Republican lawmakers increasingly conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism in an effort limit pro-Palestine speech and criticism of Israel.
By Anna Lekas Miller, Prism
Not long after thousands of students nationwide were arrested for participating in pro-Palestine protests, the Supreme Court ruled on a case in June that could overturn the convictions of hundreds of people who participated in the Capitol insurrection.
During the June 27 presidential debate, former President Donald Trump referred to President Joe Biden as “a very bad Palestinian,” alleging that Biden—who has aided and abetted Israel’s genocide of Palestinians—did not want to help Israel “finish the job.” In preceding months, Trump also lambasted Biden for not doing enough to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses, drawing messy comparisons between the Palestine solidarity protests at Columbia University and the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump falsely claimed that the hate on display at the white nationalist rally was “peanuts” compared to the hatred spewed at the Gaza protests.
These recent events fit a dangerous trend—one in which influential right-wing forces weaponize a “crackdown” on antisemitism for their own agendas while at the same time ignoring the real antisemitism in their ranks.
Ever since Jews first started settling in Israel in the late 19th century, anti-Zionist activists have been careful to distinguish between antisemitism and anti-Zionism.
Antisemitism is a hatred of Jews—the kind manifested in the Holocaust and that has resulted in sweeping generalizations and stereotypes about Jews, leading to more recent acts of violence such as the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooting.
Recent Posts
New Polling: 84% Of Voters Support Van Hollen Resolution To Investigate Israel’s Killing of U.S. Citizens
Take Action Now 83% of Democrats, 86% of Independents, and 82% of Republicans back resolutionBy IMEU Policy Project Polling released Monday,…
Why Medicare for All Is Now Possible
Take Action Now The politics of health care are finally catching up with patients and physicians.By Rebecca Delay, The Progressive Across the…
According to Polls, Americans Like Socialism a Lot
Take Action Now A crop of recent polls shows that socialism’s appeal is surprisingly broad. They also reflect a transformed US political landscape…
Massive Ivanka Trump Problem Triggers Existential Threat to GOP: ‘Rage Is Building’
Take Action Now Locals in Albania — where Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner plan to transform one of the nation’s most important ecological sites…