How to confidently not be an antisemite
A guide for pro-Palestinian advocates & anyone who cares about not being a biggot
Let’s get one thing clear: Anti-semitism has existed for millennia, far before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But with a sharp rise in antisemitism due to the conflict, we must be sure we are including Jewish people in our activism by prioritizing this conversation NOW.
From my perspective as a Canadian Jew, third-gen Holocaust survivor and second-gen Canadian refugee, I do not believe in genocide, war or colonial violence. However, any further discussion on specifics of what is happening in Gaza is outside the scope of this article. There are many other resources you can find to educate yourself further on this.
Despite the indisputably terrible current treatment of Palestinian civilians, the Palestinian liberation movement has become globally tainted with antisemitism and used as an excuse to spread it. We can see evidence of this in the stark increase of hate crimes against Jews worldwide outside Israel, including an over 400% increase in antisemitic attacks in the U.S. since last year, the highest seen since 1979 (Anti-Defamation League, 2023).
Whether it be calling for a #ceasefire but failing to call for a return of the Israeli hostages or the surrender of Hamas, the global re-writing of Jewish history including Jewish indigeneity, ignoring the Jews of colour who were ethnically cleansed from the Middle East and make up the majority of the Israeli population, the world’s obsession over Gaza while simultaneously virtually ignoring multiple human rights crises’ all over the world, the rise and normalization of hate and targeting Jews has become rampant and dangerous.
If you seek to blindly pick sides based on what is most popular, categorize people into ‘good guys and bad guys,’ erase nuance, and ignore history, this publication isn’t for you.
These are some of the most common forms of Jewish hate I have seen, from a Jewish person and chronically online-trained antisemitism educator. Please note that what you are reading should be just a starting point to this learning.
What is antisemitism?
Contrary to popular belief, it does not apply to Arabs or other peoples with Semitic languages. Antisemitism, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (the most globally accepted definition) is:
“A certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.”
Here is a non-exhaustive list of ways to confidently avoid being an antisemite:
1. Do not downplay or deny the Holocaust
The Holocaust is one of the worst horrors in Jewish history and in the history of humanity. After 10 years of dehumanizing Jewish people, 6 million Jews were shot, put in gas chambers, and killed in plain sight. It is incredibly important not to minimize or downplay this atrocity, or weaponize it against Jewish people. Despite the similarities between what is happening in Gaza and what happened during the Holocaust, there are also many stark differences. For example, though we have seen many thousands of Palestinian civilians killed and disabled, this should not be compared to 6 million Jewish people being shot and put systemically into gas chambers based on propaganda that Jews were, according to Nazis, ‘an inferior race’. These events under no circumstances should be compared, and it is extremely easy to discuss what is happening in Gaza without bringing in the Holocaust.
Do NOT call the Israeli Prime Minister Hitler or compare Israel to the Nazis. To compare Israel and Jewish people to Hitler and Nazi’s weaponizes Jewish trauma against Jews. It is okay to vehemently disagree with the actions of the Israeli government and call for them to end, but to compare them to the Holocaust is antisemitism.
NOT ANTISEMITIC: Netanyahu is killing Palestinian civilians.
ANTISEMETIC: Netanyahu Hitler is killing Palestinians with the Nazi IDF.
2. Do not minimize or downplay antisemitism
In the last week for speaking up about Jewish hate - I have been called insensitive and distasteful, told that not everything is about ‘my feelings getting hurt’, been told it is ‘obvious people stand with me’, and questioned by strangers and ‘friends’ about why Jewish perspectives on the subject matter. It is clear to me that many people have the perception that antisemitism is not a big deal, and is not worth mentioning, and discussing it somehow overshadows what is happening to Palestinian people. This could not be further from the truth.
First, two things can be true at once. Palestinians can be experiencing daily violence and starvation, and Jewish people around the world can be seeing the largest uptake in antisemitic language and hate crimes than they’ve seen in 50 years. Talking about one does not cancel out the other. To suggest that Jewish people who speak up about hate or talk about their connection to Israel should be cancelled, boycotted, fired, or deemed not worthy of friendship, is undoubtedly antisemitic; it resembles the steps Nazi’s took to erase and fire Jewish people from important jobs, to ostracize them from greater society, and feeds into dehumanization.
Second, Antisemitic language leads to real-life hate crimes we are seeing now; orthodox Jewish people being targeted, Jewish students feeling unsafe on university campuses, and synagogues being hate-crimed. It is the outwardly religious Jews and Jews of colour that are the most deeply affected by this hate.
We need to understand that the Nazis who killed Jews were not ‘evil’, they were regular people who were bystanders to the indoctrination that we are seeing now, in 2024. They were regular people who became deeply convinced that Jews were evil and a threat to society - again, exactly what we are seeing now in 2024. Jewish people do not fear words, we fear that what is happening now is just the beginning. Avoiding minimizing the violence and hate that antisemitism is causing toward Jewish people is crucial, and downplaying it is undoubtedly antisemitism.
