Maris Tiller
FSEM – Forbidden Texts
09/16/2021
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a very odd, almost darkly humorous text. It’s so outlandish that one can hardly imagine ever taking it seriously. And yet, many people did. It was upheld by important men as a great text. It was taught in Nazi Germany to school children as a factual text. It is the foundation of conspiracy theories against Jewish people everywhere. Which is surprising, because it shows very little understanding of what Judaism actually is.
Which, one could argue, is the point. While the writers may hate Jewish people, they do not know too much about them aside from what their bigotry and hatred have taught them. They truly are not interested in learning about Judaism outside of these broad stereotypes they have of its followers. This is evidenced most clearly in the statement, “We shall destroy God,” making the reader believe this is the goal of the Jewish people, despite them believing in God. Judaism, after all, is a religion, a fact that the people behind this text do not seem to know.
The “facts” of these protocols are so ridiculous that it would be funny if it didn’t lead to such horrible actions. Anyone with half a brain cell would know this is completely fabricated, that there is not, in fact, a secret league of Jewish people bent on taking over the world with Liberalism, Marxism, and the destruction of Christianity. It just goes to show that anti-semitism and bigotry like it require a baseline of lies and outlandish falsehoods that were never true and never will be true but can be used by those who hold these beliefs to harm the object of their hatred.