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One crucial form of intolerance remains under-explored: the relationship between gender-based hatred and antisemitism. This article provides some understanding on how both intersect, and what can be done to counter these different forms of hate.

23 December 2024

The article is published as part of UNESCO’s two-year project funded by the European Commission supported by OSCE/ODIHR to strengthen the education systems of EU member states against antisemitism. 
Hate speech spreads with unprecedented speed and reach through digital tools, notably social media platforms. UNESCO invests in education as a powerful tool to counter this scourge.
Analysis can shed light on the nuanced ways different forms of hate reinforce each other, intensifying their societal impact. Too often, we look at bigotry (such as racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ hatred, etc.) as if each form exists in isolation—an approach that fails to capture the broader, more complex ways in which these prejudices interact. For those who face overlapping layers of discrimination, this lack of insight can mean that their experiences go unrecognized, and remain unaddressed.
 

Antisemitism and sexism: similar ideological structure
Alina Bricman, Director of EU Affairs at B’nai B’rith International, highlights how antisemitism and sexism both have a similar ideological structure: “Hate ideologies often emerge when one group perceives a loss of power to the detriment of another. We see that these biased ideologies are often held in tandem. Which is to say, research shows that one holding sexist beliefs is far more likely to hold antisemitic prejudices than one without sexist beliefs – and the reverse.”
Antisemitic abuse targeting women will often deploy sexist language, including threats of sexual violence and misogynistic slurs. Beyond being dehumanizing, such gendered antisemitism is meant to instill fear, to intimidate, humiliate and silence. Research from Hope Not Hate and the Antisemitism Policy Trust in the United Kingdom identified that anti-feminism and misogyny can drive people towards antisemitism and other forms of racism.  It shows that in recent years, the far right, in particular, has become increasingly adept at steering misogyny and anti-feminism towards antisemitism and other forms of racism. 

How antisemitism impacts women and men
Phd. Mie Astrup Jensen does research on queer Jewish women’s lived experiences and practices. In her studies, Jensen found that antisemitism impacted women and men differently: women were significantly more likely to report that they had experienced sex/gender discrimination than men. However, men were consistently more likely to report that they had experienced antisemitism, including physical attacks, threatening comments, offensive gestures and online harassment. 
Antisemitic discourse about Jewish men has historic roots, in which notions about the ‘weakness’ and ‘emasculation’ of Jewish masculinity circulated. These stereotypes still permeate today. Although Jewish men tend to be more identifiable because some wear religious clothing (such as a kippah, rekel/bekishe and shtreimel and have payot) - this is especially the case for Orthodox Jewish men - slightly more women than men reported in FRA’s 2023 survey that they had experienced offline antisemitism in the past 12 months.
In an era where hate speech is spreading faster than ever, social media has become its most powerful amplifier. UNESCO research on global trends in online violence against women journalists identified that 88% of Jewish-identifying women journalists, reported experiencing online violence, alongside 81% of women journalists identifying as Black and 86% identifying as Indigenous. 
When a woman’s Jewish identity is visible or known, the risk of abuse and harassment increases. “It corresponds to a lot of existing work that continuously finds that women are more vulnerable to harassment and discrimination in public than men,” explains Jensen. Both men and women experience high levels of antisemitism, the difference is in the degree and the manifestation of how they experience it. 

Education, awareness and empathy
Alina Bricman emphasizes that researchers and practitioners are yet to pay more attention to gendered antisemitism and the broader intersection between misogyny and antisemitism. She calls for more recognition and empathy. 
“Jewish trauma and especially that of Jewish women has been routinely discarded, sexual violence against Jewish Israeli women has been denied or minimized by prominent progressive groups, Jewish allyship in intersectional spaces has been branded as pinkwashing. This has led many Jewish women to feel extreme isolation, loneliness and alienation.” Her solution: education. “The educational space is essential: we need to mainstream gender-responsive perspectives throughout subject matters and anchor the fight against antisemitism and sexism as necessary ingredients for democracy and peace. Ultimately, it’s the basics: we must call out antisemitism and sexism wherever they occur.”

What UNESCO does to address antisemitism through education
UNESCO addresses antisemitism through education as a long-term educational investment to promote human rights and global citizenship and works to counter hate speech through education and media and information literacy promoting international standards on freedom of expression to address root causes of hate speech.

URL: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/what-you-should-know-about-gender-and-antisemitism?hub=87862