Copy, Paste

Early Church fathers declared Jews synonymous with moral perversity and spiritual corruption. Medieval Europe expanded the accusation, denouncing Jews as sorcerers, seducers and the Devil’s agents. Nineteenth-century literature blamed them for modernism, liberalism, capitalism, communism or whatever was culturally disfavored. The message? Jews corrupt society, morals and culture.

Reactionaries claimed Jews plotted the French Revolution, instigated both left-wing socialism and right-wing industrial capitalism and masterminded Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution, all while engineering world ideologies. The charge stuck: Jewish control manipulates revolution and ideology.

A Modern Master

Adolf Hitler stands as the most horrifying example of this strategy implemented with precision. Taking every ancient prejudice, medieval myth and modern conspiracy, he wove them into a single ideology—and weaponized them with terrifying efficiency.

The Nazi narrative was comprehensive. Jews secretly controlled banks, media and governments, manipulating nations for their own gain. They’d stabbed Germany in the back during World War I, and caused Germany’s economic collapse, unemployment and inflation. They were behind communism or “Jewish Bolshevism,” which presented a global plot to subvert nations. On top of that, they were a racial enemy, biologically inferior and a threat to the “Aryan race." 

By the time the Nazi propaganda machine reached full throttle, Jews were painted in such demonic light that when Hitler moved from words to action, many in Germany were primed to believe that the mass murderers were doing them a favor and that the victims deserved their fate.

An Ancient Evil in Modern Clothing

The strategy didn’t die in a Berlin bunker with Hitler. Today, we’re watching the same playbook emerge, only with a modern twist. Instead of targeting Jews, the smear sets its sights on the Jewish state.

The parallels are chillingly precise.

“The Jew is illegitimate” became “the Jewish state is illegitimate.” For centuries, Jews were portrayed as foreigners everywhere, never truly belonging to any nation. Today, Israel is branded as a “colonial project,” a nation with no right to exist that must be dismantled.

“The Jew is inherently dangerous” morphed into “Israel is uniquely evil.” Once upon a time, Jews were described as poisonous, corrupting and demonic. Now, the Jewish state stands accused of genocide, ethnic cleansing and being the world’s greatest danger. These accusations come without evidence proportionate to the claim, without context—like Hamas embedding itself in civilian areas—and without applying the same standards to other nations.

“The Jew controls world powers” transformed into “Israel manipulates governments and media.” The old accusation that Jews exploited kings, banks and revolutions now claims Israel manipulates US foreign policy, international media and financial powerhouses.

“The Jew causes global instability” was updated to “Israel is the source of global violence.” Once, Jews were blamed for plagues, wars and economic collapse. Today’s rhetoric claims Israel causes regional instability, is accountable for radicalization and responsible for terrorism against itself. This removes agency from actual perpetrators and repeats the ancient scapegoat pattern as if reading from a script written millennia ago. 

Most telling of all, “the Jew must be eliminated to fix society” transformed into “Israel must be dismantled to fix the world.” Throughout history, antisemites claimed peace would come if Jews disappeared. Today, they claim world peace will come after dismantling Israel, turning the Jewish state into the singular obstacle to that cherished goal. Eliminate it, they say, and everything will fall into place

Same Strategy, New Tools

The substance of the accusations may shift with the centuries, but the formula remains the same. Blame the Jew—or now, the Jewish state—for society’s ills. Demonize them as uniquely malevolent. Strip them of legitimacy. Repeat the lies until they feel like truth. Then unleash violence justified by the narrative manufactured.

The result? A world primed to believe that the Jews—or now, the Jewish state—deserve whatever destruction comes.

The tools have evolved. Ahasuerus’s seal became pamphlets, became newspapers, became social media and became viral misinformation. But the strategy is essentially copy, paste from history.

So we must ask ourselves: every time propaganda against the Jews rose to a frenzied pitch, another attempt at annihilation followed. Today, the rhetoric has surged to a fevered peak once again. The question isn’t whether the pattern is repeating, but whether we will recognize it in time to stop what comes next.