Introduction
In the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, conspiracy theorists across the ideological spectrum dismissed the widely accepted version of events and instead crafted alternative narratives about the perpetrators, their motive, and other details about the attacks. Some of these conspiratorial claims directly implicated Jewish people and Israel in the attacks, in a continuation of centuries-old antisemitic tropes about Jews supposedly manipulating world events for their own benefit.
Two decades later, antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories continue to thrive. Although many of the original conspiracy theorists from 20 years ago remain active, a new generation of antisemites has joined them. This report highlights some of these themes and the many individuals who, despite their often-disparate ideologies, are united in their belief that Jews or Israel played a role in the 9/11 attacks.
A Web of Conspiratorial Beliefs
For twenty years, 9/11 conspiracy theories have served as a paradigm for conspiratorial takes on other tragedies and events. No mass shooting, natural disaster, disease outbreak, election or geopolitical incident occurs without a cadre of conspiracy theorists claiming that mainstream and scientific explanations for the events are “impossible.”
Conspiratorial “truther” subcultures, fueled by the internet and social media, wildly speculate about “false flags,” embark on amateur efforts to uncover “who benefits” and make allegations about national or international plots and coverups. Grifters, attention seekers and trolls present themselves as “experts,” and dramatically oversimplify complex phenomena for a global network of followers.
Unfortunately, the antisemitism that ADL has documented for the past twenty years regarding 9/11 conspiracy theories can also be found in many of these other “truther” communities. Antisemites attribute mass shootings in the U.S., including Sandy Hook and El Paso, as well as the Charlie Hebdo attack in France, to the machinations of Jews or Zionists. Some conspiracy theorists draw direct lines between alleged Jewish responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 financial crisis. There has been an outpouring of antisemitic conspiracy theories regarding the involvement of Jews and Israel in the Covid-19 pandemic and in the development of vaccines. Jews and Zionists have also been blamed for the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
We know that conspiracy theories can motivate real-world behavior, including acts of extremism and violence. Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers was inspired to attack the Tree of Life synagogue because he believed in conspiracy theories regarding the involvement of Jewish people in mass immigration, and likewise, many participants in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th were fueled by conspiracy theories.
Themes: Antisemitic 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
ADL published its first major report on antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories in 2003. ADL’s subsequent reports in 2006, 2011, and 2016 further demonstrate the evolution of so-called “9/11 truther” activities and claims over the past 20 years. Many of the elements of 9/11 conspiracy theories that were previously highlighted continue to feature in discourse on the subject today.
Popular themes in antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories:
- The Mossad was behind the attacks. Variations of this theory have circulated since 2001 and assert that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, was behind the 9/11 attacks. The most common “proof” cited is the false claim that five Israeli Mossad agents were arrested on 9/11 by police who observed them filming and celebrating the attack. This narrative of the “dancing Israelis” is a recurring element of many conspiracy theories.
- Jewish neoconservatives were behind the attacks. Proponents of this theory claim that the leaders of the influential neoconservative political ideology in the United States, many of whom were Jewish, plotted with members of the Bush Administration and enlisted the help of the Mossad to implement the attacks in order to benefit Israel. This theory alleges that supporters of Israel hatched the plan well before 9/11, with the goal of invading Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries to allow the U.S. and Israel to seize control of resources and power in that area.
- The Jewish-controlled media and government manipulated narratives about the attacks and worked to prevent the truth from emerging. Conspiracy theorists claim that the “truth” about Israeli and Jewish involvement in the 9/11 attacks has been suppressed because Jews control the media and government, including the 9/11 Commission tasked with investigating and reporting on the attack. They further claim that “powerful” Jews intentionally manipulated the narrative of the events to place blame on Muslim individuals and nations and to deceive the American public.
- Jews or Israelis had foreknowledge of the attacks and chose not to inform the U.S. government. One of the most common antisemitic myths about 9/11 states that 4,000 Jews who worked in the World Trade Center were informed by Israeli intelligence agencies to stay home from work on that tragic day.
- Zionists exploited the 9/11 attacks to expand surveillance of American citizens. Conspiracy theorists who promote this claim allege that Zionists used the attacks to create conditions in the U.S. in which privacy could be revoked and a restrictive police surveillance state could be implemented in the name of national security. Some specifically claim that these actions were inspired by supposed Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
- The technical details of the attacks do not add up; therefore, the entire historical narrative must be fraudulent. A fundamental component of 9/11 conspiracy theories promoted by antisemites and non-antisemites alike claims that the technical details of the “official” story are not supported by scientific or documented evidence. Antisemitic proponents of this conspiracy theory claim that, if the official narrative was indeed fabricated and 9/11 was a false flag event, then either Jews or Israel are inevitably the most likely culprits. Some offer alternative explanations as to how the attacks were supposedly executed—such as claiming that explosives rather than planes and fires brought down the towers—while others admit that they do not know what really happened, just that Jews or Israel are to blame.
- “Jewish Ownership” of the World Trade Center. Conspiracists focused on what the “Jewish owners” of the World Trade Center stood to gain from its destruction. According to this theory, Jewish businessmen—most notably Larry Silverstein, whose company had recently taken out a lease on the World Trade Center complex—plotted to destroy the towers in an effort to obtain millions of dollars in insurance money. The implication is that their inside knowledge of the complex allowed them to help the Mossad execute the plan. This conspiracy theory incorporates the antisemitic trope of “Jewish lightning” and goes to the heart of the myth of the greedy Jew.
