But when Jews and other minority groups are targeted, it is with the specific intention of causing them harm, he says. “These people are trying to hurt and upset; it’s not that different from stopping someone in the street and screaming in their face. It’s emotional violence.”
Although the attackers generally use the language and tactics of the far Right, they aren’t usually known extremists or members of established far-Right groups, says Rich. “They shout ‘Heil Hitler’ because they know that’s what you shout at Jews. In the main, these people are anti-social trolls rather than formal groups; people who are already caught up in online troll culture”
They are also mostly single men under the age of 30 who have problems operating socially, says Bore. “And they tend to think everyone hates them. It makes them particularly susceptible to Facebook’s algorithms, which are built to encourage people to lean towards ever-increasing emotional and extreme content because that’s what creates discussion and engagement on the platform.”
Plus, you get outpourings of admiration on Facebook, or “love-bombing” as it has been dubbed, which for social misfits can be very powerful. “You’re someone who gets criticised for your out-there opinions. You go on Facebook and your network tells you what you said what was right. They say you’re being criticised because you are telling the truth, and they feed you more information about Jews or other minority groups. It’s one way people become extremists.”
Meanwhile, for those of us who have experienced anti-Semitic Zoombombing, it feels like a new and powerful way to spread the hate in a year that was already very difficult for Jews in Britain. The record-high tally of anti-Semitic incidents last year included Islamic State-style convoys sweeping across north London blasting “F*** the Jews, rape their daughters” on loudspeakers, and the highest volume of university-related hate ever recorded, half of it erupting during and after the Israel-Gaza conflict in May
After the first few incidents of Zoombombing were reported to the CST, the charity acted quickly, producing online security guidance information that it disseminated across the Jewish community and also shared with other ethnic and minority ethnic groups. “It happens less than it did at the beginning of the pandemic, but there are still cases and as long as parts of Jewish communal life remains online, I’m sure they will continue,” says Rich. “Once anti-Semites discover a new tactic, they keep trying it.”
In fact, Manchester Reform Synagogue – where Ridley Road, the television drama about Jewish opposition to British fascism in the 1960s, was filmed – was Zoombombed as recently as October. “Halfway through our Friday night service, during a song about liberation, the intruders started shouting and put a swastika and other dreadful racist images on the screen,” says Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen. “We kicked them out immediately, but they kept trying to get back in. We were very shaken by the incident – and we are used to seeing far-Right gatherings near the synagogue and receiving anti-Semitic phone calls. But this made us feel particularly violated.”
Which is of course exactly what the Zoombombers want. “It is a very effective way of causing disruption and upset,” says Bore. “We can’t say exactly how many people are involved in Zoombombing, but we can say that unless there is legislation to make social companies act more responsibly, be more accountable, it is not going to go away.”
