The depiction of the Ferengi may be extraordinarily similar to typical antisemitic depictions of Jews, Richard, but it is also extraordinarily similar to typical negative depictions of other cultural stereotypes such as the rich and evil Islamic fanatic.

As I said before, villains are typically depicted in our media as...

- facially hairy (although Ferengi mostly are not, except in their ears sometimes)
- swarthy (Ferengi have darker gold skin)
- creepy
- dishonest
- lying
- nasty
- evil grins
- beady eyes
- grasping, greedy attitude
- gloating
- lusting

And so on...

Now, I think you will agree that it is not just (evil) "Jewish" stereotypes that are shown that way, but stereotypes of a huge variety of villains in popular culture that are shown all basically in a very similar way. We see in villains various characteristics that people universally find creepy, okay? It's that simple.

The "bunker mentality" you allude to is the one that insists that this particular set of characters, the Ferengi, MUST be intended to depict Jews. They are not. They are intended to depict greedy and acquisitive people, period. Those people could be of ANY cultural group. The problem isn't the cultural group, the problem is the attitude and philosophy that the Ferengi adhere to, which is one of gross materialism.