“Zionism is racism” | #TranslateHate
“Zionism is racism”
theme \ 'zīə.nizəm iz 'rā,sizəm \
: refers to United Nations Resolution 3379 in 1975, in which the General Assembly linked Zionism and the State of Israel, to racism and racial discrimination. This was overturned in 1991 making it one of only two resolutions ever revoked by the UN
WHY IT’S ANTISEMITIC:
Prior to 1948, Zionism was an aspiration—the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, founded by Theodore Herzl in the late 19th century, to re-establish a Jewish nation as a solution to the antisemitism Jews faced in Europe. After 1948 until today, Zionism became a reality: a homeland not only to persecuted European Jews, but Jews from all over the globe, including Jews fleeing persecution from the Soviet Union, the Arab world, Turkey, Iran, and Ethiopia, amongst others. Israel is one of the most diverse countries in the world with over half of its population being from Africa, India, and other areas of the Middle East. The vast majority of Jews around the world identify as Zionists, meaning they support the existence of Israel as a Jewish State in the historic Land of Israel.
The Soviet Union led the effort to link Zionism to racism, basing their accusations on the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion and arguing that Judaism’s concept of “the chosen people” promoted racial superiority. This deliberate slur interpolated and distorted the real meaning of Judaism which explains the Jewish people are ‘chosen,’ or set apart, for special and burdensome religious and social obligations. Other states from Cuba to the Arab world repeated these slurs and criticized Jews and Israel by using the phrase “Zionism is racism,” often taking the discrimination practiced historically against Jews as individuals and employing it against their collective identity.
Criticizing specific Israeli government policies as discriminatory or racist is not antisemitic. However, saying “Zionism is racism,” a phrase which itself is a racist and religious distortion, conveys that the Jewish people—unlike all other people in the world—do not have a right to self-determination. The phrase also denigrates the Jewish State and belittles the diversity of Jewish life in Israel. Famed Soviet Nobel Peace Laureate Andrei Sakharov warned that this resolution would “contribute to antisemitic tendencies in many countries by giving them the appearance of international legality.”
Following the Hamas-instigated war with Israel in May 2021, Jews or “Zionists” were falsely characterized as “Nazis” and “racists.” Antisemitic attacks surged online and had offline consequences as Jews were harassed and attacked on the streets in New York City and Los Angeles, amongst other places.
