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Antisemitic Conspiracy Myths

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Antisemitic Conspiracy Myths ANTISEMITIC CONSPIRACY MYTHS NOVEMBER 2020 A WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS PUBLICATION The World Jewish Congress is the internationally recognized representative body of Jewish communities in more than 100 countries across six continents, working on their behalf with foreign governments, international organizations, law enforcement agencies, and at the grassroots level to: combat antisemitism, bigotry, xenophobia, and extremism; support Israel and advance Middle East peace; safeguard Jewish security; advocate on issues of international human rights; preserve and perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust; promote and enhance Jewish unity and interfaith relations; and nurture future generations of Jewish leadership. Antisemitic Conspiracy Myths Contents 1 Executive Summary 2 5.3.8 United Kingdom 15 2 Conspiracies and the Emerging Threat 2 6 Conspiracy Myths in Recent Terrorist Attacks 15 3 Historical Background 3 7 Appendices 16 3.1 Disease 4 7.1 Appendix 1: Examples of Antisemitism 3.2 Blood Libel 4 and Holocaust Trivialisation 16 3.3 World Domination 5 7.1.1 Austria 16 3.3.1 The Great Replacement 5 7.1.2 Belgium 17 4 Coronavirus-related Antisemitism 5 7.1.3 France 17 4.1 Antisemitic Conspiracy Myths 6 7.1.4 Germany 17 4.1.1 Influencers 8 7.1.5 Greece 18 4.1.2 Demonstrations 9 7.1.6 The Netherlands 19 4.2 Violence 9 7.1.7 Poland 19 4.3 Holocaust trivialisation 10 7.1.8 Romania 20 4.4 Calls to Spread the coronavirus to Jews 11 7.1.9 International Examples 20 4.5 Zoombombing 11 7.1.10 Online 23 5 Conspiracy Myths in Politics 12 7.1.11 Zoombombing and Antisemitic 5.1 QAnon 12 Threats 25 5.2 Black Lives Matter Demonstrations 12 7.2 Appendix 2: Influencers 25 5.2.1 Israel blamed for police brutality 12 7.2.1 Eva Herman 25 5.2.2 George Soros responsible for protests 12 7.2.2 Ken Jebsen - KenFM 26 5.3 Europe 13 7.2.3 Attila Hildmann 26 5.3.1 Austria 13 7.2.4 Xavier Naidoo 30 5.3.2 Croatia 13 7.2.5 Oliver Janich 32 5.3.3 France 13 7.3 Appendix 3: XRW attendance 5.3.4 Germany 13 at Demonstrations 32 5.3.5 Greece 14 7.4 Appendix 4: Google Trends Graphs 35 5.3.6 Italy 14 7.5 Appendix 5: Abbreviations 37 5.3.7 Poland 14 8 Sources |1 1. Executive Summary Antisemitic conspiracy myths are not a new phenomenon; they have existed for centuries. In times of uncertainty and economic hardship, such myths flourish and gain increased popularity and support.1 In the past, violence resulting from conspiratorial beliefs has resulted in pogroms, death, and destruction. However, one does not need to look far into the past, as several recent terror attacks were influenced, in part, by such conspiratorial beliefs. During the current global coronavirus pandemic, conspiracy myths in general, and those related to antisemitism in particular, are becoming increasingly widespread. This report aims to provide an overview of antisemitic phenomena related to conspiracy myths, and of antisemitic conspiracies, their historical background, and their current relevance. It also aims to highlight the growing threat emerging from the increasingly mainstream belief in such conspiracy myths as well as their role in encouraging and motivating terrorists. 2| 2. CONSPIRACIES AND THE EMERGING THREAT Conspiracists are not limited to one political view and can be found on various sides of the political spectrum. Moreover, they are becoming more popular among the mainstream, as people turn to conspiracy myths to help them make sense of difficult situations that cannot be fully grasped or explained.2 The Conspiracy Theory Handbook,3 published in March 2020 by cognitive science and conspiracy experts Dr. Stephan Lewandowsky and Dr. John Cook, lists seven traits of conspiratorial thinking (CONSPIR): Contradictory: conspiracy theorists can simultaneously believe in ideas that are mutually contradictory. The commitment is to disbelieve the ‘official’ account; Overriding suspicion: extreme degree of suspicion against anything that doesn’t fit into the conspiracy; Nefarious Intent: motivations behind any presumed conspiracy are invariably assumed to be nefarious; Something Must Be Wrong: even on the occasion, that the conspiracists abandon specific ideas, their overall conclusion remains that the official account is based on deception; Persecuted Victim: the theorists consider themselves to be persecuted and see themselves as brave antagonists taking on villainous conspirators; Immune to Evidence: evidence that counters a theory is re-interpreted as originating from the conspiracy; Re-interpreting Randomness: conspiratorial thinking often results in a belief that nothing occurs by accident. Thus, small random events are woven into a broader interconnected pattern;4 A 2019 study from Germany demonstrated that almost 50% of all Germans believe in secret organisations that influence political decisions.5 In Germany, the XRW (extreme right wing) have utilised recent