Anti-Trump protest in London takes no issue with placard claiming “They all work for Rothschild”

A placard claiming that “They all work for Rothschild” was held at the anti-Trump protest in central London today, apparently drawing no condemnation from protesters. It was not clear who “all” referred to, but it was underlined for emphasis.

Antisemitic conspiracy myths have long placed the predominantly Jewish Rothschild family of bankers and philanthropists behind the world’s ills, accusing them of leading a global Jewish conspiracy. The myth gained widespread currency when the Nazis recognised its potency for turning Germans against the supposed hidden hand of the Jews, who their propaganda claimed was ruining Germany’s national future.

One of the themes of the protest was supposed to be anti-racism.

The placard featured a cartoon of Charles Montgomery “Monty” Burns from The Simpsons. The character is the notoriously wealthy, greedy and stingy owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. It also featured a graphic of the “Flower Thrower” by English street artist and political activist, Banksy. The graffiti of a masked rioter throwing a bunch of flowers first appeared on a wall in Jerusalem in 2003 and then featured on the front cover of his book “Wall and Piece” in 2005.

After we received a report about the placard, members of Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Demonstration and Event Monitoring Unit were sent to the protest to investigate, but by then the protester had left.