Countering Extremism in Europe: Tackling the Drivers of Rising Antisemitism

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) convened an urgent and wide-ranging webinar on the rise of extremism and antisemitism across Europe — bringing together two of the continent’s foremost experts to examine the ideological drivers of Jew-hatred, the role of organized professional antisemites, and the policy and educational tools needed to push back effectively.

The discussion, moderated by Shannon Seban, CAM’s Executive Director of European Affairs, offered a detailed look at data, case studies, and strategic frameworks that go beyond reactive law enforcement — calling instead for a proactive, intelligence-led approach to dismantling the networks behind organized antisemitic violence.

Alarming New Data: 133 Incidents in One Week

Seban opened the webinar by presenting fresh data released that same morning by CAM’s own Antisemitism Research Center — confirming what Jewish communities across Europe have long been experiencing firsthand: antisemitism is not merely increasing in frequency, it is becoming normalized across political and social discourse.

From Incident Response to Strategic Disruption

Alexander Ritzmann of the Counter Extremism Project opened his presentation with a central insight: the conventional approach to antisemitism — treating each incident as an isolated hate crime — fundamentally misunderstands the threat. Antisemitism, he argued, has an organized professional infrastructure that operates much like a criminal network, with dedicated propagandists, logistics organizers, financiers, and enablers.

Ritzmann drew on three research papers produced with the German Federal Foreign Office, including a five-step guide on identifying and disrupting key antisemitic actors. He cited Samidoun — a network designated or dissolved in multiple European countries and the US for its support of terrorism and ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — as a case study in organized, professional antisemitism.

The Four Categories of Organized Antisemites

Ritzmann proposed a framework distinguishing four types of professional actors within the organized antisemitism ecosystem:

Antisemitism, Social Cohesion, and the Role of Education

Manel Msalmi — who has spent years advocating for women and minorities in conflict zones, particularly in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia — situated antisemitism within a broader crisis of social fragmentation in Europe.

“Any kind of discrimination is a sign of weakness in a society in terms of dialogue and cohesion,” Msalmi said. “When we exclude antisemitism from dialogue and ignore antisemitic incidents, we show fragility and a lack of empathy and solidarity between different ethnic and religious communities.”

Msalmi was particularly emphatic about the role of education as the cornerstone of prevention. She praised Holocaust education curricula in Germany and other European countries, endorsed Erasmus-style exchange programs that bring young people from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Israel into direct dialogue, and called for stronger frameworks to bridge the gap between young people who — without interaction — default to prejudice.

Social Media: Algorithms as Accelerants

Both speakers addressed the profound danger posed by social media platforms whose engagement-based algorithms function as amplifiers of antisemitic content — regardless of intent. CAM’s own research revealed that TikTok had been generating AI-produced fake rabbis spreading antisemitic narratives, and that Instagram’s algorithm was routing users who followed health and wellness accounts toward antisemitic content.

Ritzmann acknowledged the EU’s Digital Services Act as a partial step forward, but argued that its implementation remains insufficient — comparing the expectation that platforms will self-regulate to asking Coca-Cola to solve the obesity crisis. His recommendation: focus enforcement resources on the organized professional antisemites who spend their days developing strategy and content — not on pursuing every individual who shares harmful material.

Transnational Networks: Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Iran, and Their Proxies

Closing the webinar, both experts addressed audience questions about the transnational infrastructure behind organized antisemitism — including the role of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, and Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah and the Houthis.

Ritzmann confirmed that CAIR “would fit into the framework” of groups warranting proactive investigation — not just for antisemitic activity but for compliance with regulations, tax obligations, government subsidies, and connections to foreign actors and terrorist networks.

Key Takeaways

RIU Special Report

Rooted in Unity

This is a special report by the Rooted in Unity editorial team. Source: Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) webinar. For more visit combatantisemitism.org. Rooted in Unity is a Houston, Texas–based initiative dedicated to dialogue, civic engagement, and principled advocacy across faith communities.