conspiratorial demonstrations for recruitment purposes and to normalise their own beliefs.6 In recent years support for the ‘Reichsbürger’ (Citizens of the Reich) Movement has increased in Germany. These conspiracists believe that Germany is not a sovereign state but continues to be occupied by the Allied armies post World War II and is being run as a company rather than a country.7 These beliefs have often resulted in violence against the state.8 As shown above, once people are influenced by conspiracy myths, it becomes increasingly difficult to break this type of thinking as they disregard evidence and re-interpret random occurrences. This results in deep mistrust of the state, government, police, doctors, and others in positions of power. |3 As this mindset becomes more mainstream, it becomes easier for extremists to convince people to join their cause, as conspiracy myths often act as a gateway to extreme right-wing views.9 As this report will further demonstrate, conspiracy myths use antisemitic dog whistles and subtle antisemitic tropes to influence their followers. Additionally, Holocaust trivialisation becomes the norm. As these beliefs become more common among the mainstream, an increase in antisemitic incidents and terrorist violence could occur. While this report focuses on antisemitic components of conspiracies, it is important to note that not all those involved in the various protests can be immediately subsumed under the category of antisemitic extremists. 3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Antisemitic conspiracy myths related to Jews have existed for centuries and many remain popular antisemitic canards until the present day. The three main categories of antisemitic conspiracy myths can be classified as: spreaders of disease, blood libel and world domination. 3.1 Disease The first major instances in Europe date back to the 14th century in the south of France. In 1341, Jews were accused of using people affected by leprosy to spread the disease and kill Christians. Both Jews and leprosy patients were murdered in riots that ensued.10 In 1348, Jews were openly accused of purposely spreading The Plague by poisoning well water, as they were perceived to be less affected by it than surrounding non-Jewish populations – possibly due to hygienic regulations required by Jewish law (frequent hand-washing and ritual baths).11 This conspiracy theory led to pogroms, the murder of Jews and even the expulsion of the entire Jewish communities of Strasburg (February 1349)12 and Spain (1492).13 Later, after the rise of Nazism, German propaganda described typhus, which is spread by lice, as a “disease characteristic of parasitic, subhuman people – the Jews,”14 and blamed them for its spread. The Nazis used this to justify the isolation of Jews in ghettos, which in fact only increased the proliferation of the disease. This was one of the major motifs of the A Nazi poster circulated in German-occupied Poland. Source: United States Holocaust notorious film Der ewige Jude [The Eternal Jew], in which Jews were depicted as disease- Memorial Museum bearing rats. 4| In Nazi propaganda, the notion of the “Jews” as synonymous with poison appeared in many forms, including a children’s book published by Julius Streicher of the notorious Der Stürmer, who likened the Jewish race to a “poisonous mushroom” that is nearly impossible to contain. The Poisonous Mushroom remained available for sale on Amazon, accessible to all extremists looking to nourish themselves with hateful content, until earlier this year, when it was removed in response to WJC outrage. This demonstrates that conspiracy myths blaming Jews for the spread of disease are nothing new in the antisemitic playbook. On the contrary, they are rooted in longstanding traditions. This paradox of portraying Jews as responsible for the creation and engineering of disease as a potent weapon against non-Jewish populations while they themselves are immune, and on the other hand, blaming Jews for being “dirty,” “subhuman” and for infecting others, is also visible regarding the current coronavirus pandemic. It has also evolved into calls for the deliberate infection of Jews and other minority populations. 3.2 Blood Libel One of the earliest recorded anti-Jewish conspiracy myths claims that the Jews kidnapped a Greek, held him captive in the Temple in Jerusalem, sacrificed him, and ate him. This was the forerunner of the blood libel, one of the major strains of antisemitic conspiracy myths.16 The ADL describes the blood libel claim as the belief that Jews murder Christians, especially Christian children, to use their blood for ritual purposes (such as an ingredient in matzah).17 The claim originated in the English town of Norwich in the year 1140 with the death of a young boy, William, whose mother blamed the Jews. A little over 100 years after William’s death, more than 90 Jews in Lincoln, a cathedral city in the English Midlands, were arrested when the body of a young boy was found in a well;18 of them were hanged.
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