Latest news with #socialMediaAbuse
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Yahoo
Stop posting about Gaza, police tell woman with Jewish family
A woman subjected to anti-Semitic abuse on social media says she was advised by police to stop posting on controversial subjects such as Gaza. Heidi Bachram, who had Jewish family members murdered and taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct 7 attacks, was the subject of attacks by another user on X. The account was eventually suspended for violating X's rules with the posts, which contained anti-Semitic comments and cartoons showing stereotypically Jewish figures. But Ms Bachram, from Brighton, said that instead of investigating who was responsible for the abuse, Sussex Police suggested she stop posting about 'controversial subjects' such as Gaza. Ms Bachram has been prominent in raising the plight of hostages still held by Hamas. On Oct 7, Tsachi, the cousin of Ms Bachram's husband, and his wife and two children were held at gunpoint on the floor of their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Mayan, Tsachi's 18-year-old daughter, was murdered and Tsachi taken hostage. His family received confirmation in February that he had been killed in captivity. Cruel jibes about Oct 7 victims An account operated under the name NJimmytree is accused of bombarding Ms Bachram with abuse, calling her a 'scumbag', 'ugly Zionist' and 'ugly faced pig'. One message stated: 'You have a face only a genocidal Zionist pig could like. Your brother-in-law should thank Hamas, because of them he never has to see your monstrosity of a face again.' Another of NJimmytree's posts showed a photograph of Mia Chem, a young woman kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova festival, with the jibe 'check out the beak on this one'. One particularly offensive post in November last year showed two images of a young woman's profile and the comment: 'Imagine getting a nose job because your captors made you feel ugly because they didn't want to rape her.' The material posted also included stereotypical cartoons of Jewish men with large noses rubbing their hands, together with the comment: 'Why do you all look like this?' Ms Bachram told The Telegraph: 'The constant abuse was scary. He seemed obsessed with posting my face and being nasty about my appearance. It just felt relentless. When he posted about my husband's murdered relative, I felt sick. We are still in shock from Tsachi's death and it's a very painful time. 'I couldn't believe someone would be so deliberately cruel.' But Ms Bachram says police were reluctant to investigate the abuse. Instead, she says, she was told by a sergeant that what she tweets is 'politically sensitive' and asked: 'Why don't you stop posting about it?' She added: 'He said I was making myself a target. I feel like I've been victimised twice. Once by this cruel troll and secondly by the police. It was classic 'blame the victim' stuff.' Ms Bachram said the Sussex force's attitude to anti-Semitic posts appeared inconsistent. Just two weeks before she reported the NJimmytree posts, an officer contacted her in order to alert her to an anti-Semitic message posted by a far-Right troll. In response to a photograph shared by Ms Bachram of a memorial to Gaza hostages erected in Brighton which had been smeared with faeces, a user called NoticeBanned wrote on X on June 23: 'None of these people died in Brighton. F--- off Jew.' Sussex Police invited Ms Bachram to make a complaint about this abusive post, which she did, and officers are understood to have asked X to provide the ID of the NoticeBanned account, which has a history of anti-Semitic and racist abuse. Force is reviewing complaint Alex Hearn, of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: 'The inconsistency in policing these cases beggars belief. How can they be so proactive in one case and dismissive of another?' A Sussex Police spokesman said: 'We are aware of concerns which have been raised by Ms Bachram, and we can confirm that we have received a formal complaint. 'Officers will review this complaint, and we are unable to comment further at this time. 'Sussex Police takes a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime and there is no place for hate across the county. 'We urge anyone impacted by hate crime to report it to Sussex Police, and remain committed to ensuring any reported offences are fully investigated in line with relevant legislation and taking all factors into account.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
