A few days ago, the BBC News posted a story with the alarming title, “Anti-Semitic social posts ‘not taken down’ in 80% of cases.” The story, based on a report titled Failure to Protect, by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), sheds light on the inaction of tech giants when it comes to user reports of antisemitism. The report found that a whopping “84% of posts containing anti-Jewish hate were not acted on by social media companies after our researchers reported them as containing anti-Jewish hate.”
Truth be told, this doesn’t surprise me. It has long been clear that big-tech companies have no interest in fighting antisemitism. Posts containing Jew-hatred bring traffic and create discussions, which is great for them. Therefore, we shouldn’t expect them to act now or in the future. It is not a “Failure to Protect,” as the title of the report reads; it is “No Desire to Protect.”
The plain truth is that if you want to write something against Jews, you have a free pass, but when it comes to any other form of hate, there is zero tolerance. No regulatory measures, or adoption of official definitions of antisemitism, nor any declaration of “war against antisemitism” will eradicate it, or even induce efforts to restrain its audacity on social media.
Instead of these futile crusades, Jews should focus on their inner solidarity; they should not worry about what the world thinks of them, but about what they think of each other. This is our only problem. We have always been a pugnacious people, but in the past, we knew how to unite above our different views, strengthen our solidarity, and benefit from the diversity of our perspectives. This has always been our source of strength. Today, all we have left is the belligerence we turn toward each other. King Solomon taught us that “Hate stirs strife, and love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12). We have forgotten half the lesson: We excel in hating, but fail miserably in covering our crimes with love. When we hate one another so passionately, how can we expect anyone to like us?
Therefore, as our sages have always cautioned, if we focus on our solidarity, everything will be alright. In The Book of Consciousness, Rabbi Eliyahu writes, “We are commanded at each generation to strengthen the unity among us so our enemies do not rule over us.” Similarly, the book Shem MiShmuel asserts, “When [Israel] are as one man with one heart, they are as a fortified wall against the forces of evil.” The sooner we open our hearts to the words of our sages, who wanted only our best, the sooner we will eliminate the nations’ hatred toward us—not by fighting against their hatred, but by fighting for our love of one another.