Hate groupsExtremists exploit gun control debate to promote hatred of Jews
White supremacists are attempting to exploit the tragic mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the ensuing debate over gun control to push an anti-Semitic agenda. Many of these white supremacists are publicly framing the battle over gun control as a struggle between beleaguered whites who want to preserve their traditions in the face of a Jewish onslaught. The ADL says that white supremacists’ anti-Semitic attacks intensified in the wake of NRA head Wayne LaPierre’s 22 February speech to CPAC. LaPierre, perhaps unknowingly, used terms which are buzzwords white supremacists associate with Jews, such as “European-style socialists.” LaPierre said, “A tidal wave of new European-style socialists [has seized] control of the Democratic party.” The only people LaPierre mentioned as examples of people using “social engineering” to try to take away the guns and freedoms of Americans were two Jewish businessmen, Michael Bloomberg and George Soros.
White supremacists are attempting to exploit the tragic mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the ensuing debate over gun control to push an anti-Semitic agenda.
Some are seizing the moment as an opportunity to demonize Jews, while others are claiming gun rights as a “white identity” issue. Many are publicly framing the battle over gun control as a struggle between beleaguered whites who want to preserve their traditions in the face of a Jewish onslaught.
The ADL says that white supremacists’ anti-Semitic attacks began soon after the shooting in Parkland, and intensified in the wake of National Rifle Association (NRA) head Wayne LaPierre’s 22 February speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). LaPierre used buzzwords that white supremacists associate with Jews, such as “European-style socialists,” saying, “A tidal wave of new European-style socialists [has seized] control of the Democratic party.” He also mentioned two Jewish businessmen and philanthropists, Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, as examples of people using “social engineering” to try to take away the guns and freedoms of Americans.
Neo-Nazis like Lee Rogers of Infostormer and Andrew Anglin of the Daily Stormer, in particular, made a point of connecting LaPierre’s use of the term “European-style socialists” to Jews. They promoted the NRA as a pro-white, anti-Jewish organization, in an effort to exploit gun advocates’ anger over gun control. Both encouraged their followers to join the NRA, claiming that the organization is now fighting on behalf of white interests and against Jewish concerns.
On Infostormer, Rogers writes that LaPierre’s speech at CPAC “implicitly exposed how Jews have been the primary force behind gun control,” and argues that LaPierre “listed off numerous gun grabbing Jews during his speech while referring to them as ‘European-style socialists.’” Rogers added, “It has become clear that the NRA is one of the few big lobbying groups around that is actively advocating on behalf of White interests.” He claims to have joined the NRA, writing, “Gun rights and the Second Amendment is of paramount interest to Whites and it is one of the few cultural areas where Whites have stood their ground.”
