zionists love to cry "antisemitism"

equating antizionism with antisemitism is a purposefully conflation by fascists regimes to legitimize their genocides and purposefully confuse the ignorant

FREE MAHMOUD KHALIL

I want to start this off by stating that I am Jewish. I grew up Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I went to Temple for preschool and hell, I even went to Israel on Birthright (we’ll get into this!). To dive into this topic with the full depth required, I want to provide a little Judaism & Israel 101. Judaism, like Christianity, has different sects that vary widely in their beliefs. They are:

• Orthodox Judaism – The most traditional branch, adhering strictly to Jewish law (Halacha) and customs. Orthodox Jews are generally more likely to support Israel as a Jewish state. However, there are anti-Zionist factions, such as the Haredi group Neturei Karta, who oppose the state of Israel on religious grounds.

• Conservative Judaism – Positioned between Orthodox and Reform Judaism, Conservative Jews maintain adherence to Jewish law but with a more modern interpretation. Views on Israel among Conservative Jews are diverse, with many supporting Israel’s existence but also advocating for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution.

• Reform Judaism – The most liberal sect, emphasizing individual autonomy and modern values over strict adherence to Jewish law. Reform Jews tend to support Israel's right to exist but are more likely to criticize Israeli government policies, particularly regarding human rights and the treatment of Palestinians.

• Reconstructionist Judaism – A modern sect that views Judaism as a constantly evolving religious and cultural tradition. Reconstructionists generally support Israel’s existence but are vocal about the need for justice and peace for Palestinians.

• Humanistic Judaism – A secular movement that emphasizes Jewish culture and identity rather than religious belief. Humanistic Jews tend to be critical of Israeli government policies and advocate for Palestinian rights and equality.

We can see that the different sects have differing opinions on the state of Israel. But Allie, how can this be? Don’t all Jews support Israel? That is what the media and US government want — no, need — you to believe to legitimize their “protection” of Israel. The narrative has to be that the grand ol’ US of A is the savior of Jews in the Middle East. The Jews must be protected from those nasty Arab countries! The Arabs want the Jews dead! This messaging, aside from being racist against Arabs, allows the US to provide military aid to Israel with (formerly) little pushback. If we erase this false narrative from the collective, we see clearly that the US is doing what it always has done: upholding colonization.

To understand the establishment of Israel and how it fits into this narrative, we have to go back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Zionism, the movement for Jewish self-determination and the establishment of a Jewish homeland, began gaining traction. Zionism was fueled by the real rising antisemitism in Europe at the time and morphed into the belief that Jews could only be safe if they had their nation.

In 1917, during World War I, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, a letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild (a leader in the British Jewish community). It stated that:

“His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object.”

At the time, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, which collapsed at the end of the war. Afterward, Britain gained control of the territory under a League of Nations mandate. The British allowed Jewish immigration to Palestine, which increased tensions between Jewish settlers and the Arab population, who had already been living there for centuries. The Palestinians understandably resisted this encroachment on their land and resources, leading to cycles of violence and unrest.

Post-Holocaust Sympathy, the Partition Plan, and the Nakba

The horrors of the Holocaust created global sympathy for the Jewish cause. Six million Jews had been murdered, and many surviving European Jews were left stateless and displaced. The idea that Jews needed a homeland, a place where they could be safe from persecution, gained broad support in the West.

In 1947, the United Nations proposed the Partition Plan, which divided Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international control. Jewish leaders accepted the plan; Arab leaders rejected it, arguing that it was unjust to give away land that was already inhabited by Palestinians without their consent.

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. The next day, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded Israel, leading to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Israel emerged victorious, taking even more land than the Partition Plan had allocated.

For Palestinians, this period is known as the Nakba (“catastrophe”), as over 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes — many forced into refugee camps or neighboring Arab countries. Palestinian villages were destroyed or repurposed by the Israeli government. This created the foundation for the ongoing conflict over land, borders, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

U.S. Involvement and the "Protector" Narrative

The U.S. quickly recognized Israel and became its primary military and financial backer. This alliance was framed as morally righteous; the U.S. was protecting the Jewish people from annihilation by hostile Arab nations. This narrative served multiple strategic purposes for the U.S.:

• Cold War politics – Maintaining influence in the Middle East to counter the Soviet expansion.

• Military-industrial interests – Supplying weapons to Israel created economic and political ties.

• Evangelical Christian support – Many American Christians saw Israel's existence as fulfilling biblical prophecy.

But this "protector" narrative conveniently erased Palestinian existence and suffering. The idea that Israel's survival required absolute military dominance justified massive amounts of U.S. military aid and intervention in the region, including providing Israel with state-of-the-art weapons, intelligence support, and diplomatic cover at the United Nations.

When we strip away the emotional and moralistic framing, the U.S.'s unwavering support for Israel aligns perfectly with its historical role as a colonial power. Supporting Israel’s dominance in the region reinforces Western control over Middle Eastern resources and political dynamics. The dehumanization of Arabs — portrayed as violent, antisemitic, and irrational — allows the West to frame Israeli aggression as defensive and justified.

The modern Israeli state, then, reflects a colonial project where land, resources, and political power were seized from an indigenous population in a pre-established nation. The U.S.'s involvement isn’t about protecting Jews; it's about maintaining global dominance and control over the Middle East — while using the trauma of Jewish history as moral cover.

Indoctrination in Jewish Spaces

From an early age, Jewish children are immersed in narratives that link Jewish identity inextricably to the state of Israel. This indoctrination starts subtly, through Hebrew school lessons, Jewish youth groups, summer camps, and synagogue sermons, and extends into larger institutional structures like Jewish day schools and college Hillel organizations. The message is consistent and pervasive: to be a good Jew is to support Israel. I remember in preschool being told that we were “planting trees in Israel,” each of us toddlers colored printouts of leaves while learning about how we would be making the holy land beautiful again. Of course, they did not tell us that the reason they needed to plant new trees was because Israel had raised all existing Palestinian structures. Zionism is positioned not as a political ideology but as an essential component of Jewish identity and an unquestionable truth that defines Jewish existence and survival.

