On X, antisemitic propagandist Brother Nathanael used the New Orleans terror attack and the following terror attack in Las Vegas, which occurred on the same day, to claim that there was “something jewy [sic] here.”
By Rachel Avraham
According to a recent report by the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent civil rights organization in the United States, “The deadly New Year’s attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, left a city reeling and social media awash in hateful lies and conspiracy theories about Israel and the Jews. In the early morning of January 1, 2025, 42-year-old Houston, Texas resident Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove his car into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least fourteen people and injuring dozens more before he was shot and killed by police.” The FBI claims that the terror attack was “100 percent inspired by ISIS.” Nevertheless, this has not stopped conspiracy theorists from looking for scapegoats.
The Anti-Defamation League noted that various anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists on social media have claimed that the New Orleans terror attack was “a false flag orchestrated by Israel or Zionists to stroke Islamophobia and justify the war in the Middle East.” For example, Suleiman Ahmed, who identifies himself as a journalist on X, tweeted: “We told you that the Zionist psyop is coming and it is here. From the old grooming gangs, news conveniently brought up today to the ISIS attack; the aim for the Zionists is to demonize Muslims. To wash Israel and Jewish supremacists of their crime. Their propaganda will be exposed.”
On X, antisemitic propagandist Brother Nathanael used the New Orleans terror attack and the following terror attack in Las Vegas, which occurred on the same day, to claim that there was “something jewy [sic] here.” Influencer “Lou Rage,” who frequently posts antisemitic content, posted on X that the suspect had an “alternative Jewish name.” Other popular antisemitic posts on X referred to ISIS as “jewish [sic] agent provocateurs” and suggested that “the Jewish controlled media” was influencing the investigation of the terror attack.
This is not the first time that anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists have blamed Jews and Israel for terror attacks and other horrible things that happen in the United States. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists have blamed Israel for the horrific September 11 terror attacks, which left over 3,000 Americans dead. Around the time of the September 11 terror attacks, there were even false claims made that the Mossad gave 4,000 Jews who worked in the World Trade Center advanced notice that there was going to be a terror attack, which permitted them to stay at home and avoid getting killed. However, that claim is a lie, as between 270 and 400 Jews were murdered in the September 11 terror attacks and the Mossad had no prior knowledge of the September 11 attacks, which they failed to share with the American government.
Nevertheless, this did not stop anti-Semitic conspiracy theories from emerging, claiming that the Mossad and neoconservative Jews in the United States stood behind the September 11 terror attacks; that the Jewish controlled media and government worked to prevent the truth about what happened from emerging; and that Jewish owners of the World Trade Center, particularly businessman Larry Silverstein, whose company had taken out a lease at the World Trade Center prior to the attacks, wanted the terror attack to take place so that they could accept insurance money.
The Anti-Defamation League added that there are many other incidents in the United States and across the globe that anti-Semites have blamed on Israel and the Jews, which have absolutely nothing to do with Israel and the Jews: “Antisemites attribute mass shootings in the U.S., including Sandy Hook and El Paso, as well as the Charlie Hebdo attack in France, to the machinations of Jews or Zionists. Some conspiracy theorists draw direct lines between alleged Jewish responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 financial crisis. There has been an outpouring of antisemitic conspiracy theories regarding the involvement of Jews and Israel in the Covid-19 pandemic and in the development of vaccines. Jews and Zionists have also been blamed for the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.”
Other famous conspiracy theorists, such as Louis Farrakhan from the Nation of Islam and David Duke of the KKK, have claimed that the Jews stand behind the African slave trade. If one searches for “African slave trade” and “Jews” on YouTube, one will find over 50,000 videos uploaded by the Nation of Islam, David Duke and their supporters. This anti-Semitic conspiracy theory continues to be spread, even though Jay Faber, Harold Brackman and Saul Friedman concluded several studies on the Jewish role in the African slave trade and found the Jewish role in African slavery to be “exceedingly limited.”
