Jewish Media Group’s Video about Antisemitism Unleashes Stream of Antisemitic Hatred Online

YouTube Must Not Be Allowed To Become a Forum for Anti-Jewish and Antisemitic Extremism

Independent media company, OpenDor Media, posted a video yesterday exploring the origins of anti-Semitism on its Unpacked YouTube channel. Almost as soon as it was uploaded, the comments section of the video began filling with antisemitic statements and rhetoric, with many of the posts clearly violating YouTube’s Hate Speech Policy.

The short video was one of Unpacked’s bi-weekly explainer-style videos that investigate timely topics, and interesting topics. Previous explainer subjects include Jewish pirates of the Caribbean, Israeli basketball hopeful Deni Avdija, and the USS Liberty Incident.

Unpacked is currently also running an ongoing series called The Jewish Story Explained that will cover 3,000 years of the Jewish experience.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time our videos have been subject to anti-Semitic comments,” says Dina Rabhan, CEO of OpenDor Media. “We have just never experienced such a shocking onslaught before,” they added.

“We know that by tackling subjects connected to Israel and Judaism on an open forum like YouTube, we are opening ourselves up to people who may disagree with us. We are not against discussion and debate; in fact, that’s at the core of what we are about. We want our audience to question us and to make their own opinions about our content. However, we do not accept that posting videos that tackle sometimes difficult and at times controversial subjects gives people permission to spew hate speech and offensive rhetoric. We strongly condemn the comments and call on YouTube to enforce its clearly outlined policy much more stringently.” 

Anti-Semitism is on the rise both worldwide and in the United States, with 2019 seeing the highest level of anti-Semitic incidents ever recorded in America, with over 2,1000 acts of assault, vandalism, and harassment reported.


About OpenDor Media

OpenDor Media (formerly Jerusalem U) is a leading global non-profit media company for the 21st century. We educate, entertain, and engage our audiences by bringing to life big ideas and authentic stories, and by celebrating all things Jewish.

About Unpacked

Unpacked, a division of OpenDor Media, is a leading global Jewish youth media brand that creates fast-paced, fact-filled and thought-provoking short videos to help high school and college students untangle the complexities of Israel and Judaism.

Press inquiries

If you’re a member of the media and would like to get in touch, please send us a note.

rrabinowitz@opendormedia.org

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