Evil Jew

[[File:Who will prevail.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Antisemitic poster in Nazi-occupied [[Serbia]].]]
{{antisemitism}}{{cquote|It is offensive when people [[One of the good ones|say I am one of the 'good Jews'.]] What does that mean?  Is the implication that Jews are bad people, but I managed to somehow not be?  Is there a private club of 'good Jews'?  How do you qualify to make it into this elite group of chosen people?|||Ilana Angel<ref>Ilana Angel. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20111122003342/https://jewishjournal.com/keepingthefaith/item/good_jew_bad_jew_red_jew_blue_jew_20111119/ Good Jew, Bad Jew, Red Jew, Blue Jew]."  ''Keeping the Faith''.  Archived from the original at JewishJournal.com.  2011 November 19.</ref>}}
The '''Evil Jew''' is a [[racist]] [[stereotype]] that paints [[Jews]] as being a racial hivemind, greedily controlling the world's [[capital]], [[media]], and [[politics]], and having sneaky [[conspiracy theory|secret agendas]]. As a result of this mindset, Jews are commonly blamed for various financial crises, terrorist events (e.g. [[9/11]]), the creation of [[communism]] and/or [[capitalism]], "[[Cultural Marxism|poisoning the youth]]", pushing for some [[New World Order]], making children gay or transgender, and/or [[Genocide conspiracy|genocide]]. The Evil Jew stereotype is a frequent element of [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] (especially the [[International Jewish Conspiracy]] theory), and was a central factor in the [[Holocaust]], the industrialized mass murder of 6 million Jews by [[Nazi|Nazi Germany]].

In contrast to the above view of Jews as a monolithic evil, more refined racists prefer to use the "'''good Jews''' and '''bad Jews'''" dichotomy. "Good Jews" are those who happen to agree with a person's positive [[stereotype]]s (and, hence, ought to be protected from criticism) while "bad Jews" are those who fulfill negative stereotypes. Either [[straw-man]] "group" can be a majority or minority, but both usually fulfill the lowest expectations of non-Jews (usually in Christian- or Muslim-dominated territories) of how a Jewish person should be perceived.

==Racial hivemind==
Common to all Evil Jew caricatures is the idea that all Jews act in unison — i.e., they are in a perfect race-based [[conspiracy]] and that they are an organized group of people with the same goals and interests in mind. This claim is frankly ridiculous, for multiple reasons. First, it should be obvious that the Jews themselves spread thinly throughout the world — making communication, especially ''secret'' communication, very difficult. Second, it should be clear that Jews have ''not'' been in positions of power for the vast majority of their history — having long been pushed to the fringes of Muslim and Christian society during the Middle Ages of Europe, it wasn't until the 20th century that Jews started to gain political positions. Third, it should be apparent that Jews are not politically unanimous. For proof, one need only look to the voting patterns of American Jews, who consistently vote Democratic (and thus against unconditional support of [[Israel]] in the [[Middle East]]). If Jews were of a single racial mind, then surely they would all work towards their common interests — yet they do not. And fourth, Jews are individuals just like everybody. They practice different forms of [[Judaism]], they have different beliefs, agendas, opinions, political affiliations, backgrounds, and occupations. Even when Jews are in the media or in banking, more often than not, they do not frequently overlap with each other or work together as they have separate, unrelated goals.

==Money-controllers==
[[File:Great and Powerful Wizard of Debt.png|right|thumb|250px|A [[Ben Garrison]] cartoon, modified to include an Evil Jew<ref>http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2015/12/22/ben-garrison-how-the-internet-made-a-fake-white-supremacist/</ref>]][[File:March of Jewry.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Another modified [[Ben Garrison]] cartoon.<ref>https://www.google.com/search?q=march+of+tyranny&tbm=isch</ref> (In the original, it's just standard [[Illuminati]] conspiracymongering, not anti-Jew fearmongering.)]]
{{cquote|Anti-Semitism is the socialism of fools.|||Ferdinand Kronawetter{{efn|The saying is frequently attributed to {{wpl|August Bebel|Bebel|,}} but probably originated with the Austrian democrat {{wpl|Ferdinand Kronawetter|Kronawetter|;}} it was in general use among German Social Democrats by the 1890s.<ref>''The Coming of the Third Reich'' by Richard J. Evans (2005) Penguin Group. ISBN 0143034693. p. 496. {{wpa|August Bebel}}</ref>}}}}
It's often noted that the banking and financial sectors are disproportionately inhabited by Jews. As a result, there are a proliferation of Jewish banker conspiracy theories, in which Jews are portrayed as controllers of the world's money, usually through banks and national monetary institutions.

