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Debunking the myth that anti-Zionism is antisemitic
Article in the Guardian by Peter Beinart
It's quite some time ago that I fell upon this 2019 article which explains in detail why anti-Zionism does not equal antisemitism. What I found most enlightening was the chapter about antisemitic Zionists, of which I'm here quoting the paragraphs about Arthur Balfour:
In the real world, anti-Zionism and antisemitism don’t always go together. It is easy to find antisemitism among people who, far from opposing Zionism, enthusiastically embrace it.
Before Israel’s creation, some of the world leaders who most ardently promoted Jewish statehood did so because they did not want Jews in their own countries. Before declaring, as foreign secretary in 1917, that Britain “view[s] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”, Arthur Balfour supported the 1905 Aliens Act, which restricted Jewish immigration to the United Kingdom.
And two years after his famous declaration, Balfour said Zionism would “mitigate the age-long miseries created for western civilisation by the presence in its midst of a Body [the Jews] which it too long regarded as alien and even hostile, but which it was equally unable to expel or to absorb”.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/mar/07/debunking-myth-that-anti-zionism-is-antisemitic
#zionism #antisemitism #anti-zionism #israel #palestine #arthurbalfour #guardian
Debunking the myth that anti-Zionism is antisemitic
The long read: All over the world, it is an alarming time to be Jewish – but conflating anti-Zionism with Jew-hatred is a tragic mistakePeter Beinart (The Guardian)
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Jamie
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Aladár Mézga
•Not quite. This is different from other religions, as "Jews" may refer to 1) the members of a religion which at least in theory everyone can join and 2) to descendants of the ethnic group that 2000 years ago lived in the approximate area that is now Israel. 2000 years ago both groups were one, but these days Israel has about 20% atheists who still call themselves "Jews", while there is a steady stream of people who joined the Jewish religion in their home country and then moved to Israel, often for cheap housing. (West Bank)
The problem with the second group: Citizens of Israel usually don't belong to it, as they came from all corners of the world. That's why Israel doesn't allow DNA tests for ethnicity. Ironically, "Semites" is a designation for a number of ethnicities in that area, including the Palestinians. Ethnically, most Jews these days do not quite belong to that group, as everyone can join that religion. At least it should be v
... show moreNot quite. This is different from other religions, as "Jews" may refer to 1) the members of a religion which at least in theory everyone can join and 2) to descendants of the ethnic group that 2000 years ago lived in the approximate area that is now Israel. 2000 years ago both groups were one, but these days Israel has about 20% atheists who still call themselves "Jews", while there is a steady stream of people who joined the Jewish religion in their home country and then moved to Israel, often for cheap housing. (West Bank)
The problem with the second group: Citizens of Israel usually don't belong to it, as they came from all corners of the world. That's why Israel doesn't allow DNA tests for ethnicity. Ironically, "Semites" is a designation for a number of ethnicities in that area, including the Palestinians. Ethnically, most Jews these days do not quite belong to that group, as everyone can join that religion. At least it should be very difficult to find someone who is 90% or more descendant of the ethnic group of Jews.
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Amina Jojo
•Being antisemitic doesn't necessarily entail consciousness about what Jews or Semites are. Anti-zionism, to the contrary, presupposes such knowledge.
And being born into something doesn't mean others can't be "anti" about it, otherwise racism wouldn't be possible.
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Jamie
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