Protocols of the Elders of Zion | #TranslateHate
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
conspiracy \ 'prō-tə-,kol 'äv thə 'el-dər 'äv 'zī-ən \
: a fraudulent document attributed to the secret police of Tsarist Russia, first disseminated in the early 20th century and still circulated today, that serves as a pretext and rationale for antisemitism
WHY IT’S ANTISEMITIC:
Protocols of the Elders of Zion — written by the Russian secret police in early 20th century — incorporates much of what we know to be classic antisemitic themes and supports the trope that Jews seek world domination, using their "invisible hand" to enslave the rest of mankind.
The book spun tales of a conspiracy that Jews were collaborating clandestinely to use their international influence in the media and economy to take over the world and encourage the downfall of societal norms through communism, gambling, labor unions, and music (see conspiracy theory, control).
Russian leadership used the Protocols of the Elders of Zion text to scapegoat Jews as the reason for widespread poverty and suffering (see scapegoat).
In the mid-1920s, Henry Ford brought this text to the United States and published excerpts alongside articles in The Dearborn Independent, a newspaper he owned. Through this effort, he propagated antisemitic falsehoods that Jews were using ideals of communism and their control over financial institutions to damage the U.S. economy and cause moral harm to the American people (see Jewish communist).
Today, Protocols of the Elders of Zion can still be found in translation across the world — including in many Arab nations where it’s sold as an authoritative text.
