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French YouTube Channel Tackles False Narratives About Israel, Jews in an Effort to Combat Antisemitism
Some of the videos featured on the “On déballe!” YouTube channel. Photo: Screenshot
A recently launched French-language YouTube channel aims to combat misinformation about Jewish and Israel-related topics, and help stop the spread of antisemitism, by providing young French speakers with educational videos based on facts and the truth.
The YouTube channel “On déballe!”,” which translates to “We unpack”, features videos on Judaism, the Jewish people and Israel that were originally shared on the “Unpacked” English-language channel, including one on “The History of Ethiopian Jews” and another that discusses how a boycott of Israel harms Palestinians instead of aiding them. Some other videos debunk antisemitic conspiracy theories and stereotypes, like myths about a “Jewish-looking” nose and lies about Jews running the slave trade in America. The videos are translated into French, which is the fifth most spoken language worldwide, and hosted by native French speakers.
“Unpacked” is a division of OpenDor Media, a non-profit media organization that produces and distributes short-form educational videos as well as full-length documentary films about Jewish- and Israel-related topics for a young audience. The company says it hopes to impact as many people as possible with its content and make Jewish education, values and stories accessible to all. Its name is inspired by the Hebrew word Dor, which means “generation.”
In 2022, the organization had 9 million YouTube video views and 1,811 institutions used their education materials, according to its website.
“We believe that misinformation can lead to ignorance and hate, and by providing accurate, nuanced, and thoughtful content, we can inform audiences with credible information on Israel and the Jewish people and do our part to combat antisemitism,” OpenDor Media’s Chief Executive Officer Andrew Savage told The Algemeiner. “Unfortunately, antisemitism is increasing rapidly in France, and around the world, and our hope is that by shedding light on the truth, we can help turn this troubling trend around.”
The YouTube videos on “On déballe!” discuss topics that would cater best to a French audience — like the Dreyfus Affair and whether or not Napoleon Bonaparte invented Judaism — as well as what was successful and popular among audiences on the “Unpacked” English channel, Savage explained.
OpenDor Media started talking about creating a French-language YouTube channel aimed at counteracting false narratives about Jews and Israel more than a year ago, when antisemitism was on the rise in France. However, following the “alarming” global rise in antisemitism following the deadly Hamas massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, “we began producing the content with more urgency,” Savage said.
He added that since Oct. 7, “Unpacked” has experienced on its English channel an increased interest in content about the Jewish people and Israel.
“The kind of ignorance and misinformation that leads to some of what we’ve seen on college campuses and elsewhere over these last few months existed before October 7. The antidote to that is education,” he added. “And so, even pre-October 7, we had been seriously considering how we could expand to reach new audiences in other languages. October 7 certainly added a degree of urgency to those plans. It also meant that many more people began reaching out to us from other countries asking if we would consider creating content in French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and other languages. Having tested the model in French, we would love to be able to do the same in these and other languages.”
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Treasure Trove: How a Polish-Jewish artist told Canadians about the horrors of Nazi Germany and produced beautiful illustrations
Arthur Szyk (1894-1951) was a Polish-Jewish artist whose work reflected the historic times he lived: the two world wars, the rise of totalitarianism in Europe and the birth of the State of Israel. In 1940, with the support of the British government and the Polish government-in-exile, he visited Canada to popularize the struggle against Nazism. […]
The post Treasure Trove: How a Polish-Jewish artist told Canadians about the horrors of Nazi Germany and produced beautiful illustrations appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Biden hits Fundraising Trail in Show of Strength after Dismal Debate Performance
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., June 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
President Joe Biden embarks on a series of fundraising events across two states on Saturday as he works to stamp out a crisis of confidence in his re-election campaign following a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit the upscale New York beach enclave known as the Hamptons for a campaign fundraiser hosted by hedge-fund billionaire Barry Rosentein. Later in the day, he will travel to New Jersey for a fundraiser hosted by wealthy New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat.
Fellow hedge-fund founder Eric Mindich and his Tony Award-winning producer wife Stacey, celebrity couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and actor Michael J. Fox are all listed as members of the host committee at the New York event, according to an invitation seen by Reuters.
Biden told a rally in North Carolina on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would heed calls from Democrats who want him to drop out of the race.
Biden‘s verbal stumbles and occasionally meandering responses during Thursday night’s debate heightened voter concerns that the 81-year-old might not be fit to serve another four-year term.
The Biden campaign on Saturday boasted it had raised more than $27 million between debate day through Friday evening, but questions remain about whether the debate performance will hurt fundraising, at least in the short term.
The post Biden hits Fundraising Trail in Show of Strength after Dismal Debate Performance first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Arab League Rescinds the Classification of Hezbollah as a Terrorist Group
Mourners carry a coffin during the funeral of Wissam Tawil, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces who according to Lebanese security sources was killed during an Israeli strike on south Lebanon, in Khirbet Selm, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Aziz Taher
i24 News – The Arab League no longer defines Hezbollah as a proscribed terrorist group, an official said on Saturday.
Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Shiite militia and a proxy of the Islamic regime in Iran, boasts the world’s largest rocket arsenal of any non-state actor. It is animated by the antisemitic ideology of jihad and is committed to the destruction of Israel.
“In earlier Arab League decisions, Hezbollah was designated as a terrorist organization, and this designation was reflected in the resolutions,” Hossam Zaki, the assistant secretary-general of the Arab League, was quoted in Arab media as saying.
“The League’s member states concurred that the labeling of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization should no longer be employed,” Zaki said, adding that the regional body “does not maintain terrorist lists and does not actively seek to designate entities in such a manner.”
Hezbollah has unleashed numerous rockets, mortars and drones on northern Israel in the past eight months starting on October 8, a day after the Jewish state suffered the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust at the hands of the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas.
The post Arab League Rescinds the Classification of Hezbollah as a Terrorist Group first appeared on Algemeiner.com.