No, Antizionism Isn’t Always Antisemitism

When every critique of Israel is branded as antisemitism, the word loses its meaning — and real antisemitism actually grows.

I’m sure you’ve heard the charge echo across the media and in the Jewish community: Antizionism is Antisemitism.

It’s a useful fundraising tool for major Jewish organizations and an easy applause line for politicians.

But it’s also profoundly misguided. Antisemitism isn’t a catch-all label for positions we don’t like. And equating Israel with Jewishness itself risks fueling the very antisemitism politicians and organizations claim to oppose.

In recent months, Members of Congress and other non-Jewish leaders have confided to me their dread at being labeled antisemites if they publicly critique Israeli policy.

Who can blame them? That chilling effect is exactly the point — and exactly the problem.

Antisemitism is hatred of Jews simply for being Jews. It’s one of the world’s oldest prejudices — pogroms, expulsions, ghettos, the Holocaust, and contemporary hate crimes from Pittsburgh to Poway to Boulder. It is real and deadly, deserving to be opposed with moral clarity.

Zionism, by contrast, is a political ideology. It arose in late 19th-century Europe as a nationalist movement among Jews (including my great-grandparents) seeking safety and self-determination. It succeeded in establishing a Jewish state, but — like any nationalist project — it has always been contested, both within Jewish communities and outside them.

I am a Zionist - meaning I believe that Jews, like Palestinians, have a right to self-determination in a state of their own. But many Jews historically opposed Zionism: religious Jews who believed only God could restore sovereignty, secular Jews who saw their future where they lived, leftists who rejected nationalism. That diversity persists today.

Peter Beinart, for example, openly identifies as an antizionist. I just had an engaging conversation with him on Word on the Street LIVE. Peter roots his views in Jewish values and love for Jewish life. His position underscores the point: antizionism and antisemitism are not synonymous.

Yet pressure continues to mount on states, universities and corporations to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which lists criticism of Israel among its examples.

Codifying this definition puts anyone who doesn’t conform to Israel-right-or-wrong thinking at risk. Activists calling for Palestinian rights are accused of bigotry. Students protesting bombing campaigns are told they are indistinguishable from neo-Nazis. Careers and opportunities are jeopardized, and free speech is chilled.

Of course, some criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism, just as criticism of any country can spill into prejudice. But declaring that opposition to occupation or even Zionism itself is inherently antisemitic erases legitimate dissent and equates Jewish identity with the policies of a state.

And if Jewish identity is tied to Israeli behavior, then when Prime Minister Netanyahu pursues extremist policies — from his judicial coup to de facto annexation — the message to the world becomes: This is what all Jews want.

That isn’t just false. It’s dangerous.

When dissent is branded as bigotry, some come to view Jews not as a diverse community but as a monolith demanding exemption from criticism. Over time, this breeds alienation that can harden into hostility — the opposite of what Jewish communities should want.

If we truly want to fight antisemitism, let’s name it when and where it happens: when white nationalists march chanting “Jews will not replace us,” when swastikas are painted on synagogues, when Holocaust denial festers online, or when “Zionists are not welcome” becomes code for excluding Jews from progressive spaces. That is the hatred we must name, fight, and uproot.

We must also recognize the diversity of Jewish opinion. American Jews are not a monolith. Polls show majorities oppose settlement expansion, support a two-state solution, and disapprove of Netanyahu’s government. To call those views antisemitic is to slander our own community.

Labeling every criticism of Zionism or Israel as antisemitism hollows out the word, cheapens its meaning, and weakens our defenses against real threats. Worse, we feed the resentment antisemites exploit.

The challenge is not to shield Israel from criticism, but to engage with it honestly. We can hold two truths: antisemitism is deadly serious, and Israel’s occupation is unjust and unsustainable.

For those of us who embrace Zionism as a legitimate expression of Jewish self-determination, we should also recognize Palestinian nationalism – and challenge others to do the same.

Jewish safety and Palestinian freedom are linked. The more Israel entrenches permanent occupation, the more isolated it becomes, and the more Jews worldwide become targets of misplaced rage. Working for peace, justice, and equality strengthens the security of both peoples.

If we want Jews to be safe, and if we truly desire peace in Israel and Palestine, we must defend the distinction between political argument and racial hatred.

Labeling every opponent of Zionism an antisemite may win attention and funds in the short run, but in the long run it is likely to prove self-defeating and dangerous.