What is important for understanding the Middle East conflict is to grasp what kind of national character and ethnic traits the parties involved—the Israeli people and the Palestinian people—possess. However, it is no exaggeration to say that the ethnic and national character of the people called Jews, who constitute the vast majority of those holding Israeli citizenship, is among the most misunderstood in the world. This is the result of "Jewish conspiracy theories" that Western Christian society has persistently spread for over 1,000 years.
As a result, even today, conspiracy theories about "Jews who control the world from behind the scenes with iron unity" are still ingrained in the minds of some people. Particularly in Japan, there are many works in manga and anime that use monotheism as a story motif, and in some cases, innocent misunderstanding inadvertently contributes to "Jewish conspiracy theories." Due to such factors, Japan can be said to be a rare country where, despite not being a Christian nation, there exists a certain segment of fervent Jewish conspiracy theorists. What is even more surprising is that a certain number of these Jewish conspiracy theorists exist even among self-proclaimed Middle East specialists, history experts, and former diplomats. And within Japan, which has no connection to monotheism, they believe "I alone have learned the truth" and innocently spread it.
In my view, some of these Japanese-style Jewish conspiracy theorists are indeed influenced by Christianity in some form. The remainder can simply be described as "people prone to falling for conspiracy theories." What is common to such conspiracy theories is the stereotypical ethnic understanding of "Jews who manipulate the world from behind the scenes with perfect unity." Let me explain how absurd this understanding is, based on my experience of having some interaction with Israel. If Japanese people seriously consider contributing even a little to Middle East peace and two-state coexistence, Jewish conspiracy theories are all harm and no benefit.
■ When three Japanese gather, two factions form. What about Jews?
I once had a conversation about politics with someone (Mr. A) who has extensive business experience with Israel. I said: "Japanese people are collective, and when three gather, two factions form." In response, Mr. A said: "In Israel, you know, when two people gather, three factions form."
With only two people, it would be impossible for three factions to form. That would be common sense. However, I found myself nodding deeply at this story. This is because the way Israeli people think about and approach matters is so complex that I was often made to think that two people might be living within one person. In any case, once they start debating, they absolutely refuse to compromise. Not having one's own opinion and blindly following someone else's opinion seems to be the greatest humiliation, as if they consider it a defeat.
This can be understood by looking at the history of Israeli politics. In Israel's parliament, for over 70 years since the nation's founding, not once has a single party achieved a majority. Therefore, coalitions must always be formed, and various behind-the-scenes struggles unfold over cabinet formation. This is a characteristic of Israeli politics. Concepts familiar to Japanese people such as "bandwagon effect," "go with the flow," "right face," "silence is golden," and "collective action" are perhaps the most unsuited to Israeli people. It is said that in Israel, even in the military, subordinates sometimes boldly voice their opinions to superiors. This is quite unusual among the world's militaries.
■ George Soros is Netanyahu's "mortal enemy"
Let me give a specific example. George Soros, the global speculator who is considered a leader of the "Deep State" (the shadowy forces as conspiracy theorists call them) and the primary target of Jewish conspiracy theorists, is a Hungarian-born Jew. This Soros continues to be in sharp conflict with the Netanyahu administration. This is because Soros continues to criticize Netanyahu's Palestinian policy. Both are figures who continue to provide unlimited fuel to Jewish conspiracy theorists. One is a super-wealthy Jew, and the other is a politician who embodies Zionism. Both are major enemies of Jewish conspiracy theorists. However, there is not even a shadow or trace of "conspiring Jews" between these two. (Conspiracy theorists would still believe there is something there, I suppose.)
Personally, I have no sympathy whatsoever for either Mr. Soros's ultimate internationalism that could deny the nation-state itself, or Mr. Netanyahu's nationalism. However, the fact that these two Jewish individuals' assertions show such vivid contrast is a good example demonstrating that there is no meaning in trying to categorize people called Jews under any particular category.
Such stories are endless. If Marcus Goldman, who founded Goldman Sachs as the ultimate global capital, was Jewish, then Karl Marx, who constructed the foundation of communist ideology, was also Jewish.
Moreover, some of the ultra-Orthodox of Judaism do not recognize the current Israel as a state. For them, Israel is something to be given by God, not something to be given by Balfour (the former British Prime Minister who played double-dealing diplomacy). Therefore, they believe that the re-establishment of the state must wait until true divine revelation or the arrival of the Messiah (savior).
On the other hand, a Jewish IT entrepreneur I met in Israel was eating a "cheeseburger" during "Saturday afternoon" while checking work emails. This would be a common sight anywhere in Japan, but he was committing serious violations of Jewish law. Saturday afternoon is the Sabbath, so one must not work. A cheeseburger involves eating "meat and dairy" simultaneously, which is a serious violation of Kosher (dietary laws). However, he said, "I just happen to have a Jewish mother. It has nothing to do with me. I don't like Kosher food because it's too salty," and seemed unconcerned. For him, the business partnership contract with Japanese companies was more important than the covenant with God (the law).
■ Post-war Jewish conspiracy theory that Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of Khazars
Not just the author, but anyone who actually knows such diversity among Israeli people would immediately understand how ridiculous the conspiracy theory of "Jews who unite and manipulate the world from behind the scenes" is. When tracing the original sources of many such conspiracy theories, they lead back to false information called the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" that Russia spread during the pre-war imperial collapse period.
However, in addition to this "Protocols-type conspiracy theory," there is another stream in recent Jewish conspiracy theories. This is the claim that "Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of Khazars and are not true Jewish people." Here, I will call this the "Khazar-type Jewish conspiracy theory." In addition to the "Christian-type Jewish conspiracy theory" continuing from medieval times and the "Protocols of Zion-type conspiracy theory" continuing from the pre-war period, this "Khazar-type Jewish conspiracy theory" fascinated conspiracy theorists in the post-war era.
The most famous original source of the Khazar-type Jewish conspiracy theory is a book called "The Thirteenth Tribe (1971)" written by Arthur Koestler, a British Jew. This book was also translated and published in Japan 30 years later in 1990, driving Japanese post-war late-period Jewish conspiracy theories. In this book, Koestler proposed the theory that Ashkenazi Jews might actually not be Jewish people but descendants of the Khazar Kingdom, based on the fact that the medieval Eastern European Khazar Kingdom had a period when Judaism was the state religion.
At the time, there was no technology to genetically verify such theories, and it spread to some intellectual circles as a plausible theory. I have actually read this Japanese translation, but it is the type that verifies hypotheses with assumptions, and I felt no academic basis whatsoever. In fact, regarding this "Khazar hypothesis," scientific verification has made dramatic progress in recent years, and it has been almost completely refuted from a genetic standpoint. (Links to representative literature are as follows)
1：Paper published on the US National Library of Medicine website
2：Paper published in the scientific journal Nature
3：Paper published in the scientific journal Science (paid)
■ People called Ashkenazi were scattered to the center of the Roman Empire
People called Ashkenazi, unlike Sephardim (Jews scattered to the Iberian Peninsula) or Mizrahi (Jews scattered mainly to North Africa), are people who were scattered to the core area of the Roman Empire that destroyed ancient Israel. Ashkenazi is Hebrew for Germany, but they did not suddenly scatter from ancient Israel to the Rhine region of northern inland Western Europe.
Ancient Israel, from the time it was a province of the Roman Empire, was an important trading hub located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, and naturally trade with Rome, the suzerain state, was flourishing. The Roman Empire valued Caesarea (Israel's port city), went to the trouble of transporting large quantities of huge rocks from the mountains of Europe, and used the most advanced concrete generation technology of the time that hardens when in contact with water to create building materials called Roman concrete. They then dredged the sandy beach and used this Roman concrete to build a port that could accommodate large ships. You can see how much Rome valued Caesarea. This was led on the Israeli side by King Herod, who was said to be an architectural genius. (He was an Idumean)
In this context, Israeli merchants and others also moved to the Roman side, and it is believed that they gradually moved north to the Rhine region over several centuries with the expansion of the Roman Empire's power. There is almost no relationship with the Khazar Kingdom. What makes Ashkenazi people different from Sephardim and Mizrahi people is that because they were scattered to the central area of the Roman Empire, marriage and intermarriage with European peoples progressed more quickly. This is also shown in the genetic research mentioned earlier. Then, from the 10th century onward, the Crusades by Christians and hysteria caused by the spread of the plague drove Jews further into the interior of Europe (such as Eastern Europe).
■ "Jewish conspiracy theories" only stop thinking. The danger of Deep State conspiracy theories
"Christian-type Jewish conspiracy theory," "Russian Protocols-type Jewish conspiracy theory," "Khazar hypothesis-type Jewish conspiracy theory." When decomposing the components of Jewish conspiracy theories, they roughly fall into these three categories. And what can be said to be a combination technique of these is the "Deep State (shadowy forces) conspiracy theory." This is the conspiracy theory that America is controlled by Jews and everything is according to their will.
Certainly, American Jews have had important influence on American politics. This may be because in the meritocratic United States, it was easier for Jews, who had lived for 2000 years armed with knowledge, wisdom, and indomitable spirit, to secure opportunities for success. I understand that they traditionally tended to support the Democratic Party. From their perspective, having suffered from conspiracy theories throughout their long history, the Democratic Party, which emphasizes freedom of religion and human rights, naturally has high affinity. In the first place, many Jewish thinkers, including Spinoza (a Sephardic from the Netherlands), have contributed to the development of liberal thought. On the other hand, it is also a historical fact that in recent years, the Democratic Party has pandered to extreme internationalists like the aforementioned Soros (the so-called Wall Street forces).
And former President Trump aimed to become president by directing the power of American Jews toward the Republican Party while capturing the votes of Christian evangelicals with strong pro-Israeli sentiment. He deepened relations with Mr. Netanyahu, who advocates Greater Israel ideology. Greater Israel ideology is a political thought that resonates with the Israeli far-right, believing that Israel's territory should be the same range as Canaan shown in the Bible, and that borders defined by UN resolutions can be ignored. Former President Trump declared the Golan Heights to be Israeli territory, recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocated the embassy there, and assassinated Iran's Commander Soleimani in an airstrike.
Soros-type internationalism and extreme liberalism, and Trump-type isolationism and Netanyahu's Greater Israel ideology. Neither would be the right answer for the world. The answer must lie somewhere in between. However, in the process of discerning such realistic solutions, Jewish conspiracy theories are merely a cessation of thinking and nothing but harmful.
Based on this understanding, what is important in predicting the 2024 presidential election is that American Jews, who are at the opposite pole from concepts like "bandwagon effect," "right face," and "conformity," would never engage in collective voting behavior like a certain country's religious party, even if instructed by the Israel lobby.
Voting without one's own will, following someone's instructions, is not the kind of behavior most Jews would choose. What is important for candidates is not the votes of Jewish people, who constitute about 2% of the US population, but obtaining support from the Israel lobby, which has presence in the one-share-one-vote world (capitalism), to raise campaign funds. And using those funds, in the one-person-one-vote world (elections in democracy), Republicans market to evangelicals while Democrats market to liberals. This can be considered the structure of US presidential elections.
Photo: Full view of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque as seen from the Mount of Olives. Photographed by the author in 2018
