Posted on 01/02/22
| News Source: JNS
When the Simon Wiesenthal Center released its annual Global Anti-Semitism Top Ten on Dec. 28, the lineup was starkly different from its predecessors as the Center has shifted from citing individuals to naming their corporate bosses.
“We made a pivot,” explained Rabbi Abraham Cooper, longtime associate dean of the Center, “to incorporate those who are ultimately responsible for what is done under their name.”
To underscore the change, Cooper said at a press conference, “I am sure you know that we have the BBC at No. 3, Deutsche Welle, a massive global German media outlet worldwide, at No. 7, and Unilever [of which Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream is a wholly owned subsidiary] at No. 10.”
Since anti-Semitism has become increasingly mainstream in social and political life here and abroad, the Center is “looking for accountability and corporate responsibility. We are holding the gatekeepers responsible for the unfortunate situations that have evolved.”
Seven groups or companies are making their first Top Ten appearances, while Iran, Hamas and Germany are repeaters.
The list:
1. Iran.
“There is no greater existential threat to the Jewish people than the growing nuclear threat from the antisemitic, Holocaust-denying, terrorist-sponsoring, human rights-abusing Iranian regime.”
2. Hamas.
“On the same day a London rabbi was attacked outside of his synagogue, a caravan of cars flying Palestinian flags roamed the city’s largely Jewish Golder’s Green neighborhood, chanting over a loudspeaker “F—the Jews and rape their daughters.”
3. BBC
“On Hanukkah, a group of Muslims attacked a bus filled with Jews in the center of London, and the BBC falsely reported that anti-Muslim slurs could be heard from the bus.”