Author JK Rowling has been accused of antisemitism for the way in which she depicts goblins in her Harry Potter books.

US star Jon Stewart, who is Jewish, claimed that the Gringotts Bank goblins are based on Jewish “caricatures” during a recent episode of his podcast, The Problem with Jon Stewart.

Stewart’s argument highlighted similarities between the beloved books’ goblin creatures and an illustration from controversial antisemitic text,The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, published in 1903.

Venting his frustration at the lack of outrage over the characters which were also depicted in the films, he claimed that most Harry Potter fans were not even aware of the reference.

“I just want to show you a caricature. And they’re like, ‘Oh, look at that, that’s from Harry Potter!’ And you’re like, ‘No, that’s a caricature of a Jew from an antisemitic piece of literature.’”, he explained.

In a world where “you can have a pet owl” and “we can ride dragons”, Stewart continued, “JK Rowling was like, ‘Can we get these guys to run our bank’?”

Rowling has yet to respond the allegations, but it’s not the first time that comparisons have been drawn.

Comedian Pete Davidson criticised Rowling in 2020 for putting “little giant-nosed Jew goblins” in charge of the wizarding bank.

“And I can say that because, as you can see, I’m half-goblin,” the comedian joked during an episode of Saturday Night Live.