Republic of Hate - Podcast Fourteen - Jews Destroy Nations

Hello and welcome to Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism, in which we explore Iran’s hatred of Israel, Jews, and the West. These are essays by Dr. Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to the field of national security. “It is the anti-Semite that creates the Jew.” Jean Paul Sartre             Recurrent anti-Semitic tropes from around the world are reaching Iran today. European anti-Semitism, which had been suppressed since World War II, has reemerged, though not at the deadly levels of the past. Over the century, the intensity of anti-Semitism across the continent has fluctuated greatly. In both Christian and Islamic worlds, there have been times of widespread indifference toward Jews. Jews lived peacefully, separate from non-Jews. Some stereotypes depicted Jews as a necessary evil—men who charge interest on loans, which is forbidden to Christians and Muslims. However, these periods of relative tolerance were interrupted by outbreaks of mass murder, most notably during the Crusades, the Black Death, and the German persecutions. In Europe and the Greater Middle East, Jewish communities could be expelled from their homes with little warning.              Varied Themes and Stereotypes                 Anti-Semitism adapts and conforms to local cultures. After the revolution, Iran’s leaders promoted anti-Semitic ideas that would have been considered vulgar by educated Iranians earlier in the twentieth century. He belonged to no nation and felt bound to no law. Iranian leaders combined elements of Christian anti-Semitism with Koranic anti-Semitism. Logical inconsistency often does not prevent the spread of hateful ideas. Jews could be simultaneously radical and reactionary, communist and capitalist, cosmopolitan and clannish. Jean Paul Sartre argued that the anti-Semite does not feel compelled to act logically consistent in painting the Jew.                  A common, centuries-old image in Europe and the Middle East is that of the wandering Jew, symbolizing stateless, parasitic vagabonds. He belonged to no nation and was bound by no law. In both Europe and the broader Middle East, Jewish criminality was used to explain unresolved mysteries or disasters, such as children vanishing or the sudden outbreak of pandemics. Some anti-Semitism is grandiose. Nazi leader Otto Dietrich declared in 1944 "that the Jewish question is the key to world history.” In this view, Jews are not only the most influential players in history, but are unique in their ability to control major events. This belief is often echoed in Iran today.             Historical European anti-Semitic themes that are currently prominent in Iran today can be summarized into eight main ideas. These include the belief that Jews destroy civilizations, control the world’s political decisions and international finance, murder non-Jews to use their blood for ritual purposes, lie about the Holocaust to enrich themselves and Israel, pollute indigenous culture, exist as a less-than-human animal, and start wars for their own financial gain.             Theme One – Jews as Destroyers of Nations             Some Iranian and European theologians and public intellectuals have accused Jews of destroying nations. In Europe, this belief became more widespread during the age of nationalism in the nineteenth century, particularly with German unification. European anti-Semites argued that Jews undermine social hierarchy, order, authority, and tradition. Richard Wagner, in Judaism in Music, claimed that Jews corrupt German art. Today, Iranian commentators echo similar accusations. One asserts that Oliver Cromwell was “the dictatorial prime minister of England placed England entirely at the service of the Jews in the seventeenth century." They claim that the Jews who returned to England started the slave trade from Africa, calling it "part of their evil plan to eradicate Islam in Africa," a plan supposedly entirely guided by Jews. Iran’s Press TV reported that Boris Johnson’s succession of Theresa May as British prime minister shows "the depth of Zionist penetration across the British political establishment.” Some modern Iranian intellectuals warn of an ever-present Jewish threat to destroy Iran. University lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi claimed that Jews "planned to take over large parts of Iran, and to establish concealed camps, which would be populated by Jews from around the world, particularly Europe.” Iranian researcher Sayyid Hashem Mir-Louhi stated, "There is a Zionist Jewish plan for the genocide of humanity at the hands of the Zionist Jew-boys. Even though the Jew-boys sometimes talk about a 'Greater Israel,' their real goal is world domination." Iranian anti-Semitism adapts and twists European themes of destruction from previous anti-Semitic eras. During the Middle Ages, European Jews were killed during plagues with claims of poisoning wells. In 1892, Russian mobs murdered Jewish doctors accused of poisoning Christians. In 1953, Stalin accused Jewish doctors of poisoning Soviet leaders and executed them. The myth of Jewish poisoners is ancient, persistent, and adaptable in both European and Persian traditions. It is one of many recurring stories about how Jews destroy nations and their nationals. This concludes this episode of Republic of Hate – Iran, Israel, and Anti-Semitism. We look forward to reading your comments. Dr. Silinsky’s latest book, Cauldron of Terror – Israel, Hamas, and the World, will be available for purchase in summer 2026. Nothing in this podcast or any of Dr. Silinsky’s other podcasts reflects the official position of the United States Department of War, the United States Intelligence Community, or any other U.S. government agency. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening, and goodbye until our next podcast.