The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance second working example of antisemitism states, “Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.”
Throughout history, the Jewish people have often been accused of heinous crimes and of being the cause of society’s problems, especially tragedies—whether health, economic or political—that were difficult, if not impossible, to explain. But antisemities have also alleged that Jews, who account for only 0.2% of the world’s population, also control banks, the media, politicians, and global institutions. This phenomenon isn’t only deeply problematic; it is antisemitic.
This trope is often used to falsely malign the Jewish people and paint them as a homogeneous group. The perpetrators of conspiracy myths, on the other hand, are portrayed as the lone heroes attempting to unmask the secret powers of evil.
The origins of the demonization and dehumanization of Jews
Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism, has explained that these conspiracy myths can be traced back to the origins of Christianity, in particular to the death of Jesus. According to Dr. Lipstadt, the Church taught that “the Jews” conspired to kill Jesus — even though Jewish individuals did not actually kill him. This paved the way for the undermining and marginalization of Judaism.
“Jews, [early Christians] argued, repudiated this new faith because of their inherent maliciousness,” Lipstadt writes. “This formulation rendered Judaism more than just a competing religion. It became a source of evil.”
While antisemitism, like racism, often does degrade Jews (such as the Nazi portrayal of Jews as rats or images from the political left that often represent “Zionist” as rats or dogs), it also emphasizes conspiracy myths that Jews control the world or are attempting to achieve “world domination.” It is for this reason that Dr. Lipstadt has explained that racists believe they are “punching down” at the “inferior” while antisemites believe they are “punching up” at the all-powerful Jews who are “controlling” the world.
Antisemites argue that Jews manipulate and direct world’s events from the coronavirus to the economy and everything in between and are more “powerful” than non-Jews. Therefore, Jews must be opposed and feared because of what they might do or have already done.
This belief has its beginnings in the false claim that the Jews killed Jesus. In Christianity, Jesus is considered the son of God and one part of the Holy Trinity, and thus God himself. If Jews successfully murdered God, they must be entirely too powerful and dangerous. The belief of Jews being super-powerful remains to this day.
A common antisemitic trope associates the Jewish people with the devil or other demonic elements. This has deep roots in Christian history, with leaders of the Church blaming Jews for murdering Jesus. Following the death of Jesus, early and medieval Christian leaders portrayed Jews as unwilling to accept the word of God because Satan was binding their eyes. Some Christian leaders even condemned Jews as agents of the devil.
Due to these beliefs, as well as other antisemitic conspiracy myths, Jews were portrayed as sub-human, a fifth column, and were falsely accused of causing horrible events, such as the Black Death. Therefore, many Christian works of art depicted Jews as the devi—with horns, cloven feet, tails, and a goat’s beard. Illustrations often depicted Jews using the blood of children in ritual ceremonies.
Antisemitic tropes often ascribe to Jews irremediable character traits in an attempt to dehumanize and “other” them. These stereotypes are often connected with conspiratorial worldviews and belief systems that perceive Jews as a collective that seeks control of the world. This is sometimes manifested in images such as an octopus or a spider spanning the world or comparing Jews to vermin or animals.
Why alleging that the Jews control the media, economy, government, or other societal institutions is antisemitic:
The assertion that Jews "control" the media, economy, government, and many institutions is an antisemitic conspiracy myth that has led to much harm. Its basic assumption is not only that Jews do not deserve to have power, regardless of what values they may stand for, but that their power is a threat to the wellbeing of everyone else.
This belief has also led to allegations against Jews who pursue leadership roles in elected office or rather than commendation for their investment in concerns of the collective and often culminated in more robust harm to Jews. Such claims seek to paint Jews as monolithic and seeks to undermine Jewish diversity.
While some well-intentioned individuals may seek to undermine such claims by arguing that Jews don’t make up a significant portion of the people involved in the media or the lobbyists influencing politicians, or correctly identifying that many of the Jewish people that are said to be controlling a particular societal institution aren’t in fact Jewish. In reality, the number of Jews involved in a particular field has no relation to “Jewish power” or “Jewish control” of that industry. Such an argument inadvertently “others” Jewish citizens and cast aspersions for individual Jews decisions to work in a particular field. Furthermore, Jews who tend to work in these fields do so as individuals, not as representatives of the Jewish people or with conspiratorial matters in mind.
