[lbo-talk] Ron Paul vs. the Evil Jewish Illuminati

[Chris Doss]

I know this is kind of an oldish thread, but... I've been reading L. Sprague De Camp's 1970s biography of HP Lovecraft, and apparently this idea that Eastern European Jews are fake Jews descended from Asiatic Khazar hordes was a common belief among American racists in the early 20th century, such as Lovecraft. (Amusingly, since his wife was a Ukrainian Jew. Racists are weird.) So I think the use to which Koestler put to the idea is a lot more original than the idea itself.

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael Pollak <mpollak at panix.com>


> This is why attempts like that of Koestler (his was bogus anyway, I think, since Eastern European Jews, with the possible exception of a few small Turkic groups, are probably not descended from the Khazars) to argue rationally with anti-Semites are totally fruitless.

It's worse than that, actually.  It's not only that it's pointless to argue rationally with an idee fixe.  And it's not only that his archeology was bad.  It's that (a) his argument depended on accepting the anti-semites' first premise, namely if Christ was killed, some people must be collectively responsible, including unto their descendants 2 millenia later; and (b) it threw the Sephardim under the bus.  He only proved the Ashkenazi didn't do it.

With enemies like that, anti-semites don't need friends.

Michael
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