Differences between Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism?

Over the last few years, antisemitism and anti-Zionism have spiked in America. When antisemitism is present in the country, it is a sign that said country is going downhill. Similarly, when anti-Zionism emerges in a discussion on foreign policy, then it is proof that the politicians are not as focused on issues as important such as AI, poverty, Russia, and more. Over the last few years, especially, there is often a conflating of the terms, antisemitism and anti-Zionism. But where do we draw the line?

Before we answer that question, we need to get our terms straight. The State Department defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be exposed as hatred toward Jews.” Anti-Zionism, however, is when “people deny the Jewish right to self-determination and if it denies Israel the right to exist.” In my opinion, anti-Zionism, as a movement and a political ideology, was established in response to the creation of the Balfour Declaration in 1917. The reason I say that is because in the Balfour Declaration, it is said that “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” People saw this and thought Israel would be created at the behest of the Palestinians and did not support that. 

Now that we have our terms defined, let us look at a couple case studies. I graduated from the University of Arizona and am now in graduate school at Indiana University in Bloomington. I started my Students Supporting Israel chapter in Arizona and recently took over the one in IU. In February of 2026, our Jewish center, Hillel, in Arizona was vandalized. A rock was thrown through a window shattering it. Undoubtedly, that was an act of antisemitic hatred. Could you connect it to anti-Zionism? Maybe. It is plausible to say that the attacker has an anti-Israel sentiment and that is why they attacked the Hillel center, but that argument does not hold up well.

On the other hand, an anti-Zionist attack we experienced in Arizona was when we welcomed IDF soldiers to our university in April. This was met with almost 200 protestors, and we saw signs which said that the IDF is committing genocide. This is an anti-Zionist sign. Why? Because the people holding those signs are holding double standards to Israel and they are refusing to acknowledge the fact that Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, with the clear aim to eliminate the Jewish state and its people. Also, this is especially true since the IDF has not committed a genocide in this war. As of January 29, 2026, the Israeli Defense Forces reported that approximately 70,000 people have died in this conflict.

This is in a place where the population is 2 million, which equates to roughly 3.5% of the population dying. This is a tragedy, not a genocide since a genocide is when certain acts are committed with the intent to destroy, in whole, or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. 

Let me be clear: it is not antisemitic or anti-Zionist to criticize the state of Israel. Moreover, it is not antisemitic or anti-Zionist to say that the IDF has gone too far in Gaza. It is antisemitic and anti-Zionist when people hold double standards to Israel that they would not normally hold to other countries such as BDS because they primarily focus on Israeli products but not products of countries that actually commit genocide. 

Sometimes, anti-Zionism is expressed through old antisemitic libels that are being repackaged to demonize the state of Israel. Because of this, there is an argument that could be made that antisemitism and anti-Zionism are the same.

What complicates this is that often there are manifestations of bigotry that fall under both categories for separate reasons while also not quite fitting either. Case in point: last September, an 18 year old freshman at NYU was going back to his dorm when he found graffiti sprayed on his door, saying “Free Palestine.” The person who wrote this on the door saw that the student is Jewish, likely assumed he was Zionist, and vandalized the area to express their hatred of Israel. Is that antisemitic because the victim was targeted because he was Jewish, or anti-Zionist because it was about Palestine? This leads to a further question, when does the distinction, if one should even be made, matter?