Since the beginning of the current conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement from the Gaza Strip, the police in the Czech Republic have increased security around Jewish objects and important buildings.
In connection with the conflict, the number of antisemitic expressions is growing sharply. The chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities, Petr Papoušek, assumes that the trend will continue.
For now, peaceful protests by supporters of Palestine are also taking place in the Czech Republic. Last Wednesday, in the early evening, about 300 of her supporters gathered in the Old Town Square. In a procession, they went through the city center to the Government Office.
The protest was organized by the initiative Not in our name! – Initiative for a Just Peace in the Middle East. She already held an event on Sunday, which was attended by approximately the same number of people. More visible, however, were the supporters of Israel, among whom the Minister of Defense Jana Černochová also arrived.
The chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the Czech Republic, Petr Papoušek, told iDNES.cz about the current situation that there has been a sharp increase in manifestations of antisemitism in the Czech Republic.
“We don’t have exact statistics yet, but compared to the average values for this year, we have recorded approximately two to three times the previous values since the beginning of the conflict,” said Papoušek, adding that the trend is expected to continue. According to him, the increase in recent years is continuous.
The Chairman of the Federation also told iDNES.cz that expressions of antisemitism have dominated the Internet for a long time, especially traditionally on social networks. “In connection with the currently ongoing conflict, it is also visible in the discussions in articles that report on the situation in the Middle East, and of course on the platforms of the domestic disinformation scene,” continued Papoušek.
Traditional” conspiracy theories emerge
Regarding the most frequent manifestations, he added that it is mainly the so-called new antisemitism ( in the English language environment the term Israel-related antisemitism is sometimes used, editor’s note ), i.e. labeling the policy of the State of Israel with terms such as “apartheid” or “genocide”, comparing the State of Israel to Nazi Germany and the situation of the Palestinians to the Holocaust.
“However, there are also ‘traditional’ conspiracy theories about the supposed Jewish world government and conspiracies,” the president of the Federation said.
However, according to him, the content of the speeches does not change much. “Antisemitism is an irrational, prejudicial hatred towards Jews, but the pretexts and the external form of manifestations are changing, which are influenced by global and local geopolitical and economic factors,” continued Papoušek.
According to him, it could be seen that after February 24, 2022, antisemitic narratives associated with the coronavirus pandemic metamorphosed into narratives associated with Russian aggression against Ukraine, and are now thematizing the conflict between Israel and the terrorist movement Hamas.
Elections also influence the form of antisemitism
According to Papousek, the external appearance of antisemitism is similarly influenced by domestic events, such as elections, the energy crisis, inflation or influential disinformation campaigns.
“The aggressiveness of the authors or spreaders of antisemitic content online is mainly due to the anonymity of the virtual environment and the speed with which previously marginal manifestations of prejudiced hatred penetrate into the common and political mainstream,” added the chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities.
The editorial staff of iDNES.cz also contacted the police in connection with manifestations of antisemitism. Police spokesman David Schön told iDNES.cz that the police have no information about an increase in antisemitism in the Czech Republic in connection with the attack on Israel by Arabs living in the Gaza Strip.
“In general, hate speech spreads both in the digital world and can also occur within, for example, various gatherings. For these reasons, we monitor the public space and intervene in the event of illegal conduct being detected,” said Schön.
Analysts monitor social networks
At the same time, he said that since the beginning of the currently ongoing phase of the conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement from the Gaza Strip, the police have taken measures that consist of increased security supervision in the immediate vicinity of Jewish objects and important buildings.
“It also includes intensive communication with the representatives and administrators of these objects and updating communication channels. Police officers also focus on areas with increased concentration of people, which is standard in similar situations,” the police spokesman continued.
According to him, the police then carefully monitors international events, cooperates with foreign partners and shares information with other security forces regarding potential threats.
“Our analysts monitor social networks and other communication platforms and evaluate the levels of risk – or challenges – that could be capable of fulfilling the essence of some, primarily hate crimes,” added police spokesman Schön.
