An example of this manipulation by MP Anna-Maria Żukowska: "Questioning Israel's right to exist meets the definitions of anti-Semitism. I am going there to support those who fight against terrorists, people who murder infants."
Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism
Perhaps we should first quote the definitions of anti-Semitism, which Israeli diplomats and MPs like Ms. Żukowska have apparently failed to do, and which is crucial for further debate on the link between anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel. According to the definition of the IHRA member states, anti-Semitism is – "a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward them. Anti-Semitism manifests itself in both words and actions directed against Jews, and their property, as well as against institutions and religious objects of the Jewish community."
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, although not objective and inconsistent in its view of Israel, itself emphasizes that anti-Semitism may include attacks on Israel as a Jewish collective, but, as they state on their website – "criticism of Israel cannot be regarded as anti-Semitic, just as criticism of any other country cannot be."
Simply put, anti-Semitism is racism against Jews, based on hatred of the nation as a whole, contempt for Jewish origin and their customs. Often, this view is associated with conspiracy theories and far-right race theories, where Jews are either identified with a caste controlling the largest social events from above, or simply a "lower race," which is most often the result of the vile belief that biological origin defines our worth.
Historically, we could observe such practices in the social policy of the Third Reich, and the echo of these views is revived among current grassroots right-wing initiatives, as well as publicly speaking MPs of the Confederation.
Now, we should mention what "Zionism" is and why it is an ideology representing not the community, but Jewish radicalism. Zionism is an ideology that in practice has two concepts – religious and political.
The religious concept was based on mysticism, early Jewish nationalism, and biblical prophecies that promised medieval Jews a return to their "promised land," which they had once conquered in bloody battles at the command of Yahweh. The political concept was a movement that emerged at the end of the 19th century and was associated with Jewish radicalism, proclaiming, among other things, the establishment of a Jewish state. The ideology of Zionism focused on the existence of a separate Jewish nation and the historical continuity of Jews' ties with Palestine and their right to it. The aim was to promote their distinctiveness and recognition of Jewish goals for a separate state. In its nature, it was and is very similar to European fascist ideologies, and even Nazi ones, because among Zionist movements, great emphasis is placed on racial issues and racial supremacy.
At this point, we must strongly separate anti-Semitism from anti-Zionism, on a similar basis as Germanophobia and anti-Nazism. Although Zionism is an extremely right-wing Jewish ideology, it is not an inherent element of Jewish identity, but only its radical nationalist current. It is the lack of understanding of this principle that causes one part of society to confirm its anti-Semitic beliefs in Israel's policy, while the other unconditionally defends the Zionist regime out of fear of being classified alongside the National Radical Camp (ONR) or Grzegorz Braun.
Jews Against Zionism
Historically, many 20th-century and contemporary Jews have distanced themselves from this ideology. The history of Zionism and anti-Zionism is long and quite complicated, but it outlines a clear division in Jewish society, which has a purely political basis rather than a racial or religious one.
After World War I, Zionists were a minority among European Jews because most of them, who belonged to the middle class, either did not know about the existence of this movement or were not interested in it at all. The lower classes preferred to seek happiness in America rather than become pioneers in the Palestinian lands. This was associated with the belief that Zionism developed mainly among the higher Jewish classes, religious fundamentalists, and a small group of adolescent adventurers. In political life, anti-Zionism was also noticeable, and a clear example is the opposition of Edwin Montagu, the only Jew holding a high position in the British government at the time, to the pro-Zionist Balfour Declaration of 1917, which spoke of establishing a "home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.
Zionists therefore encountered a lack of interest from their target group, but also natural resistance from a significant part of the progressive Jewish movement, i.e., the anti-Zionist one. An example from the interwar period in Poland is the "Bund," the largest Jewish party with a left-wing profile. Another example is the large percentage of Jews in the interwar Communist Party of Poland, who openly emphasized Lenin's position on the reactionary nature of the idea of linking the interests of the Jewish working class with Zionist beliefs.
Jews' views on national issues changed only after 1933, when Adolf Hitler came to absolute power in Germany, subsequently unleashing the spiral of death known as the Holocaust, a criminal attempt to completely solve the Jewish question through genocidal practices of imprisoning innocent people in death camps. This tragedy led to increased interest in the slogans proclaimed by the Zionists after World War II, and the realization of the vision of a "Jewish state" had the silent support of Western countries, which allowed the establishment of a Zionist state in the lands of Palestine. In its propaganda, Israel constantly uses the hell of World War II to evoke pity, compassion, and a sense of guilt among Europeans, although there have been many examples where Jews who remember this hell are themselves hostile to Israel. An example of this is the view of the hero of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Marek Edelman, who stated – "Israel is a dark religious state, constructed by Ben Gurion in such a way that money flows there from rich, believing American Jews."
Zionism, although revived after the war, had its opponents among the Jewish population during this turbulent time. The American Council of Judaism after 1948 openly condemned Zionism and the very nature of Israel, believing that for American Jews, Israel is not a state or the homeland of the Jewish people, but merely a foreign country. This creates the most painful contradiction for Zionists, as their religious ideological foundation suddenly turns against them, because, based on the theory of Judaism itself, this "Jewish state" will come into being through the arrival of a new messiah, not through colonization and political maneuvers. Such an orthodox position has led to the condemnation of Israel being completely consistent with their faith among various groups of Hasidic Jews, including the Satmar group, which has about 100,000 followers worldwide. Demonstrations by Jews in many countries in Europe, America, and the Middle East show that although support for the state of Israel seems stronger among Jews than ever before, this is only a one-sided media narrative that obscures the fact of a thousand voices of Jewish protest from around the world against the terror inflicted on the Palestinian people. According to pro-Zionist experts, can these Jews also be considered "anti-Semites"?
