The secret Jewish space laser was great for my sons’ bris, but the wildfires are a step too far. https://t.co/cGs967pKig Secondly, the contract between Solaren and PG&E dissolved in 2015 — three years before the fires started — because they were never able to generate the financing for it.

The result is an increasing presence of and tolerance for right-wing anti-Semitism in American public discourse. Notions like assigning blame to wealthy Jews like George Soros for non-white immigration, an idea that has its origins on the far-right anti-Semitic fringe, are not only acceptable but echoed by Republicans at the higher level. Not at all," responds Greene angrily. "Listen, I'm a Christian. I support Israel. I am one of the most pro-Israel voters in Congress. So why don't you judge me by those things instead of twisting and turning what you think I was writing in some 2018 Facebook posts?" A video posted on Greene's YouTube channel on January 21 shows her confronting David Hogg, who survived a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people were killed in the shooting.

Article Tags

He emphasized the importance of recognizing and challenging these narratives in everyday life, especially when they’re presented as innocent or unintentional. Rothschild’s hope for his book is to educate readers about the origins and evolution of these conspiracy theories. He wants people to recognize the long history behind politicians or public figures blaming entities like Soros, the Rothschilds or the ADL. These aren’t new narratives but have been shaped and exploited over centuries. Recognizing these tropes and understanding their historical context is crucial in challenging and debunking them. Every act of prejudicial physical violence begins with words. Greene has provided an endless array of such words. Her Republican colleagues, rather than stand and applaud, should recognise that and act upon it. There are people who spread hatred and prejudice and there are those who enable the spread of hatred and prejudice. Not just Greene, but also the Republicans who have failed to condemn her are enablers. They will ultimately bear responsibility for the consequences. Gee, blaming a racial group for a public health crisis, in this case an environmental health crisis? When has that ever happened before? In a Tuesday interview with the conservative-leaning media network Newsmax, Republican Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene labeled reports of her belief in a "Jewish space laser" conspiracy theory as "fake news." In this photo, Greene speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on February 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. The House voted 230 to 199 to remove Greene from committee assignments over her remarks about QAnon and other conspiracy theories. Drew Angerer/Getty But then, just as suddenly as it had gained a foothold on social media, the humour stopped. The abrupt halt to some very clever exchanges came when the Republican caucus refused to punish, criticise or condemn Greene in any fashion. Instead, they gave her a standing ovation. They did so after she told them that she had only been “curious” about some of the ideas she had posted and didn’t really know what space lasers were. Though her explanations beggared the imagination – her space laser post was long and detailed – it was enough for her colleagues.

My Jewish mom was concerned the DVD player would blind us all when she found out it had a laser. So... #JewishSpaceLasers— Citizens For Progress (@Citizn4Progress) January 29, 2021

So sure, the idea of a Jewish space laser ravaging California is kind of funny. But it speaks to something profoundly dark about our current political moment: the way the rise of the American far right has enabled the spread of one of the world’s oldest hatreds. The unbreakable link between conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism This speaks to a fundamental asymmetry in the nature of the two political parties. The Republican Party depends, and for a very long time has depended, on a faction of the conspiratorial faction of the conservative movement. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene with other House Republicans on the steps of the Capitol. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Solaren uses a different technology than described in the Facebook post, as we do not transmit power via lasers," it patiently explained. "Solaren uses radio frequencies to transmit power from Earth Orbit to a Receiving Station on Earth. Radio frequencies are what cell phones, radios and satellites use to transmit their signals."

But modernity brought its own problems, like crushing urban poverty, and anti-Semitism adapted to explain those ills as well. Anti-Semitic writers and politicians described Jews as a disloyal population dispersed throughout the Christian world, an international group plotting to use modern finance to undermine the stability of Christian society and manipulate Europe and the United States from behind the scenes. Tools and services JPost Premium Ulpan Online JPost Newsletter Our Magazines Learn Hebrew RSS feed JPost.com Archive Digital Library Lists of Jewish holidays Law

Let’s be clear. Taylor Greene provided no real evidence of a space laser causing the wildfires. She provided no real evidence of the Rothschild family or anyone else building such a laser. There’s about as much evidence behind these conspiracy theories as there is evidence that a giant teddy bear is floating in the sky and throwing down hot dogs. This seems to be how Mary Ann Mendoza, a hardline anti-immigration advocate scheduled to speak at the 2020 RNC, ended up tweeting a copy of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion approvingly: by retweeting a thread from a QAnon enthusiast who had woven anti-Semitism into the Q canon. You're accusing me of something I did not do, and then you're trying to blame me for antisemitism," says Greene. "You are such a liar. You need to stop." Greene now explains that she did not intend any anti-Semitic connotations. “I didn’t even know and didn’t find out until recently that the Rothschilds were Jewish,” she tells Ami magazine. All you people pretending not to know about the Jewish Space Laser, when @MelBrooks told us all about it ages ago. https://t.co/uJ4TWdHXAl