While Abdurrahman Wahid’s philosemitism was an exception, it is clear that people-to-people relations are the best way to humanize Israel’s public image in Indonesia and hold great potential to bring both countries closer together for the benefit of their people.

Hamas affiliated social media exploded Tuesday with violent and anti-Semitic cartoons praising the terrorist attack that killed four people Tuesday morning at a synagogue in Jerusalem.

The Zara T-shirt called the “Sheriff” went on sale online at 2 a.m., London time, on Wednesday.  Within a few hours, it had sparked a social media outcry, with many Twitter posts accusing the clothing company of anti-Semitism — or at least a large measure of insensitivity. The shirt, meant for children, bore a striking resemblance to the top of a Nazi concentration camp uniform.

Jews in Europe are facing a rising tide of anti-Semitism, as left-wing, right-wing and Islamic groups take to the streets to protest against Israel's military operation in Gaza.  There has been also been an explosion of anti-Semitic abuse on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.

About a quarter of the world's population agrees that a number of negative statements about Jews are "probably true," according to a poll aimed at providing a statistical underpinning to the question of how widespread anti-Semitism is globally.  The League said its goal was to create a snapshot of anti-Semitic views in all parts of the world, to find ways to combat it, and to allow future surveys to measure whether, and where, the prejudice is rising or falling.

French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala has been banned from entering the UK after he was reportedly planning a visit to support the footballer Nicolas Anelka over his use of the "quenelle" gesture. The UK Home Office said it had imposed an exclusion order on Dieudonne, who has a series of convictions for anti-Semitic speech in his homeland, on the grounds of public security.

With the current cloud of anti-Semitic allegations hovering over football, Fifa must be praying that Israel do not qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. For hard on the heels of the disturbing concerns over excessive heat, homophobia and mass deaths of migrant construction workers comes an incident at the recent Swimming World Cup in the capital Doha when the Qatari hosts refused to display the name “Israel” during TV broadcasts and removed Israeli flags from outside the venue.