AJC Applauds State Department Report on Anti-Semitism

NEW YORK, March 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Jewish Committee welcomes the U.S. State Department's new report on anti-Semitism, which focuses on how the demonizing of Israel, often through the use of classical anti-Semitic and Nazi imagery, fuels prejudice against Jews.

"We are encouraged by the outcome of the report, which boldly identifies the growing problem of anti-Semitism through an anti-Israel lens," said American Jewish Committee Executive Director David A. Harris, "These manifestations, as they appear at the UN, in the Arab media, and especially from Iran, are, to say the least, deeply troubling."

The report details anti-Semitic violence and rhetoric from state and non-state actors, the scourge of terrorism focused on Jewish targets, and the pervasive demonization of Israel. It laudably bases its definition of anti-Semitism on the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia's (EUMC) working definition, which explains how certain modes of attacking Israel can be anti-Semitic.

The report notes that "anti-Semitism is an adaptive phenomenon and continues to take on new forms" and cites numerous global incidences where this "new anti-Semitism" appears.

An entire chapter is devoted to the UN system and its continued, one-sided, condemnation of Israel. Importantly, the report notes that discrimination against Israel at the UN causes "audiences to associate negative attributes with Jews in general, thus fueling anti-Semitism."

"By exposing the use of anti-Jewish tropes and anti-Israel measures by government and non-governmental bodies, especially in the UN, the report makes it clear that anti-Semitism is not simply found in crude and uneducated circles. It can be found in some of the world's most respected institutions," said Harris.

AJC, which has been fighting anti-Semitism in the U.S. and throughout the world for over 100 years, is cited in the report for its efforts to build bridges between Gulf States and the Jewish community.

The report, Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism: a Report Provided to the United States Congress, can be found at www.state.gov/documents/organization/102301.pdf