10 Forms of Antisemitism

Historical Background: Anti-Jewish hate already existed in the Greco-Roman world, as demonstrated by the Alexandria riots in 38 AD. With the rise of Christianity, anti-Jewish hate took on a theological dimension: Jews were viewed as tied to an earlier and outdated covenant.

In the Middle Ages, persecution intensified in Christian Europe with expulsions, violence, and discrimination. In the Islamic world, Jews lived under dhimmi status and were subject to a special tax (jizya) and social restrictions. Although the contexts differed, these regulations established a religious and social hierarchy.

Negative representations from this era still fuels stereotypes and conspiracy theories today that associate Jews with evil forces.

Historical example: 18th-century engraving depicting Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Figure 1: Unknown. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus [black and white engraving on paper]. H: 29.7 cm x W: 22.3 cm. Montreal Holocaust Museum. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The main engraving depicts Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. This is recounted in the Gospel of Matthew where Judas is offered 30 pieces of silver in exchange for betraying Jesus. The inscription reads: Judas sells Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Roman silver coin).

Contemporary example: American politician Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent satanic descriptions of Jews, which combines elements of religious and racial prejudice.

Figure 2 : Kampeas, R. (2024). Taylor Greene: Antisemitism bill rejects “Gospel” that Jews handed Jesus to executioners. The Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/taylor-greene-antisemitism-bill-rejects-gospel-that-jews-handed-jesus-to-executioners/.

This screenshot shows a post by Taylor Greene on X (formerly Twitter). The politician included two photos: The first shows an excerpt of a bill that adopts, as part of its definition of antisemitism, the 11 ‘contemporary examples of antisemitism’ outlined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The second photo highlights IHRA’s ninth example which states that it is antisemitic to use “symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., allegations of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterise Israel or Israelis.” These photos are accompanied by text written by Taylor Greene, who states: “Antisemitism is wrong, but I will not be voting for the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (H.R. 6090) today that could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews.”

Historical context: In 1144, in Norwich, England, the monk Thomas of Monmouth falsely accused Jews of killing a child named William as part of a supposed religious ritual. This fabricated myth of “ritual murder,” later known as the blood libel, spread throughout medieval Europe, fueling expulsions, pogroms, and massacres. It entrenched the dangerous belief that Jews posed a threat to the wider population.

The accusation persisted across centuries. Even in the 20th century, Nazi propaganda media such as Der Stürmer circulated this lie to justify antisemitic hatred. Today, some extremist groups continue to repeat the same baseless claim, particularly online, using it to portray Jews as predatory or wicked.

Historical example: A copy of the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer repeating this false accusation.

Figure 3: Der Stürmer. (1939). Ritualmord. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Washington, District of Columbia, United States. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/photo/front-page-of-the-most-popular-issue-ever-of-der-stuermer.

Front page of the most popular issue of the Nazi publication Der Stürmer, featuring a reprint of a medieval illustration of an alleged ritual murder committed by Jews.

Contemporary example: Modern antisemitic propaganda and social media perpetuate the ritual murder myth.

Figure 4 : Schorr, I. (2024). Candace Owens Endorses Wild, Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theory About Jews Being Drunk on Christian Blood. Media ITE. Candace Owens Likes Post Promoting Anti-Semitic Blood Libel.

During a debate that took place on X, one person wrote to a Rabbi, “Are you drunk on Christian blood again?” They are making explicit reference to the blood libel myth and the false notion that Jewish rituals involve the murder of Christian children.

Historical context: In medieval Europe, Christians were forbidden from lending money and charging interest. Jews, who were excluded from guilds and forbidden from owning land, often made their livelihoods through money lending, which was essential to medieval trade.

Jews were not the only ones to engage in this activity. Notably, Lombard bankers participated in money lending, but only Jews were stigmatised. The anger of borrowers who owed money turned into widespread accusations and persecution.

With the advent of modernity, some Jewish families built careers in finance. Their success was exploited to reinforce the antisemitic notion of alleged “Jewish control” of the economy, a stereotype that is still widespread today.

