ADL Publishes Guide on Anti-Semitic Tropes for Candidates and Congress

The Anti-Defamation League shared a new guide to contemporary anti-Semitism with Congress members and candidates running for national office in 2020.

“Antisemitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era” examines “some of the most stubborn tropes about Jews, explains why they are dangerous, provides the backstory behind the myths and shows how they have evolved into the present day,” the ADL said in a statement.

The guide, distributed this week, explains the history of anti-Semitism and definitions of seven of the most common anti-Semitic tropes that have endured through the ages: myths about power, loyalty, greed, deicide, the blood libel, Holocaust denialism and the newest form of anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and the delegitimization of Israel.

“We hope this guide will educate people, particularly those who influence the public debate, about what is, and what is not, anti-Semitism and why,” said ADL CEO and national director Jonathan Greenblatt. “This will help prevent the greater normalization of anti-Semitism and prevent extremists from seeing a green light to act on such hatred.”

Added Greenblatt: “As violence against Jews is already at historic levels, we call on all public leaders, particularly during this heated political season, to avoid invoking anti-Semitic tropes. The tropes this guide explains are the roots of anti-Semitism and have led to violence against Jewish communities around the world over centuries. Today, they are still modern drivers of anti-Semitic violence, finding voice in the tweets and public statements of elected officials, or resonating with the extremists who carried out violent attacks against Jews in Pittsburgh, Poway and Jersey City.”