Record antisemitic incidents recorded online as 'old tropes repackaged' during coronavirus

A record number of antisemitic incidents have been reported online as coronavirus caused “old tropes to be repackaged”, a monitor has found.

The Community Security Trust (CST) said the pandemic had caused a drop in the number of street attacks on Jewish people in the first half of 2020, but lockdown had made the internet a “convenient, far-reaching” alternative to express hate.

The report was published following a storm of criticism over the delay in removing rapper Wiley from mainstream social media following a series of antisemitic comments.

The study said coronavirus had sparked an “explosion of antisemitic discourses”.

“These range from conspiracy theories about Jewish involvement in creating and spreading Covid-19, or creating and spreading the myth of Covid-19, for various malevolent and financial purposes, to simply wishing and hoping that Jewish people catch the virus and die from it,” the CST said.

“The idea that Jews are untrustworthy, mendacious and manipulating society for their own purposes remains a hugely popular theme in modern-day antisemitism.

“These ideas have simply been tweaked to suit those who seek to spin the pandemic as a tool for antisemitic incitement.”

From January to June, the CST recorded 26 incidents that included antisemitic rhetoric alongside reference to the pandemic.

But it warned that the number “understates the scale of the problem” because it only records incidents that are reported, verified and have a UK-based offender or victim.

The CST said the rise of remote meetings and video calls during lockdown had also given antisemites a new medium through which to attack Jews.

It received 10 reports of educational or religious online events being “hijacked with antisemitic content”, including online comments, people talking over calls or joining webinars with offensive usernames.

“This targeting indicates the ability and speed of antisemitic offenders to adjust to and exploit even a radical shift in the social landscape,” the report said.

“This is a completely new kind of antisemitic incident that CST has come across, born out of the sudden reliance on these platforms for social participation.

“It required CST to produce special online security advice for video conferencing that was shared across the Jewish community.”

A total of 789 antisemitic incidents were recorded across Britain in the first six months of 2020, a 13 per cent fall on the same period last year.

There were 673 incidents of abusive behaviour, 47 violent assaults, 36 direct threats, 28 incidents of damage and desecration of Jewish property and five cases of mass-mailed antisemitic literature.

The number of reported online incidents increased by 4 per cent from 332 to 344.

The CST recorded rises in incidents linked to the Labour Party in April – during the leadership election – and when Sir Keir Starmer met Jewish representatives in June.

It said some appeared to be a response to “positive steps taken by the new Labour leadership to eradicate antisemitism in the party and the publication of reports about antisemitism”.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said Labour’s new leader had “committed to tearing out the poison of antisemitism by its roots from the Labour Party”.

He added: “We must do all we can to eradicate it wherever it manifests itself.

“The UK has a proud history of being a country of respect for other people and we must continue to uphold that important value.”

Most incidents recorded by the CST took place in London and Manchester, but Northumbria Police recorded the highest number of antisemitic incidents, followed by West Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, said: “Antisemitic hatred and abuse are completely abhorrent.

“In April, the Home Office announced funding of up to £14m through the Jewish Protective Security Grant to help keep members of the Jewish community safe as they go about their daily lives.”

Deputy chief constable Mark Hamilton, the national policing lead for hate crime, said racists had used the fear caused by coronavirus to “promote their divisive ideologies”.

“As ever, this includes antisemitic conspiracy theories that are unfounded, but are nonetheless widespread on the internet,” he added.

The government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord Mann, said: “Despite a good policing response, internet companies are failing to play their role in tackling this hatred and we need to see a robust consistency from all our political parties.”