Hogwarts Legacy shofar controversy reignites antisemitism accusations on social media

The lead-up and the arrival of Hogwarts Legacy have been loaded with controversy. The Harry Potter franchise has an ugly dark mark on it from creator J.K. Rowling, who has shared repeated transphobic and hateful rhetoric on social media. Readers have taken issue with antisemitic imagery in the series with the goblins, creatures with hooked noses who handle the world’s banks. Those antisemitism accusations towards the Wizarding World IP continue in Hogwarts Legacy with players discovering an ancient goblin artifact: a musical instrument that bares a similar resemblance to a shofar, a real-world item used for Jewish religious purposes.

Related: JK Rowling’s transphobic views and her effect on Hogwarts Legacy – controversy explained

The discovery is making the rounds on social media, with several individuals sharing that this item used to be a musical instrument. The only difference between the fictional artifact and the real-world item is that the fictional one is colored. In the real world, the shofar is a ram’s horn that the Jewish people have used throughout history and still use during Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.

To drive the connection further, Hogwarts Legacy briefly touches on another goblin rebellion that took place in 1612. In the real world, from 1612 to 1616, there was a similar event called the Fettmilch Uprising, leading to an event known as a pogrom, a violent riot to expel or murder the Jewish population. It’s a sickening connection that many players have discovered and are sharing as they’ve had a reasonable amount of time in Hogwarts Legacy’s early access and as the game opens up today with a worldwide release.

Many in the public have questioned Rowling’s writing, especially in recent years, as she has and continues to share transphobic rhetoric on her social media pages. However, despite many fans boycotting the game, Hogwarts Legacy continues to break records, becoming the most giant single-player game viewed on Twitch and reaching over half a million concurrent players on Steam. The Twitch numbers leading up to an official launch have likely been because players have been trying to acquire in-game rewards.