===History===
There is a simpler explanation for Jewish overrepresentation in banking. The [[Bible]] prohibits usury, or lending money for interest, to anyone but foreigners.<ref group=note>…or strangers or people outside your religion, depending on your preferred [http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/23-20.htm bible translation/interpretation]. See {{bible|Deuteronomy|23|20}}.</ref> Christians in Medieval Europe were for all intents and purposes prohibited from practicing usury by religious law. The Catholic Church regarded interest-bearing loans as an "unnatural" use of money and therefore [[sin]]ful.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=yl0-LkNBsHMC&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237#v=onepage&q&f=false Handbook of Key Global Financial Markets, Institutions, and Infrastructure].''</ref> (Ironically, the Vatican now owns its own bank which loans money and has been riddled with scandal.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/opinion/cleaning-up-the-vatican.html "Opinion - Cleaning up the Vatican," Paul Valley, <i>New York Times.</i>]</ref>) This left a societal niche for European Jews to fill, and {{wpl|History of banking|so they did|.}} (In fact, the origin of the word "bank" comes from the Old Italian for "bench"<ref>https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bank#Etymology_1</ref> — because Jewish lenders were so ostracized that they were forced to practice their banking on benches in the streets.<ref>[http://factmyth.com/factoids/the-word-bank-comes-from-the-italian-word-for-bench/ "The Word “Bank” Comes From the Italian Word For Bench," <i>Fact/Myth.</i>]</ref>) Banking was also one of the few trade professions open to Jews, as most medieval guilds banned Jews from their membership.

An interesting side effect of this social arrangement is that it actually gave rulers a practical reason to tolerate Jews, as the Jewish bankers would understandably not loan money or do business with those who persecuted them. (That said, this often led to Jews being persecuted ''after'' they had loaned said ruler the money, as an easy way to get out of paying their loans back.)

This concentration of Jews in banking has led to various types of racist conspiracy theories, documented below. It has also, oddly enough, led to a pro-Semitic [[Racialism|racialist]] [[pseudoscience]] that asserts Jewish supremacy, using their presence in the banking system as "evidence" of this.

===Rothschilds===
{{main|Rothschild family}}
Many of the modern conspiracy theories revolve around or involve the Rothschild family, probably the most powerful banking family in the world,<ref group=note>If you [[Willful ignorance|willfully ignore]] the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Medici Medicis], who married into every ruling family in Europe and were the source of at least 3 popes</ref> which began its ascendancy in the late 18th century. Oddly, part of the success of the Rothschild banking activity is that Meyer Rothschild operated on the principle of never lending to anyone to finance a business opportunity unless the opportunity was good for the borrower. A borrower who makes more off his business than his payments of interest and principal to a lender has little worthy of complaint about being in hock to the lender, which is more than one can say of dealings with loan sharks, who are contemptible whatever their ethnicity.

===Federal Reserve===
{{main|Federal Reserve|3=}}
Another common — and false<ref>[https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/jewish-control-of-the-federal-reserve-a-classic-antisemitic-myth "Jewish "Control" of the Federal Reserve: A Classic Antisemitic Myth," Anti-Defamation League.]</ref> — trope is that Jews control the Federal Reserve. It is asserted that Jews manipulate the world's financial system through the use of [[fractional-reserve banking]] and central banks. The most common conspiracy theory asserts that Jews are using financial fraud or other trickery in order to take over the field of finance — which, according to the conspiracy theory, they already control.

===Code words===
Use of the terms "bank$tah" and "[[debt slavery]]" are usually a [[dog whistle politics|sign]] that you have reached the more unseemly and conspiratorial area of the internet. These areas should be avoided, as the information they display can confuse the average mind (however, if a user is sensible and intelligent, there is no harm in viewing these places recreationally).

