Attacking Israel Crosses Line Into Antisemitism
For years, I have listened to friends and colleagues attack the policies of Israel and even question its right to exist. They always follow up their statements by saying that being anti-Zionist is not the same thing as being antisemitic. Events following Hamas' murderous attack on Israel last October have shown me this may be in true in theory, but it definitely is no longer true in practice.
First, let's get some definitions out of the way. Antisemitism is hatred, prejudice and discrimination directed against Jews because they are Jews. Anti-Zionism is attacking Israel's right to exist, often by holding it to different standards than other nations.
Anti-Zionism becomes antisemitism when American citizens who are Jewish are blamed for the actions of the state of Israel, a foreign country over 6,000 miles away. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose 361% from the previous year in the three months following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. These included a “dramatic increase in bomb threats” directed at synagogues. A personal note here: A swastika spray-painted on the sidewalk near a neighborhood park in my hometown outrages me at what is happening in this country.
It's antisemitism as well when Israel, the only majority Jewish nation in the world, is judged differently than other countries or other parties to the Middle East conflict. As Samuel J. Dubbin, a former special assistant to the U.S. attorney general, notes “the drumbeat that Israel should accept threats to its security which would never be suggested for any other nation.”
Hamas launched a murderous assault on Oct. 7 that killed over 1,200 people living in Israel. As a percentage of Israel's population, that attack was more than 12 times deadlier than the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States. While exercising its right as a sovereign nation to defend itself, Israel was condemned for civilian deaths, rightfully so in some cases. However, Hamas' tactic of hiding its armed personnel among civilians and using hospitals to shelter troops is either denied or brushed aside by anti-Israel protesters and Hamas apologists.
At demonstrations against Israel I've witnessed this winter, protesters have demanded an immediate cease-fire which would leave the terrorist organization Hamas in control in Gaza. The responsibility for a cease-fire falls completely on Israel. There's no mention that Hamas itself violated a 2021 cease-fire when it launched its attack on Oct. 7. There's no acknowledgment that Israel offered a cease-fire in return for the release of hostages seized by Hamas. A statement by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee originally co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations held Israel “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
South Africa has accused Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice. The term “genocide” is defined by the United Nations 1948 Genocide Convention as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” Gaza's population in 1970 was 345,000 people. Its population is now 2.1 million. That's hardly evidence of genocidal intentions toward Gaza. On the other hand, the Hamas Covenant calls for Islam to “obliterate” Israel and to “vanquish” all Jews. As President Joe Biden said of Hamas, “Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of Israel and the murder of Jewish people.”
Why is South Africa accusing Israel and not Hamas? And why is there such international focus on Israel's actions as contrasted to true genocide elsewhere in the world? Russia is abducting Ukrainian children and bringing them to Russia. The U.S. State Department has reported on genocide in Burma where the government “launched a brutal campaign against Rohingya — razing villages, raping, torturing, and perpetrating large-scale violence that killed thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children.” The United States has also determined China is guilty of genocide for subjecting Uyghurs to imprisonment, forced labor, torture, rape and sterilization.
The only reason I can come up with for that focus on Israel is the fact that 74% of Israel's population is Jewish, making it the only majority Jewish state in the world. Israel's Declaration of Independence guarantees “freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.” Could Israel do better? Of course. So could the United States. Remember the Trump administration's Muslim bans?
What if Israel is indeed considered a Jewish state? Should that take away its right to exist? The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are the official names of those countries. Heck, King Charles III is the head of the Church of England. Again, it seems the Jewish state is being singled out. Again, antisemitism and anti-Zionism are blended.
When I defend Israel's right to exist, the response is often to attack the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I am no fan of his. But I was no fan of many policies of the Trump administration and disagree with President Biden on numerous issues as well. I don't think that takes away the United States's right to exist as an independent, democratic nation.
When demonstrators chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,” they, knowingly or not, are calling for erasing the state of Israel and eliminating its people. What could be more antisemitic and anti-Zionist?
Despite all, I look forward to a future where Hamas rule in Gaza has ended, where peace reigns in the Middle East and where Palestinian Arabs have set forth on the road to justice and democracy. And where antisemitism and anti-Zionism are no more.
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