Perhaps these anti-Semites also include some Jewish citizens of Israel who also oppose the criminal policies of their state and therefore have to deal with numerous repressions from the Zionist government. According to the findings of journalists from the Al Jazeera portal, Israel uses brutal repression against activists opposing the Zionist political line. They were subjected to brutal attacks, exposure and publication of their identities, threats, and other forms of violence, both by the police and right-wing groups cooperating with the government. If we were to translate the struggle of Jewish activists from Israel against Zionists into Polish conditions, they would be called "race traitors" or "enemies of the nation," which we often hear at marches organized by ultra-right organizations such as the ONR or MW. It is even more ironic that progressive liberals place these anti-war activists in the same ranks as anti-Semites, thus admitting that the side "faithful to racial purity" is right.
Science vs. Politics
The final end to the accusations of anti-Semitism towards anti-Zionists is the "Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism," developed in 2021 by 200 scholars engaged in Jewish studies. According to the definition developed in this declaration: "Anti-Semitism is discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against Jews (or Jewish institutions)". This is undoubtedly an important point in the debate, supported by many authorities, with whom, of course, one may disagree, but one cannot deny the essence of this voice, which provides a strong basis for excluding the thesis comparing anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism.
As one of the directors of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies at the University of Massachusetts said in an interview for the Jewish portal Forward –
"The Declaration, of course, does not suggest that Jews do not deserve a state, but only that denying this right in itself is not anti-Semitic. [...] This belongs to the sphere of political debate." Of course, the Declaration was not one-sided, which is why it caused controversy on many fronts.
Voices disagreeing with this idea argue that denying Jews the right to one state is discrimination and thus fits the definition of anti-Semitism. However, a contradiction arises here, because at the same time, this right is denied to Palestinians, which can also be classified as a kind of "ethnic hatred." To this accusation, Zionist sympathizers usually use arguments that can be summarized as Islamophobic, supremacist, and religious, about the inherent right of Jews to have complete dominance over this country, while arguing against this right for the native "barbarians." Does this remind you of something similar from US history?
Does Supporting Israel Contradict Anti-Semitism?
We have established that criticism of Israel is not only not an element of anti-Semitic ideology but is also consistent with the religious and moral identity of the Jewish community. However, the question arises here whether supporting Israel automatically excludes the existence of anti-Semitic views in such people? On a "common sense" level, this seems logical. Nevertheless, even here the matter is not so obvious, and support for the existence of Israel can also be linked to anti-Semitic beliefs.
Examples of overt anti-Semitism include Victor Orban, who is simultaneously a great supporter of Israel and a man who publicly honors Nazi collaborators from Hungary, such as the dictator Miklos Horthy – the same one who oversaw the extermination of half a million Hungarian Jews. The current president of Hungary himself has promoted conspiracy theories about Jewish influences and caricatures mocking this nation. In this category, we can also include the AFD, a far-right populist party in Germany (cooperating with the Confederation), which also saw support for Israel as a convenient way to whitewash its anti-Semitism in the country. Among the sympathizers, we also find Jair Bolsonaro, who honors Nazi fugitives in Brazil, and Donald Trump, known for the slogan "Jews will not replace us."
Why does this happen? Well, we must remember that the current model of Israel is somewhat the fulfillment of the dreams of every traditionalist, ethnic, and ultra-right group. We can cite the example of the white nationalist and neo-Nazi Richard Spencer, who declared himself a "white Zionist." He then described Israel as "the most important and perhaps the most revolutionary ethnic state."
Moreover, we must consider that anti-Semitism does not have to take the form of genocidal beliefs and practices but can rather manifest itself in the form of a desire to isolate a nation within the borders of one state. Remember that Adolf Hitler initially had a plan to deport the Jewish population to Madagascar. Therefore, the creation of a ghetto state can very well have an anti-Semitic character, especially if it is constantly in hostile relations with Arab countries, which is also linked to Islamophobia.
Summary
Yes, there are anti-Semites who do not support Israel, just as there are anti-Semites who support Israel, as well as people who are not anti-Semites and condemn Israel. The manipulation of equating hatred of Jews with hatred of the idea of Jewish supremacy must come to an end. At this point, it must be clearly stated that the history of Zionism is part of the history of the Jewish people but has not been and is not an inherent element of their identity. Once, as well as at present, Zionism is considered by a significant part of Jews to be a radical ideology, and the very policy of Israel to be criminal and inhuman.
Anti-Zionism is an idea that attacks not a person's origin but their views on political beliefs. Therefore, defining it as "anti-Semitism" is manipulation, playing on the emotions and guilt of Europeans for the hell of the Holocaust, which automatically gives Israel permission to create an identical hell for Palestinians. Although anti-Semites also hold anti-Zionist views, the heavy history does not give anyone the right to impunity, especially when it comes to repeating criminal practices reminiscent of the Third Reich.
