Israeli leaders have defended their genocidal campaign in Gaza by citing the historical persecution of Jewish people, implying that opposing Israel's war and protesting the mass killing of Palestinian civilians is anti-Semitic. It is essential to differentiate between genuine anti-Semitism and legitimate criticism of Israel's policies and actions, especially amid the Gaza war.
The IHRA’s Definition of Anti-Semitism
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is an intergovernmental organization founded in Stockholm in 1998. It includes 35 member nations and eight observers. Its mission is to promote Holocaust education, remembrance, and research.
In a plenary meeting in Bucharest on May 26, 2016, the IHRA adopted a working definition of anti-Semitism, which is a "non-legally binding" statement. This definition describes anti-Semitism as follows: “Antisemitism 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.”
The definition includes 11 contemporary examples of anti-Semitism, seven of which pertain to the State of Israel.
IHRA says that its definition of anti-Semitism has been adopted by 43 governments, including all European Union countries except Malta and Ireland. Yet, there is no standardized guideline on what this adoption entails.
Experts: IHRA's Definition of Anti-Semitism Curbs Freedom of Speech
Many Middle East experts and prominent lawyers argue that the IHRA's definition of anti-Semitism extends beyond its traditional meaning of hatred against Jews to include all criticism of Jewish institutions, including Israel.
Under this definition, pro-Palestine slogans like “Free Palestine” or “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” are considered anti-Semitic. Consequently, monitoring organizations in the U.S. and Europe have reported an increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the war in Gaza began on October 7.
In 2022, 128 scholars, including leading Jewish academics from Israeli, European, UK, and U.S. universities, stated that the definition had been “hijacked” to shield the Israeli government from international criticism. Former U.N. Special Rapporteur on racism, E. Tendayi Achiume, stated that the definition was being used to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel. Achiume added that this primarily harms Palestinians and human rights defenders advocating for them.
In the UK, studies have found the definition has a chilling effect on free speech. The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) and the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) analyzed 40 cases where UK university staff or students were accused of anti-Semitism. Their report, published last year, found that none of these accusations led to legal action, except for two cases that were still unsubstantiated.
Israeli Professor Neve Gordon, vice president of BRISMES and professor of international law and human rights at Queen Mary University in London, told Al Jazeera that conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism could paradoxically label critical Jewish voices as anti-Semitic. “If I were to teach in a class the Human Rights Watch report stating that Israel is an apartheid state, I could be accused of anti-Semitism,” Gordon said.
“The idea that comparing policies carried out by Israel with policies carried out by the Nazi regime is anti-Semitic is crazy,” Gordon said. “What the definition tries to do is to silence legitimate critique of Israel and the genocide it is carrying out in Gaza.”
Israel Is Weaponizing Anti-Semitism To Continue War on Gaza
In an episode of Al Jazeera's UpFront, the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace Stefanie Fox, political analyst and commentator Omar Baddar, and professor of Holocaust and genocide studies Omer Bartov concluded that accusations of anti-Semitism are sometimes used for political purposes.
Israeli leaders have justified their actions in Gaza by referring to the historical persecution of Jewish people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Hamas's operation on October 7 “the worst act of anti-Semitic violence since the Holocaust.” However, the Palestinian resistance operation was provoked by Israeli aggression and occupation. It is a response that is expected from the Palestinian people, who have faced Israeli settler colonial rule and occupation for decades.
The Palestinian armed factions' reliance on sudden tactics and plans is due to facing one of the most well-funded armed forces in the world. This military response by Palestinian resistance was an inevitable development, an act of resistance, and a reaction to the suffering of the people of Gaza under a brutal blockade and occupation. It is part of the Palestinian struggle for freedom.
The Israeli government deployed a multipronged propaganda strategy to garner unprecedented support for a sweeping war against the entire population of Gaza. They posited that opposing Israel’s war and protesting the mass killing of Palestinian civilians is anti-Semitic.
Frequently, the Israeli government and military release new claims to justify the ongoing extermination war against civilians. They have labeled hospitals as Hamas, the U.N. as Hamas, journalists as Hamas, European allies as Hamas, and even accused the International Court of Justice of being anti-Semitic.
