Far-right conspiracy theorists are divided over who is currently running the U.S. government amid escalating tensions in the Middle East as Israel preps for an invasion of Palestine.
One camp of conspiracists plays into the age-old trope of blaming the Jews—implying that because a number of high-ranking U.S. officials are Jewish, the U.S. is supporting Israel.
Yet another camp believes that the government has been infiltrated by a swath of Iran backers tied to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration of war.
Amid those blaming Jews, a graphic is circulating online showing Jewish members of President Joe Biden’s cabinet and other high-ranking officials in the U.S.
“HOW IN THE HELL DID AMERICA LET THIS HAPPEN ?? LOOKING LIKE MAJORITY OF OUR WHOLE ADMINISTRATION IS TIED TO ISRAEL NO WONDER THEYRE NOT CONDEMNING ISRAEL WAR CRIMES AGAINST INNOCENT DEFENSELESS MEN WOMEN & BABIES,” one user wrote.
A separate user posting the same graphic wrote that it’s an “open secret that the vast majority of [American] oligarchs, politicians and even deep state are of Jewish descent.”
Another user—whose post of the graphic gained more than 100,000 likes—only commented “interesting.”
However, in a follow-up post blasting a BBC journalist for noting that none of the officials in the image hold Israeli citizenship—despite being shown next to Israeli flags—she wrote that the journalist “doesn’t believe that it has HIGH relevance in a war between Jews and Muslims to state the FACT that several high ranking US officials are JEWS and therefore are biased!”
The conspiratorial antisemitism plays into an age-old trope that Jews are on a quest for world domination and control of global affairs.
“At the core of this strain of conspiratorial antisemitism is the belief that Jews do not deserve to have power, regardless of what values they may stand for,” writes the Anti-Defamation League. “Jews who pursue or occupy leadership roles in elected office or other stations of public life too often are deemed conspiratorial, rather than commended for their investment in concerns of the collective.”
But in this case, not everyone is blaming Israel’s influence—some are instead arguing other Middle Eastern countries have infiltrated the government.
Much of that conspiracy theory centers around Maher Bitar, the senior director for intelligence programs on the National Security Council, and Robert Malley, the ex-Iran envoy who was placed on leave due to alleged mishandling of classified material.
Far-right activist and conspiracist Laura Loomer claimed on Friday that Bitar directly enabled Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“The attack on Israel was enabled by Joe Biden’s Palestinian Director of Intelligence at the National Security Council,” Loomer wrote. “This is TREASON! Maher Bitar’s actions resulted in American citizens being murdered and kidnapped as hostages by HAMAS. [House GOP] should call for Maher Bitar to be impeached and immediately investigated.”
Loomer then linked to a piece she wrote in 2021 noting that Bitar was on the executive board of his school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and pointed to his support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as evidence of his “terror associations.”
In addition to Bitar, many others online pointed to Malley as an example of an official with alleged unscrupulous ties to the Middle East.
Malley lost his security clearance in June and is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation—something that has alarmed a number of Republican lawmakers.
Similar to the claims against Bitar, some have linked Hamas’ attack to Malley’s work.
“Biden’s appeasement of Iran, orchestrated by compromised Robert Malley, is alarming,” wrote Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) in a post on X. “Lax sanctions enforcement from the Biden admin has emboldened and enriched Iran & the results is the terror that unfolded in Israel.”
A New York Post article published Oct. 14 detailed Malley’s past criticisms of Israel and alleged family ties to the Palestine Liberation Organization.
He “grew up with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat as his unofficial ‘godfather’ and once wrote that the Israeli treatment of Arabs was ‘shameful,’” the Post reported.
Citing that article, one X user accused Malley of being part of a scheme to cover up Israel’s intelligence failure that led to the Oct. 7 attack from Hamas.
“Why is nobody talking about Robert Malley? He is a Iran/Hamas sympathizer who has worked for Obama and Biden,” another user wrote. “He also went to high school with Blinken and law school with Obama. What is really going on here?”
One user summed up the conspiracy in one post.
“Robert Malley, Maher Bitar, and many more. Joe’s House is Full of Leaks,” the user wrote. “This administration is FULL of pro Hamas types. Dear [Israel], don’t share sensitive info with us. We can’t be trusted unfortunately. Too many Spies and Iran Enablers.”
