TikTokers wished a 97-year-old Auschwitz survivor a 'happy Holocaust' as some 'Free Palestine' supporters target Jewish social media users with antisemitic abuse
Joshua Zitser
Sun, May 23, 2021
Lily Ebert, a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor, received antisemitic comments on her TikTok posts. TikTok: @lilybert
There has been a sharp rise in the number of antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The ADL said that between May 7 and May 14, 17,000 tweets used variations of the phrase, "Hitler was right."
Jewish creators told Insider that their posts are being targeted with antisemitic abuse.
At 97, Lily Ebert is one of the oldest Jewish creators on TikTok. She is also a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp, where the Nazis murdered 1.5 million Jews.
Neither facts were enough to restrain the online mob looking for Jews to abuse on social media since Israel's bombing campaign on Gaza began.
After posting an innocuous TikTok video wishing her followers a restful Shabbat (Sabbath) from her London home, her great-grandson and the account's administrator said she was flooded with "messages of hate."
A "Happy Holocaust," "Peace be upon Hitler," and "Ask her if she thinks the treatment of Palestinians reminds her [of] the treatment she got in the camps" were some of the comments Ebert received.
The targeting of the Auschwitz survivor is not a one-off; the Anti-Defamation League said that between May 7 and May 14, more than 17,000 tweets could be found that used variations of the phrase, "Hitler was right," Insider's Sarah Al-Arshani reported.
There has been a 500 percent increase in the number of antisemitic incidents reported in the UK since May 8, according to the Community Security Trust (CST). Around a third of the 116 incidents took place online, the charity said.
Insider spoke to several Jewish creators who described how the recent rise of anti-Jewish racism online, triggered by recent events in Israel and Gaza, has created an atmosphere so toxic that many are fearful for their safety and have considered leaving social media for good. |
