Myths and Misconceptions About Jews

Myths and Misconceptions about Jews

Antisemitism is discrimination or prejudice against Jewish people. The UK is one of a number of countries which has adopted an official [working] definition of antisemitism which goes into further detail about the types of discrimination Jews can face. Antisemitism comes from all sections of society, has been expressed by people from all political perspectives and has existed through millennia, leading to attacks, persecution and the murder of Jews across the globe. Antisemitism can be based on several motivations, including: religious, nationalist, economic and racial-biological reasonings. Antisemitism can be found in attacks on Jews as a national collective, most commonly expressed as antisemitic anti-Zionism. Not all criticism of Israel is antisemitism, but this is where commonly the boundaries are crossed. Jews can be viewed by some racists as inferior, by others, Jews are often regarded as wealthy and controlling. Sometimes Jews can be seen as both. Such antisemitic conspiracy theories are pernicious; infiltrating society, often claiming to reveal the truth about world ills, but they seek to sow division within communities on the basis of antisemitic lies. Many of the antisemitic myths perpetrated against Jews, either as individuals or as a collective, can be traced back historically . All of the myths can be discredited. This briefing aims to serve as a guide to historical myths, persistent accusations and modern misconceptions alleged about Jews and the truth behind them. It is by no means fully comprehensive, with new conspiracy theories regularly coined and old tropes perpetuated on social media, and further reading is encouraged. The Antisemitism Policy Trust has attempted to locate the provenance of all images included. However, for some older imagery and that posted on social media, this has not been possible. APT does not claim ownership of any of the pictures included. APT has not knowingly intended or attempted to offend or violate any copyright or intellectual property rights of any entity. The images included are provided for educational purposes only. The images comply with the fair use doctrine of copyright law for non-commercial news reporting and education as they serve an illustrative purpose. If you are the copyright holder of any of the images contained in this publication without credit, please contact Antisemitism Policy Trust directly.