The Surge of Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories is Alarming. Is this Where We are Heading?

The surge of Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories is alarming. Is this where the United States and the world are heading? As a 50+ year civil rights activist and a women’s right advocate, it makes me afraid for my grandchildren. It makes me afraid for all of us.

What has struck some experts is how blatant the comments about Jews are at a time when incidents of harassment, vandalism and violence against them have been at their highest levels since at least the 1970s. Recent data already showed that a majority of American Jews fear violence against them.

“Empirically, something is different. The level of public animosity towards Jews is higher than it’s been in recent memory,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in an interview.

The recent additions of Kanye West and Kyrie Irving are bookends to the Anti-Semitism by Donald Trump and the far right.

A common grievance narrative among the Far Right from North America to Eastern Europe is the expression of fear about the replacement of white Christians of European descent – as exemplified by Charlottesville.

If there is a single thread that links QAnon’s origins, its current state, and where the conspiracy theory is likely to go in the short- to medium-term, it’s antisemitism. QAnon’s antisemitism has been most visible at two points: its beginnings – when it emerged from the swastika-studded fever swamp that is 4chan – and the present, when the most popular Q'Anon influencer, GhostEzra, is an open Nazi who praises Hitler, admires the Third Reich, and decries the supposedly treacherous nature of Jews.

Experts said the climate is the product of a stew of forces including a digital culture that spreads misinformation and hate and right-wing political forces focused on protecting White Christians’ status. Some said current antisemitism is also aggravated by more people downplaying it as merely an interreligious issue instead of a dangerous form of racism; in the past majorities from Germany to America made clear they saw Jews as a distinct and inferior race.

Is this where the United States and the world are heading? It makes me afraid for my grandchildren. It makes me afraid for all of us.