a change.
In an effort to do better, I chose an issue that I know relatively little about — antisemitism.
And so, last month I took part in an online course run by the Holocaust Educational Trust on Antisemitism in the UK today. In this course, we discussed defining antisemitism, its history, conspiracy theories and how to combat intolerance.
Since then I have also conducted some of my own research, and I would like to share what I have learnt.
Jews have been a part of the UK for hundreds of years, and so has antisemitism. For hundreds of years Jews were regularly expelled from countries around Europe, including the UK and so they were always viewed as outsiders.
In 1144 in Norwich we see the first version of a conspiracy theory involving Jews — Blood Libels. Blood Libels falsely accuse Jews of murdering Christian children in order to use their blood in the performance of religious rituals. Like all conspiracy theories involving Jews, this has been proven time and time again to be false, but these claims have been used to persecute Jews across Europe for hundreds of years.
A more recent conspiracy theory, which has once again been proven to be false, is The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This is a fabricated antisemitic text claiming to describe a Jewish plan for global domination, first published in Russia in 1903. Despite being exposed as false in 1921, it is still widely available and continues to be used by antisemitic groups today.
This antisemitism has a real effect on people’s lives. The most horrifying result of antisemitism was the Holocaust. This was the attempt by Nazi Germany to murder the Jews of Europe and led to the deaths of 6 million Jews.
The Holocaust is the most well documented event in history. Despite this, one in twenty Europeans have never heard of the holocaust, and holocaust denial and distortion is on the rise. Unfortunately, today antisemitism is still widespread.
During the storming of the United States capitol on January 6th 2021, many of the protestors were seen to be carrying or wearing antisemitic symbols.
During an anti lockdown protest in London, Hyde Park on April 24th 2021, some protestors were seen with yellow stars pinned to their shirts — a symbol which Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear during the holocaust. Essentially these protestors were attempting to equate Covid 19 measures to the Holocaust.
This rise in antisemitism — and intolerance more widely — during Covid 19 is a worrying trend.
An academic paper published last year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York argued that deaths caused by the 1918 influenza pandemic “profoundly shaped German society” in subsequent years and contributed to the strengthening of the Nazi Party.
For many years there has been a rise in hate crimes across Europe, and the numbers have skyrocketed during Covid 19.
Recently, Amnesty International berated the UK government’s stance on human rights, saying that it is “speeding towards the cliff edge”. That the UK is in a “headlong rush into abandoning human rights”.
These facts can be extremely worrying. And they should be.
They should be a wake up call.
We must all educate ourselves.
We must all make a change.
The UK, as with the rest of the world stands at a tipping point. Intolerance of almost all forms is on the rise, and we have seen where this leads before.
But it is not all doom and gloom. Because we can make a difference.
And we already have.
The BLM, #StopAsianHate and the Climate Emergency movements are all great examples of ways we can make a difference, and they should give you hope.
But we must continue the fight. And that fight begins with educating yourself.
Unfortunately, we can not rely on our feeds to educate us. Social media algorithms are designed to show you what you want to see, or more accurately, what will keep you online the longest. So we must actively educate ourselves.
Today I will ask you to do one thing. Have a look at one of the things on the list below.
Try to educate yourself on an issue. This is the first step towards change.
Websites:
https://www.het.org.uk/
https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/
https://www.againstholocaustdistortion.org/
https://www.antislavery.org/
https://feminist.org/
https://blacklivesmatter.com/
https://antisemitism.org.uk/
https://www.yadvashem.org/
https://www.counterhate.com/
https://www.learningforjustice.org/
https://www.facinghistory.org/
https://stopasianhate.carrd.co/
https://www.nature.com/nclimate/
https://colorofchange.org/
https://www.hrc.org/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/
https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/
Instagram:
@holocaustuk
@gretathunberg
@dearasianyouth
@the.sisofficial
@diversifyournarrative
@impact
@soyouwanttotalkabout
@thepoliticaljargons
@rachel.cargle
@its_me_ajb
@voltedvoices
@indyamoore
@colorofchange
@blklivesmatter
@theconsciouskid
@raquel_willis
@thepeahceproject
@theslacktivists
@antisemitismtoday
@campaignagainstantisemitism
@climatereality
Feel free to add to this list in the comments section.
