Flavio Masitas

Public Affairs, Social Innovation and Development, TechForGood. Previously journalism, GOV, Politics, NGOs..🌱

[Dana Erlich 🇮🇱 @DanaErlich]

Qué más tiene que pasar para que las autoridades españolas actúen???

Estos son solamente algunos ejemplos de incidentes antisemitas en la última semana en España:
- Una pancarta llamando a la destrucción de Israel en San Fermín en Pamplona.
- Intentos de silenciar a un escritor judío en la Feria del Libro en Santander.
- Insultos y persecución a judíos franceses en Barcelona.

Estos no son hechos aislados. Son un reflejo de una preocupante ola de antisemitismo aquí en España.

NO SE PUEDE NORMALIZAR EL ANTISEMITISMO.
Y no debemos ser los únicos que lo denuncian.

[European Jewish Congress @eurojewcong]

A banner reading “Destroy Israel” was displayed before thousands of people during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, Spain,

Calls for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state go far beyond legitimate political expression. Such rhetoric promotes hatred, fuels hostility and contributes to an environment in which antisemitism is increasingly normalized.

[Yad Vashem @yadvashem]

After WWII had ended, many Jewish survivors attempted to return to their former homes in Europe. Many encountered hostility; in Eastern Europe, this hostility was at times expressed in physical violence.

On 4 July 1946, following a false accusation that a Christian child had been kidnapped by Jews - a modern revival of the antisemitic blood libel - a pogrom erupted in Kielce, Poland. Local residents, together with soldiers and policemen, attacked Jewish survivors in the city. Some of the very forces sent to protect the Jews participated in the violence.

Forty-seven Jews were murdered and dozens more were wounded: men, women, and children - some of them the last survivors of their families.

#OTD 7 July 1946, many of the wounded, accompanied by other Jews, were evacuated from Kielce by train to Lodz. This photograph shows Jews waiting to leave Kielce after the pogrom.

[S Sebag Montefiore @simonmontefiore]

Today an observer might notice several signs of the crisis in British democracy and in the civil societies of the West played out in London: this morning, a prime minister is deposed just two years after his election to make way for the seventh First Lord of the Treasury in ten years, one of whom he know little. This afternoon, our great parliament is scheduled to seriously debate a motion that seems to echo the darkest recesses of anti-Jewish conspiracism.

Just over a century ago, operatives of the Okhranka, the secret police of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, forged a manifesto that they called the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which they had plagiarized from pamphlets published in 19thcentury France and Germany, and which promoted an antisemitic conspiracy that a clique of Jews were wickedly conspiring to control Western societies using secret power and money. The Protocols were believed by the Tsar himself to be real – after he was overthrown by the Bolsheviks, he sought explanations for his downfall – and soon after they were published across the Western world – until The Times of London revealed the astonishing story of the forgery. Nonetheless they were translated into German and other languages – promoted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during the Third Reich – while in the 1920s the book was translated into Arabic where it was propagated by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and widely believed, later quoted in Hamas’s 1988 Charter wherein Article 32 declares: "Their (the Jewish people’s) scheme has been laid out in the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion,' and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying.”

Today E-Petition 752646 which has attracted 118,000 signatures and is scheduled for debate, is somewhat concerning because its careful wording has echoes of conspiracy theories under the guise of a scrutiny of lobbying and public debate that seems to propose witch-hunts and purity tests that have no place in British society.

The petition might be reasonable if a vast and powerful state was clearly influencing British life in a campaign of subterfuge, bribery and espionage and it proposed an investigation of malign state actors. This happens to be true of Russia, China and Iran at this moment and hopefully we are investigating those bad actors. But this petition claims to be …“concerned about reported Israeli state-linked and pro-Israel lobbying activity in UK politics…” I have no problem with criticism of Israeli government policy being a critic myself - but the call for an investigation “to determine the scope” and “scrutinise how pro-Israel organisations, networks, and lobbying efforts may shape government decisions, party policy, and public debate” is alarming because beneath its framing in the familiar language of balanced inquiry and human rights lurks the hint of hidden networks or control of politics and public opinion that echo historic antisemitic narratives and of course the world conspiracy and cosmic evil of the Protocols of the Elders.

