With a combined audience of tens of millions, Winfrey shared, "I just spent the last 2 weeks in Australia, walking Bondi just days ago feeling the openness and ease that lives there. It's hard to reconcile that sense of peace with the terror of last night. My heart breaks for the victims, their families and loved ones, and all you Aussies," according to IAC.

Elan S. Carr, serving as CEO of the IAC following his tenure as US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, commented on the omission. "Oprah's neglect to name the actual targets and victims of the attack – Jews celebrating Hanukkah – conceals both the true nature of this horrific event and the appalling surge in antisemitism that gave rise to it," he said, per IAC. The CEO continued, "For a public figure to express sorrow over the attack without saying that it was an antisemitic mass murder of Jews during their celebration of a holiday is precisely the sort of misguided obfuscation that allows antisemitism to flourish."

The organization indicated that Carr extended an offer to meet with the media mogul to address Jewish community anxieties and the broader issue of hatred.

"I invite Oprah to meet with us and discuss the ongoing epidemic of antisemitism since Oct. 7, our response, and how she can use her enormous influence to make a difference in this fight," Carr stated in the release. The statement concluded with his assertion that "All decent people must take a principled and forceful stand not only against all forms of hate, but against Jew-hatred specifically."

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The Jewish world in the age of coronavirus – A special Israel Hayom project

Part IX: How to cope with rising antisemitism during the pandemic

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some in the Jewish community worry that Jews will once again become a scapegoat for the problems facing society.

With a slew of reports showing a worrying rise in antisemitism in the US, as well as the unprecedented antisemitic attack in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead and other similar attacks recently, the Trump administration has resolved to take a pro-active stance.

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"We have seen a dramatic rise in antisemitic hatred, mostly on the Internet, that accuses Jews of having invented this coronavirus, of intentionally spreading it, of profiting from it, and of using it as a tool of global domination," the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr told Israel Hayom.

"The only thing new here is the virus itself. Blaming Jews for the maladies of the world is a hallmark of antisemitism dating back to its earliest days.  During the Black Plague of Medieval Europe, Jews were often blamed for intentionally infecting drinking water – a calumny that resulted in numerous massacres of the innocent," he stressed.

According to Carr, "the solution is for all nations and all governments to stand united in unequivocal condemnation of this despicable hate speech. And the moment such hate speech crosses the line into conduct amounting to incitement to violence, harassment, or discrimination, governments should act swiftly and appropriately in addressing it."

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Carr shared with Israel some of the concrete steps the administration planned to take in this regard. "The plan concentrates on three points, maintaining the physical security of the Jewish community; adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance as a tool and enforcement tool for dealing with classical and modern antisemitism; dealing with antisemitism in the online space; and establishing curricula for a deep understanding of Jewish tradition, culture, and history."

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The panel will include five of the more prominent global figures currently fighting anti-Semitism: Katharina von Schnurbein of the European Union; Elan Carr from the United States; Felix Klein of Germany; Lord Erik Pickles of Great Britain; and Frédéric Potier from France.

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All five were appointed by their respective governments to spearhead activities to counter the scourge of anti-Semitism in their countries, and it will be the first time they will all sit together on the same stage. The conference will take place on Nov. 4, around one week before the 81^st anniversary of Kristallnacht is commemorated across the globe.

President Reuven Rivlin, who will host and speak the conference, is expected to address the absence of a United Nations representative. A recent UN report on anti-Semitism was welcomed by Israel and international Jewish organizations. The report's author, however, wasn't appointed by the UN to deal with anti-Semitism on a permanent basis.

Rivlin intends to call on the UN to devote a permanent representative to focus on the phenomenon, monitor Jew-hatred across the world, and propose ways to counter it in the countries where it exists.

The president will convene a closed-door meeting with the five foreign panelists, to be followed by the public forum.

The purpose of the conference is to prepare the groundwork for a large international summit slated to convene in Israel on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, which will be attended by dozens of world leaders. Additionally, the conference will seek to discuss the challenges countries are currently facing and propose different methods and tools to bolster the fight against anti-Semitism and improve coordination between the various governments.

In light of the drastic rise in anti-Semitic attacks worldwide, Rivlin has also decided to significantly expand the scope of his attention to the matter.

The five foreign dignitaries who will participate in the conference wield considerable influence in their home countries. The conference will also be attended by some 100 guests, including representatives from the Foreign Ministry, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry and graduates of the Gesher Leadership Institute.

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Gilad Erdan, the Israeli minister of strategic affairs, told a news conference in Brussels that the EU should stop funding the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. He spoke alongside the US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism Elan Carr.

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According to numbers compiled by Tel Aviv University, anti-Semitic attacks worldwide rose 13% in 2018 from the previous year. The highest number of attacks were in the US, France, Britain, and Germany.

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