I was passing an anti-Israel demonstration by a mix of student groups from universities in downtown New York when I noticed a placard with these words on it: “The Epstein class wants this war.” Fictional connections like these between Jeffrey Epstein and the Israeli State have unfortunately become a popular anti-Jewish conspiracy theory across the political spectrum and are worth addressing.

This theory is dangerous as it can be used to justify violence against Jews. A Democratic candidate in Texas advocated for turning ICE facilities into prisons for American Zionists and castration camps for pedophiles who, according to her, are “most of the Zionists”. This campaign promise is motivated by her belief that the “Epstein network” was being used by Israel to “occupy America.” Thus, combating conspiracy theories isn’t only a fight for truth, but for the safety of American Jews. 

To fight this, Jews have commonly dismissed this sort of nonsense as antisemitism or demanded that mainstream media refrain from platforming such views, but that strategy appears to be ineffective. Antisemites rarely change their beliefs when they are shamed, and censorship allows them to claim social currency as free-speech martyrs. 

While responding to every outrageous claim is not always practical or productive, popular conspiracy theories should still be........

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