Agnostic.com

1 5

LINK How antisemitic conspiracies drive violent attacks and harm democracy : NPR

Last Saturday, when an armed man took four people hostage at the Beth Israel Congregation synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, many people hearing the news might have wondered why there? Why that city? Why those people? We later learned that the man, a British national, was demanding the release of a federal prisoner, a Pakistani national named Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving a decades-long sentence on terrorism charges at nearby Fort Worth and whose imprisonment has become a cause for some in Pakistan and elsewhere.

According to statements made during the hostage standoff, the man evidently believed that a rabbi or other members of the Jewish community could make her release happen. Why does that matter? According to our next guest, that fantasy, wild as it seems, draws upon centuries-old antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories centered on the idea that Jews, a tiny portion of the world's population, secretly control the world. And he argues that those conspiracy theories aren't just at the root of violent attacks against Jews, which have proven to be dangerous in themselves but that at their core, they are also damaging to our democracy and others.

snytiger6 9 Jan 24
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

1 comment

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

Anti-Semitic tropes represent the actual and real-world credo of both Christians and Muslims. Hate of the other is what religion fosters, and that different belief system is interpreted as a repudiation of the believer's faith. Hence, the tropes encourage paranoia and shared psychosis.

You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:647033
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.