Congress Members Join Global Task Force to Combat Online Anti-Semitism

Members of the national legislatures of Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States are part of the panel.

[additional-authors]

Marcy Oster, JTA

September 29, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 16: Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) questions witnesses during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing looking into the firing of State Department Inspector General Steven Linick, on Capitol Hill on September 16, 2020 in Washington, DC. The foreign affairs committee issued the subpoenas as part of the panel’s probe into accusations that Linick was fired while investigating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s role in a controversial $8 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Several U.S. Congress members are part of a new task force of international lawmakers trying to combat online anti-Semitism.

Members of the national legislatures of Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States are part of the panel, according to an announcement from Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., a members of the Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Anti-Semitism.

The lawmakers decided to ban together since “social media posts do not stop at international borders,” the statement said. The task force will work to protect all minority groups from online hate.

Its goals include establishing consistent messaging and policy from parliaments and legislatures around the world in order to hold social media platforms accountable; the adoption and publication of transparent policies related to hate speech; and raising awareness about ant-Ssemitism on social media platforms and its consequences.

Other U.S. lawmakers on the panel include Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; Chris Smith, R-N.J.; and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. Knesset member Michal Cotler-Wunsh of Israel’s Blue and White party, daughter of former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, also is a member.

“It has never been easier than now for anti-Semites to connect and spread hateful propaganda using social media,” Deutch said in a statement. “These platforms have a responsibility to ensure that they are not being used freely by purveyors of hate. Online anti-Semitism is a global problem.”