American debate over anti-Semitism

A coalition of Arab Americans, progressive American Jews, and civil liberties advocates in Atlanta recently mobilized to block the Georgia legislature from passing a bill that would change the definition of anti-Semitism to include legitimate criticism of Israel.

Similar bills have been passed in other states, as part of a national strategy by a few pro-Israel groups and right-wing think tanks.

Supported by successful legislation or executive orders in more than 30 states to punish entities or individuals who support boycotts or sanctions of Israel, these groups are expanding their campaign to silence criticism of Israel by pressuring state governments to adopt a controversial definition of anti-Semitism, saying, Efforts to demonize Israel or judge it as having “double standards” are anti-Semitic.

Although the Georgia bill failed, it will return next year. The bills and efforts to conflate legitimate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism are just one part of a broader campaign to stamp out growing pro-Palestinian sentiment in the United States. By penalizing pro-Palestinian speech on campuses and defeating politicians who criticize Israeli behavior, this campaign attempts to re-silence pro-Palestinian voices and critics of Israel, which have been prevalent for decades. During the 1970s and 1980s, members of Congress who dared to stand up for Palestinian rights were defeated. Professors lost their positions, speakers were cancelled, and groups and individuals were discredited.

As public opinion shifted during the intifada and the eventual inclusion of the PLO in the peace process, the power of this intimidation lost momentum and an open debate began. The (mostly recent) ups and downs of the peace process have led to renewed debate on Israeli/Palestinian issues. But the increasing behavior of the Israeli government's policies and increased scrutiny of its policies led to a radical shift in American public opinion. Today, majorities in both parties support linking US aid to Israel to the level of commitment to human rights.

By a large margin, the Democrats are now more understanding of the Palestinians' problems. Candidates who defended Palestinian human rights and criticized Israel ran for Congress and won. Outspoken students — including Arab Americans, Black and Asian Americans, and progressive Jewish youth — are engaging in pro-Palestinian actions on college campuses. This shift created a crisis for the extremist pro-Israel groups, which settled on a two-track attack.

First, the new pro-Israel political action committees (AIPAC) shifted from raising money for candidates who support Israel to raising money to defeat pro-Palestinian candidates. Their ads never focus on supporting Israel — an issue that won't win them — and instead focus on personal attacks against the candidates they oppose. Recently, AIPAC and its allies announced their intention to spend tens of millions in 2024 to defeat congressional candidates deemed insufficiently supportive of Israel.

The second path is the legislative path. As Lara Friedman recently noted: “Essentially, the pro-Israel community is seen as saying that it cannot win the debate on the merits of the issue, but instead should try to silence the other side.” They have launched smear campaigns against individuals and groups perceived to be critical of Israeli policies – including progressive Jewish groups – calling them anti-Semites.

This harms Arab American empowerment and civic participation. This effort stifles debate on an important foreign policy concern, crushes freedom of expression, and silences support for the Palestinians. By conflating anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel, attention is diverted from true anti-Semitism, which is holding, expressing, or acting on intolerant attitudes toward Jews, as individuals or a group, and attributing inherent characteristics of them, as Jews, to the Jewish people. This, like all forms of hatred, must be completely combated and prevented.

Because the people targeted in this pro-Israel campaign are mostly progressive critics of Israeli policies, a free pass has been given to right-wing pro-Israel anti-Semites. Criticizing Israel for seizing land, demolishing homes, or denying refugees the right to return is acceptable. Silencing critics of these behaviors is in itself intolerance. Pro-Israel groups often accuse Israel's critics of "unfairly targeting Israel out of criticism."

*President of the Arab American Institute - Washington