Is anti-zionism antisemitism in your opinion?

Show all answers

Sabrina

I believe it is!
the antisemites use the term "anti-zionist" as a cover for what they really are!
THey don't want to look like they are hating the Jews, but if you hate our homeland, and our beliefs, and our rights, then clearly you hate Jews!
if you are against zionism, you know ur an antisemite!

PaperbackWriter JPA

Yes - IF you are correctly DEFINING 'anti zionism'.

zionism - acceptance of Israel's right to exist.

So if you are against the right of the Jewish state to exist, and ONLY against the right of the JEWISH state to exist, then YES - you ARE being anti Jewish/anti semitic.

You can criticise Israel - that is not being anti semitic

You can even dislike Israel - that is not being anti semitic

But if you single out Israel and ONLY Israel for condemnation, and argue she has no 'right' to exist then THIS IS ANTI SEMITISM.

An analogy:

If I state that Ireland has no right to exist, and then say 'oh, but I have nothing against Irish people!' would ANYONE believe me?

No!

Yet plenty of people here apply the same hypocrisy by stating they are 'against Israel' but 'oh, I have no problem with Jews'!

Shay p

Yes

There is a dangerous confluence between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, though the two concepts are not always identical. Anti-Zionism is often used to conceal hatred of Jews. Anti-Semitic views can be easily distinguished from legitimate criticism of Israel.

Consider the source. Is the speaker someone with a history of anti-Jewish attitudes?
Critics who habitually single out Israel for condemnation while ignoring far worse actions by other countries (especially other Middle Eastern countries) are anti-Semitic.
Likening Israel to Nazi Germany, or to traditional anti-Jewish stereotypical behavior is another sure sign of Jew-baiting.
Attacks on the merits of Israel's existence rather than individual government policies are anti-Semitic.
When approached by a student who attacked Zionism, Dr. Martin Luther King responded: â€œWhen people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You're talking anti-Semitism.â€

(From Seymour Martin Lipset, â€œThe Socialism of Foolsâ€”The Left, the Jews and Israel,â€ Encounter, (December 1969), p. 24.)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Anti-Semitism_&_Anti-Zionism.html

Kimimela-PRO ISRAEL AND PROUD

Ok here's my take on it.

As a jew and ex citizen of israel I have no objections what so ever to someone opposing the political opinion of the existance of the state of israel or for the jewish people to have a home land in the middle east.

I have plenty of opinions about the rights of the US and other places to exist.

When the discussion and debate are purely about the politics of zionism then its all good and in that case theres no reason to imagine that a political opinion is equivalent to racism

The problem is that with the latest goings on in Israel, there has been a vast uprising of people that dont understand the differance between a zionist, a jewish person and an israeli

The terms have become interchangeable and Zionism has become a disguise for places where the word jew, in the offensive context is no longer acceptable for most people.

we have anti hate laws and racism laws that ban people abusing others just because of their race or religion, that applies also to jews, so now people say Zionist when really what they want to say is ''dirty jew '' or ''dirty israeli'' that kinf of thing.

The reason that you find so many jewish people here calling those that use the term ''zionist '' anti semitic is because its so obvious from the tone of the question, that the person is being abusive or insulting towards jews.

Its not oversensetivity or a power thing, its 2000 years and more of experience.

Anti Zionism SHOULDNT mean anti semitism, not in the true meaning of the words, after all - anyone of any race or religion can be a zionist - its a political opinion not a ethnicity or religion

the problem is that these days anti zionism in the hands of far too bigoted many DOES equal anti semitism

Arieh

All Jews (except the ultra-orthodox extreme sect called Nutrei Karta), are zionists in that they believe that the State of Israel needs to exist as a safe haven for Jews around the world who are just another demagogue away from another Holocaust. So by definition, the hatred of one is hatred for the other.

2+2=5

ppl from middle east are all called semites,
but since jews in israel dont get proper education and read too much torah, they dont know this stuff!

gottago

What is the anti-zionism that you are referring to?
I think of an anti-zionist as someone who denies Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. The question is can someone support efforts to destroy the Jewish state (which would mean mass murder or expulsion of Jews) and not be considered an anti-semite?

