Holocaust Denial – Everyday Antisemitism

The German BKA, the central police authority, have published a press release detailing the arrest of around 60 individuals accused of creating and distributing antisemitic and other xenophobic content online, following an investigation involving 25 police departments across 14 provinces. Around 40 investigations are underway, making it the largest such operation that the German police have carried out.

Those arrested are also accused of having denied the Holocaust, as well as celebrating “particular aspects of National Socialism”. Much of the content was allegedly shared on a private Facebook group frequented by far-right radicals.

The political climate in Germany following the migrant crisis has attracted attention in the international media, with some pointing out that the country’s far right appears to be in the ascendancy.

Canadian professional Football player Khalif Mitchell has been reported as having posted a series of antisemitic comments on his twitter account, which appear to have since been deleted.

We recently uncovered the widespread antisemitic reaction to the death of Elie Wiesel. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mitchell referred to Wiesel as a “thief of the holy people”. Mitchell repeatedly attempts to erase Jewish religious identity, claiming that Jews are “devils posing as God’s people” and that the “real tribes of Israel would never use a demonic Star of David, only devils would” – in other tweets he shares an image of a “former Satanist” attempting to link the Star of David with Devil Worship. After the publication of the JTA article, Mitchell also referred to Synagogues as “Sin-Of-Gogs” and urged his followers to look at “who has all the $$$ and media”, referencing two antisemitic canards of Jewish control of finance and the media. He has also shared images from the antisemitic book ‘Synagogues of Satan’, which purports to expose a Jewish international conspiracy.

Mitchell was fined last year for sharing a video espousing Holocaust denial, a position he later claimed that he did not himself hold. However, his recent online activity must call this claim into question.