Questions and Answers

Does being anti-Israel automatically make you antisemitic?

Just as people can object to policies of the government of Australia or any other country, so too can they oppose policies or actions of the State of Israel. However, when such opposition manifests itself to the exclusion of opposition to the actions or policies of other countries - particularly those notorious for human rights breaches such as Iran, Sudan, North Korea and others - such criticism is more likely to reflect an antisemitic agenda. As human rights advocate Martin Luther King wrote in 1967, "When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - this is God's own truth. Anti-Semitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind."

What is antisemitism?

The term antisemitism was first coined in 1879 by a German by the name of Wilhelm Marr. It is a term used to define the hatred of Jewish people. Nevertheless, in recent years there have been attempts to link the terms to Arabs, in the sense that they too are 'Semites'. However, such attempts are designed solely to detract from the notion that Jews are victims of a unique type of hatred dating back millenia, as part of the Arab world's efforts against the State of Israel.

Why is antisemitism recognised as a unique form of persecution, as distinct from racism in general?

Jewish people have been victimised for the 'crimes' of being Jewish for millenia. From the expulsion of Jews from the Land of Israel by the Romans two thousands years ago, to the wholesale murder of Jews in Arabia six centuries later, to the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and ultimately the Holocaust, antisemitism has plagued Jews throughout space and time. No other people on earth has been so hounded and subjected to such violent and sustained persecution and attempted genocide. Accordingly, whilst victims of racism in general must be recognised, the unique situation of the Jewish people has caused the hatred of that people to be distinguished from all other hatreds.

Does the United Nations official recognise antisemitism?

In 2004, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that "throughout history [anti-semitism] has been a unique manifestation of hatred, intolerance and persecution ... a human rights agenda that fails to address anti-Semitism denies its own history ... We owe it to ourselves, as well as to our Jewish brothers and sisters, to stand firmly against the particular tide of hatred that anti-Semitism represents." This statement by Mr Annan demonstrates a positive attitude on the part of the United Nations in respect of the fight against antisemitism. However, this has not always been the case. As Annan himself commented, "the United Nations’ record on anti-Semitism has at times fallen short of our ideals. The General Assembly resolution of 1975, equating Zionism with racism, was an especially unfortunate decision." The United Nation historically has a notorious record of condemning Israel, whilst egregiously ignoring horrendous human rights abuses by other countries. This has unfortunately continued within the framework of the recently constituted United Nations Council on Human Rights (UNHRC). Since the Council's creation in 2006 it has directed almost 60 per cent of its decision condemning states towards Israel. And nothing at all on 187 of the UN's other 191 members. The Council has eight regular sessions which cover human rights in all countries - and four special sessions devoted only to human rights violations by Israel. So, although the 'Zionism is Racism' resolution has been rescinded, and despite Annan's positive overtures, the UN still has much work to do in the area of recognising and fighting antisemitism.

Other articles on antisemitism

For related articles, visit the antisemitism section of Durban Review or select from the articles below. Other anti-racism themes, conference details, and news are available from the Durban Review home page.

  • Questions and Answers
    A series of questions and answers on the topic of antisemitism
  • Jewish Resources on Durban
    The World Zionist Organization is maintaining a page of resources on the Durban Review Conference where Iran has made antisemitic statements attacking Jews and Zionism
  • Deborah Stone, Antisemitism on the Internet, Australian Jewish News, 29 August 2008
    The internet has become, among all its other activities, the most effective purveyor of antisemitic canards since the Nazi publication Der Sturmer went out of business with the end of World War II.
  • The Hoax of Hate: The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, ADC Special Reports
    In a rational world, a paranoid forgery, written by a little-known public servant in a country far away a century ago, would arouse little interest, except perhaps amongst students of political and psychological deviance. Unfortunately, all the people of the world are not equally rational. We are again living at a time when insane and dangerous ideologies are once more threatening the lives of ordinary people. The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion are perhaps the clearest example in history of extreme antisemitic propaganda designed to incite people to evil actions.