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An anti-Jedi sticker proclaiming "Stop the corrupt Jedi"
Anti-Jedi sentiment referred to negative feelings, dislike, or hatred of the Jedi Order, a Force-based monastic organization whose members served the Galactic Republic as guardians of peace and justice.[1]
Some people in the galaxy found the Jedi's custom of inducting Force-sensitive infants into their Order controversial. Notably, the Dagoyan Masters of Bardotta regarded that practice as a form of kidnapping.[2]
During the Clone Wars, anti-Jedi sentiment further developed in a segment of the galaxy's public opinion. Although the Jedi aroused admiration from those who witnessed them in action, they remained forever mysterious to the Republic citizenry at large. On the other side, the Confederacy of Independent Systems branded them as hypocrites, thanks to firsthand criticism by Count Dooku, leader of the Confederacy and defrocked Jedi Master. That the Jedi led an army of clone soldiers—"slaves bred for war," as Confederate propaganda proclaimed—did not speak well to their character.[1]
Additionally, the Jedi's deliberate absence from the Republic's wartime propaganda adversely affected their reputation. In the absence of a proper response, disaffected Confederate worlds imagined the Jedi to be cultural elites from the Core Worlds that not only neglected them, but actually advocated war.[1]
At the end of the conflict, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Republic shocked the galaxy by accusing the Jedi Order of treason, claiming that four Jedi Masters had attempted to assassinate him and overthrow the Republic. Although his account of a "Jedi rebellion" was an outright lie, Palpatine easily spread that claim by reminding the galaxy that Dooku, the Republic's greatest threat in a millennium, had once been Jedi. He then reorganized the Republic as the First Galactic Empire, and started a purge to erase the Jedi from the pages of history.[1]
Appearances
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Hidden Enemy"- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Grievous Intrigue"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Heroes on Both Sides" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Counterattack"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Citadel Rescue"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Escape from Kadavo"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Sabotage"
Sources
- Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy (First identified as Anti-Jedi sentiment)