Distinguishing Anti-Zionism from Anti-Semitism

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Anti-Zionism Versus Anti-Semitism: Is an Anti-Israel an Anti-Jew?
Introduction
The Jewish state of Israel is comprised of one quarter of one percent of the Middle East landmass and only 1.58% of its population; however, this state has been the target of anti-Semites and anti-Zionists since its conception in 1948 (Puder 1-3). As a result, anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism have been grouped together as synonyms in media sources and conversation across the globe, yet these two terms have very different definitions. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jews, while anti-Zionism is the opposition of Israel; however, these terms have been used interchangeably in many modern media sources. Despite this, there are ways to distinguish anti-Semitism over anti-Zionism …show more content…

One of the techniques used to differentiate anti-Semitism and criticisms is the 3D Test of Anti-Semitism, which was created by Natan Sharansky when he was the Israeli minister of Jerusalem and diaspora affairs (Berenbaum 336). The test features three different forms of anti-Semitism in media: demonization, double standards, and delegitimization. The first ‘D,’ demonization, refers to instances when Israelites are seen as Nazis and Palestinian refugee camps are compared to concentration camps from the Holocaust; this isn’t legitimate criticism because it only serves to display Zionists in a negative light. The second ‘D,’ double standards, can be found in sources that single out certain information on Israel that only presents a ‘half-truth,’ such as the ousting of human rights violations in Israel while ignoring similar violations in neighboring countries like Syria and Iran. The third ‘D,’ delegitimization, as discussed earlier, is seen in works that believe that Israel doesn’t have the right to exist. Irwin Cotler also proposed a set of specific qualifications that distinguish anti-Semitism from criticism of …show more content…

They publicly call for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. This is the case with the covenants of Palestinian terrorist groups (the PLO and Hamas) and some militant Islamic legal rulings (fatawin), as well as the Iranian threat to annihilate Israel ("genocidal anti-Semitism").
2. They deny the Jewish people's right to self-determination, de-legitimize Israel as a state, and attribute to Israel all the world's evil ("political

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