The internet and social media in particular have rapidly become the most widespread and visceral field for antisemites. The five major social networking platforms in the world—Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube—ignored 84% of reports submitted to them about antisemitic posts, according to a new study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a British-American monitoring organization.
But the creators of the study turned everything from head to toe. These networks have never tried to address anti-Jewish content on their platforms. On the contrary, these type of posts are good for them—they evoke a response from the audience. Antisemitic materials get feedback, create lively engagement and debates around them. They generate a chain reaction of public interest. So antisemitic content is given a free pass; anyone can go ahead and write whatever they want to stimulate hateful dialogue.
Contrary to how it may seem, antisemitic posts work for us as an auxiliary force against us. Antisemites help Zionists. One might ask, how is that possible? I can attest myself that if I had not felt in my own skin anti-Jewish rejection and animosity in Russia, I would not have immigrated to Israel. That is why I thank the antisemites. I owe them.
When I was a young student scientist and began working at a medical institute, I could not progress anywhere in the field and facility only because I was Jewish. Whenever I forgot my identity, antisemites made sure to remind me of it and told me straight to my face: “It’s not for you! We cannot give you permission to work in this lab because it is secret.” In this way I was repeatedly taught that Russia was not my place, and this pushed me to emigrate to the land of Israel.
Social networks are a great arena for development—not in them, but with their help. Instead of fighting hatred against Jews on social media like Don Quixote following an impossible quest and struggling to fix what has no fix in that way, we must accept the antisemitic pressure as a gift that propels us forward to wake up and be the way Jews should be. What does that mean?
As Jews we need to remember that we are not the weakest link in humanity. On the contrary, we are the strongest of all because we received the wisdom of connection to fulfill a specific spiritual role for the sake of the whole world. Our role is to pass on this wisdom to the entire human race.
In ancient times we brought spiritual social laws to all of mankind. All the nations of the world drew from these laws for their well-being, and now we must strive to return to that status. If we hold on to the original principles of the Israeli nation, those based on the laws of the Supreme Power, rules of good and complementary connection between people over instinctive egoism, we will be able to provide the medicine to cure our sick society in general.
But if we insist on holding to shreds of mixed ideas of communism, socialism, Marxism and other “isms,” which have no power to lift humanity above the egoism inherent in it, then we will continue to get confused and drift away from our source. We need to bring love into the world—not fleeting love as we know it, which has no roots, not artificial love like in pop culture—but true love from the heart, one capable of overcoming our evil instinct.
The Supreme Power is behind everything in reality, including antisemitism. So we have nothing to address directly to those who write against Jews, nor should we admire the abusers and promoters of offensive content. We need to admit to the existence of and admire the force at work in reality; we must take the tenets of the people of Israel like, “Love will cover all crimes” and “love your neighbor as yourself,” and implement them between us and begin to present them to the world and introduce them to everyone. When this treasure becomes public domain and is at everyone’s disposal, antisemitism on the web and everywhere else will cease.
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