AN INTRODUCTION TO ANTISEMITIC TROPES

Understanding antisemitic tropes and myths is key to combating antisemitism. People often experience antisemitisam online or through popular culture. Education on these tropes can help people be better equipped to identify, and call out, antisemitism when they see it.

These videos on 7 different antisemitic tropes are the product of monitoring done through the Get The Trolls Out! project and work with a variety of counter antisemitism organisations across the UK.
Understanding antisemitism and antisemitic tropes is a complex task, and we do not believe these videos alone are sufficient as standalone resources. Please see our Resources page for additional resources on this subject.

Domination and Control

Today it is very often found in political discussions, in references to media, banking and political lobbying. Most imagery circulated online will depict prominent Jewish individuals and the Jewish people by extension as ‘puppeteers’, controlling world events from behind the scenes.

We highly recommend this video being used as an entry point to a discussion about this trope’s use today. For more resouces visit Get The Trolls Out! website.

Holocaust Denial

This trope refers to theories that either deny completely or reduce the scales of the Holocaust.

In recent times, Holocaust denial content has spread onto social media platforms, giving the conspiracy theory magnified reach, which has resulted in platforms changing their policies to ban such content.

However, like many conspiracy theories, countering Holocaust denial when faced with it takes an extremely high level of factual understanding.

We strongly urge you to check the resources available at Get The Trolls Out! website to help you understand better and provide a factual basis for countering Holocaust denial.

Blood Libel

In 2020, the QAnon conspiracy theory brought the ‘Blood Libel’ accusation back into the public sphere.

Blood libel has a long history which has been the cause for many instances of mob violence and pogroms (a violent riot aimed at the massacre or expulsion of an ethnic or religious group).

We recommend you to look for more resources on this topic at Get The Trolls Out!.

Dirt and Disease

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed centuries-old tropes blaming Jews for disease spreading. These encompass a variety of antisemitic stereotypes, including that Jews are dirty, or inhuman with grotesque physical features, and that they played a deliberate role in spreading the Black Death among other global diseases for their own benefit.

We encourage you to explore more about this trope, more resources are available at Get The Trolls Out! website.

Wealth and Greed

Presenting Jews as weathy and greedy is probably one of the most persistant antisemitic trope. The association with money has a complex history, both factual and grossly exaggerated.

Our video touches on this history, and explores how these associations have manifested into antisemitic propaganda, as well as into popular culture.

For more information on this topic please see resources at the Get The Trolls Out! website. Our resources expand on these issues, and include case studies which show the inaccuracies and consequences of the trope.

Deicide

‘Christ-killers’ is an antisemitic slur that has, throughout the ages, been used to incite violence against Jews. The accusation, that Jews caused the death of Jesus of the Christian religion, is still found on antisemitic social media content today.

Get The Trolls Out! website provided more resources which expand on these issues, as well as a guide on how to respond to these accusations.

Demonisation

The demonisation of Jews has deep roots in Christian history. Associations with the devil, usually in the form of depicting Jews as demons or referring to them as ‘children of Satan’ are common in antisemitism.

This video explains how associations with causing the Black Death and the accusation of blood libel all played significant roles in the formation of this trope.

When exploring this concept, we strongly urge you to include discussions on the important work of interfaith dialogue today, especially following 1965’s Nostra Aetate, which is included in the resources on the Get The Trolls Out! website.