STUDENT HANDOUT Antisemitic Words and Images
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ANTISEMITIC WORDS AND IMAGES STATEMENTS BACKGROUND [Discussing the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, which he labeled a “Jew Rick Wiles is a pastor and radio host in coup”] “That’s the way the Jews work. They are Florida, who made these comments in deceivers. They plot. They lie. They do whatever a viral video posted to his website and they’ve had to do to accomplish their political on YouTube. According to the Simon agenda…Should the Jews take over the country, they Wiesenthal Center, Wiles promotes will conduct a purge…That’s the next thing that racist and antisemitic conspiracy happens when Jews take over a country–they kill theories through his media outlet, millions of Christians.” TruNews, and claims 87,000 Facebook followers and nearly 60,000 on Twitter. — RICK WILES, NOVEMBER 22, 2019 One of his recent “godcasts” on YouTube was viewed over 250,000 times. “Jews were responsible for all of this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out, Louis Farrakhan has led the group, turning men into women and women into Nation of Islam, since 1977. According men…. White folks are going down. And Satan to the Southern Poverty Law Center, is going down. And Farrakhan, by God’s grace, has the group “is based on a fundamentally pulled a cover off of that Satanic Jew, and I’m here anti-white theology” and “Farrakhan to say your time is up, your world is through. You is an antisemite who routinely good Jews better separate because the satanic ones accuses Jews of manipulating the U.S. will take you to hell with them because that’s where government and controlling the levers they are headed.” of world power.” — MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, SAVIOUR’S DAY SPEECH, CHICAGO, IL, FEBRUARY 25, 2018 CONTEMPORARY ANTISEMITISM 1 IMAGES BACKGROUND In response to a data hack of a large bank, this cartoon depicts a wallet with a bank card and a presumably Jewish man with a balding scalp and hooked nose, hacking away at a laptop. In reality, the hacker was a software engineer who was neither Jewish nor an old man. This image plays on stereotypes of Jews as cunning, greedy, wicked, and in control of global financial institutions. The idea that Jews have large noses or other identifiable features is a myth. Depictions of Jews with distinctively large and hooked noses began in the 12th century as a way to mark them as grotesque and recognizable. Cartoon from Edmonton Journal (Canada), 2019 According to ADL, the Qatari media frequently demonizes Jews through cartoons that cross the line from legitimate criticism of Israel or its policies into overt antisemitism. This cartoon features a picture of a stereotypical-looking observant Jew driving a car while holding President Obama’s head in one hand like a stick shift and a steering wheel in the other fashioned out of the United Nations’ logo. The image evokes classic antisemitic myths of Jewish control, in this case of the U.S. government and the UN. Cartoon from Al-Watan newspaper (Qatar), September 2011 During the hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh–who was accused of sexual harassment of a former classmate–flyers falsely blaming Jews for the assault claims were found on numerous college campuses across the country. This flyer depicts Kavanaugh surrounded by prominent Jewish figures, including billionaire George Soros and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer. Stars of David are emblazoned across their foreheads and they are shown rubbing their hands together conspiratorially, in a manner that suggests shared secret knowledge. The flyer was created by supporters of the neo-Nazi organization The Daily Stormer, who were in favor of Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court. Daily Stormer Book Club flier, October 2018 CONTEMPORARY ANTISEMITISM 2 Patrick Little is an extreme right-wing political figure, who made a 2018 bid for U.S. Senate in California and was denounced by the Republican Party. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Little has denied the Holocaust and sees Adolf Hitler as “the second coming of Christ.” One of his campaign slogans is “Liberate the U.S. from the Jewish Oligarchy.” Little's anti-Semitic policy goals include making it illegal for people of Jewish faith to take office in government, outlawing foreign aid to Israel, and changing the U.S. Constitution to make the U.S. an explicitly “ethnically European nation.” He also wants to make it illegal for any foundation to raise money for Holocaust education. Politician Patrick Little, New York, NY, August 7, 2018 CONTEMPORARY ANTISEMITISM 3 .