Historical example: Antisemitic illustration from the book “The Jew in Caricature.”

Figure 5: Fuchs, E. (1921). Der jüdische Geizhals [printed illustration]. H: 70.9 cm x W: 51.36 cm x D: 3.8 cm. Montreal Holocaust Museum. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

This image, entitled “The Miserly Jew,” shows a Jewish person in possession of several bags of coins.

 Contemporary example: The antisemitic caricature alleging that Jacob Rothschild’s family controls the world’s central banks.

Figure 6: Magnora7. (2015). Rothschild [online image]. https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/Rothschild

An antisemitic caricature depicting the Rothschild family as a pig feeding intelligence services from various countries, including Islamic terrorist groups.

Historical context: Since the mid-19th century, Russia has had several attempts at communist revolutions. In 1905, the Tsar’s secret police conspired to falsely accuse Jews of using communism to overthrow the governments of Europe and control world institutions.

During this time, ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” an infamous antisemitic text, was published several times by the Tsar’s secret police. This text is a fraudulent document that claimed to be a report of meetings held by a group called the “learned elders of Zion,” who plotted to control the world. This falsified and antisemitic text uses coded terms such as “globalists” and “cosmopolitan elites” to convince readers of an alleged Jewish plan for world domination.

These conspiracy theories continue to circulate today, namely online.

Historical example : The 1905 Russian forgery ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” which spread the myth of  Jewish plans for world domination

Figure 7: Rosenberg, A. (1923). Die Protokolle der Weisen von Zion [printed book page]. H 8.75 cm x W: 6 cm x D: 0.75 cm. Montreal Holocaust Museum. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

German reprint of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” used as Nazi propaganda. The author, Alfred Rosenberg, was a pivotal Nazi ideologue.

Contemporary Example: Baseless conspiracies that George Soros, a Jewish philanthropist, orchestrates global events.

Figure 8: American Jewish Committee. Translate Hate Glossary: Puppet Master. American Jewish Committee. https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/puppet-master.

This image is an antisemitic political cartoon. It shows a puppeteer’s hand with “Rothschilds” written on it, controlling philanthropist George Soros, who controls two American military leaders.

Historical context : In the Middle Ages, the Church depicted Jews with exaggerated features, such as hooked noses. In Spain, blood laws prohibited mixed marriages between “old Christians” and Jewish converts.

In the 20th century, the Nazis transformed these prejudices into a pseudo-racial science. The Nuremberg Laws classified Jews as an “inferior race” and were used to justify their exclusion from society and eventual murder.

This propaganda continues to inspire antisemitic tropes online, perpetuating the idea of racial inferiority.

Historical example: A children’s book published and distributed during the Nazi era in Germany.

Figure 9: Bauer, E. (1936). Trau Keinem Fuchs Auf gruener Heid Und Keinem Jud bei seinem Eid! [printed illustration]. Montreal Holocaust Museum. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

These caricatures contrast a member of the German “Aryan” race with a Jewish person. On the left, we see a handsome, muscular, blond man who is a farmer and embodies traditional values. On the right, we see a representation of a Jewish merchant or businessman, depicted as overweight and short, smoking, with dark skin, a large nose, glasses and a bald spot on his head. These images clearly aim to show the good strong values of Germans, while Jews, as an inferior race, are depicted as flawed and greedy.

Contemporary example: The “happy merchant” meme perpetuates negative stereotypes about Jews online.

Figure 10: Wyatt Mann, A. Happy Merchant [online image]. Wikipedia commons. https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/happy-merchant.

As one of the most widespread antisemitic images on the Internet, the “smiling merchant” conveys ancient and contemporary stereotypes. With hands being greedily rubbed together, it embodies the myth of Jewish plots to control and dominate. Online, this image is used in a coded way to suggest that Jews are the hidden architects behind societal issues deemed negative by the far right.

Figure 11: Truthingplayer. Deconstruction Zone: The conspiracy trap. Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council. Deconstruction Zone: The conspiracy trap – AIJAC.

