180 NGOs call on Elon Musk to tackle antisemitism on Twitter

The groups believe that with Elon Musk’s renowned creativity and innovative thinking, Twitter can implement technological solutions to curb antisemitism and serve as an example to other social media platforms.

By World Israel News Staff

In a joint letter, the International Legal Forum (ILF), a global network of lawyers and activists combating antisemitism in the legal arena, together with 180 civil rights groups from around the world, have called on Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk to adopt the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism and urgently act the explosive Jew-hatred rampant on the social media platform.

According to the IHRA, “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

The IHRA provides examples of what may be considered antisemitism.

Nearly 40 countries, including the United States, have already endorsed or adopted the (IHRA) Working Definition, ILF notes. In addition, an overwhelming majority of civil society groups, at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism, encourage the use and adoption of the Working Definition.

“To maximize the probability that the future is good, the world needs an online platform where everyone can participate,” the letter reads. “Unfortunately, this is not the case, as Jewish users are subject to unrelenting harassment on Twitter.”

The groups believe that with Elon Musk’s renowned creativity and innovative thinking, Twitter can implement technological solutions to curb antisemitism and serve as an example to other social media platforms.

In order to do so, they suggest, Twitter should utilize the IHRA working definition as a tool to define what consists of antisemitism.

“At a time when antisemitism and incitement against Jews is so pervasive and unrelenting on-line, it is incumbent upon social media platforms, such as Twitter, to show leadership and take immediate action to stamp this out,” said ILF CEO and human rights lawyers Arsen Ostrovsky.

“The first step in order to combat antisemitism, is to define it, and the IHRA working definition is an indispensable guiding tool in this regard, that needs to be adopted and implemented.”

Demonstrating the seriousness of Twitter’s antisemitism problem, the letter to Musk includes a dataset of more than 1,000 examples of antisemitic tweets that fall under the IHRA definition.

The joint letter also recommends a way for Twitter to flag antisemitic tweets while educating users about antisemitism.

The letter concludes by calling on Musk and Twitter “to rise to its commitment to be the modern town square … by fully adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.”

The letter to Musk and Twitter, together with a list of all the signatories, can be found online at: www.AdoptIHRA.org/twitterletter