Lie and Deceit

The accusation of a Jewish tendency to lie takes two distinct forms: one, in which Jews allegedly assert the untruth with regard to themselves—in which their own traits of character, values, intentions, etc. are distorted (= hypocrisy)—and two, lies that concern the whole external world and non-Jewish groups (= mendacity). In contrast to the allegation of lying, which focuses on the production of untruth, the accusation of deceit pertains to the underlying purpose of the purported misleading activities. The assumption is that Jews misrepresent the truth in order to gain advantages for themselves or to further a secret agenda, whether for themselves as individuals or in support of wider “Jewish interests.” The concepts of lie and deceit have been an integral part of the antisemitic arsenal of accusations for centuries.