Anti-Semitism Rages During Coronavirus
After a horrifying and deadly string of anti-Semitic attacks rocked the United States in December 2019, many people spent the first months of 2020 uniting against the scourge of anti-Jewish prejudice. The urgency of that fight has understandably taken a backseat to concerns about the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, however, anti-Semitic hate has not diminished. In fact, a diverse crew of anti-Semites are using the pandemic to retool their prejudices and propagate more baseless, despicable hatred of Jews.
Chief among those making anti-Semitic hay from a global crisis are white supremacist groups and neo-Nazis, who are spreading a new conspiracy theory that Jews created the coronavirus.
One white supremacist, Timothy Wilson, planned to bomb a Missouri hospital where coronavirus patients were being cared for. Before being killed in a shootout with the FBI on March 24, a user with Wilson’s Telegram handle “Werewolfe 84” wrote online that “if you don’t think this whole thing was engineered by Jews as a power grab here is more proof of their plans. Jews have been playing the long game we are the only ones standing in their way [sic].”
Read More: Washington Examiner