Are Zionists more antisemitic than anti-Zionists?
JVL Introduction
Peter Beinart’s blog is always welcome reading, never shirking difficult and contentious issues and realities which the Jewish establishment would prefer to be kept in hiding.
You do not have to agree with everything he says but his careful argument and thoughtful and reflective tone makes it impossible to dismiss him.
Here he argues – provocatively – as stated in the title of his blog, that Zionism’s supporters today are more likely to be antisemitic than those who oppose Zionism.
The reason lies in the strong correlation found between antisemitism and xenophobia. Xenophobes dislike Jews but precisely because of this can be attracted to Israel – Israel, after all, has exactly the kind of immigration policy that many European xenophobes want for their own countries…
But he also warns of survey evidence that anti-Israel sentiment can bleed over into antisemitism, a danger we must be aware of and work against.
This article was originally published by The Beinart Notebook on Mon 13 Dec 2021. Read the original here.
Are Zionists more antisemitic than anti-Zionists?
Probably. The evidence suggests not only that anti-Zionism doesn’t equal antisemitism but that while some anti-Zionists are indeed antisemites, Jew-hatred in the United States and Europe is more prevalent among supporters of the Jewish state. I’ll explain why below.
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According to Roger Stone’s biography of Nixon, it was Nixon who stuck his neck out to support Israel during the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
Stone contrasts this with Nixon’s anti-semitism as revealed on the White House tapes. He also mentions that Kissinger and Schlesinger both strongly opposed Nixon on this.
He does not mention, however, that both are Jewish.
“Israelis behave like Nazis towards the Palestinians” is not anti-Jewish though. Beinart shies away from the Nazis, but it was people such as Holocaust survivor, Hajo Meyer, who saw similarities with the pre-WW2 Nazis and Israel, and on topic here of course is the Nazis’ relationship with Zionists and Zionism as detailed in Tony Greenstein’s new book – if he can get it published.
https://tonygreenstein.com/2021/12/a-crowdfunding-appeal-to-publish-a-very-special-book-zionism-during-the-holocaust
The claim that “Israelis behave like Nazis towards the Palestinians” is antisemitic assumes that no Jews can ever behave like Nazis. The late Israeli sage Yeshayahu Leibowitz thought otherwise. He coined the expression “Judeo-Nazis” to describe the views and behaviour of some Israeli Jews.
Have no fear my new book will be coming out thanks to the outrage of people that once again the Zionist lobby put pressure on Crowdfunder to take my appeal down.
The irony of the accusation that anti-Zionism is a cover for anti-Semitism is that it is the opposite way round. It is support for Zionism that is nearly always, when it comes to non-Jews, a cover for anti-Semitism.
If someone tells you that Jews do not belong in this society they are either an anti-Semite, a Zionist or most likely both!
You only have to think of Eric Pickles who defended the Tory link with overt fascists and anti-Semites in the European Conservative and Reform Group in the European Parliament, people like Roberts Zile from Latvia’s LNNK/Fatherland and Freedom Party who march every year with the veterans of Latvia’s Waffen SS or Boris Johnson whose 72 Virgins novel posited Jews as controlling the Russian media and fixing elections. All this of course went unmentioned during Labour’s fake anti-Semitism crisis
Dave wrote: ‘“Israelis behave like Nazis towards the Palestinians” is not anti-Jewish though.’
Now, there are similarities between the earlier Nazi state policies and actions towards Jews and Israeli policies and actions towards Palestinians. However, when people think of Nazi policies towards Jews, they naturally think of the post-1939 and especially post-1941 policies, which were, as we know, not merely cruel and discriminatory but outright exterminatory. Israeli policies and actions towards Palestinians are cruel and discriminatory, but have not been exterminatory. That’s why I eschew such statements as ‘Israelis behave like Nazis towards the Palestinians’. A more apt comparison would be Polish state policies and actions towards Jews during the 1930s.
As a non-Jew, I don’t feel I have a right to be either Zionist or anti-Zionist, but I can understand how some people might see Israel (putting this crudely) as a continuation of the traditional ghetto – somewhere all Jews can be kept out of the way and in one place, albeit with control over their own destiny.
