While most of us see a crisis like the pandemic as a challenge to be overcome, there are others who consider these it as a gift — a golden opportunity not to be wasted.
Far-right extremists — both abroad and closer to home — are exploiting Covid-19 to peddle conspiracy theories and intensify antisemitic hate.
The association of Jews with disease and infection draws on deep-rooted antisemitic tropes. In the 14th century, Jews were blamed for causing the Black Death plague by poisoning wells. The scale of persecution was so vast that it led to Western Europe being virtually emptied of its Jewish communities, many of whom travelled east to escape.
This is the antisemitic legacy that is echoed by today’s far-right extremists. My new report for the Henry Jackson Society explores how far-right actors on both sides of the Atlantic are exploiting the pandemic, focusing on two organisations: the UK’s British National Socialist Movement (BNSM) and the US’s National Socialist Movement (NSM).
Material posted by the BNSM on encrypted messenger app Telegram, and published on the website of the NSM, includes suggestions that Jewish people were behind the “manufacturing” of Covid-19 and stand to profit from the increased demand for medicines; are celebrating the effects of the pandemic on non-Jews; and are “controlling” government responses to the crisis to “test” the willingness of people to comply with restrictions on their civil liberties.
Other material encourages infected individuals to contaminate Jews and their places of worship. Reflecting the increasingly internationalist nature of the far-right, both organisations have disseminated similar antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Far-right extremism is now the fastest-growing terror threat in the UK. The need for a robust approach to this was shown by the recent terrorism-related conviction of a teenager in the North East of England. Having drafted a “manual for practical sensible guerrilla warfare against the Jewish system in the Durham City area”, the individual convicted sought to target local banks for “obvious reasons”.
We need a more co-ordinated, strategic approach to tackling this, involving national public authorities, police forces and local communities.
Another idea is for the Home Office’s Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT) to create online units to counter non-evidenced conspiracies which pose a threat to certain social groups.
While the removal of extremist content should be part of the discussion, the dismantling and exposure of conspiracy theories through well-organised social media campaigns could help counter radicalisation.
UK police have considerable powers to tackle online hate and extremist activity. However, police officers — especially newer recruits — would benefit from greater training to raise awareness of antisemitism and its historical context, so that they can identify when offences are being committed and what their roles and responsibilities are.
In addition, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) should direct Chief Constables be proactive in strengthening relations with local Jewish communities, with a clear strategy for safety and protection.
Education about antisemitism as a specific form of harassment, prejudice and violence should be more prominent within police training programmes and curriculums at a national and local level, with a common thread running from local police to counter-terrorism programmes.
Far-right antisemitic terrorist attacks are a stern warning for the UK. Robust, co-ordinated action at all levels is needed to control far-right antisemitism. We must do more.
Dr Rakib Ehsan is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. Twitter: @rakibehsan
