The Anti Defamation League (ADL), in coordination with the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism, held a press conference in Tel Aviv University yesterday, outlining findings of new trends in anti-Semitism in 2004.

In their ‘Anti-Semitism Worldwide 2004’ report, compiled by the Stephen Roth Institute for the ADL and the World Jewish Congress (WJC), they report a “multi-fold increase in violent anti-Semitic manifestations in 2004, the most violent in the last 15 years.”

This in-depth report, which monitors anti-Semitism throughout the world pays close attention to growing trends in France, Britain and Canada, and accredits this rise to the lack of integration of new immigrants and socio-economic disaffection. The report also goes into great detail about anti-Semitism in Russia due to xenophobia and right wing nationalism.

Researchers for Tel Aviv University, Prof. Dina Porat, Drs. Roni Stauber and Esther Webman say they don’t believe the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli crisis attributes to the rise of worldwide anti-Semitism. Along with the report, researchers compiled an ‘Arab Media Review: Anti-Semitism and Other Trends, July-December 2004’ filled with cartoons and excerpts from newspapers around the Arab world, except Palestinian newspapers.

It is also noteworthy to mention that nowhere in ‘Anti-Semitism Worldwide 2004’ is anything mentioned about the wide array of anti-Semitism emanating from the Palestinian Authority, its institutions and mosque sermons.

When asked why there is no mention of Palestinian anti-Semitism, Myrna Shinbaum, the ADL’s director of media relations and public information, stated that she ‘only deals with anti-Semitism in the United States.’ Shinbaum presented the American version of the worldwide report.

Shinbaum went on to state that the ADL is an American organization and that they do report some of their findings in the ‘Arab Media Report’ with a compilation of cartoons.

Prof. Webman, a researcher at the Stephen Roth Institute specializing in the Middle East joined the panel in response to the question that Shinbaum was unable to answer.

Webman, who was in America for half a year, did not present anything regarding anti-Semitism in the Middle East. She did say though that the institute studies trends and that there have been no new anti-Semitic trends in Palestinian territories and therefore nothing to report, though she admitted along with the rest of the panelists that several of the Friday mosque sermons on PA TV were anti-Semitic. Webman said that in 2000 and the 2002 there was mention of Palestinian anti-Semitism in the ADL/WJC reports.

Shinbaum left the press conference without answering why the ADL mentions nothing in their 2004 report about Palestinian anti-Semitism.

When panelists were asked again about PA anti-Semitism and anti-Semitism in its institutions, such as PA TV, PA run newspapers and schools, they said they try not to blur the lines between political disagreement and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

“This was a very mild year of anti-Semitism coming from Arab countries compared to previous years,” stated Webman. “There is no new trend I could really point to.” The KKK, extremist Germans and Russians have also hated Jews for quite some time. This is not a new trend. Yet these groups are all reported in the ‘Anti-Semitism Worldwide 2004’ report.

The panelists went on to say that what typifies the Palestinian press is incitement against Israel and not so much anti-Semitism against individual Jews, and that this incitement “might” not necessarily lead to attacks and violence.

The panelists, however, noted that the that PA mosque sermons were indeed laden with anti-Semitism and that there is incitement in PA run press, the question was asked again: why is Palestinian anti-Semitism not mentioned in either of the reports?

Good Question.

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