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Short answer
Anti-Zionism is often presented as a critique of a political idea, but in practice it functions very differently. Its advocates claim they have no issue with Jews, only with “Zionists,” a label applied so broadly that it effectively targets anyone who supports Israel’s existence, which includes most Jews worldwide for whom Zionism is a core expression of peoplehood. It relies on extreme and unfounded accusations such as genocide, deliberate targeting of children, organ harvesting, or secret global manipulation. It erases Jewish history by denying the Jewish people’s continuous and indigenous connection to the Land of Israel, recasting Jewish presence as “colonial” to make hostility appear justified. By using “Zionists” as a proxy for Jews, it assigns collective guilt and normalizes harassment, boycotts, and even violence based on false charges, echoing patterns that have driven antisemitic persecution for centuries.
Anti-Zionism is not a good-faith political debate. It is the recycling of old antisemitic tropes rebranded in modern language.
Long answer
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put it plainly, “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews.”
Anti-Zionism often presents itself as mere criticism of a political idea, but those spreading antisemitic ideas frequently hide behind claims that they are only criticizing Israeli policy. They insist they have no problem with Jews, only with “Zionists,” a label applied so broadly that it includes anyone who supports Israel’s existence. In reality, this targets most of the global Jewish community, for whom Zionism affirms Jewish self determination in their historic homeland and the legitimacy of Israel’s existence and is a core expression of Jewish peoplehood.The most common claim is that Israel’s efforts to protect its population are excessive, while Palestinian violence is excused as “resistance.” Yet no other country is expected to tolerate rocket fire, terrorism, or coordinated attacks from groups openly calling for its destruction without defending itself. Demands that Israel weaken its security or submit to one-sided international pressure undermine Jewish self-determination and make a future two-state solution harder to achieve, not easier.
For centuries, blood libels accused Jews of poisoning wells, harming children, and plotting global control. None of it was true, and all of it served to isolate Jews and justify violence against them. Today, anti-Zionism follows the same script, simply replacing “Jews” with “Israel” or “Zionists.”
It does so by inventing shocking crimes without evidence, such as claims of genocide, deliberate targeting of children, organ harvesting, or secret global control, which are modern versions of ancient smears meant to demonize Jews. It portrays Israelis and Jews as almost supernatural villains, blaming Israel for unrelated global problems in a conspiratorial way applied to no other nation. It denies Jewish history by rejecting the Jewish people’s continuous and indigenous connection to the Land of Israel and labeling Jewish presence as “colonial,” making hostility appear justified. It assigns collective guilt by using “Zionists” as a stand-in for Jews and excusing harassment, boycotts, and even violence based on fabricated accusations, echoing the same dynamics that fueled centuries of pogroms.
Anti-Zionism offers no path forward. It serves as a shield behind which antisemitism hides to avoid scrutiny, while repeating the same lies and tropes that have targeted Jews for centuries. By singling out the world’s only Jewish state for elimination and denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination in their own historical homeland, it becomes a modern incarnation of antisemitism.
