Fighting Anti-Semitism in the Media

As a long-time member of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism’s Working Group dealing with Anti-Semitism on the Internet and in the Media, HonestReporting Managing Editor Simon Plosker will be presenting at the 5th Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism that opens Tuesday evening in Jerusalem.

Prominent examples of recent anti-Semitism in the media that HR has dealt with include:

• An anti-Semitic cartoon implying Jewish control over the U.S. government in The Economist.
• Israel depicted as a demon by a German newspaper.
• The Independent’s headline referring to a “Jewish lobby” and a description of this lobby being “multi-tentacled.”
• The BBC’s Tim Willcox stating that “Palestinians suffer at Jewish hands” while covering the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a Jewish supermarket in Paris.

The GFCA is the premier biennial gathering for assessing the state of anti-Semitism globally, and formulating effective forms of societal and governmental response. The GFCA is an active coalition of public figures, political leaders, heads of civil society, clergy, journalists, diplomats, educators and concerned citizens dedicated to the advance of tolerance towards the other in public life and defeat of anti-Semitism and other forms of racial and ethnic hatred.

You can see more about the GFCA in the Jerusalem Post.

Unfortunately, many of the same issues are on the table as they were at the last GFCA in 2013 and before. It’s worth revisiting, therefore, an article penned by Simon Plosker for The Times of Israel in 2013 on the issue of anti-Semitism in the media:

HonestReporting‘s primary brief is to deal with anti-Israel media bias. Clearly not all criticism of Israel is illegitimate even if we sometimes may not like what our critics have to say.

 

As the criticism has moved into areas of delegitimization and demonization, so the boundaries of acceptable discourse have also shifted and, with it, we have increasingly witnessed the appearance of anti-Semitism in the mainstream media. …

 

Anti-Semitism is a serious charge and throwing that accusation against a media outlet or an individual journalist or cartoonist should not be taken lightly.

 

And herein lies the problem. In the past, the anti-Semitism of a hate sheet such as the Nazi Der Sturmer was clear-cut. In the present, the disgusting incitement and Jew hatred so common in so much of the Arab media is also blatant (yet still brushed under the carpet by Western politicians and media).

 

It goes without saying that no Western mainstream media outlet is going to openly declare itself to be proudly anti-Semitic and any newspaper or individual judged to hold such beliefs would find themselves out in the cold.

 

I would argue, however, that many media outlets are either unwilling or incapable of recognizing anti-Semitic tropes, particularly when it comes to the treatment of Israel.

You can read the full article here.

This year’s Global Forum is taking place in the background of a wave of anti-Semitism and attacks on Jews in Europe and elsewhere. Hatred of Israel has fueled this situation aided and abetted by biased and inaccurate media coverage, particularly of the 2014 Gaza conflict.

In 2013, HonestReporting launched a campaign calling on the mainstream media to adopt and endorse recognized definitions of anti-Semitism. This is something we will be advocating for at the Global Forum this week.

[sc:graybox ]To read more about the Global Forum visit gfca2015.com.
To watch LIVE broadcasts of its deliberations visit tinyurl.com/GFCA2015LIVE.
Featured image: Background CC BY elisa via flickr with modifications by HonestReporting