They Are Lying to You About 'Antisemitism'. It's a Weapon to Silence Dissent.

They think we are fools. They think we can’t see the game being played right in front of our eyes. They take a word freighted with the horrors of history—a word that should be a sacred shield to protect a people from hatred—and they have twisted it into a political cudgel. It is a grotesque and cynical maneuver, and it is an insult not only to our intelligence, but to the very memory of those the word is meant to protect.

This isn't just about a word. It's about a lie. A powerful, poisonous lie designed to shut down debate, to protect the powerful, and to brand anyone who dares to speak for the oppressed as a bigot. And we will not be silent about it any longer.

The Cynical Weaponization of a Sacred Term

Let’s be brutally honest. The charge of ‘antisemitism’ has become the political establishment’s favorite tool for silencing criticism of the Israeli state. It is their get-out-of-jail-free card, deployed with sickening regularity to shut down any conversation about human rights, international law, or military occupation. We see it happening in the hallowed halls of our most prestigious media outlets. Outlets like The New York Times are no longer reporting the news; they are engaged in what can only be described as pro-Israel advocacy, dressed up in the language of fighting hate.

Brave, independent voices like those at Mondoweiss are relentlessly attacked for pointing this out. They are smeared for exposing how the accusation of antisemitism is being strategically used not to fight prejudice, but to shield a nation-state from accountability. This isn’t a good-faith debate; it is a coordinated campaign of intellectual intimidation. The goal is simple: to make the price of criticizing Israel so high, so personally and professionally damaging, that most will simply choose to stay silent. It is a lie, a deliberate deception, meant to protect political power, not people.

The Great Inversion: How the Left Became the Scapegoat

And here is the most insidious part of the lie. In a breathtaking act of political jujitsu, the establishment is now attempting to pin the blame for rising antisemitism on the political left. It is a narrative of pure fantasy, a strategic distraction from the real sources of violent, racialized hatred that have always festered on the far-right.

It is with a sense of profound disappointment that we now see this narrative being legitimized by some community leaders, even within the European Jewish community. When a leader stands up and points the finger at progressives, they are not fighting antisemitism. They are, perhaps unwittingly, serving a right-wing agenda designed to do one thing: fracture the alliances between Jewish communities and other minority and progressive groups who should be natural allies in the fight for justice for all.

This is how they win. They divide us. They take a chant against military violence at a music festival like Glastonbury and twist it into a vile expression of racial hatred. They tell us that to be against the policies of the IDF is to be against Jewish people. This is the great inversion. It is a lie that conflates a political state with an entire people, a government with a global diaspora, a military with a religion. The truth, the simple truth that has apparently run out of patience, is this: Criticizing a government is not racism. Period.

Performative Grief and Political Theater

While this cynical word game is being played, what are our governments doing about the real, violent threats? They are engaging in the most pathetic and insulting political theater imaginable. We see it in the U.S. Senate, where a bipartisan resolution is passed with solemn faces and self-congratulatory press releases. A non-binding piece of paper. A symbolic gesture that does absolutely nothing to stop a fanatic from walking into a synagogue with a weapon.

This is the moral contrast laid bare. On one side, you have activists, students, and human rights advocates—people of all faiths and backgrounds—who risk their reputations to speak out against injustice, who are branded as antisemites for demanding that Palestinians be treated with dignity. On the other side, you have politicians who will not lift a finger to enact substantive laws to protect vulnerable communities, but who will leap at the chance to sign a meaningless resolution that allows them to look tough while doing nothing. Their concern is a performance. Their actions are hollow. It is the height of hypocrisy, a stark contrast between those who genuinely seek justice and those who merely seek power.

The Price of Our Silence

Make no mistake: allowing them to get away with this has catastrophic consequences. When the definition of antisemitism is broadened to include political speech, the word itself loses its meaning. It becomes diluted, a political football that can no longer be used effectively to identify and fight the genuine, genocidal hatred it was meant to describe. By crying 'wolf' to protect a political project, they leave the flock vulnerable to the actual wolves.

If we do not act, the damage will be permanent. The space for legitimate political debate will shrink until it disappears. The ability to hold the state of Israel, or any powerful state, accountable for its actions will be gone, shut down by a single, unchallengeable accusation. This is not a slippery slope; we are sliding down it right now. Your silence is tacit approval of this moral blackmail.

The choice is clear. It is a choice between speaking a difficult truth and accepting a comfortable lie. It is a choice between standing with the oppressed and siding with the powerful who use claims of victimhood as a shield.

So what can you do?

• Speak Up. When you see the charge of antisemitism used to silence legitimate criticism of Israeli policy, call it what it is: a cynical political tactic. Do not let the lie stand unchallenged.
• Defend Dissent. Support the writers, activists, and organizations who are being smeared. Our solidarity is their shield.
• Demand Real Action. Tell your elected officials you are tired of their performative resolutions. Demand substantive policies that fight all forms of violent hate, not symbolic gestures that serve only to polish their own images.
• Share This Truth. The most powerful weapon we have is the truth. Make sure this message is heard. We must not allow them to win this battle for the meaning of a word, because it is a battle for our right to speak, to dissent, and to fight for justice.