As such, it is important to note that a core element of antisemitism is not merely the belief that all Jews are evil, but also that all evil is Jewish. In this manner, purported wrongdoings are always attributed to Jews. For example, during the coronavirus pandemic, many conspiracy myths accused Bill Gates, Dr. Fauci, Angela Merkel, and Jens Spahn (to name a few) of wrongdoing, but they also claimed that these individuals were secretly Jewish.
Dr. Lipstadt recounts that a student once questioned if the Nazi German claim that Jews were using nefarious skills to control world economies had any merit given that “all German bankers were Jewish.” While Lipstadt began to refute the claim with statistics, she credited her teaching assistant with responding properly: “So what? They actually weren’t but what if they had been? Would that have been a legitimate reason to hate all Jews, and that one can learn from this that Jews, as people aimed to control the world’s economies?”
“By citing facts and figures,” writes Dr. Lipstadt, “I had responded to an irrational question in a rational fashion, thereby giving the claim in her question the gravitas it did not deserve. The answer from my colleague exposed its fundamental irrationality.”
Origins of the fear of Jewish power
The origin of the fear of Jewish power stems from the early accusations that Jews committed deicide, a claim that would assume Jews to be truly all-powerful; for in order to murder God, one must be not only more powerful but also able to outwit God. These fears of were codified in the early 20th century with the publication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which falsely “revealed” a purported Jewish plan for global domination. With this claim, the myth of Jewish power war extricated from its religious beginnings and brought to a political and secular framework. Despite the forgery, The Protocols attracted much attention, and was translated into multiple languages.
The unfortunate irony of the myth was that throughout history, Jews had little power. Perhaps the ultimate proof of this is the Holocaust, which was a tragic reminder that Jews remained powerless at the hands of antisemitic regimes.
What are some examples of antisemitic demonization and dehumanization of Jews?
Since the inception of antisemitism, demonization has been a primary mode of its expression in characterizing Jews are the sole cause of the world’s problems.
Historical examples include:
- Portrayal of Jews as the embodiment of evil or the devil.
- Accusing Jews of deicide.
- Accusing Jews of drinking the blood of children.
- Accusing Jews of poisoning wells.
- Accusing Jews of controlling the world’s banks and governments.
- Accusing Jews of Satan worship.
- Claiming non-Jews are in fact Jewish when criticizing them.
What are its modern-day manifestations?
Modern-day manifestations often have to do with Israel and allege or imply that it is completely evil. Israeli mistakes or failures are blown out of proportion Israel is cast as the sole cause of problems in the Middle East and the world.
Examples include:
- Comparisons between Israelis and Nazis.
- Comparing Palestinian refugee camps or the Gaza Strip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.
- Claiming that those responsible for measures to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, such as virologists, billionaires, or politicians, are secretly Jewish.
What are some other examples of stereotypical allegations against the Jews?
Some of the antisemitic lies and conspiracy myths spread about Jews are:
- The allegation that Jews are only or particularly loyal to other Jews.
- The allegation that the Jews killed Jesus.
- The allegation that Jews purposely spread disease to non-Jews.
- The allegation that Jews controlled or made up a significant portion of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
- The allegation that Jews use money to control the media and politicians.
- Allegations that the Jews control the U.S. Federal Reserve System or other banks.
Understanding Antisemitism:
Antisemitism is a complex, multifaceted hatred. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism is considered the gold standard in understanding the phenomenon and has been used by governments and institutions to identify and monitor it.
The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism states:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The definition includes a list of eleven reference examples to aid in the identification of antisemitism, but most relevant are the following:
- "Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews."
- Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g., gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).
- Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
What the WJC is doing about it:
The WJC has been a leader in tracking antisemitism, conspiracy myths, and disinformation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two reports released in November 2020 by the WJC found that harmful conspiracy myths targeting Jews have been increasingly widespread online and that the once United States-centric movement QAnon has spread and is evident in Europe as well. Across social media, the dehumanizing phrases such as “Jewish virus” and epithets such as “kike” and “dirty Jew” have increased.
According to a WJC report an anti-establishment movement gained momentum across Europe stemming from some concerns regarding COVID-19 social distancing requirements. Far-right groups and individuals gained prominence at this time and spread antisemitic conspiracy myths and bigotry.
Anti-establishment protesters encouraged the public not to trust the government and called for leading politicians to resign, claiming that they were complicit in the implementation of the supposed New World Order, an imagined totalitarian one-world government. The anti-establishment movement has grown, particularly in Germany and Austria. It encourages violent protest, believing it is an appropriate and moral response to what they consider to be authoritarian rule.