Telegraph
10-08-2025
- Telegraph
Stop posting about Gaza, police tell abused Jewish woman
A Jewish woman subjected to anti-Semitic abuse on social media says she was advised by police to stop posting on controversial subjects such as Gaza. Heidi Bachram, who had family members murdered and taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct 7 attacks, was the subject of attacks by another user on X. The account was eventually suspended for violating X's rules with the posts, which contained anti-Semitic comments and cartoons showing stereotypically Jewish figures. But Ms Bachram, from Brighton, said that instead of investigating who was responsible for the abuse, Sussex Police suggested she stop posting about 'controversial subjects' such as Gaza. Ms Bachram has been prominent in raising the plight of hostages still held by Hamas. On Oct 7, Tsachi, the cousin of Ms Bachram's husband, and his wife and two children were held at gunpoint on the floor of their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Mayan, Tsachi's 18-year-old daughter, was murdered and Tsachi taken hostage. His family received confirmation in February that he had been killed in captivity. Cruel jibes about Oct 7 victims An account operated under the name NJimmytree is accused of bombarding Ms Bachram with abuse, calling her a 'scumbag', 'ugly Zionist' and 'ugly faced pig'. One message stated: 'You have a face only a genocidal Zionist pig could like. Your brother-in-law should thank Hamas, because of them he never has to see your monstrosity of a face again.' Another of NJimmytree's posts showed a photograph of Mia Chem, a young woman kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova festival, with the jibe 'check out the beak on this one'. One particularly offensive post in November last year showed two images of a young woman's profile and the comment: 'Imagine getting a nose job because your captors made you feel ugly because they didn't want to rape her.' The material posted also included stereotypical cartoons of Jewish men with large noses rubbing their hands, together with the comment: 'Why do you all look like this?' Ms Bachram told The Telegraph: 'The constant abuse was scary. He seemed obsessed with posting my face and being nasty about my appearance. It just felt relentless. When he posted about my husband's murdered relative, I felt sick. We are still in shock from Tsachi's death and it's a very painful time. 'I couldn't believe someone would be so deliberately cruel.' But Ms Bachram says police were reluctant to investigate the abuse. Instead, she says, she was told by a sergeant that what she tweets is 'politically sensitive' and asked: 'Why don't you stop posting about it?' She added: 'He said I was making myself a target. I feel like I've been victimised twice. Once by this cruel troll and secondly by the police. It was classic 'blame the victim' stuff.' Ms Bachram said the Sussex force's attitude to anti-Semitic posts appeared inconsistent. Just two weeks before she reported the NJimmytree posts, an officer contacted her in order to alert her to an anti-Semitic message posted by a far-Right troll. In response to a photograph shared by Ms Bachram of a memorial to Gaza hostages erected in Brighton which had been smeared with faeces, a user called NoticeBanned wrote on X on June 23: 'None of these people died in Brighton. F--- off Jew.' Sussex Police invited Ms Bachram to make a complaint about this abusive post, which she did, and officers are understood to have asked X to provide the ID of the NoticeBanned account, which has a history of anti-Semitic and racist abuse. Force is reviewing complaint Alex Hearn, of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: 'The inconsistency in policing these cases beggars belief. How can they be so proactive in one case and dismissive of another?' A Sussex Police spokesman said: 'We are aware of concerns which have been raised by Ms Bachram, and we can confirm that we have received a formal complaint. 'Officers will review this complaint, and we are unable to comment further at this time. 'Sussex Police takes a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime and there is no place for hate across the county. 'We urge anyone impacted by hate crime to report it to Sussex Police, and remain committed to ensuring any reported offences are fully investigated in line with relevant legislation and taking all factors into account.'
