Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry will be hosting a conference this week on the effects of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic on anti-Semitism.
Recent weeks have seen a surge in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories relating to the coronavirus epidemic and government responses to the outbreak, the Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
Groups on the far-right and far-left in the US and Europe have used the crisis to push classic anti-Semitic tropes mirroring Medieval blood libels, accusing Jews of either orchestrating the pandemic, or using the government response to dominate other groups.
In the Arab and Muslim world, the coronavirus epidemic is used to fuel hostility towards Israel – often with governments pushing the narrative linking Israel or the Jews with the virus.
Looking to shine a light on the worrisome phenomenon, the Israeli Strategic Affairs Ministry has organized a special conference to discuss the coronavirus’ impact on anti-Semitism.
The event is slated for 5:00 p.m. (Israel time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time), and will be conducted online via Zoom, including Jewish leaders, Israeli government officials, journalists, and pro-Israel activists, including US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, Elan Carr; Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs chief and former Israeil Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold; refusenik and former Jewish Agency chief Natan Sharansky; and journalist Khaled Abu Toameh among others.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs will co-host the online conference, which will be held under the headline “Coronavirus, Conspiracies, and Israelophobia: A National Security Challenge?”
The conference is being held in conjunction with the publication of the Jerusalem Center’s new publication entitled “Israelophobia and the West: The Hijacking of Civil Discourse on Israel and How to Rescue It”, edited by Dan Diker.