On 26 May 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, (IHRA)¹, Plenary decided to adopt the following non-legally binding working definition of Antisemitism:

“Anti-semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of Anti-semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Here are some examples of Anti-Semitism:

 Antisemitism departs slightly from racism. Racism often involves a clear power dynamic in which a privileged group believes itself to be naturally superior and attempts to retain its social advantages by persecuting or discriminating against other racialized groups. While most forms of racism focus on emphasizing the perceived weaknesses of another group, antisemites tend to portray Jews as both too strong and too weak, as well as the cause of all social problems. 

Thus, unlike other kinds of prejudice, antisemitism is a paranoid mentality that intertwines an imagined Jewish essence in relationship with other ideological concerns, prejudices or aims. Ultimately, it rests on applying simple, false explanations to complex social problems. Across eras and cultures, these ideas about Jews have been used to justify exclusion, discrimination, violence and genocide.

In nearly every generation, centuries-old antisemitic stereotypes and myths are recycled. And because antisemitism in the present draws inspiration from hateful ideas of the past, exploring the historical origins of antisemitism is the first step toward understanding and addressing it and working to restrain and, ultimately, eradicate it. ²

White supremacy is a term used to characterize various belief systems central to which are one or more of the following key tenets: ⁴

1. Whites should have dominance over people of other backgrounds, especially where they may co-exist

2. Whites should live by themselves in a whites-only society

3. White people have their own “culture” that is superior to other cultures

4. White people are genetically superior to other people

How White Supremacists see Jews

Jews, according to white supremacists, are the great puppet masters. They control the media, they control the Internet, they control everything required to manipulate entire peoples for their benefit. White supremacists typically believe that Jews or Jewish machinations are behind almost everything they despise or fear, including liberalism, immigration, and multiculturalism. Even psychiatry, as one white supremacist suggested on Twitter in March 2018, “is a Jewish communist weapon, and World Jewry knows the value of using the mental health system as a weapon against people.”

How White Supremacists see African Americans

If Jews are the puppeteers in the white supremacist worldview, non-white peoples are the puppets. In particular, white supremacists in the United States focus on African-Americans as a racial enemy secondary only to Jews. Using centuries-old stereotypes and racist attacks portraying African-Americans as unintelligent, primitive and savage, white supremacists claim that black people are the main tools used in Jewish efforts to weaken or attack the white race. 

How White Supremacists see Multi-racial couples/families

White supremacists view multi-racial couples and families as a particularly heinous crime and offense—one that has spurred deadly hate crimes by white supremacists—in part because white supremacists view such couples and families as visual evidence of the future extinction of the white race. 

How White Supremacists see Latinos

Latinos—typically perceived by white supremacists as immigrants regardless of how many generations they or their ancestors may have been in the United States—increasingly attract white supremacist attention and hatred. American white supremacists are well aware of demographic changes in the United States, which they typically portray as an “invasion.”

How White Supremacists see Muslims

Muslims, and people who are perceived to be Muslims, have increasingly become a target of white supremacists who see the religion as “foreign” and as an existential threat to Western civilization. The fact that many Muslims in the United States are non-white or may be immigrants adds to white supremacist hatred.

The alt right (short for “alternative right”) is a segment of the white supremacist movement consisting of a loose network of racists and anti-Semites who reject mainstream conservatism in favor of politics that embrace implicit or explicit racist, anti-Semitic and white supremacist ideology.⁵ Many seek to re-inject such bigoted ideas into the conservative movement in the United States. The alt right skews younger than other far right groups, and is very active online.⁶

Paleoconservatism

Paleoconservatism is an obscure segment of the American right that seeks not only limited government and traditional values but also a return to older, less enlightened attitudes on subjects such as race, religion, ethnicity and gender.

Among paleoconservatives, opposition to immigration, multiculturalism, non-Christian religions and even the concept of equality is common, as is support for nationalism.⁴

Neo-Nazism and Fascism

Another ideological influence on the alt right is neo-Nazism. Neo-Nazis are white supremacist groups that revere Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany and adopt many of the trappings, symbolism and mythology of the Third Reich. ⁴

Identitarianism

Another ideological influence on the alt right is identitarianism, which some have described as the European equivalent of the alt right, though that is only true in a loose sense. Identitarianism is a right-wing European movement that originated in the early 2000s in France and spread to other European countries. Like the alt right, identitarians attracted many young people to their ranks. At their simplest, identitarians are anti-nativist nationalists who oppose nonwhite (and especially Muslim) immigration into Europe, as well as the continued existence of Jews and Roma within Europe. Though there are different strains of identitarianism, most seek to change European countries into right-wing, nationalist ethno-states; most also share a Europeanist vision of a Europe cleansed of “alien influences.” Identitarian ideas have made their way into the United States, where they are very compatible with views such as paleoconservatism. ⁴

Right-wing Conspiracy Theorists

Equally influential on the alt right are right-wing conspiracy theorists, who provide raw material for the alt right’s constant attempts to ignore or even erase the line between fact and fiction.⁴

The term “alt lite” was created by the alt right to differentiate itself from right-wing activists who refused to publicly embrace white supremacist ideology. Today, the alt lite, sometimes referred to as the New Right, is loosely-connected movement whose adherents generally shun white supremacist thinking, but who are in step with the alt right in their hatred of feminists and immigrants, among others. Many within the alt lite sphere are virulently anti-Muslim; the group abhors everyone on “the left” and traffics in conspiracy theories.

There are a number of people and groups who walk the line between alt right and alt lite, to the extent that it’s not always easy – or even possible -- to tell which side they’re on. The Proud Boys, an alt lite, right-wing activist group founded by Gavin McInnes and dedicated to “Reinstating a Spirit of Western chauvinism,” is a good example of a group toeing that line; some of their members support alt right figures and events, while others have made a point of steering clear of anything associated with white supremacist beliefs.⁶