The 9th example in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism is “using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libels) to characterize Israel or Israelis.”
Antisemites use blood libels or the allegation that Jews killed Jesus to scapegoat and demonize Jews, and propagate antisemitic conspiracy myths. This can lead to physical attacks, accusations of operating as a “fifth column,” and even murder.
This trope is often used to falsely malign the Jewish people and paint them as a homogeneous group. The perpetrator of conspiracy myths, on the other hand, is portrayed as a lone hero attempting to unmask the secret powers of evil.
Unfortunately, the use of antisemitic tropes has mutated, especially with the advent of social media, which has made it increasingly easier for users to spread disinformation, blame Jews for global problems, and spread hateful rhetoric. It originates from both ends of the political spectrum and has manifested itself in antisemitic attacks against Jews, including at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.
The origin of scapegoating Jews
Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s nominee for the State Department’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.”
There are several theories as to why antisemitic accusations, despite their absurdity, have gained traction. One explanation is that given that they have been entrenched in society for so long, they are extremely difficult to eradicate. Furthermore, the allegations provided a mechanism with which to explain otherwise inexplicable and often depressing situations: blame them on the “all-powerful and evil” Jew.
The origins of deicide:
The allegation (known as deicide) that the Jewish people killed Jesus is perhaps the oldest and most inflammatory conspiracy myth levied against Jews. While the notion might seem like a harmless historical speculation, it has resulted in unimaginable Jewish suffering, despite the uniform agreement of historians and theologians that Jews are not responsible for the death of Jesus. In short, it has been the linchpin for a distinct form of Jew hatred: Christian antisemitism.
Dr. Lipstadt said that “antisemitism is often called the longest or the oldest hatred for very good reason. I find the roots of antisemitism in the New Testament depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus.”
Many ancient Christian thinkers wrote that Jewish suffering was divine punishment for the murder of Jesus, which greatly influenced European Christians and heightened their hostility toward Jews.
The allegation goes further than arguing that a specific group of Jews was responsible for the death of Jesus. Rather, it claims that all Jews— and only Jews, not the Romans—, have a collective responsibility for his death, and even their descendants should be held accountable. Like many antisemitic tropes, it is not only used to falsely malign the Jewish people, but also to paint them as a homogeneous group.
Today, it is often spread by antisemites who are less concerned with historical fact than they are with demonizing Jews. Such accusations, along with other alleged “crimes” of the Jewish people, have been made by attackers of synagogues and Jewish institutions, including at the 2019 shooting in a Chabad in Poway, California.
Significantly, under the leadership of Pope Paul VI, the Catholic Church rebuked the allegation of Jewish deicide in 1964 with the signing of the “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” (Nostra aetate). The Declaration states that the crucifixion of Jesus “cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”
The origins of the Blood Libel
Another prominent antisemitic conspiracy myth is the blood libel: the allegation that Jews murder non-Jews, especially non-Jewish children, in order to use their blood to make matzah and perform religious rituals. The claim is historically linked to the accusation that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus. At times this baseless charge has been widespread, despite its the fact that Jewish religious law (Halacha) forbids the consumption of human and animal blood. It was used to demonize Jews and to argue that they were not only a threat to civilization in ancient times, but are now as well.
The first documented accusation of a blood libel against the Jewish people was in 12th-century England following the death of a boy named William in Norwich. Years after his death, Thomas of Monmouth blamed local Jews, accusing them of killing him in a perverse re-enactment of Jesus’s crucifixion.
Historically, it has been used to justify the torture, expulsion, and murder of Jews, especially as it has mutated to allegations that Jews were responsible for murders of non-Jews and other horrific crimes.
Historical and contemporary examples of scapegoating Jews:
- Blaming Jews for the death of Jesus.
- Accusing Jews of being responsible for the Bubonic Plague.
-
Alleging that Jews poisoned wells (in an attempt to kill Christians).
-
Alleging that Jews used the blood of missing children to bake Passover matzah.
-
Accusing Jews of ritual murder, e.g., Anderl von Rinn, the Damascus Affair, Simon of Trent, Beilis trial, Kielce pogrom, Kraków pogrom.
Modern-day manifestations:
- Blaming Jews for the coronavirus pandemic or accusing Jews of benefiting from it, or creating it to hurt Palestinians.
-
Blaming Jews for seemingly random murders and other horrific crimes—including the modern rumors of organ harvesting in Israel and Jews (or Zionists) eating Palestinian children and drinking their blood.
-
Blaming Jews for ineffective government policy.
-
Blaming Israel for problems in the Middle East and across the world.
-
Alleging that Israeli Mossad agents were behind the 9/11 attacks or that Israel created ISIS.
-
Claiming that “the Jews” created the coronavirus vaccine as a means with which to kill large numbers of people in an attempt to reduce the world’s population or other similar conspiracy myths.
- Claiming that Jews / Israelis “poison Palestinian wells.”
Why using these terms to describe Israel or Israelis is antisemitic:
As the IHRA definition of antisemitism states, “Criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” However, the use of classical antisemitic imagery to characterize Israel or Israelis cannot be seen as a legitimate attempt to criticize Israeli policy toward Palestinians, but rather is intended to either perpetuate antisemitic conspiracy myths (such as the blood libel, or deicide). If the allegations are true, then all well-intentioned people, even Jews, are required to punish and sanction Israel, and movements resisting Israel, even terrorist organizations, are legitimate. Furthermore, when people accuse Israel or Israelis of committing horrific crimes, it is really code for Jews. This same is true for the word “Zionist”, which in this context is a slur.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King explained so succinctly when confronted by anti-Zionists, "When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You're talking antisemitism.”
This is similar to comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, about which Dr. Lipstadt has said that those who accuse Israel of genocide and other such crimes “are making a false comparison which elevates by a factor of a zillion any wrongdoings Israel might have done, and lessens by a factor of a zillion what the Germans did.”
Other symbols and images associated with classical antisemitism:
- Describing Jews / Israelis / Zionists as bloodthirsty.
- Singling out Israelis and describing them with antisemitic notions of Jewish traits
-
Calling out Israelis or Jews as “filthy Jews,” demeaning Jewish people as dirty and disease spreading
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:
- 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.
- Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
What WJC is doing about it:
In addition to raising awareness of the IHRA definition of antisemitism and condemning antisemitic incidents across the globe, WJC publishes reports that bring attention to trends revolving around antisemitism. For instance, in 2020, WJC published a report providing an overview of some of the most blatant antisemitic social media posts during the Hamas-Israel conflict. Many of those included examples featuring Holocaust imagery, conspiracy myths, and Nazi glorification, in particular evocations such as “Hitler was right.”
A resolution during the WJC Governing Board meeting in Paris in November 2019 entitled “Recognition of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism” stated:
- that contemporary examples of antisemitism include: denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor; applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation; drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis; and holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel;
- the fact that antisemitism can only properly be addressed if a common understanding of the phenomenon exists, including the contemporary examples of antisemitism in the IHRA definition and those relating to the State of Israel;
