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(San Diego, CA - October 7, 2021) -- StandWithUs San Diego strongly condemns antisemitic conspiracy theories and demonization of Israel during a recent panel hosted by the San Diego County Democratic Party (SDCDP) Central Committee.
One panelist falsely accused Israel of being complicit in the horrific murder of George Floyd, simply because some senior U.S. law enforcement officials have traveled to the Jewish state to learn about counter-terrorism. This is a vile antisemitic conspiracy theory, which echoes a dark history of Jews being scapegoated for evils and injustices in society. In fact, there is evidence that this conspiracy theory influenced a man who murdered Jews in a New Jersey deli in December, 2019.
Another panelist stated that the Holy Land Five "were tried for the simple audacity of creating a foundation that wanted to give medical supplies to children in Gaza." In fact, they were tried and convicted for funneling $12 million to the antisemitic terrorist group Hamas.
A third panelist erased the centuries of oppression that Jews faced across the Middle East and North Africa, claiming they lived in "harmony" with ruling Arab Muslim populations. Yael Steinberg, director StandWithUs San Diego explains that, "while their suffering was historically less severe than European antisemitism, Jews in the Arab world were always treated as second class citizens at best and a persecuted minority at worst. This inconvenient truth is frequently distorted or denied by those who seek to blame Israel and 'Zionists' for all problems in the region."
StandWithUs San Diego urges the SDCDP to denounce the conspiracy theory and outright falsehoods promoted during the panel, and to take steps to ensure they never allow such antisemitism to go unchallenged again. We also call on the SDCDP to acknowledge the centuries of oppression and systemic discrimination Jews faced across the Middle East and North Africa, long before the Arab-Israeli conflict. We stand with members of the SDCDP who are fighting back against this hatred and misinformation. About StandWithUs StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism. Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has programs on five continents with chapters and offices throughout the U.S., in Israel, the UK, Canada and Brazil. For the last nine years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum). www.standwithus.com and www. facebook.com/standwithus and www.twitter.com/standwithus and https://www.instagram.com/standwithus
