Is Anti-Zionism a form of Anti-Semitism? And what do those terms mean anyway?
Back in 2019 I was asked by the Jewish News of Detroit to write some thoughts on whether Anti-Zionism was a form of Anti-Semitism. President Macron of France had said that it was. This was an allegation often used to attack and possibly discredit critics of Israel.
But what do those terms even mean? My approach as a professor is to make sure there are clear definitions of controversial terms before we can discuss the topic. My draft essay (which the Jewish News chose NOT to publish) took that approach. I suspect for some people clarification is not a friendly act.
By the way, there are two terms that often converge but are quite different. I did not separate them sufficiently in my talk, and these are two terms that DO require clarification. Deicide is the belief that "the Jews" were collectively responsible for the execution of Jesus and that the responsibility for that crime rests upon the Jewish people today. The Catholic Church renounced this view during the Vatican II conference (on which there is a separate podcast). The Blood Libel is the belief that Jews require the blood of a Christian child for their religious rituals. When Israel is accused of being indifferent to human life in their bombing campaigns, or of being guilty of war crimes, their defenders often say these criticisms are a blood libel. Ariel Sharon used this term when he defended himself from accusations that he was involved in the Sabra and Shatilla massacres. There is also a podcast on this topic (The Kahan Commission Report).
I hope you find these reflections interesting