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Home , Blood libel, Deicide, Demonization, Desecration, Genocide, Gentile

Fact Sheet on the Elements of Anti-Semitic Discourse Kenneth L. Marcus, President & General Counsel The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Under Law

Government officials, university administrators and aca- 3. Slaughter demic faculty often need resources for identifying anti- Since ancient times, have been falsely accused of Semitic discourse that can supplement existing defini- killing for ritual purposes. In Hellenistic , this tions such as the U.S. Department of State definition and was sometimes accompanied by accusations of cannibal- the International Working Definition. ism. In Medieval , beginning in the Twelfth Century, it was often accompanied by accusations that Jews used This Fact Sheet meets that need by highlighting some of their victim’s to bake matzah for the Jewish holi- the most common motifs in anti-Semitic discourse. The day of . Historically, these false allegations have following inter-related tropes and memes, intended to frequently been followed by anti-Jewish riots and mass- be illustrative rather than exhaustive, have long been . Today, echoes of this can be heard in markers for anti-Semitism: allegations that Jews, especially in , kill young children for military or political purposes or in service of 1. Demonization . In one contemporary variation, are ac- Since the of John, and especially since the fourth cused of Palestinian children at night, - century, influential figures in have -as ing them, and selling their organs for profit. Variations of sociated Jews with the or with demonic elements. the child-murder libel remain prevalent in some parts of During the , Jews were frequently described the world. as children of the devil, often portrayed with horns and bulging eyes, and associated with Satanic attributes, 4. The Wandering such as arrogance and devious logic. Similar depiction Beginning with Saint Augustine, Christian theologians of Jews can be seen in Muslim texts from the twenti- viewed Jews as a cursed people doomed to wander in eth century onward. In the contemporary world, these misery until the end of days as testament of their own images are reflected in depictions of Jews, individually depravity and Christian superiority. The or collectively, as bearing cosmically malevolent char- later developed as a wretched, lowly figure of Christian acteristics. This can be seen in caricatures of Israeli and folklore, circulating as the well-known European Ahavser Jewish public figures depicted as or . beginning in the thirteenth century. In the tradi- tional formulation, a Jew who taunted on the way to 2. Myth his is cursed to roam the earth until the end of From the early years of the Christian church, Jews have days. In some versions, the Jew is cursed not only roam to been condemned for rejecting the teachings of Jesus the earth but also to remain in an state as punishment despite of his words and proximity to his for his of Jesus, his taunting of Jesus on his presence. Worse, some have condemned way to the Crucifixion, his , and his -re Jews for slaying the Christian messiah and have held jection of Jesus as the Messiah. Today, this myth echoes in Jews collectively responsible for this action. This view is efforts to reinforce the supposedly lowly status of diasporic associated with related doctrines such as the notion that Jews, for example, in student-led kick-a-Jew or hit-a-Jew Jews are sustained in a wretched condition in order to events held (despite official disapproval) at some Ameri- bear witness to the moral superiority of and can public schools. Similarly, it can be seen in the notion to foreshadow the final triumph of Christianity at the end that the Jews, alone among the peoples of the earth, can of days. The deicidal myth has reinforced the associa- never merit statehood. This view is expressed in efforts tion of Jews with traits that are imagined to go with the to delegitimize the State of Israel and is reflected in terms killing of a messiah, e.g., sinister powers, intransigence, like “the Zionist entity” as a disparaging synonym for the and conspiratorial treachery. Although not a deicide Jewish state. myth, some Islamic texts similarly accuse “the Jews” of plotting to poison Mohammed. In modern times, hostil- ity to Jews is often expressed in terms of this supposed malevolence, power and treachery.

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law 1 Fact Sheet on the Elements of Anti-Semitic Discourse Kenneth L. Marcus, President & General Counsel The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