To most Jews they are one and the same. This is because 99% of American Jews identify with the right of the Jews to a Jewish state.
To quote Dennis Prager "To deny that anti-Zionism is antisemitic on the grounds that some anti-Zionists do not hate all Jews is analogous to denying the anti-black racism of the ku klux klan on the grounds that some KKK members do not hate all blacks.

Mark

No. Funny how some Israelis think so, though. Apparently their education curriculum is wayyyyy behind modern times....

Rich N

Zionism is a political ideology and any one can be anti-political ideology in this case anti-zionism.
Antisemitism is antisemitic people as a race.

Muse is Palestinian

No way.

Zionism is the ideology of a creation of the state of Israel.
(+ the extermination of Palestinians, as we are all aware of).

The Torah does not validate, advocate or justify Zionism in ANY way whatsoever. It is contradictory to the beliefs of Judaism.

I respect Jews and Judaism, who are fully against Zionism.
I am against anybody for Zionism.

unforsakenme

No.
I'm probably anti-Zionism.
But in no way am I anti-semetic.

I may be wrong, but I view that Zionism is the belief that god promised you a land, and that they have the right to take it no matter what. If that's the case, then I'm against Zionism.

Bravo Sierra

I am from a semite race, but an anti-crimes or anti-APARTHEID or anti-Zionist, Am I anti my race ?? nope.

Israelichick

It really annoys me that it developed into that because you can be a Zionist and not even be Jewish and you can be anti Zionist and be Jewish. Its 2 different things Zionism is someone agreeing with the need for a Jewish homeland, some religious jews do not even agree with that. So yea in my opinion one does not go with the other, but some people are both and some people are anti semetic (against jews) but hide behind being anti zionists

trancinguy

If a person is anti-people, Prozac should be administered.
If a person is anti-ideoligy, opinion noted.

The First Dragon

Anti-Zionism is a product of anti-Semitism, as I will explain.
First, the term anti-Semitism is a bit imprecise, since it was invented in Europe where, at that time, Jews were the only Semites around. I think we'll eventually need to say "anti-Jewish."
Second: Zionism is the position saying that there should be a Jewish homeland in the region of the Holy Land. (That's another imprecise term, but I'm trying to be clear without unnecessary misunderstanding...) The Jewish homeland that has been established is Israel. Therefore most who oppose the existence on Israel, must be doing so because they think there should not be a Jewish state there. They would accept a Muslim state there, or a totally secular state, but not a Jewish one.
There may be some who oppose religious governments as a general thing, but if so, they would be going after the rest of the Middle Eastern countries more than Israel. So this doesn't account for most anti-Zionist sentiment.
There is also a very small group of Orthodox Jews who do not believe Jews should have a country, for religious reasons. This clearly is not related to most anti-Zionists' opposition to Israel.
So, I have to conclude that the reason for anti-Zionism is usually anti-Jewish attitudes. Israel functions like a secular democracy, not a theocracy.
Remember, we don't usually oppose the existence of countries on the basis that we don't like their governments. Iran has a government repugnant to me, but I would never suggest that Iran is not a legitimate state.
Even when the Coalition overthrew Saddam's dictatorship in Iraq, they never suggested that Iraq is not a real country with a right to exist.

Calvin79

In my opinion,people who are anti zionist are also anti semitic generally.

