Q and the Jews

Among the radical rightwing groups that converged on Washington on January 6th and stormed the Capitol, the one commanding the largest following was QAnon. In those last weeks of his presidency, as mainstream Republicans gradually broke with Donald Trump to acknowledge the outcome of the election, QAnon figured large in the diminished ranks of his diehard supporters. Other groups, even more outré, were also in evidence on January 6th, including neo-Nazis—highlighted by one man whose shirt was emblazoned with the chilling insignia, “Camp Auschwitz.” There was no evidence that he spoke for the larger body of protestors but nor was there any sign that the others disowned him.

Are the sentiments this man advertised so provocatively shared less vulgarly by the much larger constituency represented by QAnon? Does this strange group pose a threat to America and in particular to its Jews? Answering this requires first addressing some prior questions. What, exactly, is QAnon? Where did it come from, and how large is it? What does it stand for, and where is it headed?

QAnon has the characteristics of a cult, except there is no formal organization, no membership, no process of initiation, no dues, no requirement to offer fealty or sacrifice in order to take part. The Atlantic’s Adrienne LaFrance, author of one of the most informative articles about it, believes it is a new religion aborning. Perhaps, but whatever its spiritual characteristics or function, its foremost interests and ideas, however odd, revolve around politics. Since it is not an organization, we might call it a movement. In contrast to, say, Black Lives Matter, a political movement that makes itself felt largely by street demonstrations, the locus of QAnon is preponderantly in cyberspace, on social media.