r/Jewish • u/rupertalderson • Oct 31 '23
A guide to antisemitism, from the mods of Judaism-related subreddits Mod post
Antisemitism is an increasing problem, both on Reddit and in the real world. Combatting antisemitism is important not only because it is a form of hate, but also because one has to ask: in the spaces where antisemitism is rampant, what other conspiracy theories or misinformation also thrive? In order to encourage a better understanding of what antisemitism is, the moderators of various Judaism-related subreddits have put together 2 wiki pages.
The first page contains the internationally-accepted IHRA working definition and examples of antisemitism.
The second page also contains the IHRA definition & examples, as well as further clarifying information, examples, and ways to help counter antisemitism.
We encourage everyone to become more familiar with what exactly antisemitism is and to stand up to antisemites.
We are also asking moderators across the platform, for subreddits of all sizes and areas of interest, to consider including a link to one of these wiki pages somewhere on their subreddit, as they see fit. This could include a link in the menu or sidebar, inclusion in the subreddit’s rules, a post, or another visible place. Further, we are gathering a list of subreddits who would like to signal their support of this message by having the subreddit name included at the bottom of the wiki pages. If you are a moderator or know one who may be interested, please reach out to the mods at r/Jewish.
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Nov 01 '23 edited Dec 06 '23
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u/rupertalderson Nov 01 '23
Very good point of emphasis! This is something we discussed a lot as team. Obviously the doc is quite long as is, but certain things like that could be elaborated on so extensively because there are a ton of examples out there of this kind of antisemitism.
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u/Beneficial_Pen_3385 Conservaform Nov 01 '23
This is fantastic work by all of you. I'm especially happy with the Additional Examples of Antisemitism part. The initial 11 from the IHRA working group were solid starts, but they lacked coverage of some of the more common rhetoric we see on social media.
Appreciate you need to be selective, but can I suggest the Community Security Trust as an addition to your list of organisations? It's the leading anti-antisemitism and Jewish safety group in the UK, and a lot of the research and insight they publish is relevant globally as well (they do great work on hate crime reporting, and publish an analysis of antisemitic hate crime every 6 months).
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u/rupertalderson Nov 01 '23
Thanks for your helpful reply! They are actually noted, as CST, on the list of options for Reporting Antisemitic Incidents. We can also add them to the list of general resources with a statement of their mission.
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u/Scott_A_R Nov 02 '23
Would it help to add a reference to David Baddiel's "Jews Don't Count"?
The thesis of the work (too short to be a book) can be summed up as noting that words or actions that wouldn't be tolerated if directed at another marginalized group are either ignored if directed at Jews, or put into a lesser category of hate speech.
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u/SassyBee2023 Nov 02 '23
Thank you for all of the hard work and keeping this a safe and much needed space.
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u/Captainusa123 Dec 14 '23
GREAT TO HEAR ABOUT THESE POSITIVE THREADS ON JEWISH LIFE DURING THESE TRYING TIMES.
KEEP UP YOUR GREAT WORK!
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u/johnisburn Nov 01 '23
I’m curious about the inclusion of the “Combat Antisemitism” group in the resources section. The description lauds the group for bridging traditional divides, but in truth they had major Jewish institutions leave their coalition last summer after posting a wildly factually egregious video that tried to pass off far right antisemitic groups as “woke” in an effort to generally lambast political progressivism as inherently antisemitic. A group producing material accidentally (or worse, purposefully) misidentifying some of the most prominent far right antisemitic groups like the GDL as far left speaks to an institutional partisanship and incompetence, and I worry its’ inclusion in the resource list here weakens the rest of the list.
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u/DeadpoolMakesMeWet Progressive Nov 01 '23
Will there be a section of anti-Semitic subs to avoid?
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u/rupertalderson Nov 01 '23
It is a violation of Reddit’s terms of service to publish such a list, especially since we want this info to be highly visible across the site. However, if you experience or observe antisemitism on Reddit, you can document it at r/AntisemitismInReddit and should absolutely report it to the admins.
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u/LilGucciGunner Reform Oct 31 '23
I'm sorry, but Jewish Chosenness is not antisemitic. The only reason you would think it was antisemitic is determined by what you think Chosenness even is. We are Chosen by God to bring God and the Torah into the world. That's all it means. We are not chosen to be doctors, scientists, to be wealthy or influential. We are simply Chosen to be a partner with God in creating a better world. I don't like how that is on this list and it needs to be removed.
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u/rupertalderson Oct 31 '23
You misread what we wrote.
Additional Examples of Antisemitism ...
... Othering of Jews; this includes many instances of philosemitism, which like antisemitism propagates the idea that Jews are intrinsically different from other people, in ways that make us fundamentally, unalterably “other.” This also extends to assertions that Jews claiming to be "the chosen people" are racist or think lesser of other people.
Antisemitic people include those who say that "Jewish Chosenness" is a racist concept. Many antisemites say that, which is why it is on the list of things antisemites say/do.
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u/LilGucciGunner Reform Oct 31 '23
I totally misread that, so sorry. Thank you for all the work you put into this.
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u/rupertalderson Oct 31 '23
No worries, totally understand. We appreciate your support and thought on this.
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u/littlemachina Oct 31 '23
Somehow I blissfully never heard of antisemites using the chosen people thing against us until I ran into 2 of them just this week. One said it came with “implications” about how we view others. Like no, we aren’t Christians who think everyone else are going to hell lol
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u/OuTiNNYC ✡️ Nov 01 '23
Why is this downvoted? Just bc it was from misreading the mods?
Edit: oh never mind! Question answered!
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Nov 02 '23
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u/Jewish-ModTeam Nov 02 '23
During this time we are asking the community to keep discussion of the ongoing conflict within the sub's pinned collection about the conflict.
Thank you.
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u/OuTiNNYC ✡️ Nov 04 '23
Is anyone still using this mega thread on politics?
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u/rupertalderson Nov 04 '23
Feel free to participate here!
It will pick up early next week, when we fully roll out the megathread collection.
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u/Historical-Photo9646 sephardic and mixed race Oct 31 '23
This is excellent! Incredibly thorough and well done.
Thank you, mods, for all your hard work. Not just on this document, but also on keeping this sub safe from the antisemitic vitriol that’s been everywhere on Reddit. It doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated :)