Antisemitic trope

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Antisemitic tropes, also known as antisemitic canards or antisemitic libels, are "sensational reports, misrepresentations or fabrications"[1] directed at Jews as an ethnicity or Judaism as a religion, while Jews and Judaism are not interchangeable because Jewishness can be defined by ancestry or religious identity.[2][3] In this article, both antisemitic tropes directed at Jews and Judaism are included.

As early as the 2nd century,[4] libels or allegations of Jewish guilt or cruelty emerged as a recurring motif in antisemitic conspiracy theories. Antisemitic tropes tend to take the form of libels, stereotypes,[5][6][7] or conspiracy theories.[8] Antisemitic tropes can also manifest as the denial or trivialization of any instances of past atrocities or discrimination against Jews in any regions or institutions.[9][10], typically construing Jews as sinister, cruel, powerful, or controlling.[11][12] These libels, conspiracies and accusations often led to violence, vandalism, lynchings, or mass killings such as pogroms.[13][14]

Many antisemitic tropes developed in monotheistic societies, whose religions were derived from Judaism, many of which could be dated back to the birth of Christianity, such as the accusation that Jews were collectively responsible for the death of Jesus and the blood libel. These tropes were paralleled by claims in the Quran that Jews were "visited with wrath from Allah" because they "disbelieved in Allah's revelations" and "took usury".[15] In medieval Europe, antisemitic tropes were expanded to justify persecutions and expulsions of Jews from England, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal etc., when Jews were often accused of "causing" epidemics like the 14th-century Black Death[16] by poisoning wells. Jews were also accused of ritually consuming the blood of Christians.

In the 19th century, the rumour of Jews seeking world domination by control of capitalist commerce, banking and mass media emerged. In the 20th century, newer antisemitic tropes emerged to promote the idea of Jewish creation and propagation of communism. These tropes formed Adolf Hitler's worldview, caused WWII and the Holocaust.[12][17][18][19] In the 20th and 21st centuries, the propagation of antisemitic tropes and libels have been documented in the anti-Zionist movement.[20][21][22]

Denial and trivialization of historical atrocities against Jews are typical contemporary antisemitic tropes, mainly Holocaust denial and trivialization.[10][23] or of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim world.[24] Holocaust denial tends to intertwine with pre-existing antisemitic canards, typical of which is the trope that the Holocaust was "fabricated" to "advance" the "interests" of "Jews" and Israel.[25][26] A more recent example is the denial of the genocidal nature of the October 7 massacres, with most victims being Jewish, a sizeable proportion of whom were also Holocaust survivors.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] Denial of the presence or severity of antisemitism in any part of present society is also a form of antisemitism.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]

  1. ^ Julius, Anthony (2010). Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 67.
  2. ^ Ernest Krausz; Gitta Tulea (1997). Jewish Survival: The Identity Problem at the Close of the Twentieth Century; [... International Workshop at Bar-Ilan University on the 18th and 19th of March, 1997]. Transaction Publishers. pp. 90–. ISBN 978-1-4128-2689-1. "A person born Jewish who refutes Judaism may continue to assert a Jewish identity, and if he or she does not convert to another religion, even religious Jews will recognize the person as a Jew"
  3. ^ "A Portrait of Jewish Americans". Pew Research Center. 1 October 2013. But the survey also suggests that Jewish identity is changing in America, where one-in-five Jews (22%) now describe themselves as having no religion.
  4. ^ Feldman, Louis H. (1996). Studies in Hellenistic Judaism. Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums. Leiden ; New York: E.J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-10418-1.
  5. ^ "Analysis: The antisemitic libel is back again". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  6. ^ Teter, Magda (2021). "On the Continuities and Discontinuities of Anti-Jewish Libels". Antisemitism Studies. 5 (2): 370–400. ISSN 2474-1817.
  7. ^ "A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism | Facing History & Ourselves". www.facinghistory.org. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Translate Hate" (PDF). American Jewish Committee. October 2021.
  9. ^ Rose, Emily M. (2 June 2022), Crusades, Blood Libels, and Popular Violence, Cambridge University Press, pp. 194–212, ISBN 978-1-108-49440-3, retrieved 26 February 2024
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "What is antisemitism?".
  12. ^ a b Levy, Richard (2005). Antisemitism: a historical encyclopedia of prejudice. p. 55. ISBN 1-85109-439-3.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brasher-2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Zipperstein, Steven J. (2019). Pogrom: Kishinev and the tilt of history (First published as an Liveright paperback ed.). New York London: Liveright Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-1-63149-599-1.
  15. ^ Gerber, Jane (1986). Anti-Semitism and the Muslim World. Jewish Publications Society. p. 78. ISBN 0827602677.
  16. ^ Algemeiner, The (14 March 2024). "In Classic Antisemitic Libel, Palestinian Press Accuses Israel of Poisoning Water - Algemeiner.com". www.algemeiner.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  17. ^ Baker, Lee D. (2010). Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture. Duke University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0822346982.
  18. ^ Waltman, Michael; John Haas (2010). The Communication of Hate. Peter Lang. p. 52. ISBN 978-1433104473.
  19. ^ Stein, Joel (19 December 2008). "Who runs Hollywood? C'mon". Los Angeles Times.
  20. ^ Rosenfeld, Alvin H., ed. (2019). Anti-zionism and antisemitism: the dynamics of delegitimization. Studies in antisemitism. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-04002-2.
  21. ^ Wistrich, Robert S., ed. (1990). "Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism in the Contemporary World". SpringerLink. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-11262-3. ISBN 978-1-349-11264-7.
  22. ^ "Antisemitic Attitudes in America 2024 | Center on Extremism". extremismterms.adl.org. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Assertions was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Webman, Esther (2022), "New Islamic Antisemitism, Mid-19th to the 21st Century", The Cambridge Companion to Antisemitism, pp. 430–447, doi:10.1017/9781108637725.029, ISBN 978-1-108-49440-3, retrieved 26 February 2024
  25. ^ ""Denial": how to deal with a conspiracy theory in the era of 'post-truth'". Cambridge University Press. 16 February 2017.
  26. ^ Doward, Jamie (22 January 2017). "New online generation takes up Holocaust denial". The Observer.
  27. ^ "Hamas killing spree haunts Holocaust survivors in 'March of the Living'". Voice of America.
  28. ^ "A Holocaust survivor takes a different route to remembrance after October 7". The Times of Israel. "German-born Judith Tzamir, whose kibbutz fended off Hamas attack, will attend March of the Living for first time; 'I don't want to lose my home again,' says displaced octogenarian"
  29. ^ "Palestinian poll shows a rise in Hamas support and close to 90% wanting US-backed Abbas to resign". AP News.
  30. ^ Prince, Cathryn J. (29 January 2024). "Are conspiracy theories about Oct. 7 a new form of Holocaust denial? Experts weigh in". The Times of Israel.
  31. ^ Carroll, Rory (23 October 2023). "Israel shows footage of Hamas killings 'to counter denial of atrocities'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  32. ^ Dwoskin, Elizabeth (22 January 2024). "Growing Oct. 7 'truther' groups say Hamas massacre was a false flag". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  33. ^ Klompas, Aviva (26 January 2024). "Holocaust Remembrance Means Rooting Out Oct. 7 Denial". Newsweek. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Denial and Distortion of the Hamas-led October 7 Attack: An Overview of False Narratives". Anti-Defamation League.
  35. ^ "Countering the Denial and Distortion of the 10/7 Hamas Attack". American Jewish Committee. 28 December 2023.
  36. ^ "Most Palestinians Support October 7 Attack, Dissatisfied With Abbas and Fatah". Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
  37. ^ "The denial and disinformation facing survivors of Hamas' October 7 attack". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  38. ^ Cohen, Ben (19 May 2023). "Djerba attack shines a light on Arab antisemitism denial". Jewish News Syndicate.
  39. ^ "Liberal media is still in denial about post-Oct. 7 antisemitism". Jewish News Syndicate.
  40. ^ "The breathtaking denial of anti-Semitism at Columbia". Spiked.
  41. ^ "From Right to Left and In Between: Jew-hatred Across the Political Divide". U.S. Department of State.
  42. ^ "The Anti-Zionist Protesters and the Left: An End to Denial". New York Magazine.
  43. ^ "Columbia Administrators' Texts Reveal New Depths of Apathy and Disdain Towards Jewish Students". U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce. 2 July 2024.
  44. ^ "Columbia University leaders 'mocked' Jews and remarked on their 'privilege', leaked texts reveal". The Jewish Chronicle.
  45. ^ "Columbia staff removed from positions after mocking Jewish student concerns". The Jerusalem Post.
  46. ^ "In newly revealed texts, Columbia deans discuss Jewish student 'privilege' and '$$$$'". The Times of Israel.
  47. ^ "Columbia U. suspends senior staff over mockery of antisemitism". Ynetnews.
  48. ^ "AJC Study of U.S. Latino Millennial and GenZ Leaders' Attitudes Toward Jews, Antisemitism, Israel Reveals Gaps Between Two Minority Communities". American Jewish Committee.
  49. ^ "'Behavior of Colonizers': Many Latino Millennials and Gen-Zers Don't Believe Antisemitism Is a Problem: Survey". Algemeiner.