The fragile line between Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism
As tensions among Israel and Palestine grew, so did incidences of antisemitism across the world. Whether it’s an insult on some online platform or a physical attack, we must question ourselves on the relationship between Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism.
For most Western citizens, the multitude of injustices occurring in other parts of the world is unfortunately not a matter of interest. For example, you might not have heard about the recent Ethiopian–Sudanese clashes, with over 16,150 casualties from the beginning of 2021. And you probably didn’t see your Facebook home filled with posts on China’s government’s daily genocide against the Uighurs. Or influences filter their profile picture to support the tens of thousands of civilians killed in Mexico. Yet, you are aware of the recent clashes between Israel and Palestine. And this is despite the much fewer people involved and an admittedly weaker geopolitical influence.
Israel-Palestine looms larger in western discourse than any other recent dispute. Everyone is aware of its existence and most mature an individual opinion. We have all witnessed friends, family, colleagues expressing their assessment or discontent, despite never reading their opinion on other as-important struggles. Nowadays, sharing a public statement on the matter means establishing your persona and political views.
Israel often gets heavily accused of atrocities and war crimes, which are either exaggerations or mere lies. The allegation of Israel perpetrating genocide is objectively false, as the few killings in Palestine, and multiplication of its population over the years, indicate strongly against it. Another common claim is the comparison of the conflict to the Holocaust, where a specific ideology led to the mass extermination of millions. Besides being an insult towards those victims, this assertion indicates a severe lack of understanding of the conflict’s dynamics.
Israeli policies toward the Palestinians are historically based on its need to defend its population from terrorism, incitement to violence, and rejection of the Jewish state. There is no ideology nor plan to persecute and exterminate the Palestinian people as a whole, in stark contrast with the Holocaust final solution. Nonetheless, these accusations are common, even among respected figures and institutions.
Criticisms of Israel often go as far as advocating for the elimination of the nation altogether. Common slogans such as “free Palestine from the river to the sea” essentially campaign for the entire Jewish withdrawal from the area. This unrealistic aspiration is evidence for a discontent more profound than the current suppresses of the Israeli government, but a long-lasting unrecognition of Israel’s right to exist in the area — a key reason for the failure of resolution negotiations.
Despite all reasonable judgments of the current state of events, there is a general bias picture when accusing Israel. Words such as ‘Genocide’ or ‘Apartheid’ are used blatantly by many, not following their dictionary definition, and without a clear expression in the conflict. And while most Israelis/Jews/Pro-Israel advocates acknowledge the counterpart sufferings, Pro-Palestine supporters often dismiss Israeli deaths as “too little.” Consequently, they are reluctant to condemn the terrorist offences openly. As we cannot deny the violence inflicted by Israel, it is imperative to also recognize jihadist groups such as Hamas as terrifying terrorists and a threat to Palestine and Israel together.
The current narrative of oppressor and oppressed is an unacceptable simplification. The conflict is more complex than single-sided blame; the history that led to the current situation is not reducible to power abuse. The legal concessions to Israel after WW2, the numerous attacks throughout history, and the failed reconciliation attempts can’t be ignored when analyzing today’s events.
One way of explaining the asymmetries described above is a common belief that sees Israel as a western, powerful, prosperous nation that couldn’t possibly represent the victim. Instead, the country ranks only 31 in GDP, well after Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Turkey; and 21% of Israelis currently live in poverty, again more than Iran and Turkey. That idea is unconsciously fueled by a terrible historical stereotype, which considers Jews as “rich” and “controlling the world.” While unintentionally, the stereotype has subtly reinforced the perception of Palestinians as merely victims, abused by the powerhouse of the Jewish nation. This is certainly not the case, or at least, as mentioned above, not the whole picture.
The left, in particular, has adopted the design of Palestinians as tireless victims under a brutal regime, often portraying only this side of the conflict, without explicitly condemning terrorist attacks, as they would on other occasions. It has embraced their suffering, and the consideration it dedicates to this conflict, as opposed to the infinite more severe human rights violations worldwide, is surprising.
As much as we wish to have a neat separation between anti-Israel and antisemitism, it’s impossible not to see that some criticism circumstances find the answer only in a bias towards the Jewish people generally. To be clear, one can criticize Israel while not being antisemitic. So, it’s no surprise that many Jews and most Israelis don’t unquestionably support their government policies. It isn’t about portraying Israel as an untouchable nation and far from preventing the condemnation of any country’s actions with reasons. But, the imbalance between this conflict and others, both in media attention and force of judgment, is eye-opening.
Even if one disagrees with a partial, possibly unintentional, antisemitism fueling the discussion, it is inevitably a substantial consequence. “Death to Jews” slogans emerged at pro-pal rallies, and the recent aggression against the Jewish people started in concomitance with the rising of Israeli-Palestinians tensions. The Anti-Defamation League says they saw a 75% increase in antisemitic reports as the clashes in the middle east came to an end. Including outdoor diners in Los Angeles physically attacked by a group carrying Palestinian flags, violence against orthodox Jews in New York, and more in Alaska and Florida.
Those attacks were perpetrated with the intention of supporting Palestine in mind. And as most battles today are fought online, Tik-Tok, Instagram, Facebook have all become a means to spread falsehoods on both sides. As a result, it isn’t rare to read antisemitic slogans under pro-Palestine posts, particularly those accusing Jews of being wealthy, powerful, or feeling superior. Similarly, often anti-Israel comments appear under condemnations of antisemitism, which is uncorrelated.
The history of the Jewish people and the resentment it triggered throughout history is as complex and fascinating as it gets. While Anti-Zionism and antisemitism have objectively two different meanings, purposes, and ideologies, they are related. And as we wish it were possible to disjoin the phenomena properly, when discussing the state of Israel, part of the picture is perceiving it as the Jewish nation. And when addressing the Jewish people, part of the picture is seeing them as Israel’s ethnicity. And as the years pass by, as the tensions don’t ease, as public opinion evolves, all of us need to remember the fragile, thin line between the two.
