scapegoat | #TranslateHate
scapegoat
theme \ 'skāp-,gōt \
: one that bears the blame for others
WHEN IT’S ANTISEMITIC:
The story of the scapegoat is derived from the book of Leviticus in the Torah, and is translated from the Hebrew word ‘ăzāzêl, meaning “absolute removal.” It is said that every year on Yom Kippur, collective grievances and sins are placed onto a physical goat that is sacrificed, as a symbol of the washing away and casting aside of wrongdoing.
Antisemites have been using Jews as “scapegoats” for thousands of years, blaming them for deicide, the murder of Christ, and even the Bubonic plague in the Middle Ages (see deicide). Over the past several hundred years, antisemitism has slanderously assigned blame to Jews for world events such as Germany’s loss in World War I— giving rise to Hitler and the Holocaust—and even 9/11 and the financial crisis in 2008 due to the perceived control of financial institutions (see conspiracy theory, control).
