Climate conspiracies echo antisemitic tropes

Jewish community representatives have told a Senate inquiry that climate disinformation and antisemitic conspiracy theories share common patterns and spread through similar channels.

The Senate Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy, is examining the prevalence and impacts of misinformation and disinformation relating to climate change and energy.

Jewish Climate Network CEO Joel Lazar told the comittee, “Conspiracies about Jews are perhaps the oldest and most studied form of disinformation in human history.

“Our community has centuries of lived and direct experience of these tropes. That gives us a truly unique perspective to discuss the crossover between misinformation about climate change and misinformation targeting Jews.”

He explained that climate disinformation does not exist in isolation.

“Many types of disinformation are connected or spread in similar ways, whether the false claims are about climate change, Jews, or other minority groups.”

Lazar described how coded language operates in spreading harmful narratives, particularly when linking Jews to banking and money.

He explained that Jewish people can recognise “from a million miles away” when allusions to Jewish families and money represent centuries-old tropes.

“Jews initially were prevented from participating in most professions in society, so they were forced into the few remaining ones that were available, one of which was money lending. And so that’s the origin of that trope and that myth about Jews being hungry for money,” he said.

While acknowledging that those using such language might not always intend harm or even have Jewish people in mind, Mr Lazar noted “that’s the way biases often work, is that you say things you are actually often not even aware of where you got that idea from.”

Questioned about climate misinformation within the Jewish community, Lazar said there’s very little of it, instead observing robust debate about appropriate policy responses.

ECAJ head of legal Simone Abel warned the committee about the escalating problem of online antisemitism.

“Antisemitism will often be used to explain the inexplicable little things that our society is really struggling with or is fearful or anxious about,” Ms Abel said.

Whilst the techniques are not new, I would say that the problem has really skyrocketed.”