PloniAlmoni

Behind much criticism of Israel is a thinly veiled hatred of Jews

Is there a link between the way Israel's case is presented and anti-semitism? YES! In many peoples view, public attacks on Israel justified and not the reason for anti-Jewish feeling, people think Israel's behavior is reprehensible and so are those Jews who defend it.
Jewish defenders of Israel are then depicted by their critics as seeking an excuse to justify Israel crying that anti-israel is anti-semitic , they say Jews are projecting Jewish paranoia and displaying a "typical" Jewish trait of "sticking together", even in defending the morally indefensible (that in itself is classic historic anti-semitism). They say Israel's supporters deserve the hostility they get; it is the Jews who should engage in soul-searching not the critics of Zionism.
Of course anti-semitism is linked to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is equally without doubt that Israeli policies sometimes deserve criticism! There is nothing even remotely anti-semitic in criticizing Israeli policies. There is a distinction between anti-semitism and anti-Zionism BUT that misses the point of contention. Israel's supporters don't want to gag critics by calling them anti-semitisc, they are concerned about the FORM the criticism takes.
If Israel's critics are truly not anti-semitic, they should not repeat traditional anti-semitic themes under the anti-Israel banner. A Jewish conspiracy to rule the world, linking Jews with money and controlling the media, the blood libel, disparaging use of Jewish symbols, or traditional Nazi anti-Jewish imagery are all used to describe Israel's actions. Labour MP Tam Dalyell decried the influence of "a Jewish cabal" on British foreign policy-making; an Italian cartoonist depicted the Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as an attempt to kill Jesus "again" (this is historic antisemitism). Is it necessary to evoke the Jewish conspiracy or depict Israelis as Christ-killers to denounce Israeli policies? NO!
The fact that accusations of anti-semitism are dismissed as paranoia, even when anti-semitic imagery is blatant, proof. Israel deserves to be judged by the same standards adopted for others, not by the standards of utopia. Singling out Israel for an impossibly high standard not applied to any other country begs the question: why such different treatment?
Some of Israel's critics use anti-semitic stereotypes. Many equate Israel to Nazism, claiming that "yesterday's victims are today's perpetrators": Louis de BerniÃ¨res wrote in the Independent that "Israel has been adopting tactics which are reminiscent of the Nazis". This equation between victims and murderers denies the Holocaust. Worse still, it provides its retroactive justification! "if Jews turned out to be so evil, perhaps they deserved what they got" Others speak of Zionist conspiracies to dominate the media, manipulate American foreign policy, rule the world and oppress the Arabs. By describing Israel as the root of all evil, they provide the mandate and the moral justification to destroy it. And by using anti-semitism to achieve it, they give away their true anti-semitic face.
It is one thing to object to the consequences of Zionism, suggest that the historical cost of its realization was too high, or to claim that Jews are better off as a scattered, STATELESS MINORITY. This is a serious argument, based on interests, moral claims, and an interpretation of history. But THIS IS NOT anti-Zionism. To oppose Zionism in its essence and to refuse to accept its outcome, Israel, as a legitimate state. Zionism comprises a belief that Jews are a nation, and as such are entitled to self-determination as all other nations are.
It could be suggested that nationalism is a pernicious force. In which case one should oppose Palestinian nationalism as well. It could even be argued that though both claims are true and noble, it would have been better to pursue Jewish national rights elsewhere. But negating Zionism, by claiming that Zionism equals racism, goes further and denies the Jews the right to identify, understand and imagine themselves and consequently behave as a nation. Anti-Zionists deny Jews a right that they all too readily bestow on others, first of all PALESTINIANS.

Were you outraged when Golda Meir claimed there were no Palestinians? You should be EQUALLY outraged at the insinuation that Jews are not a nation. Those who denounce Zionism sometimes explain Israel's policies as a product of its Jewish essence. In their view, not only should Israel act differently, it should cease being a Jewish state. Anti-Zionists are prepared to treat Jews equally and fight anti-semitic prejudice only if Jews give up their distinctiveness as a nation: Jews as a nation deserve no sympathy and no rights, Jews as individuals are worthy of both? Jews condemning Israel and rejecting Zionism earn their praise. Denouncing Israel becomes a passport to full integration. Noam Chomsky and his imitators are the new heroes, their Jewish pride and identity expressed solely through their shame for Israel's existence. Zionist Jews earn no respect, sympathy or protection. It is their expression of Jewish identity through identification with Israel that is under attack.
Israel errs like all other nations: it is normal. What anti-Zionists find so obscene is that Israel is neither martyr nor saint. Their outrage refuses legitimacy to a people's national liberation movement. Israel's stubborn refusal to comply with the invitation to commit national suicide and thereby regain a supposedly lost moral ground draws condemnation. Jews now have the right to self-determination, and that is what the anti-semite dislikes so much.

Jimmy

NO!

anitsemitism = racism

White Supremacy = racism

Zionism = racism

Zionism = Antisemitism = Fascist Ideologies

I am against the Zionist ideology but that doesn't mean that I'm against Hebrew people (which are a race). Similarly, I'm against Nazis/white nationalism but that doesn't mean I have anything against white people.

