I’m grateful to the Charlatan for publishing my letter last week, but I find it necessary to comment on the heading that the editors gave to the letter. My choice would have been something along the lines of “Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic” rather than “Anti-Israel sentiment should not be considered anti-Semitism.”
The use of the term “Anti-Israel” is a staple of Zionist rhetoric, used to suggest that those who criticize Israel’s actions are motivated by simple, visceral hostility towards that state. Concurrently, this serves to hide the reality that most who criticize Israel do so because of the persistent, systematic and intentional harm it inflicts on Palestinians.
The report of the Commission on Inter-Cultural, Inter-Religious and Inter-Racial Relations adopts the “anti-Israel” terminology without question, using variations of it on several occasions while never once mentioning Palestine or Palestinians. As one can see, this rhetorical device is highly effective, and highly deceptive.
