Antisemitism has long been a real and dangerous form of hatred—but today, Zionist institutions increasingly weaponize the term to silence Palestinian advocacy and discredit righteous voices calling for justice. This introduction explores how that distortion works, and why it matters.
Let’s begin with clarity.
Antisemitism is real.
It is a centuries-old hatred that has led to unspeakable violence, discrimination, and genocide—most horrifically in the Holocaust.
It must be condemned wherever it appears.
But today, a dangerous distortion is unfolding.
Zionist institutions and pro-Israel lobby groups have increasingly weaponized the term antisemitism—not to protect Jewish communities from hate, but to shield the Israeli state from accountability.
They’ve redefined criticism of Israel as antisemitism.
They’ve blurred the line between opposing a government and hating a people.
And in doing so, they’ve turned a legitimate concern into a political weapon.
This tactic is not new.
But it’s growing more aggressive.
Palestinians—who are themselves Semites—are routinely accused of antisemitism for speaking about their own dispossession.
Jewish scholars, journalists, and activists who oppose Zionism are smeared as traitors.
Students are expelled.
Professors are fired.
Social media accounts are suspended.
And entire movements are branded as “hate groups” for demanding basic human rights.
According to Palestine Legal, nearly half of the suppression incidents they respond to each year involve false accusations of antisemitism.
The goal is clear: silence dissent.
Discredit resistance.
Punish truth.
And it’s not just happening in the U.S.
In France, President Macron called anti-Zionism a “reinvented form of antisemitism.”
In Canada and the UK, governments have adopted definitions that equate criticism of Israel with hate speech.
In 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism”.
But here’s the truth:
Zionism is a political ideology.
It is not Judaism.
It is not a religion.
It is not a people.
And opposing Zionism—especially in its violent, settler-colonial form—is not antisemitism.
It is a moral stance.
It is a defense of international law.
It is a call for justice.
When Palestinians speak of their stolen homes, their murdered children, their imprisoned elders—they are not expressing hate.
They are expressing history.
They are expressing grief.
They are expressing truth.
And when righteous people—of all backgrounds—stand with Palestine, they are not inciting violence.
They are resisting it.
So let’s be clear:
The weaponization of antisemitism is not about protecting Jews.
It’s about protecting power.
It’s about silencing the oppressed.
It’s about making sure that the crimes of the Israeli state go unchallenged.
But the truth is louder than the smear.
And the truth is rising.
From Gaza to New York, from refugee camps to college campuses, from synagogues to mosques—people are speaking.
People are resisting.
People are refusing to be silenced.
And that resistance?
It’s not antisemitism.
It’s conscience.
It’s courage.
It’s justice.