(Jewish Group) An idiot's guide to anti-Semitic tropes
(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)
Dear JTA,
I am an elected official in a large democracy in the Western hemisphere. A lot of my colleagues have gotten into trouble recently for using anti-Semitic tropes. I know what anti-Semitism is, but am less sure how that differs from a trope. Any guidance so I dont inadvertently say something offensive?
Yours,
Distinguished Colleague
Dear D.C.,
I understand your confusion. This has been the era of the anti-Semitic trope, with the word popping up in hundreds of news stories since the 2016 campaign. In short, tropes are phrases or images that evoke classic anti-Semitic ideas rather than state them explicitly. Its a long list: the dual loyalty trope, the blood libel, the clannishness charge, the global conspiracy motif and the control-the-media mantras (to name a few).
When Donald Trumps closing argument at the end of the 2016 campaign invoked the global special interests that dont have your good in mind and then featured images of a financier, a banker and the chair of the Federal Reserve, all Jews he was accused of employing the trope of Jewish global control.
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