Expert Warns on Internet Antisemitism

Expert Warns on Internet Antisemitism

Expert Warns on Internet Antisemitism

Dr Andre Oboler on Antisemitism 2.0 in the Australian Jewish News

Expert Warns on Internet Antisemitism

By Sharon Berger, The Australian Jewish News, October 31 2008, pg 4

Reproduced online with permission

SOCIAL media expert Dr Andre Oboler has issued a dire warning about the transmission of anti-Semitic online cultural values. Behaviour that is not acceptable in a public place should not be accept- able in online communities, such as Google, Facebook, My Space and Wikipedia, Dr Oboler has warned.

“In the current climate, anything goes, and if this is not changed in the next few years, this attitude will be cemented and we may miss the boat,” he said.

Dr Oboler, who recently returned to Melbourne after studying in the UK and Israel for five years,is CEO of Zionism on the Web – a website that aims to combat online anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

After attempting to convince the Jewish community, as well as the community-at-large, of the growing danger of web-based misinformation, Dr Oboler said he is concerned that mainstream internet users will be taken in. “My concern”, he said, is that people will “accept these views”.

To date, Dr Oboler’s extensive efforts have borne fruit on some websites, but he has failed to attract the funding needed to combat this growing phenomenon.

The Mount Scopus graduate, who has lived in South Africa, Australia, the UK and Israel, will speak next week at a number of community day schools and will talk on November 5, 8pm, at Kehillat Masada and on November 6, 8pm, at Hakoah Club.

See also: pg 16, "10 Questions"

Key references

The following may help you identify antisemitism and other types of racism

EU definition of antisemitism

Used by law enforcement throughout Europe

Behind much criticism of Israel is a thinly veiled hatred of Jews

Emanuele Ottolenghi, in The Guardian on Saturday November 29, 2003

A New Antisemitism

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, June 2002

Blurring the line

Fair critisism or antisemitism? By Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (the ADL), in Haaretz on April 4, 2004

Antisemitism in 3-D

Differentiating legitimate criticism of Israel from the so-called new anti-Semitism. By Natan Sharansky in Jerusalem Post, on February 23, 2004

Anti-Zionism

What is Anti-Zionism?

Disagreeing with the policies of the Israeli government is in and of itself neither Antisemitic nor Anti-Zionist.

Even outside of this Anti-Zionism is not always Antisemitism, but many of those who claim to be anti-Zionist are in fact in fact peddling re-badged Antisemitism.

Our reference center can help you understand Anti-Zionism

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