From Ancient Egypt to TikTok: The transformations of antisemitism, the world's oldest hatred
The term was coined 150 years ago, but the hatred was born in Alexandria with the 1st "fake news" in history. This is how Jew-hate became a destructive political tool that harms democratic societies
While the term "antisemitism" just under 150 years ago, hatred of Jews has accompanied humanity for more than two thousand years. A historical review reveals how the mechanism of the world's oldest hatred was born, changed form, and today blazes a trail through social media.
The roots of hatred are not in Nazi Germany, nor in Islam, but in third-century BCE Alexandria. The Egyptian historian Manetho then spread what could be called the first "fake news": the claim that the Jews are descendants of lepers who were expelled from Egypt.
The stereotype of the Jew as a "disease spreader" and as a strange foreigner who observes peculiar customs accompanied the Roman Empire and led to violence already in ancient times.
With the rise of Christianity, hatred received official religious sanction. The accusations regarding the death of Jesus led to demonization that continued for hundreds of years, including blood libels, pogroms, and mass expulsions in Europe.
Under Islam, the Jews were defined as "protected people" (dhimmis) – a status that granted them protection and freedom of religion in exchange for a poll tax, but was also accompanied by social inferiority, and sometimes even by identifying markers and humiliations.
1879: The Rebranding of Hatred
In the 19th century, the hatred had undergone a "rebranding." In 1879, German journalist Wilhelm Marr coined the term "antisemitism." His goal was to turn the hatred of Jews from a theological issue into one of blood and genetics. The Jew changed from a "heretic" to a "biological threat" and an invader threatening the German race—an ideology that became the basis for Nazism and the Holocaust.
At the same time, antisemitism served as a political and economic tool. Rulers used Jews as a "scapegoat" during times of crisis. The fake document "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" spread the conspiracy theory of global control—a lie that was also adopted in the Muslim world to fuel the struggle against Zionism.
Today, antisemitism is described as a "chameleon" coming from three directions: the extreme right (racism), the extreme left (denial of the state's right to exist), and radical Islam.
The central arena has shifted to social networks, where algorithms that encourage engagement provide a platform for extreme content. Accusations of "genocide" and hashtags such as #HitlerWasRight are the modern incarnation of blood libels. Countries like Iran and Qatar invest fortunes in perception engineering, portraying the State of Israel as the modern-day "leper." Today, antisemitism is a tool for destroying democratic societies; it starts with the Jews but does not stop there.