Recognising Antisemitism

A guide to the language, themes and imagery of ‘the oldest hatred’

Antisemitism is a millennia-old phenomenon that, over the centuries, has spawned its own unique beliefs, language and mythology. It is an ideology in its own right.

Introduction

Most members of the Jewish community will be familiar with the wide range of terminology and ideas employed by antisemites to abuse them and to incite hatred towards them. Others who seek to report occurrences of antisemitism, or those responsible for policing it may have difficulty in recognising some of the less common themes and manifestations.

This guide is intended to assist in the accurate identification of antisemitic abuse. In addition to the most commonly encountered words and phrases, it provides examples of antisemitic imagery, as well as addressing recurrent antisemitic themes such as Holocaust denial, blood libel and conspiracy theories. Most of the examples in this guide have been taken from Twitter.