Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories surface after Paris attacks
ADL exposes US-based blogs, as well as international media outlets, claiming Jews are waging a war against Islam.
US-based anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists blamed Israel for the attacks, claiming Jews were waging a war against Islam.
Mark Glenn, a virulently anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist, wrote on his blog The Ugly Truth that "the massacre in Paris as (sic) yet another False Flag event aimed at re-igniting and re-invigorating Judea’s declared war against Islam."
On Veterans Today, a US-based website that presents anti-Semitic conspiracy theories as news, Israeli-born Gilad Atzmon whos is based in London claimed that France somehow deserved these attacks due to actions he claims were pushed for by "the Jewish lobby group CRIF."
He also chastises France for "following the whims of The Lobby." He posited, "It is quite probably that this was another false flag operation. Who could be behind it? Use your imagination…"
In addition, international media outlets – including in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and India – have also espoused similar sentiments attempting to establish a Jewish connection to the executions.
International Business Times India published an article that posited that the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence service, was to blame.
"Although there is no way to verify the claims that Mossad was involved, the back-drop in which the attack took place seems to indicate that they might be involved, many conspiracy theorists have noted. Mossad is responsible for intelligence collec-tion and has undertaken many covert operations for Israel in Europe that aim to fur-ther their Jewish cause.”
The article has since been replaced with an editor’s note stating that the article alleg-ing this link "should never have been published."
In Jordan, the Rawafed News website published an article by Assad Al Azony on Jan-uary 8 titled "The tragedy of satirical Charlie Hebdo." According to the article, "One must be certain that Jews and the French extreme right wing executed this terrorist attack."
"It was inevitable that the haters would surface with their virulently anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman. "It is absurd but sadly predictable that conspiracy theories connecting what occurred in Paris to Jews and Israel continue to spread after such an unthinkable tragedy.
"The fact that we saw 'mainstream' media outlets primarily in the Arab world promoting such horrendous claims is not a surprise, given our recent polling across the Middle East and North Africa," Foxman added.
"The ugly hateful rhetoric coming from these conspiracy theorists is disturbing. They are a continuation of the various anti-Semitic conspiracy theories from the far right and left as well as in the Arab and Muslim world that were abundant following 9/11."
ADL has highlighted numerous conspiracy theories connecting Jews to a range of tragedies and events, ranging from the fighting in Syria and the rise of ISIS, to the Boston Marathon Bombing and the Sandy Hook Massacre.
The League’s recent polling across the Middle East and North Africa found that 74% of those polled harbor anti-Semitic attitudes.
