Thursday marked five months since the Hamas terrorist attack, where Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 240 people into Gaza. Many people took to social media to remember the Israeli victims and bring awareness to the remaining 134 hostages still trapped in Gaza. 

 

Many social media users also posted on Monday about the remaining female hostages in honor of Women’s History Month and urged activists to post about these hostages on International Women’s Day, which is March 8. Users shared photos of the 19 remaining women and girls held captive by Hamas and called on each other to advocate for their release. They also memorialized the hundreds of Israeli women who were murdered by Hamas during the October 7 massacre.

Others brought attention to the testimonies of sexual violence that over 1,500 Israeli women shared about October 7. Several of these posts promoted #BelieveIsraeliWomen and called out the double standard where the international community is turning a blind eye to Israeli women who experienced sexual violence. UN experts released a report on Monday confirming that Israeli women were raped during the massacre.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement gained significant traction this past week due to a viral propaganda video produced by activist Mohamed Alnaas encouraging others to boycott products associated with Israel. The BDS coalition singles out consumer products and organizations associated with Israel, where anti-Israel activists call on each other to boycott buying these products and put pressure on organizations to divest from any relationship with Israel. The viral video on X has over 12 million views at the time of writing and alleges that buying products on the BDS boycott list would directly lead to the death of a Palestinian child. Anti-Israel users shared the video, encouraging each other to keep boycotting products associated with Israel. Several of these users promoted BDS mobile apps in the comments, encouraging others to “starve the Zionists” from business.

Several U.S. universities recently passed BDS resolutions through their student governments, including Tufts, UC Riverside, and Columbia. The vote at Tufts resulted in virulent antisemitism, with members of the Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts spitting on Jewish students and telling them they smelled bad. Other BDS resolutions remain contentious at countless universities, with a State University of New York (SUNY) BDS organization receiving a cease-and-desist from the university system because the group is not recognized by the universities.

Anti-Israel users online are comparing hunger conditions in Gaza to the Holocaust, where Nazis starved Jews in concentration camps. The conversation is going viral in the wake of a recent incident where dozens of Palestinians died during a stampede to gain access to an Israeli aid truck carrying food. Holocaust comparisons are often employed to tokenize one of the worst moments in human history for political gain. The conversation at hand weaponizes photos of Holocaust victims to gain sympathy for the anti-Israel cause and turn public opinion against Israel. 

South Africa is using this viral moment to put further pressure on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), petitioning the court for a stop to the war to address hunger in Gaza. Many users online are dismissing South Africa’s blood libel claims against Israel.

 

Jewish staff members at Origins High School in Brooklyn were targeted with antisemitism from their students, stating to the media on Monday that they “live in fear going to work every day.” Antisemitic students called history teacher Danielle Kaminsky a ‘dirty Jew,’ drew swastikas as well as anti-Israel rhetoric in her classroom, and threatened to kill her family. The day after coming forward, the same staff members received a threatening email calling for the death of all Jews in graphic detail. Community members held an anti-hate rally to protest the antisemitism running rampant in Brooklyn’s public schools on Wednesday. 

Berkeley Unified Public Schools faced similar antisemitism where students in the hallways called for the elimination of Israel and for Jews to die, drew swastikas, and taunted Jewish students. The Brandeis Center filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against the school district for its rampant antisemitism. Users online expressed outrage that these public schools refuse to take action to protect Jewish students and staff.

 

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson’s past antisemitic comments are gaining traction online after winning the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday. Critics of Robinson are circulating his old comments, such as quoting Hitler on Facebook, calling the COVID-19 pandemic a “globalist” conspiracy, and accusing the film Black Panther as a creation of an “agnostic Jew” for a money grab. Users online are calling Robinson out for his antisemitic comments and are shocked that he is one step closer to becoming a governor. The Lieutenant Governor’s Communications Director later accused the media of smearing Robinson and lying about his comments. 

 

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) also faced backlash this week for replying in agreement to an antisemitic post on X about a Jewish journalist. The tweet shares an article that complains about a journalist's stance on crime policy with the caption “yes she is,” hinting that the journalist is Jewish without explicitly saying so. Collin’s response drew swift condemnations from social media users, who were disappointed that an elected official would publicly agree with antisemitic rhetoric. Collins responded to the backlash by dismissing the claims.

 

 

A former Methodist pastor, Mark Nakagawa, was caught drawing a swastika on the groceries of his Jewish neighbor in West Hollywood in December, gaining significant backlash on social media on Monday after news outlets picked up the story. Videos of the Jewish mother, Leah Grossman, confronting Nakagawa are circulating online. Grossman provided additional context to the media, stating that her neighbor called her a fascist at a previous homeowners’ association meeting because she hung up an Israeli flag on her balcony. Social media users condemned Nakagawa’s actions and were disappointed that he would do such a thing as a community leader. 

 

 

FCAS is releasing a new story commercial, “Neighbors,” which will make its official TV debut this Sunday during the 96th Academy Awards. The commercial is inspired by a real-life story showing how a community supported each other after an antisemitic incident. 

 

You can view the commercial now on FCAS’ YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn. This is our fourth story commercial combining empathy and data to inspire all Americans to Stand Up to Jewish Hate and All Hate. Check out all of our story commercials “Son”, “Isaiah”, and “Tony” on our website. Be sure to tune in to the Oscars this Sunday and spread the message to #StandUpToJewishHate and #StandUpToAllHate.

 

 

 

 

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