Besides, Semites include several ethnic groups including Arabs. Semite doesn't mean Jew.

jew =/= israeli =/= hebrew

I have a Hebrew friend who is not a Jew, meaining that he is an ethnic Jew but doesn't believe in Judaism. Jews are not a race, therefore criticism of collective Jewish behavior cannot be called racism. But again, there are many Jews who are anti-zionist and anti-Israel... does that make them self-hating? NO!

Ma'akum

No.

Zeno

No. Although it is true that almost all Jews are zionists to varying degrees,the same may be said of Protestants and the Protestant zionists outnumber the Jewish ones by 100,000 to one easily. Only months ago the three most powerful zionists on earth were George Bush,Dick Cheney and Condi Rice. Personally I abhor the concept of the Ethnic State no matter what the ethnicity is. Germany for the Germans. France for the French. Blah blah blah. But people get hurt,murdered,driven out. To me there is no basis whatsoever for any linkage between ethnicity and nationality. Those Turko-Germans are German nationals. Period. Zionism is fundamentally discriminatory because that's what the Ethnic State is all about. The whole concept is based on ethnic discrimination. You cannot separate the ethnocratic concept from discrimination; it isn't possible. But Jews feel they have been singled out. They think nobody would have minded if German Protestants had decided back in 1897 to hijack Palestine. Oh oh it is all because we are Jewish. This has nothing to do with it. It's not even an issue. I realize that Jews find that impossible to conceive of,but it's true: the Palestinians of 1920 couldn't have cared less what ethnic group was charging in to take over their homeland. They would not have reacted any differently if these had been Swedish Lutherans. The Jewish construct is irrelevant; either you understand that ethnocracies are inevitably exclusionary or you don't.

rundevilrun

No; it's ridiculous. This is yet another gimmick to slander people who think Palestine deserves a government based on equality.

G.O.A.T - sigur

To all the people who say its the same thing,

The Palestinian are a semite race, Israel refuses them a home land, so israel must be anti-semtic. right???
by your own logic.

zangwill

Not at all. I'm Jewish,I'm left-wing and I've always recognized that most non-Jewish leftists are more or less opposed to Zionism pretty much for some of the reasons cited above. In any event,if my New/Old Left friends were antisemitic they wouldn't be on the Left - they would be on the Right.
They aren't.

It doesn't have anything to do with any government's "right to exist" - it has to do with monoculturalism v. multiculturalism. I don't live in a society designed exclusively for my people and it isn't denying my right to exist.

kismet

Yes it is; Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people have the right to live in their homeland, much like every other nation. If you believe ALL people have the right to their homeland EXCEPT for the Jews, then you are ANTI Jewish, which makes you Antisemitic.
(Keep in mind that there are 39 MUSLIM countries in the world).

But don't take my word for it! In the words of the GREAT Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

"When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You are talking anti-Semitism." [from "The Socialism of Fools: The Left, the Jews and Israel" by Seymour Martin Lipset; in Encounter magazine, December 1969, p. 24. ].

"After 2000 years of exile, the Jewish People has emerged traumatized. The source of that trauma has been the constant insecurity and fear that characterized most of the Diaspora, in most parts of the world. It is a product of landlessness, massacres, periodic expulsion and flight, persecution by tyrants and abuse by the Church and Mosque who encouraged anti-Semitism to satisfy their own insecurities and political desires. ...Physical security for the Jews has traditionally been improved in a number of ways: usefulness, mobility, bribery and assimilation. Psychological responses to this insecurity and trauma are well known: self-hatred and blame, identification with and appeasement of abusers, obsessive fantasy of a future paradise on earth. These solutions and responses are so integrated into the Jewish psyche that they have been passed down from generation to generation, displaying themselves even in relatively free societies, even in America and the recently liberated homeland, Israel. ...

