Opinion. Anti-Semitism: What it is and What it Isn't

Source: Jewish Voice For Peace

John Clarke

Toronto

5-4-26

I know I'm a glutton for punishment but I feel I must explore a particular element of the debate on the left a little further. This is the question of whether drawing attention to anti-Semitism gives comfort to the enemy and undermines Palestine solidarity. 

 

Previously, I suggested that it was important to properly distinguish between the false claim that anti-Zionism is inherently anti-Semitic and real and actual anti-Semitism. We may define the latter as hatred of hostility towards Jewish people because they are Jewish.

 

I want to stress that anti-Semitism plays a particular role within the political ideology of Zionism. Firstly, it is exceptionalized to a degree that is quite remarkable. Hatred of Jews is cast as being an utterly unique and eternal form of prejudice that can't be compared to other forms. As a racist ideology, Zionism takes this approach with complete confidence since the only suffering that matters is Jewish suffering. If you go to the +972 podcast page, there's a great interview with Nurit Peled-Elhanan, in which she explores the process of indoctrination on this question that the Israel school system inflicts on students.

 

The whole idea, of course, is to present the stolen Palestinian land that became Israel as, not only a reclaimed homeland, but as a vital place of refuge from an anti-Semitic hatred that can never be overcome.

 

Actually, anti-Semitism is a component part of an edifice of racism that has been developed over centuries. Like, Islamophbia, it began as a form of Christian religious hatred towards unbelievers, with Jews being especially reviled as 'Christ killers.' 

 

However, with the advent of 19th century racism, antisemitism changed its form. Now, with all human beings who were not white considered inferior, Jews were not so simply deviants in matters of religion but were a form of sub-humanity incorrigibly given to destructive forms of manipulation and conspiracy. Present day replacement theory, in presenting Jews as conniving enablers of the immigration of Black and Brown people into 'white' countries, expresses this clearly.

 

Having removed antisemitism from its proper context in order to justify a colonial project, Zionism goes on to create an entirely false version of this prejudice. Anti-Semitism is no longer primarily a question of hating Jewish people but it becomes a label that is placed on hostility to the political ideology of Zionism and its settler-colonial expression. This is sometimes referred to as the 'new anti-Semitism.'

 

This distortion of anti-Semitism soon leads to a situation where the attempt to stifle Palestine solidarity takes priority over challenging real and actual anti-Semitism. In fact, the latter is perversely welcomed. Zionism's 'founding father,' Theodor Herzl, actually declared that 'the anti-Semites will become our most dependable friends, the anti-Semitic countries our allies.'

 

This contradiction abounds today and we see examples of it all the time. When a right-wing killer murdered people at the Tree of Life synagogue, in 2018, because he thought Jews were assisting Central American refugees, the Israeli ambassador to the UN said that, as terrible as this was, it was still important to understand that support for Palestine was the main anti-Semitic threat.

 

Elon Musk's use of the Nazi salute has become infamous, yet the Zionist Anti-Defamation League dismissed this as 'an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm.'

 

One of the leaders of the Freedom Convoy, Pat King, has expressed the vilest anti-Semitic sentiments, even claiming that Hebrew might become Canada's official language. Yet, as these fascists paraded, complete with Nazi symbols, the main Zionist bodies in this country, with an eye on right-wing Conservatives who supported the Convoy, were remarkably restrained in their response and failed to condemn the undertaking.

 

Of course, Israel's supporters, by treating Palestine solidarity as anti-Semitism, generate a completely inaccurate picture of the issue. They will undoubtedly use any incidents to try to stifle any criticism of Israel, as they did with the Bondi Beach attack in Australia and, as they are doing with shootings at synagogues here in Toronto. 

 

We, however, have no interest in distorting things. We understand the place that anti-Semitism occupies in the broader racist construction and see the difference between the false version and the real thing. Not only can we, on a principled and effective basis, make clear our opposition to anti-Semitism but, in doing so, we can expose the Zionists' cynical selectivity and their unpardonable readiness to disregard manifestations of hatred that actually do pose a threat to Jewish people.