The Franklin Prophecy

"The Franklin Prophecy", sometimes called "The Franklin Forgery", is an antisemitic speech falsely attributed to Benjamin Franklin, warning of the supposed dangers of admitting Jews to the nascent United States. The speech was purportedly transcribed by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, but was unknown before its appearance in 1934 in the pages of William Dudley Pelley's pro-Nazi weekly magazine "Liberation". With linguistic anachronisms, it cannot be genuine. Despite having been repeatedly discredited since its first appearance, the “prophecy” has proved a remarkably durable canard, returning most recently as a popular internet hoax promulgated on usenet groups and antisemitic websites, where it is presented as authentic. On February 18, 1998, a member of the Fatah Central Committee revived this myth and mistakenly referred to Franklin as a former President of the United States. [ [http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/arab/anti_sem_myth.asp The Franklin "Prophecy": American Anti-Semitic Myth Finds Acceptance in Arab World (ADL)] ] Osama Bin Laden has even used this canard briefly in his November 2002 "Letter to the American People." [ [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,,845725,00.html Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America': Guardian Observer(November 24, 2002)] ] While its author is not known, many who have investigated the “prophecy” suspect Pelley of having penned it himself.

The US Congress report "Anti-Semitism in Europe: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on European Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations" (2004) states:

"The Franklin "Prophecy" is a classic anti-Semitic canard thatfalsely claims that American statesman Benjamin Franklin made anti-Jewish statements during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It has found widening acceptance in Muslim and Arab media, where it has been used to criticize Israel and Jews..." ["Anti-Semitism in Europe: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on European Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations" by United States Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Subcommittee on European Affairs. 2004. p.69]

Franklin was, in fact, a friend to the Jews of 18th-century America, [Anti-Defamation League, [http://www.adl.org/special_reports/franklin_prophecy/print.asp "The Franklin "Prophecy": Modern Anti-Semitic Myth Making."] "Facts" April-May 1954. Retrieved 20 Jan. 2008.] and contributed toward the building of Philadelphia's first permanent synagogue. [ Mikveh Israel, [http://www.mikvehisrael.org/History/ "Mikveh Israel's History"] . Retrieved 20 Jan. 2008. ]

There have been similar false antisemitic quotations attributed to George Washington which have been [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/thejews.htm debunked] . In fact, in 1790 Washington sent a letter to the Jewish community in Rhode Island, writing that he envisioned a country "which gives bigotry no sanction ... persecution no assistance". For the first time in modern history, Jews lived in a country where they enjoyed full and equal human and political rights - as a birthright of citizenship. [ [http://www.usa-presidents.info/washington.htm George Washington (USA Presidents.info)] ]

References

External links

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Further reading

* Allen, Henry Butler. "Franklin and the Jews." "The Franklin Institute News". Vol.III, No.4, August 1938, pp.1-2.
* Beard, Charles A. “Exposing the Anti-Semitic Forgery about Franklin.” "Jewish Frontier." New York, March 1935, pp.1-13.
* Boller, Paul F., and John George. "They Never Said It: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attributions." New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
* Boyd, Julian P. “Society News and Accessions.” "Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography". Vol 61. April, 1937, pp.233-234.
* Kominsky, Morris. "The Hoaxers: Plain Liars, Fancy Liars, and Damned Liars." Branden Press: 1970.
* Lopez, Claude-Anne. “Prophet and Loss.” "The New Republic." January 7, 1997.
* Pelley, William Dudley, ed. “Did Benjamin Franklin Say this About the Hebrews?” "Liberation." Vol 5, No.24. February 3, 1934.