Over the past few decades, neo-Nazi groups in the United States and elsewhere have floated rumors that the founders of the United States held anti-Semitic views. This page discusses the phenomenon.

George Washington

In recent years a number of anti-Semitic groups have promoted a forged "quote" supposedly written by George Washington. Historians have debunked this quote as a forgery [1].

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 history, Jews lived in a country where they enjoyed full and equal human and political rights - as a birthright of citizenship [2].

Benjamin Franklin

A similar allegation regarding Benjamin Franklin has also been thoroughly discredited.[3] He was a patron of the first synagogue in America.