Lazy Lies and Dangerous Myths

Resurrecting antisemitic tropes in modern politics.

“Netanyahu is leading Trump around by the nose.”

“Trump is Netanyahu’s lap dog.”

These are among the latest memes making the rounds on the internet by disgruntled progressives.

They are also the latest reincarnation of some of the oldest antisemitic tropes in history. Disguised as edgy political commentary, they fit within a long history of blaming Jews for the actions of powerful non-Jews, suggesting hidden control and sinister influence.

It’s only a joke, right?

But scratch beneath the surface, and these memes and phrases are anything but amusing. They tap into centuries-old conspiracy theories that paint Jews as master manipulators—secretly controlling governments, pulling strings behind the scenes, and using their power for personal gain.

Even if those spreading these ideas don't intend to be antisemitic, the imagery they evoke fit well within the caricature that defines Jew hatred.

What characterizes antisemitic tropes is that they are so farfetched, no one could possibly believe they were true. And yet, like the falsehoods people readily accept about Israel without critical thinking, these ideas take hold of human consciousness and burrow deep within, so much so that the antisemite may actually believe some of the lies they tell about Jews.

The idea that Netanyahu has some kind of hold on Trump is ludicrous; Trump has shown time and again that nobody controls him. That’s one of his defining characteristics. Trump entered into a cease fire with the Houthis without even informing Netanyahu. Only weeks ago, the news was all about the strained relationship between Trump and Netanyahu.

It’s much easier to lob an insult than to wrestle with cognitive dissonance. For those who see Trump as irredeemably evil, the idea that he might have made a decision with global benefit—like collaborating with Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow—is intolerable. It short-circuits their ideological framework. So instead of grappling with complexity, they fall back on conspiracy:—he must have been manipulated by that Jew, Netanyahu.

This view reduces a major strategic decision, to send in B-2 stealth bombers carrying 30,000 ”bunker-busters” to bomb Iran’s nuclear site at Fordow, to a political cartoon. It erases the decades long history of the efforts by the West to neutralize Iran’s nuclear project. The reality is that Trump had an opportunity he might never have again, to proactively solve, in cooperation with Israel, a dangerously escalating problem that threatened everyone in the World .

The image of Netanyahu controlling Trump serves several antisemitic functions not the least of which is the conjuring up of Jews with hooked noses and greedy eyes. It also removes agency from Trump placing the entire responsibility for the event on Israel. These are the thoughts and words of intellectually lazy sore losers. They are also inaccurate and belittle the gravely important decision that Trump had to make.

The “Jews control everything” trope has a long history in the antisemitic discourse:

1. In Medieval Europe, popular tales warned that Jewish financiers used their power to control Christian monarchs, especially during economic hardship or wartime This trope was used to justify forced conversions, expulsions, and pogroms.

2. In the 19^th Century, the Rothschild banking family became a frequent target of antisemites like Henry Ford in the U.S. who claimed the Rothschilds controlled governments and wars through secret influence.

3. In the early 20th Century there emerged “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” a forged document claiming there was a Jewish plan to dominate the world by controlling the press, banks, and governments. This trope was widely used in Hitler’s propaganda machine.

Social media “Israel controls Congress” or “Zionists lead U.S. by the nose” are modern spins on the same ideas.

Not a fan of Netanyahu or Trump? You are in good company. Criticize their policies, question their decisions, oppose their politics—by all means

But when that criticism veers into old tropes about Jewish control, when it starts sounding like recycled propaganda from the Nazi era, it is not political commentary but something much darker.

Old tropes don’t become truth just because you slapped a meme on them.

They’re still lies. They’re still dangerous.

Let’s call it out for the Jew hatred it is.