Disir
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The most dangerous conspiracy theories spread from a germ of truth that can make them difficult to identify and condemn. One such genre of antisemitic conspiracy theories involves the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, and those who assist them outside of Israel. Sometimes called sayanim—Hebrew for “helpers,” or “assistants,” from the root samech-yod-ayin—these individuals reportedly assist Mossad agents with logistical aspects of missions. Examples of this include local Jews who helped with the 1960 capture of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and with Operation Magic Carpet, which brought most of Yemen’s Jews to Israel in 1949 and 1950.
A more sinister, expansive and false view of the sayanim has begun to spread in France, the United States and elsewhere. In this distorted form, sayanim are seen as Israel’s fifth column in global politics, the minions of a so-called “trans-generational criminal syndicate” manipulating world events from behind the scenes in favor of the financial elite. Some versions consider all Jews to be sayanim, and for years the word has been used by conspiracy purveyors to recast acts of terrorism as false-flag operations and to prop up Holocaust denial. This year, the sayanim conspiracy theory may have caused its first death.
In May 2022, 89-year-old René Hadjaj, a retired tailor living in Lyon, France, was thrown out the window of his 17th-story public housing unit by a neighbor. At first the police announced that his death had nothing to do with his Jewish identity and attributed it to a simple disagreement.
But after the French Jewish newspaper Tribune Juive discovered “obsessive tweets” by the alleged killer, 54-year-old Rachid Kheniche, in which he accused several prominent French politicians and lawyers of being “sayanim,” Lyon prosecutor Nicolet Jacquet broadened the investigation to include a possible antisemitic motivation.
momentmag.com
It is insane that someone would throw an 89 year old out of the window due to a conspiracy theory. Or for any reason.
A more sinister, expansive and false view of the sayanim has begun to spread in France, the United States and elsewhere. In this distorted form, sayanim are seen as Israel’s fifth column in global politics, the minions of a so-called “trans-generational criminal syndicate” manipulating world events from behind the scenes in favor of the financial elite. Some versions consider all Jews to be sayanim, and for years the word has been used by conspiracy purveyors to recast acts of terrorism as false-flag operations and to prop up Holocaust denial. This year, the sayanim conspiracy theory may have caused its first death.
In May 2022, 89-year-old René Hadjaj, a retired tailor living in Lyon, France, was thrown out the window of his 17th-story public housing unit by a neighbor. At first the police announced that his death had nothing to do with his Jewish identity and attributed it to a simple disagreement.
But after the French Jewish newspaper Tribune Juive discovered “obsessive tweets” by the alleged killer, 54-year-old Rachid Kheniche, in which he accused several prominent French politicians and lawyers of being “sayanim,” Lyon prosecutor Nicolet Jacquet broadened the investigation to include a possible antisemitic motivation.
What Are Sayanim?
How an esoteric Mossad term spawned a web of antisemitic conspiracy theories, from France to the United States.
momentmag.com
It is insane that someone would throw an 89 year old out of the window due to a conspiracy theory. Or for any reason.