But “understand” is a neutral word, which is why the sort of survey described above makes me uncomfortable.
“When I think of Israel’s politics, I understand why some people hate Jews…” Faced with that question, without nuance or context, I might be inclined to say yes. Because I UNDERSTAND, not because I agree with those I understand.
I understand why many people joined the Nazis in the 1930s. That doesn’t mean I agree with them or that I am a Nazi. Explaining something is not the same as justifying it.
It seems a shame to me that these surveys use such imprecise wording.
I speak as a catholic. A gentile who would answer ‘yes’ to many of the questions asked that would appear to qualify me as an anti-Semite. I do not hate Jews & want a one state solution to embrace all the peoples of Palestine to allow them to live together in peace & equality in a secular state. Many of my Jewish friends in Britain, say that they ‘feel unsafe & responsible for the actions of Netanyahu’s government’, through no fault of their own. Israel’s own constitution defines it as a racist state.
Dr Paul – you can eschew such statements as ‘Israelis behave like Nazis towards the Palestinians’ and so do I, and am like you careful to qualify any such statements with pre-war comparisons, but it is not antisemitic even if you refer to WW2. What would be antisemitic is to say that Jews are inherently incapable of genocide. The test of antisemitism is always that Jews are collectively somehow unlike other people.
I am pleased that Tony’s book will be out – if there’s one person who is thorough to the point of exhaustion it is he.
Stephen Richards (comment above). You certainly don’t sound to me like an antisemite but I hope JVL will allow me, a Jew who loves Israel, to clarify a few points. Jews who love Israel tend to love and have an affinity with other Jews, whatever their politics. Among the relatively few Jewish haters of Israel there often seems to be a hatred for Israeli Jews and for Jews like me who love Israel. I can’t speak for all the various attitudes among non-Jews but I’ve observed that hatred of Israel is often accompanied by hatred of Jews in general.
You can want a one or two state solution, and there are all sorts of ideas, but for Israeli Jews the important point is “living in peace” and independence, and that is unrealistic in any unguarded insecure configuration. Assuming secular means keeping religion out of the laws, whilst most Jews want a Jewish State to be “Jewish” I think Muslims would be far more adament about the Islamic religion being paramount in their State or part-State.
Netanyahu is no longer PM and his former governing party Likud is now in opposition, and many Jews like me are very happy about that. He did many good things for the country and for world Jewry but he also did some awful things, particularly in recent years. Bennett’s ruling coalition is about as diverse as you could get. Have a look please Stephen.
Finally Israel does not have a Constitution but a set of basic laws which are enacted or overturned by the Parliament (Knesset). Many of these 14 laws are wonderful but a notable exception is the Nation State law, a totally unnecessary provocation, but it doesn’t make Israel a racist State. Maybe read ALL the basic laws and see what you think.
Hi, I’m not Jewish, but I’m left wing and anti colonialism, oppression and ethnic cleansing. Thank you for your website and your many thoughtful articles. I want to be the best support possible to the Palestinian people, but also be a support and ally to the Jewish community. I have no opinions to state here about this article, as it really isn’t my place. I’m just learning and absorbing, and trying to make sure that I’m using my voice in the right way, and not accidentally playing into antisemitic tropes etc. I suppose it’s all an unlearning process, and I’m really trying to examine my ideas and language. I have Jewish family, though it hasn’t passed through to my part of the family, but I feel very strongly that I want to honour them and those that were lost, while also honouring and supporting the Palestinians (and all victims of oppression) today. Thank you for this resource. You go above and beyond, and you shouldn’t have to. I’m still learning, and always will be, but you give me real hope. Thanks again, and will keep reading and educating myself. All the best to you.
Zionism is a problematic ideology, but it isn’t necessarily evil. The movement to give the Jews a homeland was driven by profound human needs and if Israel had avoided the sin of colonial oppression it would have done much to introduce a humanising version of democracy into the region. As it is, however, it stands as an emblem of capitalist hypocrisy and thus an argument against the democratic system. For the sake of global civilization it is imperative that the state reforms itself into a genuinely representative democratic system.