Online attacks on Jews rising before US midterm elections: Report

Far-right and neo-Nazi group in the United States have increased an intimidating wave of anti-Semitic harassment against Jewish journalists, political candidates and others ahead of next month’s US midterm congressional elections, according to a new report.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish organization based in New York City, said in a report released Friday that its researchers analyzed over 7.5 million Twitter messages from August 31 to September 17.

The study found that nearly 30 percent of the Twitter accounts that repeatedly posted derogatory terms about Jews appeared to be automated "bots."

But accounts controlled by real-life humans often mount the most "worrisome and harmful" anti-Semitic attacks, sometimes organized by leaders of extremist or white nationalist groups, ADL researchers said.

"Both anonymity and automation have been used in online propaganda offensives against the Jewish community during the 2018 midterms," the report said.

ADL national director and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said the midterm congressional elections have been a "rallying point" for far-right extremists to organize efforts to spread anti-Semitism online.

"It's a place where extremists really have felt emboldened," Greenblatt said of social media platforms.

The report comes after a mass shooting on Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, left 11 people dead and dozens injured, one of the deadliest attacks against Jews in US history.

Armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and at least three handguns, Robert Bowers, the suspect, reportedly shouted "all Jews must die" as he entered the synagogue.

PressTV-Eight people shot dead at synagogue in US

Several people have been killed and injured in a shooting incident near the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the United States, according to reports.  

George Soros, a Hungarian-born American Jew, was a leading subject of harassing tweets, the study found. Soros, a billionaire investor often criticized by far-right activists, is one of the prominent members of the Democratic Party who had pipe bombs sent to them this week.

Since Monday, explosive devices have been addressed to former US President Barack Obama, ex-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and a litany of Democratic figures loathed by far-right supporters of Republican President Donald Trump.

The ADL's study concludes online disinformation and abuse is disproportionately targeting Jews in the US "during this crucial political moment."

"Prior to the election of President Donald Trump, anti-Semitic harassment and attacks were rare and unexpected, even for Jewish Americans who were prominently situated in the public eye. Following his election, anti-Semitism has become normalized and harassment is a daily occurrence," the report says.

In a report last year, the ADL said anti-Semitic incidents in the US had increased about 70 percent compared to 2016.

Despite claiming to be an advocate of civil rights in the US, the ADL has been accused by experts of equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.

Noam Chomsky, a Jewish American political scientist and one of the most cited scholars in US history, has accused the ADL of "having lost entirely its focus on civil rights issues in order to become solely an advocate for Israeli policy."

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