Conspiracy to Massacre: Anti-Semitism in America
We examine violent attacks against Jewish Americans in the US and the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories behind them.
Fault Lines examines rising levels of violence and threats against Jewish Americans and the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that often animate these attacks.
Anti-Semitic hate crimes reached a five-year high in 2016. The next year, anti-Semitic incidents saw an unprecedented surge, and white supremacists marched through Charlottesville, Virginia chanting “Jews will not replace us”.
In 2018, the US witnessed the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in its history when a white supremacist opened fire at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue. Then, in 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents reached an all-time high, eclipsing every previous year on record.
Anti-Semitism plays a unique role in the dangerous worldview of white supremacists. It is often coded into terms like “white genocide” and “replacement,” which stem from the conspiracy theory that Jews are trying to change the demographics of the US.
Fault Lines decodes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and speaks with Jewish families and community leaders struggling to move forward from tragedy against the backdrop of accelerating attacks.