The idea of investigating (‘scrutinizing’) British people who either have relationships with a longstanding European ally and fellow liberal democracy or its citizens in any field, political commercial artistic academic scientific military or even social, or those who wish to hold free opinions and make judgements without the menace of an ideological witch hunt is concerning. After all most countries in the world have some institutional and personal relationships in other countries without allegations of secret influence. But the petition drops its mask when it ominously mentions ‘public debate’.

So what 'public debate' would be ‘scrutinized’? Against whom could this ‘scrutiny’ be aimed and who would do the ‘scrutinizing’? It would certainly cast a shadow over beleaguered British Jews for a start but also the many British people who have the right to those views available to everyone in our civil society and liberal democracy and yes public debate. In an age when everyone is anti-racist and all public discourse is couched in terms of universal anti-racism and human rights, it has been clear for some time that we need to be wary of intolerance and ideological racism itself masked by exactly this jargon. It is one of the reasons that I argue that we need to evolve a much more focused definition of what now constitutes antiJewish hatred and a new vocabulary to confront it.

Therefore this debate is a sign of our times, an alarming one but it is also an important test of the Government’s and parliamentarians’ commitment to tackling antisemitism and extremism and a chance to make clear that conspiracy theories about control of political life and public opinion have no place in public discourse. Following the recent summit on antisemitism, the Prime Minister pledged that “tackling antisemitism requires sustained leadership, accountability and resolve.” I have no doubt that our admirable Parliamentarians will use this opportunity not to legitimize or amplify such calumnies but to challenge them directly, to maintain the respect for facts and truth that are essential to our success. I hope they will acknowledge the risks posed by the petition’s framing, and reaffirm that antisemitic conspiracies and purity witch hunts (sorry, ‘scrutiny’), regardless of how they are packaged, have no place in British politics and society.

[European Jewish Congress @eurojewcong]

We echo the concerns expressed by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (@fcjecom) following the opening of a hate crimes investigation into journalist and writer @RaholaOficial after a complaint filed by activists who targeted her with paint during a public event in 2024.

While we respect the independence of judicial authorities, political disagreements must be addressed through debate and argument, not through harassment, intimidation or efforts to silence individuals for expressing their views.

We are particularly concerned by references to an alleged “international Zionist conspiracy,” a narrative rooted in classic antisemitic tropes that have long been used to stigmatize Jews. The fight against antisemitism and the protection of freedom of expression are not competing values, they are both essential to a democratic society.

[Arsen Ostrovsky @Ostrov_A]

"The question we must now confront is an uncomfortable reality: what if the resurgence of antisemitism is not merely a failure of liberal democracies, but ­evidence of deeper moral and intellectual decay within them?"

✍️ 🗞️ My article in today's @australian.

[Arsen Ostrovsky @Ostrov_A]

“The virus of antisemitism.”

Thank you @spectator for this editorial and your unyielding moral clarity.

[Kosher @koshercockney]

Wow. Netanyahu just called out Europe

“We are defending Europe. Europe has forgotten a lot since the Holocaust.

Europe forgot the distinction between good and evil.

It is afflicted with deep moral weakness and is losing control over its identity”

👏🏽

[Arsen Ostrovsky @Ostrov_A]

“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.”

~ Primo Levi, Auschwitz survivor.

[Yad Vashem @yadvashem]

This is the official poster marking #YomHashoah 2026

The image in Yoav Kahana's poster depicts the "absence" within the "presence"; the personal and collective rupture to the Jewish people engendered by the Holocaust. This rupture accompanied the survivors as they searched for living relatives and were met with an aching void.