Telegraph
06-08-2025
- Telegraph
Influencers target Orthodox Jews in water pistol stunt
Orthodox Jews have been targeted with water pistols by social media influencers in a series of attacks in Manchester. Two young men filmed themselves driving around in a car and laughing as they sprayed adults and children dressed in orthodox clothing with an unidentified liquid. The pair, whose victims appeared startled as they rushed away, have been described as cowards and 'playground bullies' by campaigners against anti-Semitism, who have demanded action and said one of the men had targeted Jews for videos on social media before. The pair's footage, posted on Instagram accompanied by the Jewish folk song Hava Nagila, attracted scores of anti-Semitic comments comparing the liquid to 'antiseptic' and asking, 'What about a gas prank?' 'This is anti-Semitic abuse not a prank' A spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said on Wednesday: 'These men are behaving like playground bullies. ' Targeting Jewish people for harassment is not a prank but anti-Semitic abuse, and doing so from the comfort of your car is particularly cowardly. 'We are also aware that this is not the first time that one of these men has targeted Jews for videos on social media. 'Our legal team is examining the footage and assessing options. Those responsible must be identified and held to account.' Kamil Galanty, a kickboxer of Polish descent, and a man known as Mati, were tagged in the videos, taken in Broughton Park, Manchester, and are said to have a strong resemblance to the men responsible for the harassment. The water pistol video was eventually removed from Instagram after three days, but remains on Mati's TikTok profile. The men behind the water pistol video previously uploaded videos singling out Orthodox Jewish men for pranks in airports and supermarkets. In three clips posted on Instagram, one of the pranksters holds his phone near their victims and plays an Apple Pay sound effect, before claiming to have taken their money. 'You are very rich, I just got £60 from you,' he tells a Jewish holidaymaker at an airport in Poland in one of the videos. The clips, which have comments including rat, pig and nose emojis, have nearly a million likes on Instagram. 'Just a joke' disclaimer added The posts featuring Orthodox Jews were later edited to include a disclaimer, which read: 'This video was made purely for humorous purposes. 'It is just a joke and not hate speech in any way. Please do not take it the wrong way.' The Community Security Trust, a UK charity working to protect Jews from anti-Semitism, said it was aware of the 'appalling anti-Semitic video'. A spokesman for CST added: 'It's completely disgraceful that Jewish people have to put up with this kind of targeted abuse.' A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: 'We are aware of footage circulating online appearing to show occupants of a vehicle spraying water at members of the Jewish community. 'A crime has been recorded, with multiple lines of enquiry being actively investigated. 'We are working closely with partners to provide reassurance to the communities impacted, and we encourage anyone who has been targeted to contact us on 999, 101, or by reporting on our website.'
Telegraph
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Toyota disciplines employee accused of calling BBC editor ‘vile Zionist Jew'
The Japanese car giant Toyota has disciplined an employee who allegedly abused a Jewish BBC journalist on social media. Piotr Klarowski is accused of describing Raffi Berg, the BBC's online Middle East editor, as a 'vile Zionist Jew' and a 'little rat'. Responding to a BBC story about Palestinians in Gaza protesting against Hamas, he is alleged to have written on March 27: 'The little rat and Israel fanboy Raffi Berg, the Middle East editor at BBC, was definitely happy to publish this one.' On April 10, in response to a BBC article on the violent treatment of some Palestinians in Israeli prisons, Mr Klarowski's X account said: 'Is Raffi Berg, the vile Zionist Jew, supporter of Israel's genocide and war crimes and the Middle East editor at BBC on his annual leave?' And on May 31, the same X account posted a tweet asking if Berg, 'the filthy Zionist Jew', was 'finally sacked'. An investigation was launched by Toyota's future technology subsidiary, Woven, which employed Mr Klarowski as a senior product experience designer for three years. It is now understood that following the investigation, Mr Klarowski was subjected to disciplinary measures. Toyota sources told The Telegraph it took complaints of anti-Semitic and other discriminatory behaviour by its employees 'extremely seriously' and that action had been taken. A spokesman for the firm said: 'We are aware of media reports regarding alleged social media posts made by one of our employees. Woven by Toyota is committed to maintaining a respectful workplace, and we firmly condemn all forms of discriminatory speech or behaviour. 'An internal investigation was conducted in accordance with our company policies and Code of Conduct, and appropriate action was taken based on the findings. We are unable to comment on specifics of the investigation or the employee for privacy reasons.' Mr Klarowski's biographical field on his X social media page reads: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Israel, a settler-colonial, genocidal, Jewish, apartheid state, has to be destroyed. BDS isn't enough.' A post from his X account from April 8 said: 'Who runs the world? Jews (Jews).' That was followed by a post from the same account on May 26, which called Israeli Zionist Jews the 'sickest, most disgusting supremacist, genocidal and subhuman creatures on Earth'. The post continued: 'Absolute filth. Calling them rats or pigs would only be offensive to these animals and wouldn't come close to capturing how f----d up and irredeemable this society is.' The posts have since been deleted from Mr Klarowski's account. Mr Klarowski studied for a bachelor's degree in visual communication and graphic design at Edinburgh College of Art, according to his LinkedIn account. The account has now been removed. Mr Klarowski was approached for comment.
