Anti-Zionism is Helping Fuel the Surge in Antisemitism
As antisemitism surges in America in a way that we haven’t seen in decades — antisemitic incidents are at an all-time high and attacks on Jews have become commonplace — there is much discussion as to whether anti-Zionism is antisemitism.
This came together in the debate about whether institutions should adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, which incorporates a host of examples related to Israel and when they should be labeled as Jew hatred. Those who opposed it did so on grounds that it inappropriately conflated critiques of Israel with antisemitism.
Others argued that in a post-Holocaust world, historical antisemitism was a shameful act and, in its place, hiding behind criticism of the Jewish state, was anti-Zionism, which was far more respectable. Therefore, it was important to label it what it was, so the argument went.
While there is some value to this conversation, in many ways it misses the critical point.
It is less important to determine whether anti-Zionism is or is not antisemitism, and far more important to recognize that anti-Zionism is the most significant element in generating the surge of antisemitism in the world that we are all witnessing.
It is the consequences of this phenomenon rather than the intention that should occupy our attention and spur us to action. When we focus on those consequences, it should drive movement against this development in a way that the debate over its meaning has not.
How does it do this? Basically, by undoing so many of the elements that emerged 50 years ago that played a significant role in making Jewish life in America more normalized and largely free of the antisemitic stereotypes that affected Jews heretofore.
It starts with the impact of the Holocaust, which created a sense of shame about antisemitism over the centuries that led to the murder of six million Jews. While antisemitism did not disappear, the shame of the Holocaust inhibited the acting out of such beliefs.
The creation of the State of Israel was in part a response to that monumental tragedy. Anti-Zionism, the rejection of the right of the Jewish people to a homeland in its historic home, was in effect a negation of the impact of the Shoah on the Jewish people and played a role in the negation of that sense of shame which limited manifestations of Jew hatred for so long.
At the same time, the extremism that characterizes anti-Zionism, things like labeling the Jewish state as representing apartheid and genocide, inevitably leads to assaults, figurative and literal, against the vast majority of Jews around the world who see the State of Israel as a fulfillment of Jewish history over thousands of years. Inevitably, since the vast majority of Jews are proud of the State of Israel, they have become targets for exclusion, assaults and demonization for what is for them the highest fulfillment of their Jewish existence.
Furthermore, one of the beautiful developments in this country some 50 years ago was that for minority groups, including Jews, they could be accepted as fully equal citizens even as they proudly lived their particular Jewish lives. Jews need not hide their identity in order to feel welcome in America.
Now, anti-Zionism has revived old dilemmas for many Jews: should they stand in pride publicly about their Jewish identity, particularly including their love of the Jewish state, or do they hide their Jewishness to avoid physical assaults and exclusion?
Let’s be clear: When we talk about anti-Zionism we are not talking about critique of particular Israeli governments or policies. Obviously, criticism of any government’s policies is part and parcel of democratic politics and many of the strongest Zionists disagree with Israel on some issues.
However, when we talk about anti-Zionism it is the rejection of the legitimacy of the Jewish state and the right of the Jewish people to exercise sovereignty in their historic homeland.
A case can surely be made that anti-Zionism is inherently antisemitic. But whether one agrees with that or not, there is no doubt that the distressing explosion of antisemitism in America is directly related to the mainstreaming of anti-Zionism, which in effect not only delegitimizes the Jewish state but has the impact, to some degree, of delegitimizing the Jewish people.
