As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread, there are many who fear that this development will lead to rising antisemitism across the globe, as people will vent their understandable frustrations and sense of helplessness on the usual suspects, the Jews. While many have spoken about the rapid rise in antisemitism in America and Europe since the pandemic began, there is another country that has been dealing with a rapid rise in antisemitism, which is off most people's radar screen and that country is Armenia.
In recent days, an Armenian critic of my writing sent me a message over LinkedIn, attacking me as a "Zionist scum." According to this individual, "Israel does not value human life and fosters an environment of Jewish superiority. The fall of Israel cannot happen soon enough. Israel is the biggest exporter of terrorism in the world. Shame on you and the Zionist scum you represent."
This online antisemitic attack comes after I published an article stating: "the Israeli-Azerbaijan strategic partnership came under attack when the Massachusetts-based Armenian Weekly published an article denouncing Israel for selling weapons to Azerbaijan, claiming it would be equivalent to Armenia selling weapons to Hamas or Hezbollah. The article accused Israel falsely of 'being an accomplice to war crimes,' demonizing both Israel and Azerbaijan."
This makes one ponder, does Armenia have an antisemitism problem? Azerbaijani Rabbi Zamir Isayev thinks so. He claims that one year after the conclusion of the Second Karabakh War, antisemitism has only gotten worse in Armenia and not better: "It is normal that it will rise because of Israel's support for Azerbaijan. This made them hate Israel and Jews more and more." He condemned the antisemitism that I experienced: "I think it is bad to put journalists under pressure. It shows that they are powerless. They don't have proof or any tactics except to call journalists Zionist scum."
The Anti-Defamation League also painted a worrying picture about antisemitism in Armenia. According to the Anti-Defamation League's antisemitism Survey, 68% of Armenians think that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their countries of origin; 72% of Armenians believe that Jews have too much power in the business world; 60% of Armenians believe that Jews don't care about anyone but their own kind; and 53% of Armenians believe that Jews think they are better than other people.
The US State Department's International Report on Religious Freedom concurred with the ADL Study: "Religious minorities said they continued to face hate speech and negative portrayals of their communities." While they noted that members of the Bahai faith and other minorities were persecuted in Armenia as well, they were especially concerned about the growing antisemitism in the country: "According to observers, antisemitism increased in the country after Israeli-supplied weapons were used by Azerbaijan during the conflict."
"According to observers, antisemitic slurs were again posted on social media platforms, in some cases together with cartoons depicting Jews in an offensive manner," the US State Department noted. "The use of offensive slurs was particularly prevalent in posts on Facebook by anonymous anti-government individuals targeting the Jewish leader of an international foundation."
According to them, "During the intensive fall fighting, the number of antisemitic posts increased, according to members of the Jewish community and other observers. Members of the Jewish community also reported antisemitic comments directed at them on public transport. The Hebrew and Armenian sides of Yerevan's Holocaust and Genocide Memorial were defaced on two occasions, first on October 14 with paint, and again on October 22, when a fire was lit with wood around the bronze monument, resulting in discoloration and damage. Members of the Jewish community repaired the damage."
Whether Armenia is as antisemitic if not more so than some areas in Europe or America remains an open question. However, one thing is certain and that is the prospects for a lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia remain slim, so long as certain Armenians remain preoccupied with scapegoating Israel for their losses in the Second Karabakh War instead of focusing on ways that they can learn to live beside Azerbaijanis in peace and tranquility.
Rachel Avraham is the editor of the Economic Peace Center in Netanya. She is also the author of "Women and Jihad: Debating Palestinian Female Suicide Bombings in the American, Israeli and Arab Media."
