#1 ·
Since free speech is pretty much a cornerstone of any modern society, it’s obviously a big deal for all of us.
The real question—and I guess this is where things get messy—is when does free speech cross the line into hate speech and actually face consequences?
Look, I’m just scratching an itch here, but I figured I’d point the Politics mods toward this document from the Anti-Defamation League regarding their working definition of antisemitism. Might make your moderation jobs a little easier:
Respectfully,
The real question—and I guess this is where things get messy—is when does free speech cross the line into hate speech and actually face consequences?
Look, I’m just scratching an itch here, but I figured I’d point the Politics mods toward this document from the Anti-Defamation League regarding their working definition of antisemitism. Might make your moderation jobs a little easier:
This document is basically meant to be a practical guide for spotting antisemitic incidents, tracking them, and pushing for stronger legal rules to shut antisemitism down.
Working definition: "Antisemitism is a specific attitude toward Jews that can be defined as hatred toward them. This includes verbal, written, and physical manifestations of that hatred directed at Jews and non-Jews, or against the property, institutions, and religious sites of Jewish communities."
On top of that, these manifestations can also target the state of Israel, which is viewed as the Jewish collective.
Antisemitic attacks often involve accusing Jews of being part of some conspiracy to hurt humanity. It’s also common to see antisemitic tropes used to blame Jews for "why things are going so badly for us." Antisemitism shows up in speech, writing, imagery, and various other ways, using rigged stereotypes or those classic negative character traits.
Modern examples of antisemitism in public life, media, schools, workplaces, or religious settings might include (but aren't limited to) the following, if you look at the whole context:
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Calling for, helping, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist wing of a religious group.
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Spreading false, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical accusations against Jews as individuals or as a social group. These kinds of claims specifically include—though they aren't the only ones!—myths about a global Jewish conspiracy or claims that Jews control the media, the economy, power structures, or other social institutions.
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Blaming the Jewish people as a whole for actual or made-up wrongdoings committed by a single Jew or a group of Jews, or even for actions taken by non-Jews.
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Denying the facts, scale, methods (like gas chambers, for example), or the organized nature of the genocide against the Jewish people carried out by Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II (the Holocaust).
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Accusing Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of making up or exaggerating the scale of the Holocaust.
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Claiming that Jewish citizens of any country are more loyal to Israel than to their own country, or suggesting there are supposed Jewish priorities worldwide that matter more to them than the interests of their own nations.
Ways antisemitism manifests when linked to the state of Israel could include:
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Denying Jews the right to self-determination by claiming the existence of the state of Israel is inherently racist.
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Applying double standards by demanding that Israel act in ways that aren't expected from any other democratic nation.
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Using symbols or imagery tied to classic antisemitism (like the claim that Jews killed Jesus or accusations of ritual murder) to characterize Israel or Israelis.
Comparing today's Israeli policy to Nazi ideology.
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The idea that Jews are collectively responsible for everything the state of Israel does.
That said—criticizing the state of Israel is pretty much like criticizing any other country; I don't think you can call that antisemitism.
An antisemitic act is usually considered a crime when it’s actually defined as such by law—like how denying the Holocaust or tearing up anti-hate literature is illegal in certain places.
Then there's the physical stuff—attacks on people or property, like buildings, schools, houses of worship, or cemeteries, specifically because they're Jewish or tied to the Jewish community.
And finally, antisemitic discrimination is basically just denying Jews the same rights everyone else gets—which, in most of the US, is illegal since we're supposed to have equality regardless of faith or background.
Respectfully,