Speech

Denial, Distortion and Disinformation

Speaker
Sirpa Rautio
FRA’s Director Sirpa Rautio's introductory remarks at the international conference on ‘Denial, distortion and disinformation: the truth about the Holocaust 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz’. The Polish Ministry of Justice organised the event. It takes place on 29 January at the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY


Szanowny Panie Ministrze Bodnar, Rabinie Schudrich, Dyrektorze Generalny Soczewica, Panie Stępiński, Droga Katharina, Szanowni Państwo i Drodzy Przyjaciele!

Polska jest krajem bardzo bliskim mojemu sercu, a możliwość przemawiania tutaj, w tym miejscu, które tętni tak bogatą historią, i w tym czasie o tak ogromnym znaczeniu i pamięci, napawa mnie zarówno pokorą, jak i zaszczytem. Serdecznie dziękuję za zaproszenie.

Dear Minister Bodnar, Rabbi Schudrich, Director-General Soczewica, Mr Stępiński, dear Katharina, dear Excellencies and dear friends.

Poland is a country very close to my heart, and the opportunity to speak here, in this venue that pulses with such rich history, and at this time of immense significance and remembrance, makes me feel both humbled and honoured. I thank you sincerely for the invitation.

Though we come together this week to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, we do so in a climate of fear and alarm. As we have all seen and heard – not least of all from the speakers before me – antisemitism continues to be a contemporary issue. It is not a thing of the past, not an aspect to be studied in history books. It is alive and growing, as evidenced by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.

For almost two decades, FRA has documented the pervasive and lasting nature of antisemitism. Over such a period, one would have hoped that education, legislation, policies, and compassion would have led to a decrease in this phenomenon. Regrettably, this is not the case, and we, in this moment of profound importance, witness antisemitism increasing, evolving, and anchoring itself in our societies and online.

The numbers of antisemitic incidents and attacks have reached unprecedented heights in the history of data collection after the Holocaust. Not only are we seeing numbers increase, but also the nature and intensity of incidents shifting towards more insidious cases of harassment, intimidation, and violence. Words like ‘fear’ and ‘anxiety’ are used when describing the sentiments within Jewish communities. We are watching in real time as an already worrisome situation escalates steeply.

FRA published its most recent report on Jewish People’s Experiences and Perceptions of Antisemitism last July, and it highlights the data collected in the third wave of this survey.

I must caveat this presentation by saying that the data underlying this survey was collected prior to the Hamas attacks of 7th October 2023. Although the data was substantiated by consultations with Jewish community umbrella organisations post-October 2023 – who informed us of the stark surge of antisemitic incidents, in some cases up by 400% - the experiences and perceptions of Jewish people in this report reflect a time before the war in Gaza resulted in an explosion of antisemitism.

It would be simple to connect increased instances of antisemitism to the conflicting and complex views held by people across Europe in respect of the Hamas attacks and the war that ensued in Gaza. However, our survey shows that antisemitism was increasing on our streets, through our social media platforms and in our societies ever before the 7th October 2023. This was the case for 96% of our survey respondents.

FRA’s report provides detailed information on the lived experience of antisemitism of nearly 8,000 self-identified Jews in 13 Member States, including Poland. This data was collected between January and June 2023, and even then, the key finding which emerged so clearly was that Jewish people across the EU fear for their safety and security, and they encounter antisemitism on a continual basis. Unsurprisingly, this has a negative impact on their ability to live an openly Jewish life, and has a chilling effect on their participation in society.

The findings show that 84% of the respondents consider antisemitism to be a significant social and political problem in their own country; in fact, 81% feel that it has increased over the past 5 years.

The survey shows that about half of the respondents are worried that they will be a victim of antisemitic verbal insults or harassment, and 44% fear a physical attack when they are in a public space. This concern extends to their family members, with 60% of the respondents worrying that a family member or a person close to them will become the victim of antisemitic harassment.

Concerns over their safety and security influence Jewish people’s behaviour and point to another chilling effect, namely hiding their identity. This manifests in people choosing not to wear or display symbols that would identify them as Jewish, and not visiting Jewish events and sites. 40% of respondents are rarely or never open about being Jewish at work or in educational settings.

In other words, it can be said that experiences of antisemitism push Jewish people into hiding. This is a sobering thought, considering the history we are all aware of.

I said earlier that antisemitism was a contemporary issue. It also spreads and manifests in contemporary ways, namely in the form of hateful online rhetoric and disinformation. 92% of the respondents say that antisemitism on the internet and social media is a problem. Our survey indicates that antisemitism is encountered across all online platforms, news outlets and internet forums. Respondents told us that they avoid posting content that would identify them as Jewish. Vast bodies of research have shown that antisemitic content can quickly become viral, as reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and 7 October have shown. In other words, antisemitism festers online.