For example, Jewish summer camps often feature Israeli flags alongside American ones, teach campers Israeli folk dances and songs, and invite Israeli counselors to foster a direct emotional connection to Israel. Birthright Israel, a program that offers free trips to Israel for young Jews, is one of the most overt examples of this indoctrination. The program, which I participated in during Christmas of 2019, presents a carefully curated version of Israeli history and culture and reinforces the narrative that Israel is a homeland for all Jews, conveniently downplaying or erasing the ongoing occupation and the suffering of Palestinians. IDF soldiers are tasked with “protecting” us on Birthright as, again, we were told we were the ones in danger from the Palestinians. We were shown the vibrant streets of Tel Aviv and the solemnity of Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust memorial) but were shielded from the realities of life in Gaza or the West Bank. There is also a conspiracy that Birthright groups people based on possible romantic connections, hoping to inspire potential couples to birth and raise more Israel-loving babies (I can’t confirm this, but most of us were from the Northeast US). Conversations about Palestinian displacement or the Israeli military occupation are either sanitized or dismissed altogether.

I want to acknowledge and apologize for my previous involvement in the program as I recognize the overt harm it continues to perpetuate against Palestinians. I also hope to show that this indoctrination starts young and runs deep and I was not above the constant messaging about the “promised land.”

Even within Jewish education, criticism of Israel is often treated as betrayal. Questioning Israeli government policies or expressing solidarity with Palestinians is met with defensiveness and suspicion. Jewish day schools and Hebrew schools teach students that Israel is constantly under existential threat — that Palestinians (and Arabs more broadly) want to "push the Jews into the sea." This fear-based messaging fosters a siege mentality, encouraging Jews to see criticism of Israel as inherently dangerous or antisemitic. The message is clear: to question Israel’s policies is to betray Jewish unity and put Jewish survival at risk.

Jewish communal institutions also reinforce Zionist loyalty through financial and social pressure. Large Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) wield significant influence over American politics and Jewish communal life. Synagogues that host events critical of Israel risk losing funding and support. Jewish leaders who speak out against Israeli government policies face social ostracism and professional consequences. This creates a chilling effect, where Jews who feel morally compelled to challenge Israeli policies often remain silent for fear of being labeled traitors.

This indoctrination isn’t just about fostering emotional loyalty to Israel — it’s about enforcing political conformity. By tying Jewish identity to Zionism, Jewish institutions pressure Jews to accept Israeli militarism, occupation, and colonialism as necessary and justified. The result is a form of collective gaslighting, where even Jews who feel moral discomfort with Israeli policies are made to question their instincts. If you criticize Israel, are you betraying your people? Are you endangering Jewish survival? This manufactured guilt reinforces Jewish silence and complicity in the face of Israeli violence and oppression.

How Antizionism Gets Equated with Antisemitism

One of the most powerful tools used to maintain Jewish support for Israel and to silence criticism is the conflation of antizionism with antisemitism. This conflation isn’t accidental; it’s a deliberate political strategy used to delegitimize opposition to Israeli policies and to isolate Jews who challenge Zionism from the broader Jewish community.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which has been widely adopted by governments and institutions, explicitly frames certain forms of criticism of Israel as antisemitic. For example, accusing Israel of being a colonial state or holding it to higher moral standards than other nations is categorized as antisemitism under the IHRA definition. This creates a dangerous precedent where legitimate political critique, especially from Jews themselves, is dismissed as hateful bigotry.

Jewish antizionists face particularly harsh backlash. Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), one of the largest antizionist Jewish organizations in the U.S., has been labeled antisemitic by mainstream Jewish institutions and political leaders. Members of JVP have been barred from participating in Jewish communal events, and synagogues that host JVP speakers have faced protests and funding threats. Even individual Jewish antizionists are often accused of being “kapos” (Jews who collaborated with Nazis) or “self-hating Jews”, further weaponizing Jewish trauma to silence dissent.

The pressure to conform is particularly intense within Jewish families and social circles. Antizionist Jews frequently report being shunned by their families or excluded from religious and social gatherings. Jewish parents often frame antizionism as a personal betrayal, as if criticizing Israeli policy is equivalent to rejecting Jewish heritage and identity. This emotional manipulation makes it incredibly difficult for Jewish antizionists to maintain ties to their communities.

The weaponization of antisemitism accusations serves a dual purpose: it protects Israeli impunity on the global stage while fracturing Jewish solidarity at home. Jewish antizionists are positioned as outliers and dangerous radicals whose voices cannot be trusted. This isolates Jewish antizionists from both Jewish communities and broader leftist movements, leaving them politically vulnerable and emotionally disconnected.

The irony, of course, is that Jewish antizionists are often the most committed to Jewish ethical traditions. Their opposition to Israeli occupation and militarism stems from deeply held Jewish values such as the principles of justice, equality, and collective liberation found in Jewish teachings. But the current political landscape has turned those very values into liabilities, casting Jewish moral dissent as antisemitic betrayal. The message is clear: to be a good Jew, you must be a Zionist — and if you’re not (hi 🙋‍♀️), you’re the enemy.

Sources

• The Israel/Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict By Walter Laqueur and Barry A. Rubin

• The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War By James L. Gelvin

• My undergraduate notes from RELGST 1256 Modern Israel and Palestine at The University of Pittsburgh

• My Birthright trip and general Jewish experiences