Antisemitism is indicative of underlying decay in societies where it prospers. Unique from other forms of racial or religious bigotry, antisemitism is often the terminal phase of conspiratorial thinking and finds fertile ground when adherents already distrust public institutions and have lost touch with reality. Throughout history, autocrats have scapegoated Jews in order to stoke fear, cement their rule, and distract from societal ills. In Russia, for example, leaders have relied on antisemitism as a means of control for centuries—from the Tsarist Security Service fabricating The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to Vladimir Putin using antisemitic propaganda to justify his war on Ukraine.
This briefing will discuss antisemitism as the world’s oldest and most destructive conspiracy theory. Panelists will examine antisemitism as a warning sign of democratic decline and seemingly unrelated conspiracy theories as leading indicators of antisemitism.
