Hatzalah Zoom Call on Anti-Semitism Zoombombed With Pornographic Images

A  July 8 Zoom call hosted by United Hatzalah with around 75 attendees was disrupted with sexually explicit images.

Friends of United Hatzalah Los Angeles Executive Director Carolyn Kangavari told the Journal in a phone interview the attack took place 15 minutes into the call.

The event was on the rise of anti-Semitism and featured Journal Editor-in-Chief David Suissa and journalist Lisa Daftari. Kangavari said the Zoombombers shouted hate speech in addition to posting the pornographic images.

“No matter what I did, I couldn’t mute them,” Kangavari said. “I couldn’t get them out of the chat.”

The call was cut short and will be rescheduled for some time in the next couple of weeks.  

“We just wanted to talk about the rise of anti-Semitism,” Kangavari said. “We wanted to have an open dialogue between two experts and two amazing co-hosts… and it got shut down by hate, and it’s important now more than ever to talk about this.”

Zoombombing is the term used to describe instances whereby Zoom calls are  disrupted, often with anti-Semitic and racial slurs as well as pornographic imagery.