A far-right internet meme depicting caricatured Jews as responsible for all the ills of society and in control of all industries and institutions.

Historical Context: The accusation of dual loyalty took shape in France with the Dreyfus affair (1894-1906). Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus was wrongly accused of spying for Germany.

His trial revealed the power of prejudice, and associated Jews with disloyalty, which designated them as perpetually suspicious.

Even today, some Jewish public figures are accused of “dual loyalty” to Israel, fueling suspicious and marginalisation.

Historical example: The myth that Jews stabbed Germany in the back and betrayed the country during World War I.

Figure 12: Unknown. (1919). Stab in the back [online image]. Wikipedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stab-in-the-back_postcard.jpg.

This image illustrates the myth of Jewish betrayal. This myth implies that the Germans lost the First World War because of the betrayal of certain citizens, notably Jewish socialists, who allegedly conspired on the home front by provoking revolts, strikes, and social unrest to undermine the German war effort.

The gender of the person depicted is ambiguous: they have breasts, but masculine hands and face. This ambiguity reflects a common stereotype of the time, which alleged that Jews disrupted not only the political order but also the gender order, reinforcing the perception of their destabilising threat to German society.

Contemporary example: A statement by Dimitri Lascaris, Canadian lawyer, journalist, and activist, questioning the loyalty of Jews to their country.

Figure 13: Goldenberg, J. (2018). Housefather hits back at dual loyalty smear. The Suburban. Housefather hits back at dual loyalty smear | City News | thesuburban.com.

This is a screenshot of a post on X in which the chair of the Canadian Justice and Peace Committee accuses Liberal Jewish MPs Anthony Housefather and Michael Levitt of being more devoted to Israel than to their own Prime Minister and colleagues in the Liberal caucus.

Historical context: This theory took root in the 2011 book Le Grand Remplacement (The Great Replacement) by French author Renaud Camus. Although racist in nature, Camus’s theory did not originally implicate Jews.

In the late 2010s, white supremacists took up this theory and added an antisemitic dimension. They accused Jews of manipulating migration and seeking to bring about the extinction of white populations.

Contemporary example: The chant “Jews will not replace us” at the Unite the Right rally in 2017 reflects the modern iteration of the theory.

Figure 14: American Jewish Committee. Translate Hate Glossary: Great Replacement. American Jewish Committee. https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/great-replacement.

White nationalists and far-right protesters chanted “Jews will not replace us” at the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is motivated by the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, which claims that Jews are seeking to eliminate white people through the promotion of mass non-white immigration, interracial marriage, etc. This theory was promoted at the Unite the Right rally, from which this image is taken.

Historical context: The Nazis denied the Holocaust, which they considered a state secret, and destroyed as many documents as possible. Despite their efforts, evidence was recovered demonstrating the extent of the crimes perpetrated against the Jews.

Today, some individuals and groups continue to minimize or distort facts of the Holocaust, or even publicly glorify it.

Distortion often serves to support ideological agendas, such as antisemitism, political extremism, or the spread of conspiracy theories. They trivialise the suffering of the victims and exploit their trauma for ideological purposes.

Historical example: Pamphlet by Canadian Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel

Figure 15: [Holocaust denial sticker]. 17 October 1994. White nationalist and antisemitic propaganda collection, 1996.029.009. Revitalizing Access: The Journey of Bringing the VHEC’s Legacy Collections Online   – Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre 

This sticker is part of the antisemitic and nationalist propaganda disseminated in the 1990s. It echoes themes of Holocaust denial which seeks to minimise, contest, or rewrite the history of the genocide of Jews during the Second World War.

The accompanying text is attributed to Ernst Zündel, a German neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier known for his publications and campaigns aimed at questioning the evidence of the genocide. His writings sought to rehabilitate Nazi ideology and spread antisemitic theories.

Contemporary example: Distortion of the Holocaust to justify (or challenge) current policies or make false parallels, such as the use of Holocaust imagery in debates about COVID-19.

