The antisemitic unraveling of Candace Owens

Over the last year or so, Candace Owens has made an increasing number of deeply concerning comments about the Jewish people and Israel, leading to the question: What kind of antisemitic Kool-Aid is she drinking? In light of her most recent comments, the answer is: One of the worst kinds of antisemitic Kool-Aid, the kind that espouses the most ridiculous (and malicious) conspiracy theories. Her statements have now become completely unhinged, leading to bizarre headlines like this on an antisemitic website: “Candace Owens digs in, calling out Israel’s Frankist pedo-protection cult.” What?

In her rant, Owens informs us that the horrors of the Holocaust did not help give birth to the modern State of Israel. Instead, many moons before this, Catholics and Christians went missing around Passover, and when their bodies were found, “they were able to trace them back to the Jews.” 

But, she tells us, she is not repeating the infamous blood libel, which alleges that Jews kidnap and kill Christians during Passover, using their blood to bake matzoh.  Not at all! These people weren’t actually Jews at all. “They were Frankists,” Owens says, referring to a sex-cult led by the notorious Polish Jew Jacob Frank (1726-1791).

The only problem with this unhinged theory is everything. First, this is the same, fictitious blood libel, just blamed on Frankists rather than Jews. Second, the Frankists, with all their perverted practices, did not kidnap and kill Catholics and Christians, using their blood for Passover. Third, the Frankists actually were Jews, although some of them eventually converted to Catholicism. But I quibble. Why should we trip over historical facts?

According to Owens, Leo Frank killed Mary Phagan during Passover (in 1913) for these same nefarious, bloody purposes. (Apparently, he must have been a Frankist too, since his last name was Frank!) And, she states firmly, “this Frankist cult, which is masquerading behind Jews, still participates in this s--- to this day.” 

We will soon find out that it is these fake Jews who helped found Israel, which is why, she tells us, Israel is a sanctuary state for pedophiles. Surely, nothing antisemitic here! And surely, we shouldn’t stumble over the fact that most legal scholars believe that Leo Frank was falsely accused and wrongly convicted of the crime. Tragically, he was dragged from a jail by an angry mob and lynched. But not to worry. After all, Frank was a Jew, right?

Owens claims that “the nation of Israel may have been established by some Frankists,” which is why “Zionists defend pedophiles and criminals.” But of course! How did we miss that? Yes, we are told, this is why Israel allows “pedophiles from America to flee and receive protection from their state.” (BTW, Owens jokes that she will punch you in the face if you dare say that Israel is our ally. They are anything but an ally and friend. All clear?)

What is Owens’s proof about the founding of Israel? “It is looking like Theodor Herzl’s family” came from the exact same area in Moravia and Bohemia “where the Frankist cult was founded.” And while Owens says “maybe” about her theory, she has read “a ton of books” and is quite sure about it. She also informs us that Herzl said that he didn’t care how many Jews had to die in order to establish the Jewish state. How did all the Herzl scholars miss this? 

And why quibble over the fact that the Frankist cult originated primarily in Podolia, which is in modern-day Ukraine? After all, Ukraine and Moravia and Bohemia are all in Europe, right? That’s pretty close! And, at some point in time, some Frankists were located in the same country where Herzl was born. So, obviously, he himself was a Frankist sex pervert, and as the founder of Israel, that explains why the Jewish state is a sanctuary for pedophiles. Candace is on a roll! And since no one questions whether Herzl was Jewish, it appears that the Frankists masquerading as Jews were Jews after all. Got it!

As for the fact that the Frankists had largely disappeared by the time of Herzl’s birth, again, why split hairs over things like chronology and history and dates and facts? Owens has a theory! 

Not only so, but Owens wants us to know that Israel was involved in the assassination of JFK. It was a Mossad job! 

But no one dare speak about these things. That’s because America is being held hostage by a foreign country – Israel! And so she fearlessly proclaims, “We are an occupied nation!”

But it gets darker still. Owens informs us that the first Jewish Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, was a Frankist. Don’t believe her? She has an ironclad answer: “Look it up!”

Unfortunately, not even my AI bots could figure out where this nonsensical and diabolical theory came from, with AI Claude pointing out that: 1) “The Frankist movement was primarily active in the 18th century, while Brandeis lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.” 2) “Brandeis was known for his strong ethical standards and progressive reforms, which seem at odds with what is known about Frankist beliefs and practices.” 3) “There are no reputable historical sources that suggest Brandeis had any connection to Frankism.” (These are just some of the points Claude raised, which also noted, “This myth might have originated from anti-Semitic conspiracy theories . . . .”)

But Owens has still more to say. She alleges that “every person who speaks about Israel has to basically say a statement like, ‘I don’t want to get killed.’” Yes, of course! No one in America or abroad would dare say anything negative about Israel or the Jewish people for fear of being killed by the Israelis. And if anything happens to her? “Blame the Zionists, like 1,000 percent, blame the Zionists . . . .”

Thankfully, she provides an “easy litmus test” by which you can judge “any commentator.” If they don’t condemn Israel’s defense of pedophiles and acknowledge that Louis Brandeis was a Frankist, then they, too, are evil, psychopathic Zionists. 

Sarcasm aside, Owens is peddling some really sick, terribly dangerous stuff, given her popularity and influence. 

May she awaken from this antisemitic stupor, may she spit out the poisonous Kool-Aid she is drinking, and may she become an advocate for righteousness and truth. And as much as her statements deserve ridicule and scorn, she needs our prayers. (I say this out of concern, not condescension.)

May the Lord deliver Candace Owens from deception!

• Author’s note: As for Louis Brandeis allegedly being a Frankist -- and therefore, somehow involved in sexual perversion -- by the time of Brandeis, the Frankists were simply a part of the Catholic Church with no connection to the earlier sexual rites. It is true that his parents were Frankists, but not in the sense that Owens alleges, which is where the confusion lies. It's fairly easy to verify this.