Call for articles
Antisemitism on Social Media
Submission deadline: Proposal 15 May 2020/Article Spring 2021

Editors
Marc Grimm, Dr. phil., Centre for Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence at Bielefeld University, Germany

Monika Hübscher, PhD Fellow, Haifa Center for German and European Studies, Israel & Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, Paris

On social media, we are confronted with unprecedented, organized attacks against Jewish people and institutions. In 2016, for over a year, 800 Jewish journalists were hunted and harassed on Twitter, in an organized troll attack with antisemitic content. Moreover, by spreading antisemitism, social media is being weaponized to harm Jewish people. As there is no direct relation of cause and effect, it needs to be explored whether the wide distribution of antisemitism on social media has led to grave offline consequences, such as the announcement and streaming of attacks such as in Pittsburgh (USA), and Halle (Germany).
Antisemitism on social media is a regular focus of TV debates and in print and online media, however the urgency to tackle this issue is not yet reflected by scholarship. While some academic articles deal specifically with antisemitism on social media, as of now, only a few conferences and scholarly lectures have been dedicated to the topic, and often the topic is dealt with disregarding the specific dynamics of social media and the possibility to disseminate antisemitic content to large audiences. The slow pace of research contrasts with the status quo of the issue: lack of scholarship on antisemitism on social media is reflected by the ineffective responses to the issue from the social network platforms themselves and in insufficient strategies from politics and non-governmental organizations.
This introductory volume aims for a significant and much-needed shift within the field of antisemitism studies, namely toward a comprehensive focus on antisemitism on social media. It will contribute to educating about antisemitism on social media in its various forms from an interdisciplinary perspective. The conclusions will serve policymakers within politics and potentially within the social networks to develop sufficient counterstrategies.
Due to the novelty of the research field antisemitism on social media, we encourage to propose also concepts and ideas for articles that are still in its infancy. We also welcome submissions by young scholars and researchers new to the field of antisemitism or social media. A short list of some literature and useful links on the topic is attached.

We are particularly interested in receiving proposals from journalists, practitioners, policy makers and scholars in the fields of technology, history, psychology, law, linguistics.
The issues and questions that the publication deals with include but are not limited to:

- forms of expression, use, and dissemination of antisemitism on social media
- What are the best strategies to inoculate individuals against antisemitism and in how far does the rise of social media challenge the best practice in this field?
- How is it possible to determine the susceptibility of people to antisemitism online?
- How is antisemitism on social media situated in the history of antisemitism?
- Combat strategies against antisemitism on social media
- the origins of antisemitism on social media and the contexts they are embedded in
- Who is responsible for combatting antisemitism on social media?
- Which research initiatives are needed?
- (comparative) legal possibilities to confront antisemitism on social media
- What competencies are required to tackle the global problem of antisemitism in social networks?
- How can social media providers be supported in acquiring expertise about antisemitism, considering it is not their priority?
- How to make the public aware of the dangers of antisemitism in social media in a way that it is different from hate speech?
- How can policymakers be motivated to put more pressure on providers in order to establish a sufficient strategy against antisemitism on social media?
- How can technology support the fight against antisemitism on social media?
- What is the psychological impact of antisemitism on the individual? Is psychotherapy equipped to help victims of antisemitic hate speech?

We ask for proposals for articles no longer than 300 words by 15 May 2020. We will let the authors know by the end of May, if their articles are accepted. The articles will be due Spring 2021.

Please send your proposals and questions to
Monika Hübscher (mo.huebscher@pm.me)
and Marc Grimm (marc.grimm@uni-bielefeld.de).

Literature

Amend, Alex (2018): Analyzing a terrorist’s social media manifesto: the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s posts on Gab. In: Southern Poverty Law Center, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/10/28/analyzing-terrorists-socialmedia-manifesto-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooters-posts-gab.

Community Security Trust (2019): Antisemitic Incidents. Report 2019, https://cst.org.uk/public/data/file/9/0/IncidentsReport2019.pdf.

Dolsten, Josefin (2019): Fake Twitter accounts are impersonating Jews and promoting antisemitism. In: The Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com/fake-twitter-accounts-are-impersonating-jews-and-promoting-anti-semitism/.

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2018): Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism. Second survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the, https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2018-experiences-and-perceptions-of-antisemitism-survey_en.pdf

Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, Indiana University (2017): Best Practices to Combat Antisemitism on Social Media. Research Report to the U.S. Department of State Office of Religion and Global Affairs, https://isca.indiana.edu/documents/Report-to-State-Department-on-Best-Practices.pdf.

Woolley, Samuel / Joseff, Katie (2018): Computational Propaganda, Jewish-Americans and the 2018 Midterms: The Amplification of Anti-Semitic Harassment Online, https://www.adl.org/resources/reports/computational-propaganda-jewish-americans-and-the-2018-midterms-the-amplification

World Jewish Congress / Vigo Social Intelligence (2016): The rise of Antisemitism on Social Media. Summary 0f 2016, http://www.crif.org/sites/default/fichiers/images/documents/antisemitismreport.pdf