In response to the rising challenge of online anti-Semitism, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UNESCO, B’nai B’rith International, the World Jewish Congress and American Jewish Committee came together to host an action-oriented online capacity building workshop. The session united over 50 transatlantic civil society leaders, online anti-Semitism experts and leading figures driving policy responses to hateful narratives as well as fostering media and information literacy, to share best practices around countering online anti-Semitism from across Europe and North America.

The workshop was opened by Christopher Castle, director of the Division for Peace and Sustainable Development at UNESCO, who thanked civil society organisations for their tireless work countering anti-Semitism. As keynote speaker, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. special envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, provided timely remarks on the nature and repercussions of rising digital anti-Semitism on both sides of the Atlantic.

In a first panel discussion, ‘Researching online anti-Semitism: Transatlantic trends, targets and impacts’, participants heard perspectives from Katherine Keneally (ISD US), Danny Morris (CST) and Monika Hübscher (University of Haifa and University Duisberg-Essen), moderated by Hannah Rose (ISD).

Next, Yfat Barak-Cheney (WJC) hosted a second panel on the latest policy developments on hate speech and freedom of expression, with important contributions from Guilherme Canela (UNESCO), Prabhat Agarwal and Deborah Behar (European Commission), and Holly Huffnagle (AJC).

Finally, in a session on community responses introduced by Alina Bricman (B’nai B’rith), participants joined three breakout rooms on digital citizenship and education, coalition building, and research and threat mitigation, engaging in transatlantic knowledge-exchange regarding the diverse and impactful work of a multitude of civil society organizations.  

In the rapidly evolving landscape of transnational online anti-Semitism, it is more important than ever for civil society organizations to connect and share knowledge, working jointly to combat the shared threat facing Jewish communities globally.