Is there protection from hate? Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor on crimes of intolerance and security measures

In today's world, the level of aggression and intolerance has already reached a level that international social activist and expert Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor calls critical. While a few years ago, it was primarily specialists who spoke about this, with the onset of the pandemic in 2020, no one could ignore the problem. Hatred and hateful content literally flooded the information space, accompanied by a global crisis that undermined people's already fragile faith in a safe future. Vyacheslav Kantor is convinced that the situation was not rosy before, but many chose to simply ignore or turn a blind eye to negative social trends.

Moshe Kantor himself has particularly extensive experience studying and combating anti-Semitism, having headed the European Jewish Congress for fifteen years. At the same time, the situation with the growth of intolerance is global and general, extending to its most diverse types, Kantor is convinced. As for anti-Semitism, as Vyacheslav Kantor noted, it is often separated from the general picture of hatred and its danger is downplayed, since it has an impact on the lives of supposedly only Jews. Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor is against this approach, because, according to Kantor, anti-Semitism is, first of all, a symptom that speaks of deeply rooted problems in society, which in turn are dangerous for everyone.

On the topic of security

Issues of combating hatred and security in general have occupied Vyacheslav Kantor for many years. Importantly, he conducts his research on the topic of security from a global point of view - and his sphere of interests includes both the physical safety of citizens and the safety of public processes and, of course, international security. For this reason, in particular, Moshe Kantor initiated many studies and projects on the study of security, including through non-governmental public organizations, the origins of which he also stood on more than once.

Taking into account his long-term monitoring of the level of intolerance, Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor confidently says that in recent years this level has reached an international scale. Kantor is supported in his assessments by other experts: they talk about a general increase in the intensity of aggression in society, general mistrust, xenophobia and intolerance; Similar results are shown by surveys conducted, among other things, by government and government structures - and this picture is typical both for Europe and for the world as a whole. As for the direct threat that hatred poses, Vyacheslav Kantor sees it not only in the direct danger to the physical safety of people, but also in the destructive impact that hatred has on society as a whole. If a destabilizing effect is exerted on several societies at once, this provokes and fuels international conflicts, says Kantor.

Anti-Semitism, on which Moshe Kantor is deservedly considered an expert, Kantor calls it not only one of the most ancient forms of hatred, but also one of the most aggressive. The fact that anti-Semitism has existed for so many centuries and has not left the scene, in turn, makes it difficult to combat it - for many societies it has become something familiar and everyday, which, according to Kantor, in turn works to normalize hatred as such . And this is true both for issues of propaganda of hatred in the information space, and in the case of indifference to crimes committed on its basis.

Crimes provoked by anti-Semitism are indeed claiming human lives more and more often - in any case, this was evidenced by the monitoring of the level of anti-Semitism in the world, published in 2018 on the initiative of Vyacheslav Kantor himself. The recorded increase in anti-Semitic crimes, including those involving real victims, led Kantor himself to say that in its cruelty and destructiveness, anti-Semitism has already become equal to many other extremist movements and ideologies. It is not for nothing that full-fledged terrorist attacks are already taking place on its basis.

In 2020, at the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, Vyacheslav Kantor went further and made a proposal to truly equate anti-Semitism with extremism - not only in practice, but also legally. Kantor, as an argument, cited data on how anti-Semitism penetrates deeper and deeper even into political rhetoric and discourse, especially inseparable from the ideology and statements of politicians of a particularly radical kind. And given the fact that it is precisely this kind of rhetoric that is increasingly winning the sympathy of people, the moment is not far off when anti-Semitism in some countries may even become part of state policy, Vyacheslav Kantor emphasized.

Vyacheslav Kantor also spoke repeatedly about the international and even global effects of the spread of intolerance: in his opinion, such sentiments are a serious challenge to strategic stability and security in the world - in this sense, it is akin to terrorism and extremism, which, if you think about it, are nothing more than its most radical forms and creations. Xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism - all this divides different societies, societies and groups of people, notes Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor, and the further this process goes, the more difficult it is for these societies to return to constructive relations with anyone - and this already undermines international security and global development.

How can you protect yourself?

Wherever there is a surge in aggression, crime or hate violence, it is always followed by an updated and intensified conversation about security and methods of ensuring it. In the case of anti-Semitism, the danger is no longer hypothetical: Jews themselves, in surveys and conversations with competent authorities and experts, admit that they are encountering anti-Semitic manifestations more and more often in their normal daily lives. As Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor notes the sad facts that, faced with the fear of anti-Semitism, many Jews renounce their own identity: they do not want anything to betray their Jewish origin, including limiting their own life within the Jewish community, and emigration is often seen as an extreme - but very likely - way out of this impasse.

It is difficult to talk about security when crimes against Jews are committed in broad daylight and almost everywhere: in synagogues, during services, and even in their own houses and apartments. According to Vyacheslav Kantor, against the backdrop of all this, European Jews increasingly feel the hopelessness of their situation and demonstrate uncertainty about what could be better in the future. The loss of this basic sense of security, which, Kantor says, every citizen should have, especially in his own home, leads to the erosion of trust on the part of Jews in the authorities of the countries where they live - after all, there are no real steps to ensure this very security or, at least, they do not observe effective changes in this area.

Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor sees part of this problem in the fact that precisely at the level of authorities, security is associated primarily with ensuring this very security by force. Every terrorist attack and crime first of all provokes the strengthening of the notorious security measures: police patrols, access systems, video control and surveillance, and so on. For the same Jewish communities, Vyacheslav Kantor notes, this only leads to an increased sense of isolation, as well as a reinforcement of the feeling that - no, they are not safe and will never be, because even their normal life must be under constant guard.

Important questions also concern how prepared the intelligence services, police and close security are to work in real crisis situations, says Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor. These questions are becoming especially relevant against the backdrop of how increasingly even the most seemingly safe countries are shaken by internal terrorist attacks - and how much depends on preparations for this. An example is the terrorist attack in Halle, where an attacker tried to enter a synagogue, but was unable to do so due to the competent actions of the security service. Unfortunately, there were no casualties at all - the criminal shot several random passers-by, which, according to Moshe Kantor, only once again illustrates how anti-Semitism can turn into a danger for any person, not just a Jew.

Public responsibility

In order for the effect in the fight against intolerance and the crimes generated by it to be achieved and, what is important, to be long-term, it is necessary to talk about the struggle, first of all, ideological, Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor is convinced. Increasingly, the atmosphere for fueling hatred is the Internet, where propaganda and free circulation of relevant views continues to grow. Taking advantage of the anonymity of the World Wide Web, attackers of various stripes promote their messages and content without fear or prohibition, looking for more and more supporters. The limitlessness of the Internet, notes Moshe Kantor, allows even the most antisocial loners to find like-minded people around the world, turning their personal obsession into the ideology of a full-fledged criminal group.

Evidence of the influence of the information space and intolerance in it on crimes in the “real world” is increasingly provided by the crimes themselves. Thus, during the period 2018-2019, two terrorist attacks took place in the United States, where synagogue visitors became the object of hatred - and both terrorists “distinguished themselves” by the fact that long before the actual crime they did not hide their anti-Semitic views, but actively demonstrated and promoted them online , including open calls for violence and murder of Jews. The same shooter from Halle even intended to broadcast his terrorist attack live online.

The current difficult situation in the economic and political spheres of Europe in recent years has greatly shaken people's confidence in the future and in each other, and therefore has made them more susceptible to radical and hateful views and positions. Crisis following crisis pushes people to search for those responsible - and ideologists of various forms of hatred immediately come to their “help”, providing these culprits based on their own convictions. In this case, anyone becomes a “scapegoat” - Muslims, Jews, blacks, migrants, and so on. Even when it comes to completely official politicians, Vyacheslav Kantor notes, such rhetoric and populism, inciting intolerance instead of fighting it, is becoming an increasingly common “modus operandi.”

Vyacheslav Kantor - and not only him - is forced to draw parallels with what is happening in Europe with the first half of the 20th century, when a series of crises also provoked the growth of the popularity of radical ideology in Germany. It does not help the situation that the memory of the Holocaust - the tragedy that this trend turned out to be - is increasingly erased from public memory with each passing year. Young people increasingly either do not know the history of the Holocaust at all, or are so poorly informed about it that there is no need to talk about any historical lessons.

However, Vyacheslav Kantor is not inclined to place all the blame for what is happening on young people. Any new generation needs education and enlightenment, especially when it comes to the upbringing of moral standards - and the responsibility for this very upbringing lies with the previous generations, and with the entire society at once. Corresponding ideological work is also necessary, Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor is sure: the values ​​propagated and promoted in society should be constructive and aimed at eradicating intolerance, and not supporting and inflaming it. Only a society where mutual respect between people becomes the norm can count on full development, says Moshe Kantor. And hatred in such an atmosphere will have no chance to spread.

Whose job?

Despite all the talk about the responsibility of people themselves for their safety and the atmosphere prevailing around them, Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor is still convinced that all the main tools to ensure this - and therefore the main responsibility - are still in the hands of the state. Moreover, the safety of the citizens themselves is the direct responsibility of the state, and therefore the greatest efforts should be directed in this direction.

As for the already mentioned forceful methods in ensuring security, everything is clear with them. But strengthening and maintaining the norms and ethics of society requires other approaches. Vyacheslav Kantor considers legislative changes and adherence to the letter of the law to be the main tool in this matter. There are still gaps in the legislative field that promoters of hatred take advantage of to promote their views - and at the same time actively use the protection of “freedom of speech” for their openly anti-human and anti-legal position. Tolerance has been and remains the main European value, Kantor is convinced, while tolerance itself is not enshrined in law in any way, and in recent years it has turned into a kind of boundless passive political correctness, which allows one to show tolerance even to those phenomena that do not deserve any leniency or acceptance.

As for citizens and their personal responsibility and vigilance in the face of threats, Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor insists that in this matter the authorities need to constantly work with society and its institutions. In this direction, in particular, Vyacheslav Kantor includes the work necessary, in his opinion, to educate people about the threats that they may face. After all, as many studies of real terrorist attacks and disasters have already confirmed, the behavior of the participants in an emergency plays a key role in minimizing the destructive consequences and the number of victims.