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For the first time, Facebook and Instagram will explicitly ban conspiracy theories about Jewish people “controlling the world,” as part of an update to its content policies. The new measure will apply to “certain kinds of implicit hate speech,” including content depicting blackface.
Among the organizations that joined the call to action were HonestReporting, StopAntisemitism.org, and the Zachor Legal Institute.
Facebook has been harshly criticized for its hate speech policy after cases of Holocaust denial and antisemitism were allowed to remain on the site. But the social media giant is now taking steps to more closely conform with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which includes making dehumanizing or stereotypical allegations about Jews, such as the myth of a world Jewish conspiracy or Jews controlling the media.
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The first three patients treated with a new COVID-19 “passive vaccine,” developed by Hadassah Medical Center and the Israeli biopharmaceutical firm Kamada, demonstrated rapid, clinical benefits. These patients have already been released from the hospital to their homes, Hadassah reported on Thursday. Passive immunization is when a patient is given antibodies formed by another patient who got the disease and developed them.
Hadassah Medical Center has also been busy helping test a vaccine for the coronavirus that Russia says it has developed. Hadassah Medical Center’s Director General Prof. Zeev Rotstein said: “We are playing a part in conducting safety and efficacy studies,” adding that Israel is recruiting hospitals to collaborate in the clinical trials, and Hadassah’s branch in Moscow has volunteered.
On Tuesday, Russia announced it would approve a COVID-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing. The message prompted alarm among global health experts, who said that without full trial data, the vaccine is unreliable.
In other COVID-19 news, several European countries have agreed to take in Israeli travelers without forcing them to self-quarantine. An official announcement about where Israelis may travel to without having to quarantine upon return will be made on Thursday, according to the Health Ministry.
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Israel successfully tested its Arrow-2 ballistic missile interceptor on Wednesday, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said. During the test, the Arrow intercepted an Israeli Sparrow-class medium-range target missile. The Arrow-2 and a newer generation system, the Arrow-3, serve as the top tier of an integrated Israeli defensive shield developed with US backing to withstand various potential missile salvos.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who was appraised of the successful test, said: “The joint test with the US is an expression of the friendship and partnership between the countries and United States’ deep commitment to the security of the citizens of Israel. We will continue working together to enhance our defense capabilities – in the air, sea, on land, and the cybernetic sphere.”
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The Defense Ministry released a statement stating that the country has thwarted an attempted cyberattack by a North Korea-linked hacking group on its classified defense industry. The Defense Ministry said the attack was deflected “in real time” and that there was no “harm or disruption” to its computer systems.
However, security researchers at ClearSky, the international cybersecurity firm that first exposed the attack, said the North Korean hackers penetrated the computer systems and were likely to have stolen a large amount of classified data. Israeli officials fear the data could be shared with North Korea’s ally, Iran.
Israel has been fighting an escalating cyberconflict with the Islamic Republic for several months. Israel said it foiled an Iranian cyberattack on its water infrastructure in April that officials said was aimed at raising chlorine to dangerous levels as Israelis were quarantined at home with COVID-19.
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Antisemitism Watch: The Jewish mayor of Asheville, North Carolina, said it is “very concerning” that the Republican congressional candidate in her district visited Adolf Hitler’s vacation home and referred to him as “the Fuhrer.”
The candidate, Madison Cawthorn, is running to represent western North Carolina in Congress. In a 2017 Instagram post from the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s vacation home that was one of the last battlegrounds of World War II, Cawthorn referred to Hitler as “the Fuhrer” and said the spot was on his “bucket list,” in addition to calling Hitler a “supreme evil.”
Meanwhile, Jewish and pro-Israel groups have slammed this week’s victory of Marjorie Taylor Greene, a businesswoman who has made antisemitic and other racist remarks, in the Republican run-off in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
“Ms. Greene has a history of propagating antisemitic disinformation,” Allison Padilla-Goodman, Southern division vice president of the Anti-Defamation League, said. “ADL previously called on Ms. Greene to disavow her relationship with a prominent white supremacist leader and retract past antisemitic statements.”
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Phishing attacks, in which a message is sent to people to try to get them to open a link and hand over details or information to a fake website or application, have surged in Israel during the second quarter of 2020. There’s been a 60% increase over the first-quarter and three times the number of phishing attacks have been registered compared to the same time period last year.
Experts maintain that the COVID-19 pandemic is largely to blame for the increase in Israel, which goes counter to global trends that actually saw a 10% decrease in attempts from the first quarter of the year. The reason for the discrepancy is likely related to the fact that most countries saw a gradual return to normal, pre-outbreak patterns, during the course of the last three months. Meanwhile, Israel is in the midst of a second wave and has been categorized as a ‘red zone country.’
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