New testimonies and details about the atrocities committed during the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel continue to come out. The Times, a British newspaper, published a detailed report this week with testimonies from survivors of the October 7th massacre that included instances of rape and genital mutilation of Israeli men and women by terrorists, with many online describing it as fanatic sadism motivated by drugs and ideology for the sake of degradation. 

 

Several headlines in these conversations criticized the international community’s silence and failure to condemn the acts of sexual violence committed by Hamas. This led to a new hashtag, #MeTooUnlessYou’reAJew. The United Nations Women's group released a statement this weekend condemning the Hamas attack on Israel, but many described it as too late, as it came nearly two months after the event. In lieu of the United Nations’ silence, Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN held a special session Monday to raise awareness of the sexual violence committed against Israeli women on October 7.

These online conversations were further enhanced by comments made by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) on CNN’s State of the Union calling for balanced criticism of the Israel-Hamas war when asked asked about the international silence over the rape of Israeli women on October 7. 

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on antisemitism on college campuses Tuesday. The presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT shared how their campuses are protecting Jewish students after the October 7 attack on Israel, but representatives questioned them about their inaction and increased antisemitism on campus. Videos of the presidents defending free speech when asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) about whether calling for genocide of Jews was permissible went viral. Each president stated that although that kind of speech is deeply offensive, it is allowed on campus until it crosses into conduct or targets an individual.

 

Those responses were condemned by the White House, government officials, and business leaders. Since the hearing, President Claudine Gay of Harvard and President Elizabeth Magill of Penn clarified their remarks.

The clarifications did not ease the widespread outrage online over the inaction of university presidents to protect their Jewish students from virulent antisemitism on campus. Several users, including government officials, called for the university presidents to resign and criticized Gay and Magill’s apologies.

 

Fighting between Israel and Hamas resumed this week after Hamas fired rockets at Israel shortly before the official end of the temporary ceasefire. Conversations around the fighting and Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip resumed as well, with many continuing to accuse Israel of committing war crimes, including genocide and the targeting of the Palestinian civilians.

 

Many users continued to express concerns over the ramifications of the ground operation and called for additional humanitarian aid to Gaza and another ceasefire. Mentions calling for a ceasefire through the phrases “ceasefire now” or “#CeasefireNow” increased by 302% on social media this week, according to FCAS’ Command Center. Many of these calls were accompanied by anti-Israel rhetoric calling for the end of the “occupation” or “apartheid” and calls to “free Palestine.”

 

The Israeli hostages still being held captive in Gaza were not forgotten this week, with calls on social media to release the hostages intensifying, both because of the war resuming and due to new details about the treatment of hostages being shared by those who were released last week.

 

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was criticized Tuesday after posting an antisemitic meme on X accusing Congress of supporting Israel more than America, which is reminiscent of antisemitic tropes of Jewish control of Congress. Massie received bipartisan backlash for his post, with Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) denouncing him.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also came under fire for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories during Wednesday night’s Republican presidential primary debate. Ramaswamy peddled the Great Replacement Theory as a tenet of the Democratic Party, a 9/11 conspiracy theory that claims America fabricated Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the attack, and that the “deep state” is the main enemy of the United States. Many online conversations expressed their outrage, while prominent white supremacists praised Ramaswamy for his remarks.

 

Hanukkah began at sundown Thursday, and many took to social media to celebrate. 

Several Hanukkah celebrations across the globe were canceled due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In Williamsburg, Va., a menorah lighting at a festival was canceled because its organizers believed it would imply support of the war and “seemed very inappropriate.” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin accused the organizers of antisemitism on his X channel. Other cancellations occurred in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and Houston, as well as in the U.K. and Canada. Social media users expressed their criticism over these decisions, and emphasized the importance of the holiday during a volatile political climate.

 

A large group of Jews from the Satmar Hasidic dynasty gathered in Brooklyn, New York, Monday to celebrate the 79th anniversary of the rescue of the movement’s founder, Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, from the Nazis during World War II. Due to the movement’s religious anti-Zionist beliefs, many antisemites and supporters of the pro-Palestine movement claimed the gathering was to oppose Zionism and the State of Israel. This narrative was later officially debunked by the Satmar movement, including on their X account. The individuals who spread this false narrative attempted to tokenize Jewish voices to convince others to oppose the State of Israel.

The group’s current leader, Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, publicly denounced political anti-Zionists several weeks ago and specifically cited the Neturei Karta group for being involved in antisemitic protests alongside “enemies of Israel.” Teitelbaum said “It’s a terrible desecration of God’s name to support murders in the name of the holy Torah and God’s name.”

 

 

 

 

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