Enabling Concepts in Hate Speech: The Function of the Apartheid Analogy in Antisemitic Online Discourse About Israel

Bolton, Matthew; Becker, Matthias J.; Ascone, Laura; Placzynta, Karolina

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-38248-2_9

Hate Speech in Social Media 2023

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-38248-2_9

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Enabling Concepts in Hate Speech: The Function of the Apartheid Analogy in Antisemitic Online Discourse About Israel

Matthew Bolton,

Matthias J. Becker,

Laura Ascone

et al.

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2024

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Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

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1. The Cases of Riley and Rooney

Placzynta

2024

Antisemitism in Online Communication

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Despite the benefits of the intersectional approach to antisemitism studies, it seems to have been given little attention so far. This chapter compares the online reactions to two UK news stories, both centred around the common theme of cultural boycott of Israel in support of the BDS movement, both with a well-known female figure at the centre of media coverage, only one of which identifies as Jewish. In the case of British television presenter Rachel Riley, a person is attacked for being female as well as Jewish, with misogyny compounding the antisemitic commentary. In the case of the Irish writer Sally Rooney, misogynistic discourse is used to strengthen the message countering antisemitism. The contrastive analysis of the two datasets, with references to similar analyses of media stories centred around well-known men, illuminates the relationships between the two forms of hate, revealing that—even where the antisemitic attitudes overlap— misogynistic insults and disempowering or undermining language are being weaponised on both sides of the debate, with additional characterisation of Riley as a “grifter” and Rooney as “naive”. More research comparing discourses around Jewish and non-Jewish women is needed to ascertain whether this pattern is consistent; meanwhile, the many analogies in the abuse suffered by both groups can perhaps serve a useful purpose: shared struggles can foster understanding needed to then notice the particularised prejudice. By including more than one hate ideology in the research design, intersectionality offers exciting new approaches to studies of antisemitism and, more broadly, of hate speech or discrimination.

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1. The Cases of Riley and Rooney

Placzynta

2024

Antisemitism in Online Communication

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4. “More Like Genocide”

Bolton

2024

Antisemitism in Online Communication

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Accusations that Israel has committed, or is in the process of committing, genocide against the Palestinian population of the Middle East are a familiar presence within anti- Israel and anti Zionist discourse. In the wake of the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli military invasion of Gaza, claims of an Israeli genocide reached new heights, culminating in Israel being accused of genocide by South Africa at the International Court of Justice. Such claims can be made directly or indirectly, via attempts to draw an equivalence between Auschwitz or the Warsaw Ghetto and the current situation in the Palestinian territories. This chapter examines the use of the concept of genocide in social media discussions responding to UK news reports about Israel in the years prior to the 2023 Israel- Hamas war, thereby setting out the pre-existing conditions for its rise to prominence in the response to that war. It provides a historical account of the development of the concept of genocide, showing its interrelation with antisemitism, the Holocaust and the State of Israel. It then shows how accusations of genocide started being made against Israel in the decades following the Holocaust, and argues that such use is often accompanied by analogies between Israel and Nazi Germany and forms of Holocaust distortion. The chapter then qualitatively analyses comments referencing a supposed Israeli genocide posted on the Facebook pages of major British newspapers regarding three Israel-related stories: the May 2021 escalation phase of the Arab- Israeli conflict; the July 2021 announcement that the US ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s would be boycotting Jewish settlements in the West Bank; and the rapid roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine in Israel from December 2020 to January 2021.

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Enabling Concepts in Hate Speech: The Function of the Apartheid Analogy in Antisemitic Online Discourse About Israel

Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

1. The Cases of Riley and Rooney

1. The Cases of Riley and Rooney

4. “More Like Genocide”

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