Shades of Anti-Semitic Protocols in Irish Times

Is the use of the term “strategic Freemasonry” merely an innocent mistake or a sign of subconscious prejudice on the part of the journalist responsible? And just because aspects of the Israel-India relationship, such as security cooperation and arms sales, are not openly publicized on either side, is there really, as the author’s language implies, some sort of conspiratorial aspect to the relationship?

For the charge of Jews or Zionists secretly working through Freemasonry to subvert nations is a classic canard promoted by the notorious anti-Semitic forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion:

• The Freemasons are a tool in the hands of the Zionist movement. In the fourth Protocol the author states: “The truth of the matter is that our power is hidden. The visible Freemasons serve us as a cloak and [in effect] only act to hide [our power] and our goals.”
• The Jews use words like liberty, justice, equality and liberality but they do not believe in them at all. The tenth Protocol [states]: “The Freemasons use words like liberality, liberty, equality and fraternity. When rule is ours we will change them to the right of freedom, the duty of equality, the perfection of fraternity.”

Likewise, the Hamas Charter, borrowing heavily from the Protocols also alludes to Jewish Masonic subterfuge:

• Article 17: “… their lackeys who are infiltrated through Zionist organizations under various names and shapes, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, espionage groups and others, which are all nothing more than cells of subversion and saboteurs. These organizations have ample resources that enable them to play their role in societies for the purpose