3. Avoid reinforcing common Jewish tropes
While I am going to share a full post specifically on this, it is worth touching on briefly. Whether or not one spreads Jewish hate is entirely dependent on the language used. And, the reality is that the language used to describe Israel is projected onto Jewish people worldwide.
Some of the most antisemitic tropes and language that must be avoided include:
Implying or assuming Jewish people are a ‘white race’. Jewish people are diverse; as of 2007 in the United States alone, at least 20 percent of the Jewish population is racially and ethnically diverse, including African, African American, Latino (Hispanic), Asian, Native American, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and mixed-race Jews by heritage, adoption, and marriage.’ Mizrahi Jewish people immigrated to Israel from all over the Middle East and North Africa as refugees and consist of 44% of Israel’s population.
Exchanging ‘Jews’ with ‘Israel’ to get away with perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes. A litmus test to see if a statement is antisemitic is to replace ‘Israel’ with ‘Jews.’ For example: Saying ‘Jews have all of the power’ or ‘are evil’ (instead of Israel has all the power or Israel is evil). Stay far away from reinforcing Jewish tropes when talking about Israel.
Telling Jewish people with a connection to Israel that they are ‘complicit in genocide.’ The land of Israel is embedded in every aspect of Jewish culture and traditions. A connection to ancestral and traditional land is not unique to Jews - this is the case for literally any Indigenous Peoples. This does not mean Jews who feel this connection to land support the actions of the far right-wing government or they endorse the slaughter of Palestinian civilians. To jump to ‘complicit in genocide’ is antisemitic.
4. Do not call for Israel to be erased
If you do not believe Israel should exist in addition to all other colonial states, fine. If you hate the state of Israel and criticize its policies, you are entitled to your own opinion. However, in calling for Israel to be erased, consider how this would play out. Israel is made up of approximately 10 million people; over 7 million of whom are Jewish. In the erasure of Israel, what do you think should happen? Do you think all Jews and Palestinians should exist under a shared state? Or do you think the 7 million Jews should leave? Where would these people go? Going ‘back to Europe’ or ‘back to America’ is not an answer. If you believe in a one-state or two-state solution, specify this rather than saying ‘Israel should not exist.’
Additionally, consider the wider implications of why Israel’s existence is in question in the first place. Whether or not you agree with the existence here is irrelevant. As far as I am aware, no other country on earth is subjected to worldwide debates on whether or not it should exist. Not Canada, not the United States, despite both having an intense colonizing history on a scale of 100x that of Israel. Not any European country, not Russia, not Australia, not North Korea. Every single government at this point is a colonial entity. We must question what the reason is for Israeli’s widely-publicized illegitimacy, and if it has anything to do with it being the one Jewish state in the entire world (and yes, other religious states do exist. Every state has a majority religion, including the U.S. where presidents are sworn in on bibles and all holidays are related to Christianity.)
Consider how there is only one word in the entirety of the human language that refers to believing a state should exist or not (Zionism) that applies exclusively to the world’s only Jewish state. For example, there is no word about believing whether the United States should exist or not. Maybe we should normalize calling out whether people believe in Americanism or create the word Americanists and say that Americanists are all racists?
It’s okay to hate Israel’s policies. But if you choose to call for Israel to be erased, or to not exist, consider the implications of this call. You might be being an antisemite.
5. Don’t fetishize Hamas or act as if their relation to the conflict is irrelevant
Most people fighting for Palestinian liberation don’t seem to be knowledgeable about Hamas and their violence pushing Palestinians into poverty or the hateful views they have constantly spread widely about Jewish people. They have no idea Hamas uses Gaza hospitals as headquarters for weapon storage. They do not know that one of their big funding sources is the Islamic Republic of Iran - the same group that harasses, executes, and oppresses Iranian women and men to this day, and assisted the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They have no idea that Hamas’ leaders are billionaires, who have the funds to lift Palestinians out of poverty, yet spend the money on rockets. Most people don’t know these facts don’t care, or simply live in denial of Hamas’ treatment of Palestinian civilians and their well-known hateful views of Jewish people.
To fetishize or glamourize their rule in any way is deeply antisemitic, and in many regards is deeply anti-Palestinian. Hamas has proven they do not care about a flourishing life for civilians. They only care about creating a world in which Islamic fundamentalism overrules all. They have literally stated this themselves numerous times. To support the violence they inflict in the name of ‘liberation’ is to be completely ignorant of who they are and what their true goals are. If you want to support Palestinians and not be antisemitic or anti-Palestinian - be careful to not use any language that fetishizes or celebrates Hamas, sto acting as if they are not relevant to the conversation, and do not re-share any videos from ‘Hamas representatives’ and avoid regurgitating their language.
DISCLAIMER: I am one single Jewish person in the diaspora. I have never been to Israel myself. Many other Jews and Israelis may disagree with me. Please make sure to take time and read their perspectives and take this list as a starting point. Below is a list of Instagram accounts to follow. *Please note that sharing these accounts does not indicate shared political views.
