How White Supremacy Links Racism and Antisemitism

Jewish people have been scapegoated for thousands of years.

“Jews will not replace us." Remember that chant from Charlottesville in 2017?

The idea that Jewish people push "anti-white racism" to weaken the West—an antisemitic trope promoted by white supremacists and Christian nationalists —is simply a contemporary version of a virulent anti-Jewish conspiracy theory that goes back centuries.

At the root of this brand of antisemitism is the Great Replacement Theory: a belief that Jews, who only "pretend" to be white, are plotting to exterminate or "replace" white Christians. (Of course many members of the Jewish community, especially adults under 30, are people of color/multiethnic.) A toxic combination of antisemitism and racism, the Great Replacement Theory claims that Jews are puppeteers, manipulating people of color to destroy white Christian culture.

I had no idea about the supposed existence of this vast Jewish-led conspiracy until white supremacists accused me of being a part of it.

In 2015 I publicly supported the student protest group Concerned Student 1950, who were fighting systemic racism at the University of Missouri, where I was a professor. I worked with other faculty to form a Concerned Faculty group, organized a walk out, and emailed a statement of solidarity, which got picked up nationally, much to my surprise. I agreed to several interviews to support my students and advocate for racial justice. The hate mail I received after those appearances was despicable and--surprise!--almost always antisemitic. Among other things, far-right white nationalists accused me of being in league with people of color to destroy the white race.

Extremists have normalized hate so successfully that it is now a part of mainstream politics, including the current presidential campaign. If you believe in eliminating racialized hate and injustice and advancing our collective liberation, please join me in calling out antisemitic conspiracy theories when you hear or see them.

#antisemitism #jewish #RacialJustice

ID: Photo of neo-Nazis and far right extremists marching in Charlottesville in 2017. They are carrying tiki torches and chanting “Jews will not replace us.” Image credit: Human Rights First