In 2023, FRA looked at the fundamental rights aspects of online content moderation and challenges in detecting online hate crime. The report shows that, while the emergence of online platforms and social media has transformed modern communication, so too has it amplified expressions of hate. The report focuses specifically on online hate in social media posts targeted at four sample groups - women, people of African descent, Jews and Roma - to explore the limits of online content moderation and the extent of hate speech against these group. For Jewish people, negative stereotyping and ‘other hateful content’ are the most dominant forms of online hate. This latter category includes Holocaust denial. 

Nearly every respondent in our survey had experienced antisemitism, and the findings show that such encounters are part and parcel of everyday life for Jewish people across the EU. It is particularly striking to note that respondents often come across antisemitism in social interactions with friends and acquaintances. There are many strong indicators showing that the phenomenon is deeply ingrained in our societies.

Our societies have normalised the near-constant presence of security at synagogues and Jewish schools- we cannot allow that same normalisation to happen with antisemitism more broadly, including online. We must continue to highlight and call out such incidents, and to prosecute hate crimes. To deny Jewish people the right to live in dignity, free from hate and without fear is a violation of fundamental rights, and should be named as such.

It is concerning to note that Jewish people who are citizens of their own country are sometimes considered to be foreigners. Indeed, 75% of respondents at least occasionally feel that people in their own country accuse them or blame them for the Israeli government’s actions. This attitude casts doubt over the fact – what I consider to be an indisputable fact - that Jewish people, culture and traditions are inherent to European identity. Against this backdrop, it is extremely disappointing, but not surprising, that 41% of respondents said that they were considering emigrating or had emigrated from their own country because of not feeling safe there.

My overview today covers only a fragment of the lived experiences shared with us by Jewish people in the EU. I would therefore encourage you all to read the survey report, which also provides disaggregated data by Member State.

The findings illustrate the monumental challenge facing us. It is disheartening and discouraging, and there is merit in questioning how we have come to this point. After such sincere and tireless efforts over the last 80 years to commemorate and educate, how do we find ourselves here, asking the same questions and presenting unchanged data?

But we cannot dwell on this. We must follow the lead of those survivors many of us listened to in Auschwitz on Monday. We must use those examples of bravery and endurance to light our path forward. We must bolster our shared ambition and commitment to combat antisemitism. Where efforts are flagging, we must find new reserves of strength.

A finding from our survey that will interest many of you here is the low level of satisfaction with governmental efforts to support Jewish communities. Only one in five respondents were satisfied with actions taken by their governments to combat antisemitism.

There are many measures governments can put in place or enhance in order to withstand this creeping antisemitism in our societies. All governments should ensure the effective monitoring and appropriate funding of strategies and action plans they put in place to combat antisemitism and foster Jewish life. They should appoint special envoys or coordinators on antisemitism, and ensure that they are appropriately staffed and resourced. They should meet and fund the security and protection needs of Jewish communities and work with them in identifying those needs.

Governments can fight online antisemitism by ensuring that the Digital Services Act is implemented properly. I urge all governments to ensure that comprehensive data is collected, and that this data is used to design and implement targeted legislative and policy responses. Finally, Jewish people must be supported, empowered and facilitated to report instances of antisemitism and they must do this in the knowledge that perpetrators will be brought to justice. One of the basic elements of any preventive strategy is the clear message that those who inflict antisemitic harassment and violence will be held to account.

Another essential element of preventive strategies – for which the responsibility falls to all of us - pertains to education and awareness-raising. As live testimonies to the horrors of the Holocaust decrease, we must be ambitious and innovative when it comes to keeping these stories alive. Indeed, our survey underscores the need for this: 78% of Jews encountered antisemitism in the form of Holocaust denial/trivialisation or distortion of historical facts. 71% of respondents had encountered ‘accusations of Jews exploiting the Holocaust “victimhood”’ – here in Poland, that was 82%. We must develop new ways to talk, to think, to educate about the Holocaust; particularly as only 28% of Jews were satisfied with measures taken by governments to include the topic of the Holocaust in education. Public officials should be trained to recognise what constitutes antisemitism and its impact on Jewish people and their communities.

This education and awareness-raising must include measures to foster and celebrate Jewish life. In these trying times, our focus is on combatting the negative: overcoming the tidal wave of antisemitism and facing the new ways in which hate is manifesting. However, we cannot lose sight of the need to preserve and showcase the rich Jewish culture we all know exists.

In all of these measures, I reiterate my unwavering commitment that my Agency will continue to be your fierce partner in many ways: through our data collection which maintains a focus on antisemitism, through using our work in other areas, such as online content moderation, to identify newer forms of hate crime and through providing the EU and Member States with evidence upon which to base their strategies and actions. Through raising our voices on the need for strengthened Holocaust education and awareness-raising, and through encouraging others, such as political and religious leaders, to do the same. Above all, we will continue to build upon our strong and respectful cooperation with Jewish communities.

I thank you for your time - Dziękuję państwu za uwagę. 

See also