Anti-Zionism and/not Anti-Semitism (4 Working Statements)
4 working statements on anti-Semitism and the relation between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and/or anti-Israelism: IHRA, Nexus, Jerusalem Declaration, Association for Jewish Studies
All 4 declarations are only working definitions and legally non-binding.
All 4 declarations insist that the alleged anti-Semitic character of an anti-Zionist/Israel statement is context dependent.
The IHRA was the first of its kind and goes back several years in response to alleged anti-Semitic acts committed primarily in Europe during a flareup of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. It provides examples of anti-Israel statements that are prima facie anti-Semitic. Critics complain (i think unfairly) that it applies too broad a brush and has been weaponized by the right against pro-Palestine expression. The Nexus and Jerusalem statements take care to include examples of anti-Zionist/Israel statements that are anti-Semitic and also examples of anti-Zionist/Israel statements that are not prima facie anti-Semitic. The Jerusalem Declaration is the one favored by most progressive activists and academics, but many of its signatories are blue-chip liberal and progressive Zionists. The working statement from the Association for Jewish Studies has not gotten the attention it deserves. It addresses the broader subject of anti-Semitism while addressing the politics of Israel and Palestine, academic freedom, and free speech on campus.
This section from the Jerusalem Declaration is liberal Zionist and identifies expressions of anti-Zionist animus as anti-Semitic –dependent on context
Israel and Palestine: examples that, on the face of it, are antisemitic
Applying the symbols, images and negative stereotypes of classical antisemitism (see guidelines 2 and 3) to the State of Israel.
Holding Jews collectively responsible for Israel’s conduct or treating Jews, simply because they are Jewish, as agents of Israel.
Requiring people, because they are Jewish, publicly to condemn Israel or Zionism (for example, at a political meeting).
Assuming that non-Israeli Jews, simply because they are Jews, are necessarily more loyal to Israel than to their own countries.
Denying the right of Jews in the State of Israel to exist and flourish, collectively and individually, as Jews, in accordance with the principle of equality.
Here is the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) Working Definition of Anti-Semitism
See also: https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism
Here is The Nexus Document (Understanding Antisemitism at Its Nexus with Israel and Zionism)
Here is the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism
