New York – (((Nadler))) Takes Stance Against Anti-Semitic Social Media Profiling Targeting Jews

New York – A New York City congressman has taken a stance against a recent wave of anti-Semitic Twitter attacks on Jewish journalists, vowing to stand strong with his Jewish constituents and denouncing hatred and bigotry.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler pledged his solidarity to those being targeted in the online barrage of neo-Nazi attacks that have unfolded in recent weeks on Twitter, with white supremacists using a now-unavailable Google Chrome plugin to identify and mark potential Jewish targets.

As reported by the Mic website, the Coincidence Detector extension used a user generated list of names to identify those who were Jewish or considered to be “anti-white,” surrounding all names identified with a set of three parentheses, known as an echo. Once marked by the echo, targets were subject to repeated harassment. One journalist, who asked to be identified only as Michael in order to ensure his family’s safety, was bombarded with animated GIFs of Hitler, bearing the caption “Don’t you miss me?” as well as pictures of Eastern European Jews being killed by Nazis. Others have reported death threats and being harassed via email and by phone.

A newly created Anti Defamation League task force has begun monitoring and exposing hate groups, including those that operate in cyberspace and the ADL has added the symbol “((()))” to its online hate symbols database. Coincidence Detector was downloaded almost 2,500 times before it was pulled from the Chrome Web Store on June 3rd.

Nadler joins a growing group of Twitter users who have added the echo symbol to their Twitter handles in a show of support for those targeted.

“It is disgusting and intolerable to see the extent of this blanket hatred, yet I remain hopeful when so many people of goodwill are taking a public stand against anti-Semitism in our society,” said Nadler.

Nadler blasted those who have been using the echo to suggest that damage caused by Jews reverberates throughout society, instigating others to acts of hatred. He called on others to add the echo to their own social media accounts to protest anti-Semitism.

“There is no place in our society for the incendiary and disgusting rhetoric that we have seen as a result of this ‘echo’ campaign: anti-Semitic cartoons, depictions of Jews in death camps, the release of personal information, and even death threats,” said Nadler. “We must fight against bigotry and hatred whenever we see it and I hope many more will speak out to condemn these hateful actions.”