Classic Stereotypes

Classic Antisemitism - Introduction

This page will describe some of the classic and traditional stereotypes of Jews, including stereotypes around money, culture and religion. This sort of stereotyping may seem harmless in itself and can appear in a jocular fashion, but all too often it is expanded into grand conspiracy theories such as the Jews controlling world banking. While it formed part of the antisemitism of the Nazi era, it originated before Hitler's rise and still persists today. If an antisemite can get people to believe in these stereotypes, then it may help such a person in their quest to undermine Jews' ability to live in peace, harmony and safety.

The Nazis softened up the German people with propaganda using such stereotypes and then were able to amplify this into a much more threatening and ultimately murderous form of antisemitism. It is very important that attempts to stereotype Jews in a malign fashion are resisted, even if some of them appear relatively harmless at first sight.

Racial stereotyping by members of other ethnic groups is one of the cruder forms of racism, and thus tends to be less common on social media than those which insinuate and imply less directly; but it remains a considerable problem.

Examples