is anti-zionism antisemitism? even when coming from jews?
**This really reads like a baiting “gotcha” question but because I have 0 self control and it’s an issue I’m passionate about, I’ll answer it. However, this is going to be one of the few asks I answer about the Israel-Palestine conflict so please don’t bother even sending anymore in.**
First and foremost we need to define some terms: Zionism - a word derived from the word Tziyon, meaning “Jerusalem”, coined by Nathan Birnbaum to refer to Theordor Herzl’s answer to the “Jewish Problem” (meaning anti-semitism), which was to establish a politically independent secular state with a Jewish majority nation, in the Jewish historical and ancestral homeland.Anti-Zionism - Broadly defined as the opposition to Zionism, which may occur for a myriad of reasons, but typically as a result of perceived human rights abuses committed by the State of Israel. Anti-Semitism - a word derived from the word Shem, referring to the traditional father of the Semitic nations (Hebrews, Arabs, Akkadians, Canaanites, some Ethiopians and some Aramaean tribes). It was coined in Germany in 1879 by Wilhelm Marr to replace the term “Judenhaas” which specifically, and solely, referred to the hatred, and often persecution, of Jews (Hebrews).
Secondly, we have to ask “Is it even possible for Jews to be Anti-Semitic?”The answer to that is yes. In popular culture, these Jews are pejoratively referred to as “self-hating Jews”, which is described by Bernard Wasserstein as Jews with “internalized elements of anti-Semitic discourse, (who have) succumbed to what (historian) Theodore Hamerow has called psychological surrender.” There are numerous examples of them. Names like David Cole/David Stein, Benjamin H. Freedman, Paul Eisen and Bobby Fischer all spring to mind.
And lastly: Is Anti-Zionism (always) Anti-Semitism? Even when coming from Jews?In my opinion, anti-Zionism isn’t always Anti-Semitic, but 9 times out of 10, it’s either a guise for anti-semitism, or the proponent is unaware that they are applying an anti-semitic double standard. Let me explain.For example, an anti-Zionist proponent may campaign against perceived human right’s abuses occurring because of or in the State of Israel (which is the world’s only Jewish-majority state), but then they may not also campaign against the same or similar abuses occurring in other non-Jewish states; [To go on a slight tangent: This is actually a common Zionist critique against the UN Human Rights Council, 38% of whose resolutions are against Israel - making Israel the UN’s most condemned nation - despite 49 other nations in the world being recognised as governed by authoritarian regimes. In fact, in 2018 alone, the UNHCR made 21 resolutions against Israel with nations like North Korea receiving only 1, Myanmar receiving only 1, Syria only receiving 1 and Saudi Arabia receiving 0.]In some cases, anti-Zionists may altogether oppose the very existence of Israel as a Jewish-majority state, but then at the same time, not oppose the existence of the 48 Muslim-majority states, 53 Roman Catholic-majority states, 23 Protestant-majority states and 4 Hindu-majority states. Now, that’s not to say that Israel is immune, or even unworthy of criticism, and that all criticism of Israel is anti-semitic. No state or nation should be exempt from criticism. Allowing that criticism is apart of the democratic process, and that criticism isn’t always anti-semitic. However, criticism of Israel crosses over into the territory of anti-semitism when it is unevenly applied to the world’s only Jewish-majority nation, when it calls for Israel’s annihilation (which is frankly, whether intentionally or not, a call for another Holocaust chas v’chalila) or when it uses anti-semitic canard. I think @this-is-not-jewish‘s post How to Criticize Israel Without Being Anti-Semitic is a solid guide on how to criticise Israel without crossing over into this territory. (TL;DR) Writer Gary Kulwin summarised all of these points best in 2017 when he wrote:“If you oppose one ethnic group’s nation-state in the name of international brotherhood, but don’t have any problems with the continued existence of any other nation-state, then you are inconsistent at best, probably a hypocrite, and quite possibly – whether you admit it to yourself or not – antisemitic.”So no anti-Zionism isn’t always anti-Semitic (in my opinion) but if your anti-Zionism doesn’t pass “The Kulwin Test”, it is - even if you’re Jewish.
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