The American Bar Association stated in a recent report, “Empirical research has shown that the relationship between conspiracy and antisemitism works in multiple directions. Exposure to conspiracies and increased susceptibility to conspiracy thinking—including when said conspiracies are absent any direct association with Jews—is associated with increased antisemitism. Antisemitism, often described as an inherently conspiratorial prejudice, relies heavily on conspiracy to contextualize its modern materializations. For example, on the ideological far right, certain narratives of the xenophobic “Great Replacement Theory” suggest that Jews, a population of roughly 2 percent of the United States and 0.2 percent of the world, are the driving force behind undocumented migration. On the ideological far left, some narratives claim that disproportionate Jewish resources have been purchased by American politicians to ensure a pro-Israel consensus. Both narratives fail to exist, absent conspiracy.”
Nevertheless, Human Rights First claimed that anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists in America continue to display the Jewish philanthropist George Soros and other wealthy Jews as a “puppet master,” who controls society: “This conspiracy draws from the 19th century antisemitic text, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to depict Jews as an all-powerful, global cabal of “puppet masters” who secretly engineer world events. Today’s versions often name Jewish elites, George Soros, or the Rothschilds as antagonists, or use more general terms like “globalists” and “cultural Marxists.”” For example, a 2020 Reuters article claimed that anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists have accused “Soros being a former Nazi, Soros “swearing to destroy the U.S.A.”, Soros owning ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter, and Soros paying for protesters.” The Reuters article rebuffed all of these claims as being false, yet anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists continue to spread them.
Human Rights First also claimed that another conspiracy theory common in the United States is that the Jews operate pedophilia rings: “This conspiracy theory suggests a Jewish cabal orchestrates a pedophile ring to prey on Christian children. It is rooted in the antisemitic Blood Libel trope and in recent years was mainstreamed by the QAnon conspiracy movement. The far right evokes this conspiracy when suggesting LGBTQ+ communities are coordinated networks that “groom” children. Moms For Liberty (MFL), a leading organization in the attack on LGBTQ+ rights in schools, frequently leverages antisemitic and conspiratorial dog whistles to slander LGBTQ+, antiracist, and other civil rights advocates. At an MFL event in 2021, a speaker described political opponents as a “globalist” threat, while at another in 2023, former Fox Nation host Lara Logan claimed the Rothschild family financed the original opposition.”
Anti-Defamation League concluded that these conspiracy theorists are dangerous: “We know that conspiracy theories can motivate real-world behavior, including acts of extremism and violence. Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers was inspired to attack the Tree of Life synagogue because he believed in conspiracy theories regarding the involvement of Jewish people in mass immigration.” The Tree of Life Synagogue Terror attack resulted in the murder of 11 and the wounding of 6 others, including several Holocaust survivors.
Nor is the Tree of Life terrorist the only anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist who went on to wage a violent terror attack. The Middlebury Institute of International Studies claimed, “On October 9, 2019, a 27-year-old German neo-Nazi, Stephan Balliet, drove to a synagogue in Halle, Germany and livestreamed himself attempting, and failing, to break in and shoot the Jewish worshippers gathered there on the high holiday of Yom Kippur. After his attempts at shooting and blowing up the door failed, Balliet fired shots and detonated homemade explosives in the synagogue’s yard, murdered a 40-year-old woman passing by who admonished him, and drove to a Turkish kebab shop where he shot and killed a 20-year-old man. In total, two would be murdered and three wounded in the terrorist attack. Balliet had announced his intentions to kill Jews prior to the attack on a far-right social media site, and during the course of his livestream expressed Holocaust denial and belief that Jews were behind feminism and immigration in Germany. Additionally, Balliet left a manifesto in which he declared his belief in a “Jewish world conspiracy (Koehler 2019).””
Human Rights First concluded: “Antisemitic conspiracies and tropes enhance support for discriminatory policies that institutionalize hate at federal, state, and local levels. For instance, between 2021 and June 2023, state legislators introduced nearly 80 bills that limit educational content about racism and the history of America’s minority communities. In one case, a school district administrator informed teachers that a new law would require them to teach “opposing” perspectives on the Holocaust. Antisemitism in the U.S. is widespread and it is on the rise. Polling conducted in 2022 revealed that 85 percent of Americans agree with at least one antisemitic trope, which is an increase from previous polling. It also found that younger Americans are equally likely to subscribe to anti-Jewish tropes as are older Americans.”