"Despite its significance to the Jewish Nation, the State of Israel has failed to alleviate most of this trauma, and has not reduced the levels of anti-Semitism -- it has simply allowed anti-Semites to masquerade themselves under the new banner of "anti-Zionism". We cannot expect anti-Semitism to disappear -- Jewish existence and Jewish philosophy will always be threatening to its children: Christianity, and Islam... The trauma and insecurity, on the other hand, is within our power to diminish, should we decide to do so... "And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe. It is discrimination against Jews, my friend, because they are Jews. In short, it is anti-Semitism...The anti-Semite rejoices at any opportunity to vent his malice. The times have made it unpopular, in the West, to proclaim openly a hatred of the Jews. This being the case, the anti-Semite must constantly seek new forms and forums for his poison. How he must revel in the new masquerade! He does not hate the Jews, he is just 'anti-Zionist'!" ...

I'm a Zionist and I'm not a Semite.

DANIEL W

Not explicitly, however, quite often anti-zionism is thinly veiled antisemitism.

Basically - Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic. But singling out Israel for vilification and international sanction - out of proportion to any other party in the Middle East - is anti-Semitic.

Therefore HRW and Amnesty International are not antisemitic as they criticise many other countries other than Israel. The ICRC have only ever criticised one country (which is outside their mandate) - Israel. The UN Human Rights Council has never criticised any other country other than Israel. It only expressed "grave concerns" over the mass murder in Darfur.

A lot of people here seem to thing that antisemitism is directed to all semites. That is wrong, antisemitism refers to specifically to anti-Jewish not any other semites.

â€ Thorae â€ is Pro-Israeli

No, but anti-zionists are commonly anti-semites.

The angels have the Arc Light.

Antisemitism is a strange thing. It takes an idea that is far-fetched and runs with it, well past any possible logical conclusion until it creates a bizarre logic of its own.

Nearly all of the 'anti-zionist' rhetoric works the same way. Several people here have criticized Israel for being monocultural. It's not. It NEVER was. Only 76% of its citizens are Jewish. Nearly 20% are Arab, primarily Muslim and just over 4% are Druze, Bedouin, etc.

It's this vehement adherence to distortions and outright lies that's a hallmark of antisemitism. The 'anti-zionist' rhetoric functions along the same mechanisms as classic antisemitism. And that's what makes it dangerous. The real trouble comes when people who are not otherwise bigoted or prejudiced believe these stories. And plenty of friends have ditched me rather than question their cherished distortions about Israel.

That is quietly terrifying.

Cher JPA

Zionism is the right of Jews to have a homeland in the place they call home.

Most antizionsm is based on false "facts" & manipulated statements & pure classic antisemitic concepts of Jews. So ultimately most antizionism has huge elements of antisemitism in them.

Examples - listen to anti-zionism statements for, classics of antisemtiism & see how often they appear:
- Jews are evil (or use the word zionists as the new save substitute). Same as "Israel" is the biggest danger to the world.
- Jews are expansionist & intent to take over the world. Israel is expansionist (never mind how much land she's given back after defensive efforts).
- Jews are subhuman. Now shouted as Jews are the sons of dogs & monkeys, by the same groups that want to annihlate Jews & tell you how evil Zionism is.

Then moving onto facts, the twisting continues. Such as the myth of "stolen" that is really a fascade for claiming Israel has no right to exist.

There's a tendency to claim Jews are now fulfilling all the hateful stereotypes of them & all these claims at them are true. That's just justification of the hate. Same way it was claimed that anti-black racial ideas weren't wrong...see blacks are fulfilling them.

=====
First Dragon
Antisemitism is precise. There were other semites around & that statements at them were made separately. Laws in the US not allowing Jews to owe land also listed separately, Arabs & Armenians & of course Blacks. No we don't need to change the term. It is very powerful. THAT is why there is so much pressure to change it.

For another answer
Extermination of Palestinians is FALSE garbage. PA Arabs have quadrupled. Israel could have wiped them out long ago. So either Israel is a failure as a military, or it's NOT their goal!

Daniel
Great answer. Except HRW & Amnesty critisize Israel more often & more overwhelmingly than other countries. They aren't neutral anymore.

Local Machine

Yes, 100%.
These two words describe exactly the same thing.
Only jews make the mistake in believing it is not.
The Machine

Barrel Bottom

Kismet could not of said it better.

And posters like Zeno demonstrate how their Anti Zionist opinions are merely thinly veiled antisemitic views

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: