Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitic? It Doesn’t Matter

By now, the images have become familiar. A blond girl, face covered by a keffiyeh, stands in front of Jewish students with a sign that reads “Al-Qassam’s Next Targets.”

Protesters cheer “Iran Make Us Proud! Burn Tel Aviv to the Ground!”

A sign posted to a fence reads, “Go back to Poland.” 

A student — one of the leaders of the movement — proclaims that “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and that he’d like to murder them himself. 

The Jewish response, so far, has mainly been to accuse these protesters of antisemitism — as if this violent, genocidal movement which yearns for the elimination of Israel is only problematic insofar as it can be tied to an older and more familiar hatred. 

Such arguments are no longer wise or necessary. After what we have witnessed from America’s young progressive elites in the past weeks, it is safe to say that anti-Zionism is bad enough to be condemned on its own terms.

After what we have witnessed from America’s young progressive elites in the past weeks, it is safe to say that anti-Zionism is bad enough to be condemned on its own terms.

The first red flag for anti-Zionism should be its uniqueness. To my knowledge, there is no other global movement dedicated to the destruction of an internationally recognized country. When it comes to other countries, we critique leaders, policies, and ideas. Never do we suggest that an entire society must be destroyed and dispersed as one now hears at the “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” on American college campuses. 

Zionism, on the other hand, is not unique. It is a movement for national self-determination like that which animates the Kurds’ quest for statehood, Ukraine’s battle against Russian invasion, and Taiwan’s fight for independence. It has given birth to a nation-state that shares an ethos with all other nation-states like England, Ireland, Pakistan, Egypt, France, Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Denmark, Yemen and many others.

The lie of anti-Zionism is that Zionism is the direct cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The only resolution to that conflict is therefore to oppose Zionism and dismantle the state that Zionism created — Israel.

Here’s a quote from the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN): “Zionism was the ideology underlying the founding of the state of Israel and the accompanying Nakba …” The word Nakba (“catastrophe”) refers to the displacement of around 750,000 Palestinians in 1948.

The use of the word “accompanying” is crucial. According to anti-Zionists, Israel’s creation and Palestinian displacement are causally linked. This sets up a zero-sum game between Israelis and Palestinians.

In truth, Palestinian displacement was not a result of Israel’s existence, but rather a result of the war of “extermination” launched by Palestinian militias and the countries of the Arab League aimed at destroying the new state of Israel. Israel, for its part, was always willing to coexist, offer equal rights, and divide the land. 

In other words, it was anti-Zionism, not Zionism, that led to the Palestinian refugee crisis. 

In 1967 and 1973, anti-Zionism led Israel’s neighbors to launch failed campaigns to destroy Israel. In 2000, anti-Zionism led to the breakdown of Oslo, because Arafat prioritized continuing the fight against the Jewish state’s existence to the prospect of building a state of his own. 

Also in 2000, anti-Zionism led to an unparalleled wave of terror attacks that killed civilians in cafés, on buses, and at schools. 

In 2008, anti-Zionism led the Palestinians to reject another two-state deal, choosing again to prioritize the fight against Israel over the creation of Palestine.

In October of 2023, anti-Zionism prompted Hamas militants to sacrifice the wellbeing of their own people for the sake of one day of slaughter and rape.

None of this is to say that Israel has no responsibility in perpetuating the conflict. Of course it does. Israel has, like all countries, made grave mistakes in times of war and peace alike. Crimes have also been committed in the name of Zionism, and Israel must commit itself to further regulating its own violent extremists — whether they be on West Bank hilltops or in the Knesset. 

That said, Zionism’s primary goal is the creation of a safe home for the Jews in their ancient homeland. Anti-Zionism’s primary goal is the violent elimination of an entire society. 

So let’s stop saying that anti-Zionism is the socially acceptable disguise worn by antisemitism. 

It is no disguise and there should be nothing socially acceptable about it.

Matthew Schultz is a Jewish Journal columnist and rabbinical student at Hebrew College. He is the author of the essay collection “What Came Before” (Tupelo, 2020) and lives in Boston and Jerusalem.