==Politics-controllers==

===New World Order===
{{main|International Jewish conspiracy}}
The Jews are alleged to have leveraged their power in the financial industry and involvement in [[Freemason]] and [[Illuminati]] conspiracies to have completely taken over the world. Many of these "theories" were codified in the [[pseudohistory|pseudohistorical]] hoax ''[[The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion]]''. Besides banks, Jews are commonly alleged to especially control the [[media]], [[government]]al bodies, [[academia]], and the [[art]]s. The [[Anti-Defamation League]]'s Abe Foxman says he prefers to frame it this way: "I think Jews are disproportionately represented in the creative industry." But this does not denote "control." ''LA Times'' pundit Joel Stein snarkily puts it that gentiles should be grateful: "Without us, you'd be flipping between 'The [[700 Club]]' and 'Davey and Goliath' on TV all day."<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-19-oe-stein19-story.html "Who runs Hollywood? C'mon," Joel Stein, <i>Los Angeles Times.]</i></ref>

===Communists===
[[File:Bolschewismus ist Judentum.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nazi propaganda, painting Jews as [[Cultural Marxists]].]]
[[Communism]] is often painted as a Jewish invention and [[Karl Marx]] is painted as a Jew. Oddly enough, the German Nazis and Italian Fascists themselves often asserted that Jews controlled both capitalism ''and'' communism, which would suggest that capitalism and communism were in no conflict whatsoever.

===Nazi mythology===
{{main|Nazism}}
The Nazi Party famously promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories and myths. The most notable of these was the [[stab-in-the-back legend]], which claimed Jews were in bed with the [[communism|Red]]s and caused [[Germany]] to lose [[World War I]]. This is still expounded by followers of [[neo-Nazi]] ideology. [[Holocaust denial]] is another piece of pseudohistory promoted by neo-Nazis.

Ironically, during World War I, the German military performed a census in order to try and prove that Jews were disloyal to Germany. The result? Jews were disproportionately ''over''represented in the German military.<ref>Elon, Amos, ''The Pity of It All'' (Metropolitan Books, 2002: ISBN 0312422814), p. 338.</ref>

===9/11===
{{main|9/11 conspiracy theories}}
Some Truthers invoke antisemitic tropes in their conspiracy theories, usually involving [[Mossad]] plots or the international Jewish conspiracy. The antisemitic versions of 9/11 conspiracy theories are popular in the [[Middle East]]. [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] is a vocal proponent of these theories.

==Murderers==

===Christ-killers===
{{main|Passion Play}}
Much antisemitism originates from the "Christ-killer" narrative, which posits that all Jews are guilty of deicide against [[Jesus]]. This [[meme]] wasn't repudiated by the [[Catholic Church]] until the Second [[Vatican]] Council in 1965. Because they forget that Jesus was a Jew, ''and'' that if he hadn't been killed, mankind couldn't have been forgiven for the [[original sin]] (per Christian doctrine).

===Child-killers===
{{main|Blood libel}}
A common [[myth]] originating in [[Medieval]] [[Europe]] was that Jews murdered Christians in order to spice up their Matzot with the blood of the dead. Some blood libel theories claimed that the Jews preferred small [[children]] and babies and that they would kill them in [[Satanic]] murder rituals.

==Effects==
The dichotomy dates back to ancient stereotypes regarding Jews as evil people, particularly those stereotypes spread in Christian-ruled polities. However, due to the focus of the Bible upon ancient Israel/Judah/Judea/Canaan and its inhabitants (and all the purported divine interventions in reality as written in the Bible), these same Christians also accord a strong religious significance (often to the point of obsession-fetish) upon anything that has to do with Judaism, Jews, or Israel.

Racialist, religionist, and nationalist arguments often hold that the smaller of a population of Jews in a country, the less of a "Jewish problem" (they being the source of the great "[[international Jewish conspiracy]]" and all) there will be. [[Anders Behring Breivik]], the perpetrator of the 2011 bombing and massacre in Norway, wrote such in his ''2083: A European Declaration of Independence'':<ref>''2083: A European Declaration of Independence'', pages 1163-4</ref>

{{quotebox|There is no Jewish problem in Western Europe (with the exception of the UK and France) as we only have 1 million in Western Europe, whereas 800 000 out of these 1 million live in France and the UK. The US on the other hand, with more than 6 million Jews (600% more than Europe) actually has a considerable Jewish problem. But please learn the difference between a nation-wrecking multiculturalist Jew and a conservative Jew. Don’t make the same mistake that [[Nazi Party|NSDAP]] did. Never target a Jew because he is a Jew, but rather because he is a category A or B traitor. And don’t forget that the bulk of the category A and B traitors are Christian Europeans. 90% of the category A and B traitors in my own country, Norway, are Nordic, Christian category A and B traitors.}}

===Zionism===
[[Christian Zionism]] generally espouses that Jews should (re)move themselves and their families to [[Israel]] as a matter of fulfilling "Biblical prophecy" (including Christian rhetoric regarding the "[[End Times]]" and the "[[Second Coming]]" of [[Jesus]]). Bad Jews, on the other hand, are those who do not move to Israel, or who call out Evangelical ideologues on their [[bullshit]].

