ADL Publishes New Antisemitism Guide for Elected Officials, Candidates
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by Benjamin Kerstein
Illustrative. Photo: Christian Cantor / Twitter.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has published a new guide to understanding antisemitism that will be distributed to members of the US Congress and all candidates for national office.
Antisemitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era provides a history of antisemitism as well as survey of global antisemitism in the world today.
It also details seven of the most common antisemitic themes:
- Jews have too much power
- Jews are disloyal
- Jews are greedy
- Jews killed Jesus
- Jews use Christian blood for religious rituals
- The Holocaust didn’t happen
- Anti-Zionism or delegitmization of Israel
Each of these themes is analyzed by its historical origin and current manifestations.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement, “As violence against Jews is already at historic levels, we call on all public leaders, particularly during this heated political season, to avoid invoking antisemitic tropes.”
“The tropes this guide explains are the roots of antisemitism, and have led to violence against Jewish communities around the world over centuries,” he added.
Citing several recent antisemitic incidents, Greenblatt noted, “Today, they are still modern drivers of antisemitic violence, finding voice in the tweets and public statements of elected officials, or resonating with the extremists who carried out violent attacks against Jews in Pittsburgh, Poway, and Jersey City.”
“By debunking myths and offering context for the most stubborn antisemitic tropes, we hope this guide will educate people, particularly those who influence the public debate, about what is, and what is not, antisemitism and why,” he continued.
“This will help prevent the greater normalization of antisemitism and prevent extremists from seeing a green light to act on such hatred,” Greenblatt said.
Citing the current crisis around the coronavirus pandemic, Greenblatt stated, “Disturbingly enough, in just past the few weeks, our team at the Center on Extremism has documented an increase in chatter among some extremists on the far-fringes of the internet that Jews somehow are responsible for creating and spreading the novel coronavirus.”
“It is a baseless accusation but one with historical resonance: it echoes the medieval trope that Jews were responsible for spreading the Bubonic Plague in Europe,” he pointed out.
