United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed issued a statement on April 17 saying that he was concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shaheed said, “I am extremely concerned to see that certain religious leaders and politicians continue to exploit the challenging times during this pandemic to spread hatred against Jews and other minorities. We must collectively reject anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance and discrimination now.”
Anti-Semitic rhetoric regarding COVID-19 generally centers around the notion that Jews created the virus as a weapon to take over the world, Shaheed said.
He urged governments worldwide to work with the Jewish community to crack down on anti-Semitism.
“It is necessary to invest in preventive security measures and enact appropriate hate crime legislation,” Shaheed said. “I also reiterate my call … for endorsement by States of the Working Definition on Anti-Semitism and for its use in compliance with international human rights law.”
Shaheed also urged tech companies to police hate speech on their platforms, saying that “they must remove any posts that incite to hatred or violence in addition to identifying and reporting fake news.”
He concluded: “At this deeply challenging time, ensuring that all individuals are able to exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief without fear and to the greatest extent feasible while safeguarding public health is more essential than ever.”
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) tweeted praise for Shaheed’s statement.
“A prominent UN expert has sounded the alarm that rising #antisemitism during the pandemic threatens the human rights and religious freedom of Jews and other minorities,” they wrote. “We welcome the statement by @ahmedshaheed calling for urgent action to combat hate.”
A prominent UN expert has sounded the alarm that rising #antisemitism during the pandemic threatens the human rights and religious freedom of Jews and other minorities.
We welcome the statement by @ahmedshaheed calling for urgent action to combat hate.https://t.co/4Wz6ayseME
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) April 17, 2020
On Sept. 20, Shaheed published the first-ever U.N. report detailing the rising anti-Semitism globally.
“In some cases, individuals expressing such views have engaged in Holocaust denial; in others, they have conflated Zionism, the self-determination movement of the Jewish people, with racism; claimed Israel does not have a right to exist; and accused those expressing concern over anti-Semitism as acting in bad faith,” the report stated.
The report warned of white supremacist rhetoric metastasizing online and noted that some view the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement as anti-Semitic, although the report highlights defenders of BDS and expresses opposition to anti-BDS laws. The report called for nations to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which states that the demonization of Israel is anti-Semitic.
The Anti-Defamation League praised the report at the time, tweeting: “Thank you @ahmedshaheed for making clear how anti-Jewish sentiment and actions are a ‘serious obstacle to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief.’ ”
