International Commentators Slam Modi's BJP for anti-Semitic Poster

CW: Article contains images depicting the anti-Semetic puppeteer trope

The BJP’s social media campaign showing billionaire-philanthropist George Soros as a puppeteer with strings to the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi came under sharp attack for invoking an established and dangerous ‘anti-Semitic’ trope.

New Delhi: Global commentators have taken note of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) poster of billionaire philanthropist, George Soros as a puppeteer, with purported strings controlling Congress leader and MP, Rahul Gandhi.

The poster was noted and attacked as downright anti-Semitic. Editor-in-chief of the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, Esther Solomon, termed the poster as “fascinating, repulsive, grotesque”. She wrote in a post, “Modi’s BJP, the biggest political party in the world, using an image of Soros the puppeteer, a key viral far-right antisemitic meme. Fascinating, repulsive, grotesque. And no, don’t expect Israel’s far-right government to object. Netanyahu’s ministers love this stuff.”

Solomon is probably referring to meetings that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu held with Elon Musk last month, who has been criticised for adopting several slogans and tropes from the White supremacist playbook. Netanyahu is also regarded as amongst Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s friends, with both leaders often making a point to display personal ties.

In a sharp comment, Professor of International Relations in Brisbane’s Griffith Asia Institute and also Honorary Fellow, Australia India Institute, Dr. Ian Hall said on X, “This might play well in India (and perhaps also on this platform) but elsewhere this looks really ugly and straightforwardly antisemitic.”

Gideon Rachman, author and chief foreign affairs commentator for London-based The Financial Times chimed in with Hall and said, it was “depressing how they adopt some of the ugliest and nastiest aspects of the West with such enthusiasm.”

The response has been sharp and the BJP’s social media efforts have drawn attention to a well-known anti-Semitic symbol deployed to insult the Congress leader.

Puppeteer as anti-Semitic signalling

This is for a reason, which came to the fore when in 2021, Fox News removed the George Soros as puppet meme, which was posted on its social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram, as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) complained that it “conjures up long-standing antisemitic tropes”. ADL is a New York-based NGO that defines itself as one that works “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and secure justice and fair treatment to all”.

archive: https://archive.ph/wZ91E