"Making clear the differences between antisemitism and anti-Zionism is important for free speech and for Palestinian human rights groups who rightfully criticize Israel’s apartheid."
August 1, 2023
There has been a push in recent years by pro-Israeli groups urging governments, organizations, and social media companies, like Twitter (X), to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) antisemitism definition. This definition equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. In fact, in a recent letter by the Adopt IHRA Coalition, titled “Elon, Twitter Has an Antisemitism Problem”, a significant number of the Tweets they used as examples of antisemitic content were inarguably legitimate criticisms of the state of Israel and its actions. The IHRA definition targets users who use apartheid or settler-colonialism to describe Israel, point out Israel’s human rights violations, and express outrage at the Israeli government’s actions. These are all legitimate claims being attacked to stifle Palestinian advocacy.
Making clear the differences between antisemitism and anti-Zionism is important for free speech and for Palestinian human rights groups who rightfully criticize Israel’s apartheid.
Jason Toney
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
Address: 580 Sainte-Croix, Suite 060, Montreal, QC H4l 3X5
T: 438-380-5410
C: 438-530-6567