The Judeo-Masonic conspiracy is an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and anti-Masonic

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

involving an alleged secret coalition of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. These theories were popular on the

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

, particularly in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, with similar allegations still being published.

''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion''

The Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory merges two older strains of conspiracy claims: anti-Masonic conspiracy claims and anti-Semitic conspiracy claims. It was heavily influenced by publication of ''

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

'', a fabricated document that appeared in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

purporting to be an exposé of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy. The Protocols claim that the Jews had infiltrated Freemasonry and were using the fraternity to further their aims. Adherents of the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy took the claim made by the Protocols to extremes and claimed that the leaders of Freemasonry and the leaders of the Jewish plot were one and the same. An example was the Spanish Roman Catholic priest

Juan Tusquets Terrats Juan Tusquets Terrats (March 31, 1901 – 1998) was a Catalan priest, author of the best selling book ''Orígenes de la revolución española''. Turned into a fierce antisemite and even fiercer antimasonic hate speaker during the Spanish Second R ...

, whose ''Orígenes de la revolución española'' and other works built on the ''Protocols'', which he translated, to claim that Jews used Freemasons and

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

to undermine

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

and Spanish civilisation, providing a justification for the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spa ...

, which expanded the threat to an international Judeo-Masonic-Communist conspiracy (''see also'':

Jewish Bolshevism Jewish Bolshevism, also Judeo–Bolshevism, is an anti-communist and antisemitic canard, which alleges that the Jews were the originators of the Russian Revolution in 1917, and that they held primary power among the Bolsheviks who led the revo ...

Conceptual influence

According to

Danny Keren Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journalis ...

(a member of the Department of Computer Science at Haifa University), the "conceptual inspiration" of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was the 1797 treatise, ''

Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism ''Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism'' (French: ''Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire du Jacobinisme'') is a book by Abbé Augustin Barruel, a French Jesuit priest. It was written and published in French in 1797–98, and translated ...

'' by the French priest Augustin Barruel, which claimed the Revolution was a Masonic-led conspiracy with the aim of overthrowing the moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. According to Keren, "in his treatise, Barruel did not himself blame the Jews, who were emancipated as a result of the Revolution. However, in 1806, Barruel circulated a fabricated letter, probably sent to him by members of the state police opposed to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's liberal policy toward the Jews, calling attention to the alleged part of the Jews in the conspiracy he had earlier attributed to the Masons. This myth of an international Jewish conspiracy reappeared later on in 19th century Europe in places such as Germany and Poland." According to the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon website: "While it is both simplistic and specious to lay the responsibility for the French Revolution at the door of Freemasonry, there is no question that freemasons, as individuals, were active in building, and rebuilding, a new society. Considering the large number of bodies claiming masonic authority, many men identified today as freemasons were probably unaware of each other's masonic association and clearly cannot be seen as acting in concert. Yet they did share certain beliefs and ideals." French Masonry of the time was exclusive, denying initiation to Jews, along with many other classes of people.

Barry Domvile and The Link

Retired admiral

Barry Domvile Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile, (5 September 1878 – 13 August 1971) was a high-ranking Royal Navy officer who was interned during the Second World War for being a Nazi sympathiser. Throughout the 1930s, he had expressed support for Germany' ...

, the founder of a British pro-Nazi association, The Link, coined the title "Judmas" for the alleged Judeo-Masonic conspiracy.Domvile,
From Admiral to Cabin Boy
', p80. Domvile claimed that the "activities of Judmas are confined to a small section of both Jews and Masons: the large majority have no idea of the work undertaken behind the façade of Judmas."Domvile, ''From Admiral to Cabin Boy'', p81. Domvile alleged that "the aim of these international Jews is a World state kept in subjection by the power of money, and working for its Jewish masters"Domvile, ''From Admiral to Cabin Boy'', p82. and that "Masonry is the executive partner for the conduct of Jewish policy."Domvile, ''From Admiral to Cabin Boy'', p83. Domvile said that he first started thinking about a Jewish-Masonic theory as a result of Hitler. Domvile referred both to ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'', and to ''The Secret Powers Behind Revolution'' by

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

Léon de Poncins. Domvile was aware that ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' had been denounced as a forgery, but regarded their authorship as "immaterial".

Post-Soviet Russia

The Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theories found new currency among the various marginal political forces in post-Soviet

, where widespread destitution created fertile ground for conspiracy theories, combined with

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

and

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

. These viewpoints are also voiced by several antisemitic writers, notably by

Oleg Platonov Oleg Anatolyevich Platonov (russian: Оле́г Анато́льевич Плато́нов; born 11 January 1950) is a Russian ultranationalist writer and Holocaust denier. He is the Director General of the '' Institute for the History of Russian C ...

, ,

Igor Shafarevich Igor Rostislavovich Shafarevich (russian: И́горь Ростисла́вович Шафаре́вич; 3 June 1923 – 19 February 2017) was a Soviet and Russian mathematician who contributed to algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. ...

, and . An opinion poll conducted in Moscow circa 1990 has shown that 18% of Moscow residents believed that there is Zionist conspiracy against Russia and further 25% did not exclude such a possibility.

Link to the Bilderberg group

Contemporary conspiracy theorists, who hew to theories centered on the

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defi ...

and an alleged impending New World Order, often draw upon older concepts found in the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy theory, frequently blaming the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of Fr ...

or "international bankers". Because of the use of themes and tropes traditionally viewed as antisemitic, these contemporary conspiracy theorists tend to draw the ire of groups sensitive to antisemitic terminology, such as the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

In mass culture

* The conspiracy is mentioned in

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

's novel '' The Prague Cemetery''.

Gallery

File:Achille Lemot-1902-5.jpg, Catholic France driven by Jews and Freemasons, drawing by Achille Lemot in Le Pèlerin, 1902. File:Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy.jpg, German poster from 1935 saying, "World politics – World revolution. Freemasonry is an international organisation beholden to Jewry with the political goal of establishing Jewish domination through world-wide revolution."

References

Citations

Sources

External links

"The Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy Theory Alt-right Anti-Masonry Anti-Marxism Antisemitic canards Anti-communism Conspiracy theories involving Jews Conspiracy theories involving race and ethnicity Conspiracy theories involving religion Far-right politics Francoist Spain Italian Fascism Nazi Germany Right-wing antisemitism