Campaign Against Antisemitism

On this day in 2015, a tragic terrorist attack unfolded at the Hypercacher kosher supermarket in Paris, France. Armed with a submachine gun, an assault rifle and two pistols, Amedy Coulibaly, a jihadist affiliated with the Islamic State, stormed the supermarket in the Porte de Vincennes neighbourhood, taking several hostages and killing four Jewish people in an antisemitic attack. The siege came a few days after the Charlie Hebdo attack, with Coulibaly acting in coordination with the perpetrators of that attack, the Kouachi brothers. As police surrounded the supermarket, Coulibaly demanded that the Kouachi brothers be allowed to go free. Hours later, French special forces stormed the building, killing Coulibaly and rescuing the remaining hostages. This event, along with the Charlie Hebdo attack, sent shockwaves through France and the world, highlighting issues of antisemitism and Islamist terrorism. It also led to massive solidarity marches under the banner of “Je Suis Charlie”, uniting millions in defiance of extremism.

Posters appearing to feature an image of Yahya Sinwar and a gun have been seen in several locations across Glasgow’s Southside this week. These include Victoria Road and Dixon Avenue. Sinwar was a former leader of the antisemitic, genocidal terrorist group Hamas and is believed to have been one of the primary organisers behind the group’s barbaric 7th October attack on Israel in which some 1,200 people were murdered and over 250 were taken hostage. Hamas still holds over 100 people hostage. These noxious posters have no place in Glasgow. Glasgow City Council, are you aware of these?

Seriously, National Portrait Gallery? If you go to the National Portrait Gallery, you will see this portrait of Nelly Adam, also known as Queen Niche. Here is a selection of the posts you can see across her social media accounts: • A placard comparing the Holocaust to current events taking place in Israel and Gaza. According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism. • A sign that reads: “Never again seems only to be for white people.” • A retweet of a post from the disgraced professor David Miller about the “Zionist regime”. Mr Miller has previously written that “Jews are not discriminated against” before going on to write: “They are over-represented in Europe, North America and Latin America in positions of cultural, economic and political power.” • A sign saying “Jesus was a Palestinian.” This is false. Jesus was a Jew from Judea. This attempt to airbrush Jews out of the story of the birth of Jesus is historical revisionism and offensive to one of the founding stories of Christianity. • A video of the chant ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’ The genocidal chant ‘From the River to the Sea’, which is regularly heard at anti-Israel protests, refers to the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, and, whether intended or not, is widely understood to represent a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state — and its replacement with a Palestinian state. It is reasonably interpreted to be a call for the annihilation of half the world’s Jews, who live in Israel. An individual whose accounts boast this sort of social media activity should be the last person to have a portrait of them hung in the National Portrait Gallery. Shame on you, National Portrait Gallery.

According to 5Pillars, which describes itself as the largest English language Muslim news site in Europe, Australia and the Americas, Robert Carter is a ‘correspondent’. His X profile currently has a following of over 140,000. So, what gets posted on this account? • On the day of Hamas’ barbaric 7th October attacks, a post appeared on his X profile which read: “This latest round of violence proves once again that occupation cannot exist without bloodshed. As long as Israel occupies Palestine, the violence will continue.” • On the same day, another post read: “Pleased with the outcome of the Palestinian retaliatory action against Israel. Palestinian leadership in Gaza performs sujud al shukr, the prostration thanking Allah.” • Another post on that day read: “According to some online videos, Palestinian resistance fighters have captured Israeli regime soldiers during the fighting. Some may have been captured alive…” • Less than a week after the attacks, a post appeared on his X profile which read: “FACT: Occupied people have the right to resist according to international law. It is the occupier that doesn’t have any rights to employ violence of any kind. The West defends this principle in Ukraine but not in Palestinian or Muslim lands. ASK YOURSELF WHY!” • On 12th October 2023, just days after the attack, a post appeared on his X profile which read: “Palestinians don’t have to invent fake news of massacred babies for the cameras. They have plenty of evidence but Western bulletins don’t care that much to show it.” • In February, his X account appeared to share a post apparently by Dr Asif Munaf, who referred to Zionism as a “satanic cult”, and read: “Let’s rally around this hero and offer solidarity in any way we can insha’Allah.” Keep informed. Follow us @antisemitism on all platforms.

“F*** Zionism.” Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters Europe , we understand that this repugnant vandalism was discovered today at approximately 15:30 in one of the changing rooms at your Camden Town branch in North London. Can you assure us that this graffiti will be removed immediately?

It may be a new year but the same old anti-Israel signs were out in Leeds this past weekend. The inverted red triangle and its emoji variant have been used by some anti-Israel activists to signal support for proscribed terrorist organisations such as Hamas, inspired by the appearance of the symbol in Hamas propaganda videos to indicate targets for attack. In 2024, the authorities allowed anti-Israel obsessives to run amok on our streets. They must not let this continue in 2025.

Shabbat shalom, from everyone at Campaign Against Antisemitism!

Recently, we raised concerns about an ad from Estarli which featured a cyclist with a “Boycott Israel” sticker. As many of you know, our polling consistently shows that a significant majority of British Jews find such boycott messaging intimidating, especially during a time of heightened antisemitism. We expressed how alarming it was to see such messaging becoming normalised, and we called on Estarli to remove the sticker and be more vigilant about the content they promote. We are pleased to report that Estarli took our concerns seriously. They responded promptly, acknowledging that they were unaware of the sticker during filming and have now committed to removing it from all content. They also promised to be more vigilant moving forward. Thank you to everyone who supported us in raising this important issue.

Remembering Ágnes Keleti, a trailblazing gymnast, Holocaust survivor, and one of the most decorated Olympians in history. Overcoming unimaginable hardships, she went on to win 10 Olympic medals, including 5 golds, becoming a symbol of resilience, grace, and strength. Her incredible journey from surviving the horrors of the Holocaust to dominating the gymnastics world in the 1950s is a testament to her unwavering determination. Rest in peace, Ágnes, your legacy will never be forgotten.

All of us at Campaign Against Antisemitism wish our friends, volunteers, supporters and donors a healthy and happy 2025. Antisemitism rose to new levels in 2024 and for many Jews in Britain, this past year has been a difficult one. As we head into the next, we hope for peace, security, and the release of the hostages held captive in Gaza.