An errand as simple as grocery shopping can turn into an anti-Semitic incident, as demonstrated by an incident at a Jewish grocery store in the United States.
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TikTok user Abdullah Mulla captured a video in which he approached Jewish shoppers and asked them to read the words on his phone, "Free Palestine," while being filmed. Mulla posted it on his channel on March 5, which has since gone viral.
Video: TikTok
The video drew global criticism, and several pro-Israeli TikTok influencers spoke out against it.
Coming up to Jews in a kosher supermarket in America, asking them to say "Free Palestine" while they are just minding their business buying food and groceries, is anti-Semitic, influencer Shai Emmanuelle Yamin said in a video.
"You meeting a Jew or an Israeli doesn't give you the right to harass them for their ethnicity, religion, or nationality," she added.
"I know for some people's pea-sized brains it might be a bit too complex, but maybe, just maybe, going into Jewish stores and harassing random Jews about the conflict is anti-Semitic," another user, Jewish-American TikTok influencer, a user called Eli said. "I want you all to take note that that video was on Instagram as well, and all the comments were supporting him."
Both Yamin and Eli are taking part in a program the Strategic Affairs Ministry set up, called Digitok, that aims to combat anti-Israel and anti-Semitic content online.
"Many teenagers consume new on social media, of which TikTok is one of the most popular ones," the ministry said in a statement.
We have seen an increase in such hate speech on the platform, and to that end, the ministry set up Digitok, which works together with pro-Israel activist and young influencers, Senior Director of Digital Strategy at the Ministry Ido Daniel explained.
TikTok cannot continue to allow such racist content to be uploaded, he said. "It must step up its efforts to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism on its platform."
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