Star-studded social media campaign takes on global anti-Semitism

The campaign highlights the never-ending story of anti-Semitism.

By World Israel News Staff

A social media campaign was launched on Tuesday with the aim of generating awareness about the problem of anti-Semitism, ahead of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum.

Over 45 heads of state and world leaders will gather in Jerusalem on January 23 to remember the Holocaust and find ways to fight anti-Semitism, said the European Jewish Congress (EJC) in a statement released on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the ‘Stop This Story!’ campaign will be the first global initiative of its kind that will leverage Instagram’s AR (Augmented Reality) effects to drive a global movement.

Already, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, supermodel Bar Refaeli, actress Vanessa Kirby, former NBA player Omri Casspi, and other international figures, actors, entertainers, and athletes are said to have joined the campaign and created their unique images. Many other international stars have been secured to join, said EJC.

“Anti-Semitism, in all its various forms, harms Jews around the world on a daily basis, whether in their homes, streets, schools, universities, synagogues, and online,” Dr. Moshe Kantor, president of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation and the European Jewish Congress, initiator of the unprecedented international Instagram campaign that calls on the world to act and put an end to anti-Semitism.

“This phenomenon causes more than 80% of the Jews of Europe to fear for their safety and more than 40% of them to consider leaving their homes and communities,” he added.

The “best way to spread any message today is through social media because social networks and those who use them have the power to make the necessary changes in our societies,” Kantor said. “Instagram users are a significant demographic segment that is growing rapidly, and I have always argued that the best way to fight any form of prejudice is through education and awareness. Creating awareness of the story of anti-Semitism is the first step necessary to stopping it.”

The EJC says the campaign recruited “some of the world’s leading AR effects’ creators. It has gained the support of international influencers, each of them with millions followers, to create their own creative ‘Stop This Story!’ effect adjusted to the palm of the hand, so anyone can easily and experientially create and share their ‘Stop This Story!’ image on Instagram and join the global movement.”

Furthermore, says the The European Jewish Congress, a time-lapse video project, featuring Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 91, a world-renowned sex therapist, media personality, and Holocaust survivor, will be posted on Instagram and other social media platforms in a series of stories. The video highlights “the never-ending story of anti-Semitism, utilizing impressive visual techniques.”

Using these technologies, including Time-lapse, “the endless story of anti-Semitism, from the 1930s to the year 2020, will show the world that anti-Semitism did not end with the Holocaust and is gaining steam again to frightening levels,” said the EJC statement.