(1) Two Jewish Zionist billionaires are hoarding the water resources in Southern California
One of the most virally circulated antisemitic conspiracies in light of the tragedy in Los Angeles is that a Jewish and Zionist billionaire couple, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, are hoarding the Los Angeles water supply, thus exacerbating the crisis and hindering firefighting efforts. This is false.
The Resnicks, who own Wonderful Company (which in turn owns companies such as POM and Fiji Water), own one water bank two hours north of Los Angeles. It’s important to note that there are nearly 500 water basins in California; the Wonderful Company uses less than 1% of the state of California’s water, not 60-80%, as has been falsely reported.
According to water resource economist and research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, Brad Franklin, “It's silly to pick one major water user in the San Joaquin Valley [and blame them for the fires].”
Of course, that is not to say that you can’t be critical of billionaires, or of the fact that water, the most basic resource, is privately owned. But the Resnicks are far from the only billionaires, owners of private water banks, and/or major water users in the state, and specifically scapegoating the Jewish couple has its roots in nothing but millennia-old antisemitic conspiracies. Additionally, bringing up their Zionism -- that is, their belief that Jews have a right to self-determination -- is absolutely irrelevant to the issue and only serves to further demonize Zionist Jews.
(2) American foreign aid to Israel is diverting resources away from fighting the fires
First, it bears noting that the city and county of Los Angeles and the state of California do not send foreign aid, to Israel or elsewhere.
Some argue, then, that the federal government could send resources to Los Angeles, if only the money wasn’t being spent on foreign countries like Israel. But American foreign aid to all countries combined generally accounts for less than 1% of the federal budget of $6.75 trillion.
In general, American $12.5 billion in foreign aid to Israel accounts for less than 0.0001% of federal spending. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has received $17.9 billion in American aid, accounting for less than 5% of America’s foreign aid spending, which in itself accounted for just 1% of the American federal budget.
It’s also important to note that the federal government has an entirely different budget for natural disasters (Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA) vs. foreign aid. Aid to foreign countries does not take away from the FEMA budget, which is used to assist in the case of natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires.
(3) Emissions from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza caused the fires
The scientific consensus is that man-caused climate change is creating weather conditions for more intense wildfires in California. However, specifically drawing a direct line between the carbon footprint of the bombardment of Gaza to the wildfires in Los Angeles is ludicrous to say the least.
To keep it in perspective, consider that the countries with the highest CO2 emissions in 2024 were (1) China, (2) the United States, (3) India, and (4) Russia. Israel does not crack the top 10 — or even the top 50 — with its emissions in 2022 placing it in 52nd place.
Per capita, the countries with the highest carbon emissions in 2023 were (1) Qatar, (2) Brunei, (3) Bahrain, and (4) United Arab Emirates. Israel is 47th on that list.
Ironically, the people making this accusation tend to be the same people who cheer on the ecological terrorism of groups like Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah.
The Houthis, for example, have bombed two oil tankers in the Red Sea, in supposed “solidarity with Gaza,” nearly causing an oil spill, which would have been disastrous for the marine ecosystems of the Red Sea. Hezbollah’s missiles and mortars set the forests in northern Israel ablaze for months, torching nearly as many acres as the enormous Palisades fire in Los Angeles.
(4) Israel is not helping its main ally, the United States, in their time of need
Some online users are sarcastically “noting” that while the United States sends billions of dollars to Israel in aid, Israel, allegedly, is doing nothing for the United States in its time of need. This is unequivocally untrue.
Most notably, the Israeli international humanitarian organization, SmartAID has dispatched teams to Los Angeles to help those in need. SmartAID uses technology to help relief efforts in disaster zones and during crises. In particular, SmartAID is distributing much needed portable battery units for medical devices such as CPAP machines and oxygen concentrators.
Another Israeli humanitarian organization, IsraAID, is preparing to send an emergency response team to Los Angeles. IsraAID has previously assisted in relief efforts in a number of disaster zones, such as the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Finally, according to an Israeli deputy fire chief, Itzik Oz, Israel offered to send firefighters to Los Angeles but was turned down. ZAKA, Israel’s post-disaster emergency response organization, has also offered to assist in firefighting efforts.
(5) God is punishing “Zionist Hollywood” for the war in Gaza
If you really believe that’s how God works, well, there’s not much I can do to argue with your religious beliefs. However, I do want to point two things out.
First, the people saying this also decry what they see as Israel’s collective punishment in Gaza. So collective punishment is okay in some cases but not in others?
Second, the stereotype of “Zionist Hollywood” is rooted in nothing but old antisemitic stereotypes, conspiracies, and tropes.
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw an influx of Jewish refugees coming predominantly from Eastern Europe. Though life in the United States was much more stable than the violence they’d fled in Eastern Europe, these new immigrants still faced employment, economic, and academic discrimination. To make ends meet, they resorted to creating their own opportunities; for this reason, many Jews flocked to Hollywood and established the entertainment industry as we know it today.
Nevertheless, from its inception, the Jews in Hollywood made a tremendous effort to downplay or diminish their Jewishness to appeal to a wider, non-Jewish audience, a trend that many of us would agree continues to this day. Even so, antisemites continue perpetuating harmful stereotypes, conspiracies, and tropes that Jews (or “Zionists”) use their Hollywood influence to manipulate the masses.
With some 560,000 Jews, Los Angeles has the third largest Jewish population in the world, after Israel and New York. Jews account for 17.5% of the population of Los Angeles and 7% of the population of the wider Los Angeles County. Many of the areas affected by the fires are heavily Jewish, and the community will now need to rebuild.
Here, you can find a working document with GoFundMes for Jewish families who’ve been affected by the fires.
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