Figure 16: Steele, A. (2021). Disgust growing over vaccine protesters’ Holocaust comparisons. CBC News. Disgust growing over vaccine protesters’ Holocaust comparisons | CBC News.

During the pandemic, some anti-vaccine protestors wrongly compared mandatory vaccination to the fate of Jews during the Second World War, likening governments in Canada and the U.S. to the Nazi party.

Historical context:

Often considered the “new” antisemitism, hatred of Jews can sometimes be masked behind criticism of Israel, the world’s only Jewish State.

It is important to note that it is not antisemitic to criticize Israeli policies and governments.

However, when Jews are held collectively responsible for actions of the Israeli government, it is a form of antisemitic conflation.

Additionally, when criticism of Zionism, sometimes called anti-Zionism, promotes the idea that Israel does not have a right to exist, it is antisemitic. Zionism is support for the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.

Anti-Zionism emerged with the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 but became more radical after the Six-Day War in 1967. In the Soviet Union, anti-American propaganda used the term “Zionists” to demonise and dehumanise Jews, masking its antisemitism behind this euphemism.

Natan Sharansky writes about Three Ds that are used to identify instances of antisemitism behind criticism of Israel:

• Delegitimisation: Does the criticism question Israel’s right to exist?
• Demonisation: Does the criticism portray Israelis in a dehumanising or demonising manner?
• Double standard: Does the criticism apply standards to Israel that are not applied to other countries?

Historical example: Use of anti-Zionist rhetoric to demonise Jews.

 Figure 17: Caricature from the Soviet book Poison of Zionism, published after 1983. Yeshiva University Libraries Digital Collection, https://digital.library.yu.edu/object/digital3877.

This cartoon contains anti-American criticism riddled with antisemitic prejudice. The Star of David and the spider represent Israel, and more broadly the Jews, who are falsely accused of controlling and conspiring with the American government and banks to make money.

Contemporary example: Antisemitic conflation and vandalism at Canada’s National Holocaust Monument.

Figure 20: CBC News June 9, 2025 | “National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa defaced with ‘feed me’ graffiti” –  Campbell MacDiarmid 

As the conflict intensified in Gaza in 2025 and reports of food shortages began to surface, Canada’s Holocaust monument was defaced in red paint with the words “feed me.” This is an example of antisemitic conflation as it implies that Canadian Jews, or even Holocaust memory, were in some way responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. By targeting a sacred site for the local Jewish community, this act shifts the political debate into an attack on the identity and history of the Jewish people.

Historical context : After 1948, approximately 850,000 Jews fled discrimination in the Middle East, North Africa, and Iran, with many moving to Israel. In the 1950s, Israel welcomed these refugees into maabarot (transit camps), where survivors from Eastern Europe also lived.

After 1967, Soviet propaganda portrayed Jews as oppressors and spread this view among several international anti-racist movements. Certain factions of
Arab nationalism use the analogy of French colonization in Algeria to portray Jews as foreign occupiers, thereby denying their historical connection
to the land and justifying the idea of forced expulsion.

Gradually, certain anti-racist discourses excluded Jews, denied their vulnerability and even went so far as to compare them to Nazis..

Historical example: Soviet propaganda portraying Zionism as imperialist and ignoring Jewish experiences of discrimination.

Figure 21: A. Zenin. (1972). ‘In his own image,’ Sovietskaya Moldavia.

Description: In this Soviet cartoon, a middle-aged man is depicted with stereotypical Jewish features holding a bloody axe. His shadow takes the form of Adolf Hitler. The shadow of the Star of David becomes a swastika.

Contemporary example: Exclusion of Jews from anti-racist discourse and their perception as oppressors or powerful elites.

Figure 22: Saletan, W. (2023). Two-Thirds of Americans 18-24 Believe That Jews Are Oppressors. The National Review. Two-Thirds of Americans 18-24 Believe Jews Are Oppressors | National Review.

This screenshot shows a publication summarising the results of a new Harvard and Harris poll. The results, presented in table and pie chart form, show that 67% of young Americans agree with the statement: “Jews, as a group, are oppressors and should be treated as oppressors.”