Weaponizing Anti-Semitism Harms Jews
The blanket claim by pro-Israel advocates is intended as a political cudgel: weaponizing anti-Semitism to shield Israel from criticism of its attack on Gaza, which has left at least 39,400 Palestinians killed, wounded tens of thousands more, and forcibly displaced nearly 2 million Palestinians who now face famine conditions. Many scholars have argued that the situation in Gaza amounts to genocide.
Anti-Semitism weaponizations ultimately intensify discrimination and exclusion against vulnerable communities, including Jews. Those accusing protesters of anti-Semitism often dismiss the Jewish protesters in the encampments, implying that Jews can only be considered Jews if they support Israel or do not express pro-Palestinian sentiments.
The Gaza solidarity encampments across the U.S. are anti-racist spaces where Jews, Palestinians, Arabs, Christians, Muslims, Black people, men, women, and others stand in solidarity against Israel’s war on Gaza. They advocate for truth and justice, demanding that their government and universities cease support for Israel's destructive assault on Gaza.
Criticizing Israel's conduct in its war on Gaza should not be conflated with anti-Semitism, as doing so undermines the essential fight against actual anti-Semitism.
Recent Examples of Unsubstantial Anti-Semitism Accusations
It is crucial to distinguish between genuine anti-Semitism and legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and actions, particularly in Gaza. Recent examples of unsubstantial anti-Semitism accusations have surged amid the Israeli war on Gaza.
British Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah was accused of being an anti-Semite for a social media post comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. As a result, Abu-Sittah, who had spent 43 days tending to the wounded in Gaza City during the war, was denied entry into Germany for a conference and barred from appearing via video link. In May, he was also denied entry into France, where he was scheduled to address the upper house of Parliament.
U.N. human rights workers who are doing unbiased work everywhere in the world were also accused of anti-Semitism. For instance, Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories, has faced heavy criticism from Israel, particularly after she accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza in March.
On July 25, Albanese commented on a post on X featuring a photo of Hitler surrounded by a crowd giving Nazi salutes, overlaid with a shot of Netanyahu being greeted by members of the U.S. Congress.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry quickly responded, criticizing Albanese as "beyond redemption" and stating, “It is inconceivable that @FranceskAlbs is still allowed to use the @UN as a shield to spread anti-Semitism.”
In response, Albanese posted on X, stressing: “The Memory of the #Holocaust remains intact and sacred thanks to people of conscience worldwide.” She added, “Institutional rants and outbursts of selective moral outrage will not stop the course of #Justice, which is finally in motion.”
In addition, weaponizing anti-Semitism has also been used as a tactic in the context of the U.S. 2024 election. On July 26, former President Donald Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris of anti-Semitism, stating, "She doesn't like Jewish people. She doesn't like Israel. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's always going to be. She's not going to change."
In response, Harris issued a statement saying, "Antisemitism, hate, and violence of any kind have no place in our nation."
Accusations of anti-Semitism have also been directed at pro-Palestine celebrities such as Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa.
In May 2021, three-time Grammy winner Dua Lipa condemned an organization that ran a full-page ad in The New York Times accusing her of antisemitism due to her support for Palestinians. She described the ad as using her name “shamelessly” to “advance their ugly campaign with falsehoods and blatant misrepresentations.”
Amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, Lipa has reiterated her support for the people of Gaza, stating that her advocacy is for the “greater good” and that she is prepared to face backlash. She told Radio Times, “When I speak about things that are political, I double-check, triple-check myself to be: ‘OK, this is about something that is way bigger than me and it’s necessary, and that’s the only reason I’m posting it.’ That is my only solace in doing that.”
Weaponizing anti-Semitism has not only been exploited to curb freedom of speech or stifle criticism of Israel but has also extended into other areas, such as comics. In 2011, a published book alleged that Peyo's much-loved children's tale "The Smurfs" contains overtones of both Stalinism and Nazism, leading to accusations of antisemitism, racism, and communism.
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