How has the coronavirus pandemic affected anti-Semitism? The World Zionist Organization reported that in 2020, a Jew was attacked in the United States every single day. In Germany, every third day.
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Nevertheless, this is a decrease in physical violence against Jews compared to previous years because data reveals that due to the coronavirus pandemic and global lockdowns, anti-Semitism has shifted to social media.
The anti-Semitic narrative in the US and Germany targeted Jews based on religion, whereas in France, it targeted Israel. No Jew has been killed because of anti-Semitism in 2020, but concerns are that this might change in the near future as tensions mount due to global pressure from the pandemic and the supportive atmosphere that aggravates anti-Semitism.
There has also been an increase in the vandalism of Jewish heritage sites, including break-ins, breaking Jewish religious items and destroying, tombstones.
Thousands of anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying messages were tweeted in 2020. On the other hand, Youtube officially banned Holocaust denial content and saw a decrease in the anti-Semitic content on its platform. In October 2020, Facebook announced that it would ban and remove any content that distorts events connected to the Holocaust.
There's been an increase of anti-Semitic accidents in Argentina on pro-Palestinian grounds and claims that Israel is responsible for the global pandemic. Jew-hatred has increased in Germany due to the virus as well.
The country with the highest level of anti-Semitism in Europe is Austria, which recorded 300 incidents in the first half of 2020 alone. In the United States, Black Lives Matter rioters used anti-Semitic chants; countless synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses were looted and graffitied.
"The report clearly shows that there is a trend to physically harm Jews around the world, to the point of murdering them as soon as global lockdowns are over," Chairman of the WZO, Yaakov Hagel said.
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