5. Carnality 7. Dirt and Disease Since at least the fourth century, Christians have associ- Jews have long been described, literally or metaphori- ated Jews with carnality, ascribing such traits as lecher- cally, as carriers of a physical defect, deformity or dis- ousness, greed, stinginess and stunted spirituality. This is ease, often associated with ugliness, weakness, dirt and reflected in the use of the word “Jew” as a verb denoting excrement. In some cases, these defects were associ- sharp business practices. In contemporary times, carnal ated with Jewish masculinity or femininity. This can be are reflected in actions such as throwing seen, for example, in the myth of Jewish male menstru- coins at Jewish school children. A version of the carnal ation. Similarly, the phrase “dirty Jew” has long been perception can be seen in the of the “Jewish common among anti-Semites, and stereotypes of “Jew- American Princess” (or “”) who is typically perceived ish odor” were once commonplace. Jews were banned as shallow, spoiled, selfish, vapid and materialistic. Re- from German swimming pools and quarantined during flecting the irrationality of anti-Semitic , Jewish the cholera and typhus epidemics of 1892. During the men, sometimes derogated as “Jew boys,” have been nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, white racialists depicted as sexually avaricious and effeminate, while often perceived Jews as possessing inferior nonwhite Jewish women have been portrayed as sexually repres- racial characteristics. Since the mid-twentieth century, sive and insatiable. conversely, Jewishness has often been associated with a false sense of white racial superiority, sometimes associ- 6. Well-Poisioning and of the Host ated with and colonialism. In Nazi , Jew- Since the Middle Ages, Jews have been accused of ishness was often compared to a cancer. Contemporary tainting sacred objects or communal . Begin- anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli cartoons tend to emphasize ning in the thirteenth century, Christians falsely charged physical traits associated with physical ugliness, such as Jews with reenacting the crucifixion of Jesus by venting the hooked nose and shallow forehead. The term “dirty their spleen on the host wafer, which was understood to Zionist” is now sometimes used in place of “dirty Jew.” represent the body and blood of Christ. Since that time, Jews have been repeatedly charged with conspiring to 8. Money and Criminality desecrate holy sites or objects. Today, these allegations Since medieval times, Jewry has frequently been de- are reflected in accusations that Israelis are conspiring picted as a wealthy, powerful, menacing and controlling to destroy the Dome of the Rock in or other collectivity, demanding the sacrifice of others to their sacred sites. Similarly, European Christians repeatedly own greed. In these respects, Jews have been associ- accused Jews of poisoning communal wells during medi- ated with Mammon, the associated with of money, eval and early modern periods. This was sometimes at- and Moloch, the Ammonite associated with human tributed to Jews’ putatively demonic characteristics and sacrifice. These stereotypes are often connected with was sometimes said to be aided by the devil. In , stereotypical Jewish traits, such as malevolence, crimi- accusations of Jewish well-poisoning persisted until at nality, greediness, stinginess, and mendacity. Holo- least the 1920’s. In modern times, Jews and Israelis are caust denial also tends to embody this view, especially occasionally accused of tainting communal property or when it presents the destruction of European Jewry as assets, such as water bodies or blood supplies. This can a global hoax perpetrated to defraud gullible human- be seen, for example, in contemporary claims that Israelis ity. Similarly, anti-Semitism denial, which presents the are responsible for shark attacks in the Red Sea. resurgence of contemporary anti-Semitism as a global Jewish hoax to legitimate supposed Israeli , fol- lows this pattern. inversion, which attributes Nazi characteristics to contemporary Jews, is similar. This can be seen when Jews and Israel are compared with Nazis when Jews are derogated as Nazi Zionists, Jew-Nazis, Zionazis, or ZiZis. In a softer form of this

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law 2 Fact Sheet on the Elements of Anti-Semitic Discourse Kenneth L. Marcus, President & General Counsel The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

aspersion, Israel is compared to the South ’s and Israelis are often portrayed as a variety of barnyard state. These stereotypes influence depictions and zoological animals and insects. of sinister, wealthy, controlling Jews from to Netanyahu. These elements should be understood subject to the 9. Global Conspiracy following caveats. Anti-Semitism has never been limited Jewish conspiracy theories have been traced back to the to a finite stock of stereotypes, , distorted ’s imputation of responsibility to the San- images and . Instead, it has repeatedly gener- hedrin for calling for the arrest of Jesus and abounded in ated new figures while recycling old ones in new forms. the medieval world. In its standard modern formulation, Anti-Semitic prejudice is frequently expressed in terms of the Jews or Zionists form a powerful, secret, global cabal irrationally paired opposite characteristics, as when Jews that manipulates governmental institutions, banks, the are criticized for both rootless cosmopolitanism and nar- media, and other institutions for malevolent purposes, row communitarianism. Similarly, mutually incompatible undermining decent values. The Protocols of the Elders discursive elements are often combined, as when Jews of , a fraudulent document purporting to record a are simultaneously portrayed as powerful demons and Jewish plan for world domination, has influenced count- subhuman beasts. In some contexts, the use of these less ideas about supposed Jewish global conspiracies discursive elements is not anti-Semitic, e.g., when they including, notably, ideas contained within the are uttered in discussions of anti-Semitism. In other con- Charter. For example, these writings accuse the Jewish texts, terms that are not primarily associated with Jews, people of starting all modern . The myth of global such as the word “apartheid,” may be used for anti-Se- Jewish conspiracy has echoes in contemporary opinions mitic purposes. Similarly, some terms that are not initially about the putative over-representation of Jewish people associated with anti-Semitic ideology are now primarily in various business sectors. This can be seen, for ex- used in a derogatory manner to express hostility towards ample, in representations of Jewish control over govern- Jews, e.g., “,” “Hebe,” and “.” Even the words ment, the media, academia, and financial institutions, es- “Jew” and “Zionist,” or their cognates in other languag- pecially when phrased in terms of a “.” This es, are often used in a derogatory manner. Finally, these may also be seen in accusations that Israel or the Jewish discursive elements convey anti-Jewish content even people are responsible for virtually any contemporary ca- when speakers are unaware of their impact. tastrophe, such as the attack on the World Center on September 11, 2001.

10. Beastilization Since ancient times, Jews have been compared in de- rogatory terms to barnyard and wild animals. In some influential ancient Christian texts, for example, Jews are compared to pigs, goats, and cows. In medieval Europe, Jews were often compared to pigs or depicted as having intimate relations with pigs. “,” which refers to obscene contact between Jews and female pigs, appeared in thirteenth century Germany and remained popular throughout Europe for several hundred years. Contemporary examples of Judensau appear when pigs are portrayed together with images of Jews or the Star of in cartoons or political commentary. In Muslim texts, Jews have been compared since ancient times to apes and pigs. In contemporary texts and cartoons, Jews

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law 3 Fact Sheet on the Elements of Anti-Semitic Discourse Kenneth L. Marcus, President & General Counsel The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

About Kenneth L. Marcus Kenneth L. Marcus is President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and author of the award-winning and Civil Rights in America (New : Cambridge University Press: 2010). - cus founded LDB to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on American college campuses.

About the Brandeis Center The Brandeis Center, or LDB, is an independent, unaffiliated, nonprofit corporation established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB conducts research, education, and advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses.

For information on LDB and campus anti-Semitism, [email protected], or contact Kenneth L. Marcus (202) 756-1822.

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law 4