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FSWC Applauds Facebook's Decision to Ban Holocaust Denial and Distortion

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) applauds Facebook's decision to update its hate speech policy to ban Holocaust denial and distortion. The announcement was made Monday morning by Facebook and its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who also stated that anyone searching for the Holocaust on Facebook will be directed to "authoritative sources to get accurate information."

FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt joined Alan Carter on 640 Toronto yesterday to discuss what Facebook's new stance on antisemitism and Holocaust denial means to the Jewish community. Listen here.

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Investigation Underway After Toronto Mosque Receives Death Threats

Toronto Police are investigating after a local mosque received violent and hateful messages threatening the lives of its members. One of the messages read, “We have the guns to do a Christchurch all over again in our office,” referencing mass shootings that took place in 2019 at two New Zealand mosques that left 51 people dead.

In a post on social media, FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt - who reached out to leaders in the Muslim community expressing solidarity against hate and condemnation of the incident - said he was "sickened by the threats of violence sent to a local Toronto mosque over the weekend, forcing it to close its doors. Hate against one of us, is hate against us all. We stand together in the fight against hate."

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Over 30% of Social Media Postings About Jews Are Hostile, Swedish Researchers Conclude in New Report

Researchers in Sweden who examined over 2 million postings about Jews on different social media channels discovered that more than 30% of the posts were antisemitic. The finding was revealed in a report released last week by the Swedish Defense Research Agency.

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Argentine Football Association Adopts IHRA Definition of Antisemitism

Last Thursday, the Argentine Football Association adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, one day after the University of Buenos Aires did the same. This comes after Argentina's soccer culture had its share of antisemitism controversies in recent years.

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Germany to Give US$662 Million in Aid to Holocaust Survivors

According to the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Germany has agreed to provide more than a half billion euros to aid Holocaust survivors struggling under the burdens of the coronavirus pandemic. The payments will be going to approximately 240,000 survivors around the world over the next two years.

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Neo-Nazi Leaders of Greece's Golden Dawn Sentenced to 13 Years

The neo-Nazi leaders of the Golden Dawn have been sentenced to 13 years in prison in Athens after a court ruled that the group's lawmakers had operated a criminal organization under the guise of being a democratically elected party. From its inception in the 1980s through to 2012, when it began its seven-year stint in parliament, the far-right group targeted numerous groups - including the LGBTQ community and migrants - and its founder Nikolaos Michaloliakosa is a reported Holocaust denier and diehard Hitler apologist.

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Report Antisemitism and News of Concern to FSWC

If you would like to report antisemitism or news of concern to Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, please email jaime@fswc.ca.

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