Sometimes, right-wing Jews (including those ''who are not Israeli'') will express deep contempt for Jews with a differing opinion on Israel, the role religion or ethnicity should play in the political system, or other political issues. The most famous witch hunters are [[David Horowitz]], [[Pamela Geller]], and [[Melanie Phillips]].

===Anti-Zionism===
In extreme [[Anti-Zionism]], a "good Jew" is one who does one of the following:
* if living elsewhere, foreswears moving to Israel 
* if living in or born in Israel, agrees with anti-Zionist viewpoints regarding why Israel should not be classified, culturally, as a "Jewish state".
* tells "[[bullshit|the truth]]" about "Jewish evil"

A "bad Jew" includes those who do not do these things, including everyone from Jewish settlers in the West Bank to nameless Israeli Jews in Tel Aviv.

==Le Happy Merchant==
[[File:happy-merchant.gif|thumb|right|165px|"Le Happy Merchant", an antisemitic caricature popular on the internet.]]
Le Happy Merchant is an [[antisemitic]] image of an evil, conspiring Jew complete with a stereotypical yarmulke, greedy grin, long full beard and long nose, sinister expression, and conspiracy-implying hand rubbing. It is one of the most common antisemitic, [[neo-Nazi]] symbols across the web (next to the [[swastika]] and other Nazi symbols) and commonly used to [[Demonization|demonize]] and Jew-bait anything leftist and liberal which is (supposedly) promoted by the Jews. This image originates from an antisemitic and racist cartoon by illustrator/film director Nick Bougas (a.k.a. [[A. Wyatt Mann]])<ref>[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/a-wyatt-mann A. Wyattt Mann] Know Your Meme</ref> where he envisioned a world without [[African-Americans|blacks]] and Jews.<ref>[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/happy-merchant Happy Merchant] Know Your Meme</ref> The earliest usage of "Le Happy Merchant" outside of the Bougas illustration was the racist video game ''[[Ethnic Cleansing (video game)|Ethnic Cleansing]]'' which had a poster that depicted a fictitious evil Jew named "Shecky Reubenstein" on a presidential poster. [[4chan]]'s /new/ (the precursor to [[/pol/]]) first posted this image and since then it has spread quickly with there being "Le Happy Merchant" webcomics and an entire song dedicated to this caricature. It is used frequently with other Le Happy Merchant-related terms such as "[[Alt-right glossary#Shekel|Shekels]]", "[[Goy]]", "[[Oy vey]]", "Judaism/Collecting/Hand Rubbing Intensifies", etc. In short, it's an antisemite's best way of using the Internet to spread hate about Jews.

==Application to other demographics==
"Good/reasonable atheists" are also claimed to exist by those who adhere to stereotypes about "[[militant atheist]]s,"<ref>Chris Hallquist. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20141017132511/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hallq/2012/03/dont-say-im-one-of-the-good-atheists/ Don’t say I’m one of the good atheists]." ''The Uncredible Hallq''. Patheos. 2012 March 15.</ref> and conservative [[pundit]] [[Ann Coulter]] claimed that Republican blacks are the better blacks.<ref>Sam Seder.  "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pa7aZu_ZYE#t=1m40s Ann Coulter: Our Blacks are the Best!]" ''Majority Report''. YouTube. 2011 November 2.</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|2}}
*"[[Friend argument|B-but some of my best friends are Jewish!]]"
*[[Black brute]]
*[[Pamela Geller]]
*[[Hollywood values]]
*[[David Horowitz]]
*[[International Jewish Conspiracy]], the source of all the Evil Jew nonsense
*[[No true Scotsman]]
*[[Othering]]
*''[[Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', the document that is behind all the antisemitic accusations against Jews.
*[[Anita Sarkeesian]], who is not Jewish, but has been the subject of antisemitic caricatures anyway. Of course, she's Armenian, so there's the connection of the [[Armenian genocide|"original" genocide]]…
*[[Smoloko News]], a news website that thinks every antisemitic claim is true, even if they either contradict each other, are simply canards, or just make no sense
*[[George Soros]] — a frequent target of the stereotype
{{Div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evil Jew}}
[[Category:Stereotypes]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:Judaism]]

Categories: Stereotypes, Racism, Antisemitism, Judaism