Evolution of Antisemitic 9/11 Conspiracy Theories
Within days of the 9/11 attacks, antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories began appearing in the United States and abroad. In the Middle East, Al-Manar, a Lebanese television station linked to Hezbollah, was one of the main sources for the false claim that 4,000 Israelis had been told to stay home on the day of the terrorist attacks. In the United States, publications on the extreme right, particularly the American Free Press (AFP), an antisemitic conspiracy-oriented newspaper, also played a big role in promoting a variety of anti-Semitic 9/11 conspiracy theories.
By the 10th anniversary of the attacks, a network of anti-Israel conspiracists who blamed Israel for numerous nefarious deeds and false flag operations had become increasingly influential in the 9/11 truth movement. These individuals became the most popular promoters of theories claiming that Israelis and Jewish members of the Bush Administration carried out the 9/11 attacks as a false flag operation to provoke a war against Israel’s enemies. Articles painting Israel or the “Israel lobby” as devious and complicit in mass murder to further Jewish goals of acquiring power and destroying enemies were widely circulated, picked up by the conspiracy press, the extreme right press, and elsewhere, including Islamic media sources in the United States.
Some of the key figures in these earlier groups of conspiracists continue to produce new content and be widely cited. Christopher Bollyn, one of the earliest promoters of antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories, maintains a prominent role in the larger movement and has promoted his views on platforms provided by such antisemites as the Nation of Islam and Adam Green in recent years. Over a decade after Ryan Dawson released his popular 2008 documentary promoting antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories, he also continues to engage in the movement and collaborate with a new generation of conspiracists, including white supremacist Vincent James of The Red Elephants and QAnon proponent Robert David Steele.
Gordon Duff and Kevin Barrett, who were both profiled in ADL’s 2011 report as members of the new group of prominent conspiracists blaming Israel for the attacks, also maintain a broad influence. Duff’s website, Veterans Today, continues to provide a platform for numerous columnists to promote 9/11 conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial, and other antisemitic content. Barrett disseminates antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories as a frequent guest on Iran’s Press TV, hosts a wide array of antisemites on his internet radio show, and is a regular contributor to Veterans Today and the Unz Review.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups were quick to accept and promulgate antisemitic conspiracy theories to explain the attacks because these theories confirmed their already established belief in the inherent evil of Jews. They also wanted to exploit the theories to gain the support of a suspicious and frightened American public looking for answers to the 9/11 tragedy. Groups like the National Alliance, the Creativity Movement, and Aryan Nations wanted to engender anti-Jewish sentiment to strengthen their membership, galvanize potential recruits to take action, and convince the American public that hatred of Jews was justified. The groups used a number of tactics to publicize the Jews’ or Israel’s alleged responsibility for the attacks, including holding demonstrations outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., and distributing fliers that promoted similar antisemitic, anti-Israel messages about 9/11.
Two decades later, a new generation of white supremacists continue to use 9/11 conspiracy theories to spread propaganda about Jewish people and bolster recruitment efforts. These individuals and groups view 9/11 conspiracy theories as a tool with which to “redpill” people—in other words, something that will serve as an entryway into antisemitism and cause people to question their beliefs about Jews and society more broadly. The Nationalist Social Club (NSC), for example, a neo-Nazi group, has spray-painted graffiti on multiple occasions in the past two years which features the Star of David and the message: “Mossad did 9/11! Google ‘Dancing Israelis.’”
The Goyim Defense League (GDL), a network of white supremacists and antisemitic provocateurs which has gained traction in recent years, distributes propaganda listing alleged “facts” about Jewish involvement in 9/11, with the message that “this is just the tip of the iceberg. Do your research! Wake up” and a link to their website. GDL leader Jon Minadeo has spoken about how watching a 9/11 conspiracy theory documentary was part of his own antisemitic “awakening” and realization that “it’s always Jews behind evil.” Minadeo in turn has used 9/11 to try to “redpill” unsuspecting young people on Omegle—an online platform which randomly pairs anonymous users for one-on-one video chats—by introducing them to extremist beliefs during the sessions.
Memes are also widely used by the current generation of white supremacists as an online propaganda tool to promote antisemitic 9/11 conspiracy theories. The prevalence of this content is especially notable on Telegram, a popular social media platform frequented by white supremacists and other far right extremists. These memes sometimes incorporate other antisemitic conspiracy theories or imagery, such as the echo symbol.
The early months and years after the attacks saw the emergence of a cottage industry that produced books, tracts, and websites blaming Jews for 9/11. Antisemites exploited longstanding tropes to blame Jews and Israel for the attacks, which in a circular fashion further justified their antisemitic beliefs about Jews as inherently evil and manipulative. The internet helped facilitate an unprecedented cross-fertilization of antisemitic ideas across ideological and geographic boundaries. Even 9/11 conspiracy theorists who do not directly blame Jews for the attacks have sometimes collaborated with or been inspired by antisemitic conspiracy theorists.
Though the primary spaces in which 9/11 conspiracy theories proliferate may have shifted over the years to video-hosting sites and social media platforms, the exchange of ideas by antisemitic conspiracy theorists continues. As ADL’s 2003 report predicted, allegations of Jewish or Israeli responsibility for 9/11 have become an antisemitic canard that continues to be used to demonize Jewish people and Israel.
