Dr Andre Oboler, Director of the Community Internet Engagement Project at the Zionist Federation of Australia explains the problem of Internet based antisemitism.
2. Outline Why online matters Examples of antisemitism online Our work combating this antisemitism How people can help us The Internet Hate and Propaganda Responses How to help
20. We are now running Second Life Israel A social, education and friendly virtual Israel environment We can counter some of the problems with positive messages and education We can also use it for other proactive activities
22. Holocaust Denial After a long campaign and a number of research papers, articles and international talks on the topic, Facebook changed their actions and in off the record conversations changed their policy. We’re still pushing for them to go on record stating the Holocaust denial IS hate and not a free speech issue. In practise, in 2011, Holocaust denial seems to be increasing on Facebook. This follows a drop in the last half of 2010, likely in response to our research and resulting pressure from the media.
24. Click Against Hate An ADC project, created by Andre ObolerThis is a program to teach Jewish students how to identify and respond to internet based antisemitism
25. Click Against Hate Session 1: Online Safety Understanding the risks, Securing Facebook Session 2: Background on antisemitism [EMUC Definition, 3 D’s, reuses of classic antisemitism] Session 3: Media Awareness Media Framing, [Jenin Massacre, Muhammad al-Durrah] Session 4: Research and Credible Sites Recognising credible sites, big lies, propaganda [Holocaust denial] Session 5: Online Debate and Ethics Media ethics, Persuasive argumentation online [Al-Durrah]
27. International Global Forum to Combat Antisemitism (Israel) Co-Chair Online Antisemitism Working Group Helped organise WUJS Congress on the theme of internet engagement Italian Parliament (Italy, Romania, UK) Hearing into online antisemitism TV, public lecture, etc Met with Ambs Tim Fischer and Amanda Vanstone , and Vatican officials Presentations in Romania and meetings in UK (CST, Embassy etc) ROI Conference (Israel) Present, met internet innovators etc Met with government and organisational leaders Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (Canada) Presented for Internet Antisemitism Working Group Also presented on campus in Ottawa, ran a training session for Hillel staff in Toronto, and met with community leaders Responses
28. Research & Publications Research Papers Andre Oboler, Time to Regulate Internet Hate with a New Approach? (2010) 13 Internet Law Bulletin Andre Oboler, Gerald Steinberg and Raphael Stern, The Framing of Political NGOs in Wikipedia through Criticism Elimination, Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 7(4), 2010 Andre Oboler, "Online Antisemitism 2.0 and Social Acceptability" in Eunice Pollack (Ed), Antisemitism on the Campus: Past & Present, Academic Studies Press, 2010 Andre Oboler, Under attack in a virtual world, PresenTense Magazine, February 2010 Andre Oboler and David Matas (Co-Chairs), Report: Working Group 3 - Antisemitism Online: Cyberspace and the Media, the Global Forum to Combat Antisemitism, December 2009, Jerusalem. Opinion Articles / Blogs Andre Oboler, Government a welcome presence in cyber regulation, Australian Jewish News, 7/5/10 Andre Oboler, New media need a new approach to anti-Semitism, Jerusalem Post, 28/4/10 Andre Oboler, Remarks to the Italian Parliament, Hearing into Online Antisemitism, 22/4/10 Andre Oboler, Possibility of policing the internet?, The Australian Jewish News, 12/3/10 Andre Oboler, The iFascists, Blog Central at the Jerusalem Post, 2/2/10 TV Interview RAI UNO Breakfast show (Italy) IAB News (Israel) Articles Quoting CIE / Andre Oboler as an expert source 16 in total Responses Publications are available at www.oboler.com
30. How to help Visit www.internetengagement.com.au Join our mailing list Become a fan of our Facebook page Donations (large or small) are most welcome Offers of assistance with translation welcome We are also happy speaking to the media on any issues related to online hate How to help
Hinweis der Redaktion
In Australia we have a special unit combating internet antisemitism. It is called the Community Internet Engagement Project (C.I.E.) and is run by Dr Andre Oboler who is also co-chair of the working group on online antisemitism for the Global Forum to Combat Antisemitism and an expert advisor on the Internet Hate working group of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism.
This report looks at four issue: Why we must focus on the internet as a key battle ground in the fight against antisemitism. What sort of problems we are facing. What sort of responses the team at C.I.E. have been working on. Finally, how people, like ourselves, can help.
Most people are now getting news and information through search engines and web 2.0 sites like Facebook, Youtube, Wikipedia, Blogs and Twitter. If these sites spread antisemitism or help it become prominent we have a serious problem.
The search engines can give more attention to hate and lies than to truth. Last week Google announced changes to its algorithm to stop this sort of behaviour when it was done for commercial reasons, but nothing is done about manipulation to spread antisemitism and other forms of hate.
This is a search for apartheid. Page 3 of the search has content promoting propaganda which demonizes the Jewish state. Demonization is a form of antisemitism. Once it was about Jews with horns, literally showing them as the devil. Now Apartheid is this generation’s evil, so of course the Jews must be shown of being guilty of apartheid.
This is a search for Zionism. Page 4 of the search has content which deniedthe Jewish right to self determination. This too is a form of antisemitism, denying Jews human rights. The same rights all other people have.
Virtual worlds like second life are also used to spread messages of antisemitism.
See how in the picture trivialize the Holocaust and demonize Israel by putting side by side pictures of Palestinians and famous pictures from the Holocaust? This propaganda aims to suggest that the Holocaust was only as bad as the treatment of Palestinians, or put another way, that Palestinians are treated by Israel just as Jews were treated by the Nazis.
The Boycott campaign is also promoted!
YouTube is also used for antisemitism
This user’s profile actually says Jews should be killed.
This video suggests the Jews control the world
And this one suggests that the blood libel is true!
What about this comment on YouTube? Even more scary is the fact that these are the highest rated comments by other users!
Facebook too is used for antisemitism.
In fact, the official policy by Facebook was that Holocaust denial was not hateful content so they wouldn’t remove it. Now they are removing it, but they haven’t publically made a statement saying they were wrong and that it will now be removed.This group says it is not antisemitic, it just about show how the Holocaust is “highly debateable”.
Here’s another one. Both these groups have been removed now.
The C.I.E. Team now run Second Life Israel, and if more funds are found, can expand it to include education materials. Even a virtual YadVashem is possible eventually.
The research and publications from the C.I.E. Team were a key factor is getting Facebook to start removing Holocaust denial and other antisemitic material
CIE’s director worked with the Anti-Defamation Commission in Australia to develop a program to teach Jewish students how to identify and respond to internet based antisemitism
The program has 5 lessons and educates students on classic antisemitism as well as how it can be identified in modern settings
CIE have also pushed the agenda on the online antisemitism issue internationally
Presentations were given in Australia, Israel, Europe, and North America. These included main stream media coverage and presentations to members of Parliament.
A number of new publications were also written on online antisemitism and you can download most of them for free if you are interested.
CIE have also pushed the agenda on the online antisemitism issue internationally
CIE have also pushed the agenda on the online antisemitism issue internationally