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
With Food Banks in ‘Disaster Response Mode,’ Supreme Court Lets Trump Pause SNAP Funds
Take Action Now This is insane,” said US Rep. Pramila Jayapal. “Trump is jumping through hoops to block SNAP.”By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams The…
How Many People Do You Have to Kill to Get a Peace Prize?
Take Action Now The Nobel Peace Prize is going to a Venezuelan advocate for deadly sanctions against — and an invasion of — Venezuela.By David…
New York’s Largest ICE Prison Dogged By Allegations Of Shoddy Medical Care
Take Action Now “I shouldn’t have lost my fingers,” one detainee said of ICE guards’ failure to get him the care a doctor prescribed.By J. Dale…
Zohran’s Victory Proves That Public Campaign Financing Works
Take Action Now Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory shows that we don’t just need better candidates and stronger messaging. We need public campaign…