JUSTICE - No. 65

31 Fall 2020 exclusion and in some cases may promote real-world violence.” 12 The general prohibitions are handled in an uncertain and unsophisticated way. 13 Each new form of antisemitism requires a reconsideration of the existing remedies. Are they adequate, or do they need to be further developed? Generally, the answer is that development is necessary as antisemitism itself develops. For instance, a remedy against antisemitism which expresses itself as Holocaust denial could not exist before the Holocaust. Methods to combat antisemitism expressed through the demonization of the State of Israel could not have existed before its creation. New forms of antisemitism require new remedies. What are the legal, digital and ethical implications of all this? To a certain extent, the answer depends on how long the COVID-19 era will last. Ethical Considerations There have been some individual efforts directed toward ethical considerations arising from dealing with COVID-19. 14 These efforts have yet to reach universal consensus. They nonetheless point to relevant considerations when addressing antisemitism in particular. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, on April 22, 2020, issued a statement saying: “I am alarmed to see the upsurge in incitement to hatred, scapegoating religious or belief communities, including Christians, Jews, and Muslims, for the spread of the virus.” 15 On May 11, 2020, the UN produced a“Guidance Note on Addressing and Countering COVID-19 related Hate Speech.” It states that: … the pandemic has also given rise to a new wave of hate speech and discrimination.”COVID-19 related hate speech” encompasses a broad range of disparaging expressions against certain individuals and groups that has emerged or been exacerbated as a result of the new coronavirus disease outbreak – from scapegoating, stereotyping, stigmatization and the use of derogatory, misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic or antisemitic language. 16 The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a document on June 22, 2020 titled“Racial Discrimination in the Context of the COVID-19 Crisis,” which states that: “An upsurge in incitement to hatred and scapegoating of religious or belief communities for the spread of the virus has been reported. … Religious communities in some countries have also allegedly been accused of spreading COVID-19 within countries or bringing it from abroad.” 17 The Office of the High Commissioner made several recommendations including that states, religious leaders and civil society should promote messages of anti- discrimination. A declaration addressing the ethics of combating COVID-19 and antisemitism at the same time, that would be adopted in collaboration between governments and also interested civil society organizations and religious leaders, could be one way to tackle the concerns and recommendations set out in these UN documents. The declaration should provide specific instructions regarding 12. “Community Standards, 12. Hate Speech,”F ACEBOOK , available at https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/hate_ speech/ 13. See e.g. Nicole Lampert,“Constant, Unchecked, Dangerous Antisemitism: Why British Jews Are Boycotting Twitter,” H AARETZ , July 28, 2020, available at https://www.haaretz. com/world-news/.premium-unchecked-dangerous- antisemitism-why-british-jews-are-boycotting- twitter-1.9026540 14. See e.g. Justin Bernstein et al.,“An Ethics Framework for the COVID-19 Reopening Process,”J OHNS H OPKINS B ERMAN I NSTITUTE OF B IOETHICS AND SNF A GORA I NSTITUTE (draft of May 27, 2020), available at https://bioethics.jhu.edu/ research-and-outreach/covid-19-bioethics-expert- insights/resources-for-addressing-key-ethical-areas/ grappling-with-the-ethics-of-social-distancing/ 15. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, “UN expert warns against religious hatred and intolerance during COVID-19 outbreak,” OHCHR, Apr. 22, 2020, available at https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/ Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25814&LangID=E 16. “United Nations Guidance Note on Addressing and Countering COVID-19 related Hate Speech,”UN (MAY 11, 2020), available at https://www.un.org/en/ genocideprevention/documents/Guidance%20on%20 COVID-19%20related%20Hate%20Speech.pdf 17. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, “Racial Discrimination in the context of the Covid-19 Crisis,”OHCHR, June 22, 2020, available at https://www. ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Racism/COVID-19_and_ Racial_Discrimination.pdf