Useful discussion of the various definitions of antisemitism and the distinctions between antisemitism and anti-Zionism:
...In recent years, the relationship between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism has taken on renewed importance. Zionism has many factions but roughly refers to the modern political movement that argues Jews constitute a nation and have a right to self-determination in that land.
Some activists claim that anti-Zionism -- ideological opposition to Zionism -- is inherently anti-Semitic because they equate it with denying Jews the right to self-determination and therefore equality.
Others feel that there needs to be a clearer separation between the two, that not all criticism of Israel is anti-Zionist, and not all anti-Zionism is anti-Semitic.
Zionism in practice has meant the achievement of a flourishing safe haven for Jews, but also led to dislocation or inequality for millions of Palestinians, including refugees, West Bank Palestinians who still live under military rule, and even Palestinian citizens of Israel, who face legal and social discrimination. Anti-Zionism opposes this, and critics argue that it should not be labeled anti-Semitic unless it taps into those anti-Semitic myths or otherwise calls for violence or inequality for Jews.
This debate is clearly evident in the competing definitions of anti-Semitism that have recently emerged. Three have gained particular prominence. The first was the so-called "working definition" of the International Holocaust Remembrance Association, published in 2016.
In response, an academic task force published the Nexus definition in 2021, followed by the Jerusalem Declaration that same year, the latter signed by hundreds of international scholars of anti-Semitism.
Remarkably, all three definitions tend to agree on the nature of anti-Semitism in most areas except the relationship of anti-Israel rhetoric to anti-Semitism. The IHRA's definition, which is by design vague and open to interpretation, allows for a wider swath of anti-Israel activism to be labeled anti-Semitic than the others.
The Jerusalem Declaration, in contrast, understands rhetoric to have "crossed the line" only when it engages in anti-Semitic mythology, blames diaspora Jews for the actions of the Israeli state, or calls for the oppression of Jews in Israel. Thus, for example, IHRA defenders use that definition to label a call for binational democracy -- meaning citizenship for West Bank Palestinians -- to be anti-Semitic. Likewise, they label boycottseven of West Bank settlements that most of the world calls illegal to be anti-Semitic. The Jerusalem Declaration would not do so.
In other words, the key to identifying whether anti-Israel discourse has masked anti-Semitism is to see evidence of the anti-Semitic mythology. For example, if Israel is described as part of an international conspiracy, or if it holds the key to solving global problems, all three definitions agree this is anti-Semitic.
Equally, if Jews or Jewish institutions are held responsible for Israeli actions or are expected to take a stand one way or another regarding them, again all three definitions agree this "crosses the line" because it is based on the myth of a global Jewish conspiracy.
Critically, for many Jews in the diaspora, Zionism is not primarily a political argument about the state of Israel. For many Jews, it constitutes a generic sense of Jewish identity and pride, even a religious identity. In contrast, many protests against Israel and Zionism are focused not on ideology but on the actual state and its real or alleged actions.
This disconnect can lead to confusion if protests conflate Jews with Israel just because they are Zionist, which is anti-Semitic. On the other hand, Jews sometimes take protests against Israel in defense of Palestinian rights to be attacks on their Zionist identity and thus anti-Semitic, when they are not. There are certainly gray areas, but in general calls for Palestinian equality, I believe, are legitimate even when they upset Zionist identities.
In my view, anti-Semitism must be identified and fought, but so too must efforts to squash legitimate protest of Israel by conflating it with anti-Semitism. By understanding the mythology underlying anti-Semitism, hopefully both can be accomplished.
Joshua Shanes is a professor of Jewish studies at the College of Charleston.
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