StopAntisemitism is a privately-funded American advocacy group focused on combating antisemitism by exposing individuals perceived by the group as antisemitic.[1][2]
Social media influencer Liora Rez founded StopAntisemitism as StopAntisemitism.org in October 2018 to monitor and expose online antisemitism. Rez was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, then in the Soviet Union, where her family experienced antisemitism.[4][5] She started her social media career in 2013, under the name "Jewish Chick".[6]
As of September 2019, the organization's social media posts were viewed more than 750,000 times per month.[7] According to Rez, the organization is 100% privately-funded.[1] The Milstein Family Foundation, operated by Gila and Adam Milstein, is among the funders.[8]
Activities
StopAntisemitism receives real-time tips about antisemitic incidents via its website and social media accounts. The organization then vets the submission for accuracy, ensure it has not been edited, and to confirm the location of the incident. According to Rez, the organization does not post all the submissions it receives and can take several hours to vet a submission. Next, StopAntisemitism researches the individual and their employers, both internally and using crowdsourcing. The organization then takes an assertive approach, seeking to create consequences and "expose antisemites" and a name-and-shame approach.[7][1] The number of reports submitted In the aftermath of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel increased by over 1,500% to more than 500 reports of antisemitism per day.[1]
Rez has defended the organization by stating the organization has the "equal right to showcase it to millions of people on social media and make your employers aware and make your community aware and make your and make society aware".[1]
Each week, the organization's website highlights an "Antisemite of the Week."[7] According to Rez, the "Antisemite of the Week" notifications went to 50,000 people per week in 2022.[4] Since 2019, the organization has also selected a figure as the "Antisemite of the Year".[9] The effort has come under criticism, including in 2024 for including progressive activists who had criticized Israel's actions in the Israel–Hamas war.[10] A defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit against the organization by a former university professor who had been named "Antisemite of the Week" was dismissed by a Pennsylvania court, which found that the organization's claims are "matters of opinion...subject to disagreement and do not imply the presence of undisclosed facts" and are protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.[11][12]
In October 2019, StopAntisemitism sent a petition with 2,000 signatures to the US Department of Education calling on the agency to keep the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) out of college campuses. The petition said CAIR pushes "Islamist propaganda, anti-Semitism, and anti-American bias" onto college campuses.[13]
In November 2023, StopAntisemitism launched StopDontShop.org that informs consumers about businesses which they believed supported Hamas in the Israel-Hamas War or which they believed express hatred towards the Jewish people and nation.[14]
An article by The Washington Post in April 2024, revealed that over 36 people had been fired from their jobs after the group exposed allegedly antisemitic comments made by the individuals based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, or simply the working definition of antisemitism, which was disputed by a substantial proportion of academics critical of Israel. For example, one individual was publicized on StopAntisemitism's social media pages after allegedly threatening Jews. After the post, the individual was terminated. In another instance, StopAntisemitism revealed a professor to have allegedly threatened Jews, who was later terminated.[2]
StopAntisemitism took part in launching a petition calling on firing activist Marc Lamont Hill.[15] The organization releases an annual Antisemitism on U.S. College & University Campuses Report, using a report card-style grading system to assess 25 universities across the United States on their efforts to address campus antisemitism and protect their Jewish students.[16]
Reception
Journalist Jonathan Tobin lauded StopAntisemitism for carrying forward the education effort of established civil rights groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League. As a result of her work with StopAntisemitism, Rez was chosen by the Algemeiner newspaper for its "J100" list of "The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life":[5] in 2019,[6] 2021,[17] and 2022.[18]
The group was criticized by Viki Auslender of Calcalist for its usage of a form of doxxing.[19]
