'Jewish activists methodically infiltrated the highest circles of the John Birch Society'
05/16/2023
Collection of data, leaks to the press and the police. How 20 years of Jewish agents worked undercover in the camp of the new Nazis.
Jewish activists methodically infiltrated the highest circles of the John Birch Society, the largest ultra-right group in the United States. This is evidenced by documents found in the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society in New York by scholar Matthew Dalek of the University of Washington.
The John Birch Society was founded in 1958. It was named after an American missionary who was killed by the Chinese Communists. And a couple of years later, it came to the attention of the ADL - the Anti-Defamation League, which opposes anti-Semitism in the States. The reason for the special attention was the rapid growth of the John Birch Society: starting with 12 people, after a couple of years it acquired an army of 100,000 active fanatics. Moreover, its representatives began to organize attacks on members of the Jewish community.
Collection of the John Birch Society
The "Birchers" or "Birchists" - as the activists of the John Birch Society called themselves - in words seemed to be opposed to communism. But in fact, they showed up at rallies of fighters for civil liberties and, shouting insults, provoked fights with human rights activists. And there were many Jews in their ranks. “The spirit of anti-Semitism permeated society through and through,” says Matthew Dallek. - From top to bottom!"
Robert Welch was the founder of the Birch Society. Having made a fortune in the production of caramel candies, he turned his eyes to politics. A staunch traditionalist, Welch advocated "America's return to Christian traditions," advocated free economics and limited state power, and thus won the sympathy of many libertarians. Including one of the main ideologists of this movement, the writer Ayn Rand, who wrote the best-selling novel Atlas Shrugged. However, Rand did not fail to notice that Welch was "swinging from side to side." “His society does not have a clear political concept. They are not for capitalism. They are just against communism,” she said.
Collection of the John Birch Society
Indeed, the "red threat" worried Welch most of all. He searched and found her everywhere. Not even in the words of Republican President General Dwight Eisenhower, whom he declared to be a "fanatic agent of the Reds." And, of course, in the songs of the Beatles. And even - in the chlorination of water!
Yes, of course, Welch believed in all possible conspiracy theories, including the world Jewish conspiracy. "Rothschilds and Rockefellers control the world and will bring America to the abyss!" he exclaimed at the rallies. But the people's Fuhrer, obviously, was poorly educated, like all his upstarts like him, and did not know that the Rockefellers were a German clan.
John Birch Society banner
Later, the writer William Buckley, who was also at one time sympathetic to the ideas of the John Birch Society, would call Welch's ideas "idiotic and paranoid slanders." But then, under the influence of its leader, this society quickly radicalized and became a major player on the American right-wing scene. It issued newspapers and leaflets, tried to enter schools with educational programs, and encouraged activists to carry guns. In fact, it called on its members to prepare for a guerrilla war "to save America."
Activists of the ADL, as Matthew Dalek found out, almost immediately began attending meetings of the “Birchists” and noted in their reports an increase in aggressive rhetoric and a readiness for violence among members of this group: “Some called them fascists and seriously feared attempts to seize power in the country on their part” .
Robert Welch
Having received such data, the ADL in the early 60s ceased to be limited to observation and fixation and began a full-scale espionage operation against the "Birchists". From the documents that Dallek discovered, it turned out that over the course of two decades, a number of Jewish activists were infiltrated into the John Birch Society. Under fictitious names, positioning themselves as supporters of these ideas, they made the necessary contacts and penetrated the group. And even received very responsible posts in the organization.
Everything described is very similar to the plot of the film "Black Klansman", based, by the way, on real events: in it, two police officers - an African American and a Jew - infiltrated the very heart of the Ku Klux Klan.
Robert Welch
“ADL agents got access to financial documents, information about the cells of the organization and their key members,” says Dallek. And besides, they methodically collected information about any anti-Semitic and racist actions among the members of the organization. Part of the information received by the ADL was shared with law enforcement agencies, and part was “leaked” through the media in order to discredit the “Birchers” in the eyes of the masses and reduce their support.
At the same time, the ADL was interested not only in cases of anti-Semitism, but also in manifestations of any xenophobia. “The best way to protect Jews is to protect equal rights for all,” wrote Isadore Zach, a member of the ADL leadership. “Only under conditions of equality will the Jewish community flourish.”
Robert Welch
And these measures worked! Already in the mid-70s, the campaign initiated by the ADL led to the fact that the support of the "Birchers" in society began to decline. And by 1978, only small and scattered groups of fanatics remained from the 100,000-strong army of ultra-right "berchers", ready to take up arms at the leader's signal. This is confirmed by researcher Mark Potok in The American Right: The 90s and Beyond. According to him, the Birch Society eventually came to be seen as a ridiculous relic of the Cold War, with its paranoid fears of revolution and a "red" coup.
Isadore Zach, Benjamin Epstein and Sol Kolak of the ADL
Robert Welch stepped down as president of the John Birch Society in 1983. He died two years later at the age of 85, continuing to believe in bizarre conspiracy theories against "correct Christian Americans" to the last. And his ideas have not gone anywhere. Moreover, several decades later, at a new stage of development, they again become relevant. The level of anti-Semitism in the US continues to rise steadily. Last year, 6,751 anti-Semitic incidents were registered. This is 38% more than in 2021. And these are just the incidents that have been reported.