Protestors converged on Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States and his address to the joint session of Congress. As Netanyahu spoke, protestors clashed with police near the capitol building before reaching and demonstrating outside of Union Station, the capitol’s main train station. Videos of protestors violently clashing with police, pulling down flags from the flag poles, and desecrating and burning the American flag spread widely on social media inciting visceral reactions and widespread condemnations of the protestors by social media users. 

 

A number of historical monuments and statues in the area were vandalized and graffitied with anti-Israel and pro-Hamas messages. The slogan “Hamas is coming,” referring to the terrorist organization responsible for the October 7 attack on southern Israel, was scrawled in red on the Columbus Memorial Fountain. The replica of the Freedom Bell in Washington D.C., was also damaged with “all Zionists are bastards,” “f*ck Israel,” and “f*ck America” graffiti. Additionally, photos of protesters carrying signs calling for the destruction of Israel and comparing Israelis to the Nazis were widely condemned on social media. Holocaust distortion and trivialism was also common at the protest as one demonstrator was photographed holding a sign which read “Allah is gathering all the Zionists for the final solution” and another picture captured a bus stop with graffiti reading “in 2024 Hitler now don’t seem so crazy, truth is everything.” 

The protests were widely criticized and condemned by both Republican and Democratic politicians and individuals on social media. Many social reactions were directed to protestors burning American flags, suggesting that the protestors' hate was not directed just against Israel and Jews, but also against America, and the west at large.

Neo-Nazi group the Goyim Defense League (GDL) has staged numerous antisemitic demonstrations in Nashville, TN. The group harassed residents in an effort to spread fear and hatred among the community during a designated week-long antisemitic “tour.” Videos of the group members carrying swastika flags, shouting racial slurs at Black children, and spreading anti-Jewish propaganda sparked outrage within the community. Additionally, the GDL dropped antisemitic flyers in driveways in a number of towns including in Gallatin, TN, and the neighborhood of Green Hills in Nashville, TN. 

These incidents are part of a larger trend of growing neo-Nazi activity around the nation. Flyers associated with the Ku Klux Klan were also distributed around Greater Cincinnati and Covington, KY. In Howell, MI, white supremacists marched through the streets, chanting “Heil Hitler” and holding up signs with phrases such as “White Lives Matter” and “End the War on White Children” written on them. The demonstration also included chants that glorified the Holocaust. In addition to being condemned by local leaders and civil rights groups, the event has been discussed extensively on social media with many individuals sharing their horrified reactions to the demonstration.

 

In response to the presence of neo-Nazis in their city, the community of Nashville came together to send a message that hate is not welcomed in Nashville. Around 400 attendees gathered at a pro-peace rally organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville holding homemade signs and cheering as speakers and musicians encouraged peace and unity in their community. The president of the Jewish Federation opened the event by saying, “in the face of this darkness, it is time for all of us, Jews and non-Jews, to stand together and say ‘enough.’”

Attendees at the event represented a wide range of faiths. Judy Saks, part of the progressive group Nashville Jewish Social Justice Roundtable, said,  “what was so heartening to me was the number of non-Jewish Nashvillians who came to support our community.” A number of members of the neo-Nazi group the Goyim Defense League attempted to disrupt the event but the community held strong. 

Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and the social media platform X, faced criticism and backlash for comments he made on his platform Sunday regarding the presidential election campaigns. Following Joe Biden’s decision to step down and his endorsement of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate, a number of influential individuals posted their support for Harris, including Alex Soros, son of philanthropist George Soros. Elon Musk chimed in by thanking Alex Soros for “not keeping everyone in suspense about who the next puppet would be.” 

 

Some individuals on social media felt the language Musk used alluded to anti-Jewish tropes. The trope that Jewish people are secret puppet masters manipulating and controlling governments and world events is an ancient belief that was also common in Nazi propaganda posters. George Soros, who is often used as a trope for Jewish power, control, and wealth among antisemites and conspiracy theorists, is also often depicted as a puppet master. The combination of language invoking Soros and puppet master tropes in the same sentence stood out to users on social media, who accused Musk of using antisemitic language in his tweet. Musk’s tweet also seemed to stimulate other X users to post similar messages, spreading more anti-Jewish tropes on the platform. 

 

 

 

 

FCAS is a nonpartisan, registered 501c3 non-profit organization. We do not support any political party or candidate. We never endorse candidates for office. We do call on everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to support the fight against Jewish hate and all hate.

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