Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas unleashed a firestorm of controversy after accusing Israel of committing “50 holocausts” against Palestinians over the years during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
Abbas’ remarks were a rather lame attempt to avoid a reporter’s question about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Munich massacre. Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer died after members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September took hostages at the Olympic Village on September 5, 1972. At the time of the attack, the group was linked to Abbas’ Fatah party.
Related Reading: The Munich Massacre and The 1972 Slaughter of Israeli Athletes on German Soil
The PA chief’s comments were but the latest example of antisemitism – in this case, a contemporary form of it known as Holocaust distortion – bleeding into the sports world.
There’s a strong connection between the proliferation of hate speech online and the rise in antisemitism in sports. Social media, in particular, is proving to be a game-changer.
And traditional media is also affected, being directly impacted by the content being created and shared on social media platforms.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
Sports is the great unifier, creating opportunities for people from a wide variety of backgrounds to bond. However, though it’s relatively underreported, antisemitism in the wide world of sports is rampant.
In a new study on antisemitism in entertainment and sports, as well as on digital-media platforms, Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) calls the extent of Judeophobia “glaring.”
The report, Fomenting Hate: How the Entertainment and Sports Industries Can Address the Growing Threat of Antisemitism, documents hundreds of examples of incidents over the past year-and-a-half involving film and television studios, celebrities, influencers, sports figures and social-media platforms.
CCFP cites one notorious incident when NFL player DeSean Jackson posted a quote in 2020 on his Instagram account that he falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler. The quote claimed Jews “blackmail” and “extort” America.
What Happens on Socials Becomes the News
Meanwhile, social media has become an important tool for journalists looking for fresh content and ways to more widely distribute stories.
The plus side of adding a social component to the news is that it has undoubtedly engaged more young people in current events. There are, however, some serious challenges presented by social media including the rapid, unchecked spread of false information. The DeSean Jackson post is but one case in point.
Another problem presented by social media is the whitewashing of stories that don’t fit into a certain, clickbaity, narrative.
Specifically, with regards to the topic of antisemitism in sports, several recent headlines in major news outlets seemingly erase the Jewish or Israeli connection to the 1972 massacre that occurred in the Olympic Village in Munich:
Even though these and other pieces do eventually get around to mentioning the fact that the Munich massacre was perpetrated by a Palestinian terrorist organization against Jewish Israelis, some 8 out of 10 people read an article’s headline and get no further.
Headlines are also the part of a news item that tends to be shared most on social media.
FIFA Reimagines Israel as ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’
Another whitewashing of sorts was perpetuated by the media last week when Israeli soccer fans found out that their country is not on the list of Middle East countries in a section of the FIFA – the international governing body of association football – website that provided information about hospitality packages for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Israel is not listed in the section for Europe, either.
The list, however, includes “Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” is an example of antisemitism.
The FIFA story was reported almost exclusively by local Israeli media outlets.
This lack of international coverage is problematic. A recent HonestReporting study revealed that there is a possible correlation between adequate news coverage and increased safety for vulnerable populations. HonestReporting’s findings applied specifically to Jewish people in the United States who are being targeted, among other reasons, because of their perceived connection to Israel.
Media’s Disregard For Discrimination at Olympics
When not downplaying the antisemitic nature of the Munich massacre, some news organizations have resorted to outright mockery. Back in 2016, in reference to the Egyptian judoka who refused to shake the hand of the Israeli Bronze winner Or Sasson, The Economist exploited the 1972 mass murder, saying that “Mr El Shahaby’s snub seems mere tokenism compared to the bullets that killed 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972,” but “nonetheless” Israel criticized his bad sportsmanship.
Related Reading: Olympic Bigotry Is All Israel’s Fault
It’s difficult to imagine The Economist reporting this way about anyone else who had been discriminated against during the world’s premier sporting event because of their race, religion or nationality.
Politics hogs the Olympic spotlight in the Middle East https://t.co/S2UsoWA3mi pic.twitter.com/BuuqJlFTtW
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) August 15, 2016
What Happens Online Doesn’t Stay There: Time to Define Antisemitism
Sports have the unique power to foster hope. This week, Israel took gold in the men’s team marathon event at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, an extraordinary success coming 50 years after the massacre of Israeli athletes in the same city.
But the camaraderie and fair play typified by sports are under attack. And while star athletes have spoken out against prejudice, the lack of massive indignation in response to recent online incidents is alarming.
Related Reading: Hatred on the Field, Antisemitism in Sports
Because the danger of not acknowledging the growth of online antisemitism is that it often doesn’t stay online. That’s why it’s crucial to develop a clear definition of what constitutes anti-Jewish hatred and intolerance.
To fill this void, the IHRA has been adopted or endorsed by 865 entities worldwide, including 37 countries, and the US Departments of Education and State.
Guided by the IHRA, journalists would make better-informed decisions in choosing how to cover stories. This is all the more important given that antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories continue to be spread online.
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