Joe Rogan says that Jews love money. But, apparently, that doesn't make him antisemitic.

"Did you see [Rep. Adam Schiff] sitting next to Ilhan Omar, where she's apologizing for talking about it's all about the Benjamins?" Rogan said to guests Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti this week on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. "Which is just about money. She's talking about money. That's not an antisemitic comment; I don't think that is. Benjamins are money. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That's like saying Italians aren't into pizza. It's f****** stupid."

There's one question that has been posed by many in response to this comment: Who cares? And if asked sincerely — which, I'll admit, does occasionally happen in the context of antisemitism — it's an important question to answer.

Before explaining why this matters, it's important first to explain precisely why Rogan's comments were, by definition, antisemitic.

It is simply not true that Rogan, despite what is now being claimed by some, was arguing that Jews like money as much as everyone else. His analogy that Jews are "into money" like Italians are "into pizza" suggests the opposite: that money is inherently more valued by Jews than any other group. After all, does any other identity group — beyond perhaps the morbidly obese — adore pizza as much as the nation that birthed it?

This argument plays into an ugly antisemitic trope surrounding financial lust and control that has underpinned antisemitic persecution and violence for centuries. Antisemitic propaganda — both historical and modern — routinely centers on the image of supposed Jewish greed, with Jews perceived as "both as relentless in the pursuit of wealth and also as stingy misers determined not to let any money slip from their grasp," as the ADL notes .

But Rogan's comment wasn't just antisemitic in isolation. His words become arguably more bigoted when we consider their context.

Don't forget: The conversation began with Rogan discussing Rep. Ilhan Omar's "it's all about the Benjamins" tweet, which was in direct reference to alleged Jewish financial influence over American policy regarding Israel, suggesting that American support of its greatest ally in the Middle East is motivated solely by Jewish money, another antisemitic trope.

But the crucial part to notice here is that Rogan defended Omar as not antisemitic because she's talking about money while discussing Israel, thereby cramming Jews and Israel into one category and undermining any defense of Omar's words as anti-Israel, rather than anti-Jew.

And in doing so, whether he meant to or not, Rogan uncovered a pillar of modern, so-called contemporary antisemitism: the use of Israel as a shield for centuries-old bigotry.

Which brings us full circle to answer, "Who cares?"

Rogan has a truly gargantuan audience. His podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, is the most popular podcast on planet Earth, earning it a price tag of hundreds of millions of dollars (which perhaps suggests that Rogan is also into money).

With an audience comes influence, and Rogan's influence over American culture is massive. This, therefore, means that Rogan has further cemented in place a layer of antisemitism in his audience's psyche during a period of time when life for American Jews is becoming increasingly dangerous in part because of this particular layer of antisemitism.

In short, yes, Rogan's comments were antisemitic. And yes, it matters when the most popular podcast host in the world casually spreads antisemitic notions that undergird an antisemitic ideology, which rears its ugly head in violent attacks on Jews across the world and in the United States to this very day.

Ian Haworth (@ ighaworth ) is the host of Off Limits with Ian Haworth .