Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism 2018
Sixth Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism, held at the International Convention Center, Jerusalem, on 19-21 March 2018
| Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism 2018
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Conference |
| Start date | 19 March 2018 |
| End date | 21 March 2018 |
| Location | International Convention Center, Jerusalem |
| Participants | "87 countries represented", according to The Real Jerusalem Streets; David M. Weinberg wrote of "some 100 speakers and 1,200 participants"; Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew through illness |
| Organisers | Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs; chairman Ran Yaakoby |
| Outcome | Ayelet Shaked and other justice ministers signed a joint statement on countering online hate speech; sources disagree on which foreign ministers signed |
The Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism 2018 was the 6th Global Forum, held at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on 19-21 March 2018. It was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, and chaired by Ran Yaakoby of the foreign ministry.[1][2][3] The Real Jerusalem Streets reported "87 countries represented".[1] Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew through illness; Naftali Bennett, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and US ambassador David Friedman spoke at the opening.[2]
David M. Weinberg, the Forum's founding coordinator, called the 2018 meeting "a profligate potpourri of anti-Semitic problems", writing of "some 100 speakers and 1,200 participants packed into mammoth plenary sessions over two days".[4]
Date
The conference opened on 19 March 2018 and ended on 21 March 2018, at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem.[1][3]
Organisers
Jüdisches Forum für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus reported that the three-day conference was organised by the Israeli foreign and Diaspora ministries.[2] Luah, reproducing a Forum announcement, described the GFCA as "the premier international gathering for assessing the state of Antisemitism globally" and said the 6th Forum would focus on three themes: antisemitism and "cyberhate" on the web, "the Rise of Far Right Politics in Europe", and "Faith Traditions as a Resource" involving "Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Leadership". It said the Forum would open on 19 March "with addresses by world leaders".[3] The Real Jerusalem Streets identified Ran Yaakoby of the MFA as "Chairman of the Global Forum".[1]
Attendees
The Real Jerusalem Streets wrote that "people came from around the world, with 87 countries represented". It named, among those present, US ambassador David Friedman, who spoke "the night before" the first day's opening plenary; Facebook's Delphine Reyre; former French prime minister Manuel Valls; and Bulgarian president Rumen Radev, who was photographed with Yaakoby.[1] The Jüdisches Forum report named Bennett, Shaked and Friedman among the opening speakers after Netanyahu cancelled because of illness.[2] Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, addressed the Forum on 19 March 2018.[5] Weinberg mentioned presentations by Natan Sharansky and Ariel Muzicant.[4]
Details
Opening and online hate session
The Real Jerusalem Streets reported that the first day's opening plenary was titled "Together we can fight online hate speech", and that Shaked was joined by other justice ministers in signing "a joint statement confronting online hate". That account named the ministers of justice of Germany, Greece and Italy.[1] Jewish News, reporting the Jerusalem Post, instead wrote that Shaked spoke "alongside her counterparts from Italy, Greece and Malta and top Facebook officials", and that "Shaked and the other justice ministers signed a joint statement on countering online hate speech and incitement to violence and terrorism." It quoted the statement: "We strongly encourage Internet users in our respective nations to report to law enforcement agencies hate speech, criminal conduct, and incitement and promotion of violence and terrorism encountered online to the Internet companies."[6]
According to the same Jewish News report, Shaked said incitement against Israel "reached new heights immediately after President Donald Trump's December 6 announcement that he will move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem", and that "this decision, which was well covered internationally, led to Palestinian calls for violence and terror against Israelis." She also gave figures from her ministry's cybersecurity department and said Twitter was "the least compliant in removing hate content".[6]
Weinberg's criticism
Weinberg, writing during the conference, said that under the foreign and Diaspora ministries the Forum had "morphed from a modest professional coordinating forum of core Jewish activists into a large and lavish international conference with cultural performances, expensive dinners, and swag", and that "this year's conference was open to almost any member of the public". He wrote that "the conference conveners couldn't decide on what to focus this year, so they turned the conference into a profligate potpourri of anti-Semitic problems", and that "in the crush and rush of some 100 speakers and 1,200 participants" there "wasn't enough time to delve into either topic seriously or to craft concrete policy proposals".[4]
The Real Jerusalem Streets also noted the "lavish food and desserts" and that "the Israeli Foreign Ministry spent plenty of shekels on this event".[1]
See also
- Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism
- Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism 2015
- Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism 2021
- Hasbara timeline
- Timeline of initiatives on Holocaust remembrance and antisemitism
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Real Jerusalem Streets, Global Forum For Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem: Inside and Outside The Real Jerusalem Streets, 27 March 2018, accessed 2 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tobias Rochlitz, Zur Gretchenfrage der urgeschichtlich-geschichtlichen Verstrickung Jüdisches Forum für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus, 27 March 2018, accessed 2 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Luah, 6th Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism Luah, accessed 2 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 David M. Weinberg, The Global Forum: A profligate potpourri of anti-Semitic challenges davidmweinberg.com, 23 March 2018 (also published in the Jerusalem Post, 22 March 2018), accessed 2 November 2026.
- ↑ Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Special Coordinator's Remarks at the 6th Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism United Nations, 19 March 2018, accessed 2 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Jewish News, Shaked: Online Anti-Israel Incitement Rose Following Trump Embassy Decision Jewish News (reporting the Jerusalem Post), 21 March 2018, accessed 2 November 2026.