Ideologically motivated violent extremist teams are utilizing antisemitism in a bid to recruit followers and encourage violence, in response to a report from Canada’s spy company.
The report dated Could 2024, launched below the entry to info legislation by the Canadian Safety Intelligence Service (CSIS), stated the extremist teams are additionally tapping into present occasions, such because the Israel-Hamas battle, to construct assist.
“Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremists routinely weave antisemitic commentary into their narratives as a way to encourage violence and recruit people,” says the report. “These new adherents, in flip, use antisemitic commentary, typically tailor-made to present occasions, as a way to disseminate violent messaging.”
“Thus, antisemitic beliefs, with violent undertones, are disseminated collectively to an ever-expanding circle of recipients.”
The report, obtained by the College of Ottawa’s Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic and shared with CBC Information, says a lot of that antisemitic content material is circulated through social media.
“Social media is the principle pathway for the consumption of antisemitic and violent extremist content material, be it through standard rhetoric accessible from mainstream suppliers, or through influencers who actively convey antisemitic content material or conspiracy theories,” says the report. “The narratives encourage hate crimes, violence and terrorism.”
The report says the continuous enhance in incidents concentrating on the Jewish neighborhood will normalize antisemitism in mainstream Canadian society and can probably be exacerbated by the battle within the Center East.
It additionally says pro-Palestinian protests and college encampments “are unlikely to result in or be staging grounds for violent extremist acts.”
The company locations numerous totally different teams into the class of Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremist (IMVE) together with far-right extremists, anti-authority teams, anarchists, xenophobic violence and violence associated to gender reminiscent of incels and anti-2SLGBTQ+ teams. Religiously Motivated Violent Extremist (RMVE) teams reminiscent of those who assist Al-Qaida or Daesh, often known as the Islamic State, fall right into a separate class.
Whereas the report says it’s troublesome to measure the exact degree of antisemitism in Canada, it says the variety of hate-motivated incidents directed on the Jewish and Arab/Muslim communities reported to police since Oct 7, 2023, have risen.
Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech College, stated using antisemitism by extremist teams is not well-known by the general public however specialists have seen it for a while — notably by far-right teams.
“Antisemitism is at all times a part of the narrative and when it may be exploited as blatantly as this, there is no hesitation in doing so,” she stated.
Nonetheless, they do not simply use antisemitism, Perry identified.
“The far proper is taking part in either side right here. They’re selling antisemitism however they’re additionally selling anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment on the identical time. [Gaza] is a win-win state of affairs for them.”
Perry stated it may immediate lone actors who’re a part of the community to take motion.
“It is not group-based violence that I believe is a worry right here — I believe it’s particular person acts of violence, motivated and formed by what they’re consuming in these on-line areas and that’s very troublesome to determine.”
On condition that assaults on Jewish establishments typically happen in the course of the night time, it may be laborious to know who was accountable, Perry stated.
“Clearly it was antisemitic however what precisely had been the motivations? Did it come from the left? Did it come from the precise? Does it come from Muslim-affiliated or Islamic-inspired extremists? We simply don’t have any approach of figuring out with these sorts of occasions.”
Phil Gurski, president of Borealis Risk and Danger Consulting and a former CSIS analyst, stated he thinks the higher risk of violent extremism comes from Islamist teams.
“Over the previous 10 years the federal government has under-represented the risk from Islamist teams and over-represented the risk from far-right teams which they name IMVE,” he stated.
Gurski stated there have been a number of arrests of Islamist-inspired teams or people planning assaults in Canada.
“We have had just about no arrests on the far proper,” he stated.
Gurski stated there is a rise in on-line rhetoric however the problem for safety companies is figuring out which of the individuals or teams being monitored threat going from being a keyboard warrior to finishing up an assault.
“The huge, overwhelming majority of people that say something on-line, by no means do a rattling factor. They speak the speak, they do not stroll the stroll.”
Andrew Kirsch, principal of the Kirsch Group and a former CSIS intelligence officer, stated it is not stunning that extremists, each spiritual and ideologically motivated, would attempt to use antisemitism and the battle within the Center East to encourage violent acts.
“They’re all utilizing present occasions to their ends and push on individuals’s buttons to align with their trigger and antisemitism suits in lots of buckets, sadly,” he stated.
Austin Parcels, supervisor of analysis and advocacy for Jewish advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada, stated the CSIS report confirms one thing his group believes has lengthy been occurring.
“Antisemitism isn’t just hatred — it is a recruitment software for extremists and IMVE teams are embedding themselves inside broader actions as a way to normalize antisemitism, radicalization, justification for violence,” Parcels stated.
“We have seen these teams hiding [behind] a skinny veneer of issues like anti-colonialism or post-modernism however all whereas calling for the eradication of the Jewish State.”
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