Research & Analysis

May 19, 2020 A small but significant segment of the criticism leveled at Israel in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has veered into extremism and antisemitism, especially accusations that Israel or Zionists schemed to create and spread the coronavirus or are taking advantage of the pandemic for personal gain. Additional tropes equate Zionism or Israel with the virus or contend that Israelis or Zionists deserve to be infected with or die from it. Those responsible for these assertions…

May 19, 2020 By: Janet Murguía of Unidos US; Marc Morial of the National Urban League; Jonathan Greenblatt of ADL. As leaders of organizations committed to securing civil and human rights, we have been in constant conversation about the impact of coronavirus on communities of color. The global pandemic has highlighted just how much work is left to be done to build a just and inclusive society and serves as a tragic reminder that we are far from reaching that ideal. With…

May 18, 2020 Key Highlights: While there were no attacks or murders linked to domestic Islamist extremism in 2019, there were 30 arrests, nine of which were for terror plots, indicating that Islamist extremism continues to pose a threat to the United States. In 2019, there was a 50 percent increase in arrests and plots linked to domestic Islamist extremism. The 2019 terror plot targets highlight extremists’ sustained focus on targeting religious institutions, and antisemitism…

May 15, 2020 THE WEEK'S BIG 3 Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. hit an all-time high in 2019, according to data released this week by ADL. Two Queens men are under arrest for allegedly trying to buy high-power weapons, amid ongoing talk by one about targeting Jews -- including praising last year's Hanukkah attack in Monsey. And the Never Again Education Act, which would help provide federal funding to expand Holocaust education in the US, passed the Senate with bipartisan support. Read…

May 08, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Antisemitic signs and imagery are seen at anti-quarantine rallies across the country, including in Chicago, where a protester held up a sign with a Nazi slogan that appeared on the gates of Auschwitz. A new report outlines the failures of Steam to adequately address the prevalence of extremists and neo-Nazis on the gaming platform. And in California, a man was seen donning a Ku Klux Klan hood as he shopped for groceries. Read on for more on these…

May 04, 2020 On March 24, 2020, a white supremacist interrupted a webinar about antisemitism hosted by a Massachusetts Jewish student group by pulling his shirt collar down to reveal a swastika tattoo on his chest. A day later, a similar incident occurred in California when someone disrupted an online class hosted by a JCC (Jewish Community Center); the perpetrator launched into a minutes-long, profanity-laced, antisemitic rant and removed his shirt to display a swastika tattoo on his chest…

April 29, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has us all scared. This has fueled the spread of misinformation, racism, and antisemitism. The resulting vitriol and scapegoating has targeted immigrants as well. We must not allow the spread of the virus and necessary physical separation to sow philosophical division among us and lead to policies that harm those most vulnerable, including immigrants. It is going to take all of us banding together to come out the other side of this. That’s why…

April 24, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3A series of anti-quarantine rallies took place across the country this week, several of which were sponsored in whole or part by identified extremists and featured antisemitic content. A new ADL survey released on Holocaust Remembrance Day found that more than half of America’s Jews have either experienced or witnessed an antisemitic incident over the past five years. And Israel’s year-long political stalemate has come to an end, with the…

April 23, 2020 “Where’s the fighting spirit?” an angry Chuck Baldwin asked his assembled “Liberty Fellowship” congregation in Kalispell, Montana, in late March 2020. “Where’s the spirit of resistance…able to discern whenever the forces of tyranny would usurp our constitutional liberties?”  People needed to understand, he said, “the importance that we have as a church to resist the forces of evil.” The purported evil…

April 23, 2020 As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these messages are new, many are simply old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. The coronavirus is a tool for Jews to expand their global influence Many antisemitic…

April 21, 2020 Headline: Coronavirus: Anti-Immigration, Xenophobia and Homophobia Short description: Extremists are using fear of the virus to stoke nativist, homophobic hate As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these…

April 20, 2020 As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these messages are new, many are simply old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. Conspiracy theorists are positing that the coronavirus was manufactured by humans,…

April 20, 2020 Americans’ response to the coronavirus pandemic now includes a spate of nationwide rallies decrying stay-at-home orders and calling for “reopening” the economy. While many of the protests calling for the reopening of the economy and the lifting of state-issued quarantine mandates have been organized by more mainstream conservative organizations, a number have been sponsored in whole or part by identified extremists and a range of rally participants have carried…

April 20, 2020 As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these messages are new, many are simply old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. ADL is tracking some of the coronavirus-related anti-Asian incidents here. Sinophobia …

April 19, 2020 By Dr. Mark Pitcavage On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The blast destroyed the building, killing 168 men, women and children and injuring hundreds more. Twenty-five years later, the Oklahoma City bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in American history.  McVeigh and his accomplice, Terry Nichols, were not part of any large, well-funded terrorist organization; they…

April 17, 2020 As the coronavirus continues to surge globally, virus-related conspiracy theories are proliferating online. These antisemitic, xenophobic, hateful messages spread misplaced blame and misinformation, making it more difficult to access accurate information while elevating fear and anxiety. While some of these messages are new, many are simply old tropes repackaged for a modern pandemic. Extremists are imagining weaponizing the coronavirus On fringe platforms, extremists…

April 08, 2020  As more of the world rightfully takes social distancing measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, the audience for the Zoom video conferencing app has expanded tremendously. As with all sudden rapid growth of digital social spaces, this expansion has revealed new platform vulnerabilities and opportunities for bad actors to take advantage of those vulnerabilities. ADL has been tracking the prevalence of “Zoombombing” over the last several weeks -- where bad…

April 08, 2020 By now the term “zoombombing,” describing the phenomenon of virtual meetings being disrupted by graphic or hateful messages, has become increasingly familiar. With “safer-at-home” and physical distancing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, many business and community meetings must rely on video-conferencing tools like Zoom to engage in organizing, educational activities, and worship. Disturbingly, some of these meetings are being disrupted by…

April 03, 2020 As our online lives have become even more central to the way we work, communicate and socialize in this unprecedented time, Washington state has shown tremendous leadership in enacting legislation protecting targets and victims of online hate and harassment, which can have serious and potentially fatal consequences. This significant anti-swatting law, signed by Gov. Jay Inslee today, holds accountable individuals who seek to weaponize law enforcement to attack others. …