To commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day, Channel 2 will air the documentary film "The New Anti-Semitism" Sunday evening. In the film, former news anchor Yaakov Aylon investigates the phenomenon of modern anti-Semitism. The two-year project, co-produced by Israeli and Canadian production companies, was filmed in Britain, France, the U.S., Canada and South Africa. In it, Aylon presents the new anti-Semites, some of whom hide behind anti-Zionist organizations and others who hide behind nothing. "It's a little different from what people are used to seeing here on Holocaust Remembrance Day," says Aylon. "Throughout the years we've seen fairly similar things that are repetitious, and this is an attempt to look further ahead at what is called the 'new anti-Semitism.'" How is the new anti-Semitism different from the traditional anti-Semitism- "It's a combination of several things: The distribution machine that is the Internet, which is largely a wonderful thing and which we are thankful for, provides an unbelievable tool for crazy people and hate mongers and it creates new genres. All of the Internet's huge advantages are channeled for this purpose. In the film we will see the scope of the phenomenon; the content is changing and becoming stronger, and today you are no longer faced with the classic anti-Semitism of [stereotypes of ] Jews with big noses, rather more in the direction of the State of Israel, which is often categorized as Nazi. Everything is flipped upside down and backwards." Are there specific examples of anti-Semitism on the Internet- "Aside from videos and messages that are found on the web, if you search the word 'Jewed' in Google you get something anti-Jewish, and if you search the word Holocaust you get Holocaust deniers because it all depends on the amount of the material." Are there also examples of activists who fight against anti-Semitism- "We didn't delve into that very deeply, but we do bring several examples. For instance, a blogger named Richard Millet, who is a type of Internet anti-Semite hunter active in London, where there is quite a bit of hate surrounding Israel based on the political situation and Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Richard goes to these events, films and audio records them and publishes them on his blog. He also caused the firing of a politician named Jenny Tonge, whom he videotaped at an event inside the parliament building talking about the destruction of Israel." Where in the world is the new anti-Semitism phenomenon the strongest- "In the U.S. the situation is very, very dire because freedom of expression is so strongly entrenched in the law." Were there places that refused to cooperate with you because you were Israeli- "The film was produced in conjunction with a Canadian television station, and it was easier for them to go places that we couldn't. During these gatherings you see people who look like they're crazy and others who look like your next door neighbor, like your accountant who casually describes how Hitler didn't finish the job properly. For the most part, these people are not shy, but they are always suspicious because they are conspiracy chasers who always think it's the Zionists." So this movie is essentially supposed to frighten us- "The goal is not to frighten. The goal is to put it on the table. In the film there is a segment about the 'Darknet' the Internet's basement that contains all of the world's nut jobs and unspeakable things take place there."
