Executive Summary
In June, several governmental and international bodies took initiatives to combat antisemitism in response to dramatic surges in antisemitic incidents in most countries with large Jewish communities in 2021. Significant moves included an eight-point action plan released by the UN, and the characterization of accusations of apartheid against Israel as antisemitic by the European Parliament Vice President. In parallel, U.S Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, headed to Saudi Arabia for her first international trip.
Several bodies released reports indicating a rise in antisemitic incidents in 2021 (versus 2020):
✓ ADL reported a 24% increase in antisemitic hate crimes in New York.
✓ Anti-Jewish hate crimes in California rose by 32%, reaching their highest level at least since 2012.
✓ Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service reported a 12.2% rise in the number of right-wing extremist
offenses with an antisemitic background.
Antisemitic incidents persisted in several countries in June:
✓ American Jews continue to face a consistent outbreak of antisemitic incidents. In June, physical
attacks in New York included an assault and an arson fire while antisemitic flyer campaigns
associated with Goyim Defense League continued to spread anti-Jewish hate country-wide.
✓ In the UK, the visibly Jewish London neighborhood of Stamford Hill continued to be heavily
targeted; in one 24-hour period, five antisemitic assault and harassment incidents were recorded.
✓ In France, a Jewish man was violently assaulted in an antisemitic hate crime while he was
campaigning for his wife Audrey Rozenhaft, a candidate for a legislative seat.
✓ In Tunisia, an assailant assaulted two police officers guarding the Grand Synagogue of Tunis.
Antisemitism remained prominent at the intersection of the far left with political and radical Islam:
✓ A BDS Boston-promoted interactive map pinpointing the locations of Jewish groups and institutions
in Massachusetts was widely criticized as antisemitic. Reactions to the ‘Mapping Project’ stood out
as a rare example of relative unity on the left against antisemitism from the left even while
provoking disunity within the BDS movement.
✓ In France, the newly formed left-wing alliance (NUPES) led by far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon
repeatedly came under fire over accusations of antisemitism and Islamo-leftism during the election
campaign, peaking when two candidates invited Jeremy Corbyn to a campaign rally. NUPES made
major election gains in the June parliamentary elections.
✓ In Germany, a state-funded international contemporary art exhibition took place amid heavy
criticism of antisemitism.
Meanwhile, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei continued spreading antisemitic discourse on
Twitter and his website; using rhetoric strongly denounced by Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. special envoy
for antisemitism, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as antisemitic.