Learn more: https://t.co/GiZVVJrZPf

[European Jewish Congress @eurojewcong]

The Iran-linked Islamist group Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya has claimed at least five attacks targeting Jewish communities across Europe in just two weeks, part of a growing wave of antisemitic violence.

[World Bank Data @worldbankdata]

Did you know? The @WorldBank’s Land Data Map is a new interactive platform that connects land data with jobs, growth, and development outcomes through maps, indicators, and real-world examples.

Learn more 👇 https://t.co/XoWo7QeFLP

[NGO Monitor @NGOmonitor]

🚨 NGO Monitor’s comprehensive report on MSF’s “genocide” libel🚨
We trace how a once respected humanitarian NGO became a center of anti-Israel propaganda and a leading platform in promoting Hamas-aligned narratives - particularly the “genocide” libel. The report calls for independent investigation and major organizational changes. 🧵>>

[Flavio Masitas @flaviomasitas]

Greece announces that has sent Triton to assist with the international initiative aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz. https://t.co/Xpllc8768O

[Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600]

A cute little #badgeographyjoke by @civixplorer

[European Jewish Congress @eurojewcong]

An explosion struck outside a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, shortly before 4 a.m., causing significant damage to the building and nearby properties.

Authorities have indicated that the blast appears to be a deliberate criminal act. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Targeting a synagogue with an explosive device is an act of extreme gravity and a direct attack on Jewish life and religious freedom. Such violence is intolerable and has no place in our societies.

We expect a thorough investigation and swift justice for those responsible. Jewish communities must be able to live, pray and gather in safety without fear.

[The British Patriot @TheBritLad]

🚨BREAKING: Over 70,000 pro-Trump and pro Israel Iranian patriots just stormed a pro-IRGC rally in central London.

The Islamists got chased OUT of the streets of London.

The Islamists, the communists and the left wing ideologies are losing.

[Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig]

London’s favorite bakery is under siege, and the reason is as nonsensical as the violence.

Gail’s is facing nonstop vandalism and intimidation from anti-Israel mobs. Their "justification" is founder's heritage.

Here is what the mob won't tell you:
1. The Jewish founder sold the company in 2021.
2. It is owned by American venture capitalists (Bain).
3. The only people being hurt are the local staff and the Londoners who just want a coffee.

When "activism" turns into the targeted terrorizing of a business based on the identity of a former owner, it’s not a protest.

It’s a hate campaign.

[World Bank Data @worldbankdata]

Satellites can now track crops, map land use, and flag risks before they become emergencies.

But the breakthrough comes when Earth Observation data is paired w/ high-quality agricultural surveys.

This workshop in Italy shows you how. https://t.co/XfppQcP5V8

[Isaac @isaacrrr7]

🚨🇫🇷 ÚLTIMA HORA: Conmovedoras palabras del ministro francés Sébastien Lecornu sobre Francesca Albanese y el antisemitismo actual:

“Cuando la representante especial de la ONU hace declaraciones en compañía de representantes de Hamás o de Irán, ello perjudica la credibilidad de la comunidad internacional. Por eso Francia pide su dimisión.

Hoy existe una ‘estrategia de la semántica’. Se basa en la inversión de la acusación: negar la historia a los judíos y convertirlos de víctimas en culpables. Por ejemplo, el uso del término ‘genocidio’ respecto a Gaza para despojarlos de la memoria del Holocausto. Para distorsionar. Para invertir los hechos.

Hay que recordar un dato simple: el 20% de la población de Israel son árabes palestinos. Dos millones de ciudadanos. Eran 150.000 en 1948, un millón en 2000 y dos millones hoy.

El uso de la palabra ‘genocidio’ no es neutral: es un arma política. No se trata de una determinación jurídica establecida por un tribunal internacional.

La guerra de las palabras allana el camino a la guerra contra las personas. Señala objetivos. Otorga legitimidad a la hostilidad contra todo ‘sionista’ y, por tanto, contra todo judío.”