Fact: While some anti-Zionists are indeed antisemites, Jew-hatred in the United States and Europe is more prevalent among supporters of the Jewish state.

By Peter Beinart

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.

Zionism and anti-Zionism

French President Emmanuel Macron, Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt all believe that anti-Zionism—opposing a state that privileges Jews over Palestinians—constitutes antisemitism. That’s wrong. The Satmar Rebbe is a passionate anti-Zionist; he’s not an antisemite. Twenty percent of American Jews think Israel should be a democratic, non-Jewish, state; they’re not all antisemites either. And the vast majority of Palestinians are anti-Zionists; why shouldn’t they be? For Palestinians, political Zionism has meant expulsion and subjugation. A Jewish state offers the Palestinians under its control either second class citizenship or no citizenship. Opposing that doesn’t make Palestinians antisemites; it makes them human.

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