They Are Lying to You About Antisemitism. Here Is the Truth.

Let’s be perfectly clear. A word that was meant to signify one of history’s most vile and murderous hatreds is being systematically stripped of its meaning. It is being hollowed out and turned into a political weapon, a cudgel used to beat down dissent, to silence the oppressed, and to shield a powerful state from accountability. The charge of “antisemitism” has become the last refuge of the apologist, the first cry of the censor, and the most effective tool for shutting down any and all criticism of the state of Israel. And we are no longer going to stand for it.

The Lie They Are Selling You

They want you to believe in a fantasy. A terrifying, convenient fantasy where progressive movements, student activists, and mainstream cultural spaces are suddenly hotbeds of Jew-hating bigotry. They point to a moment of raw anger at a music festival and call it a pogrom. They take chants against a specific, brutal military—the IDF—at Glastonbury and, with the help of a compliant media and opportunistic politicians, they transform it into a national security incident. Suddenly the police are involved, the government is issuing condemnations, and the BBC is forced into a humiliating spectacle of self-flagellation for broadcasting… what? The sounds of genuine, popular outrage against state-sanctioned violence.

This isn't an accident; it is a strategy. They feed you a quote from a single community leader in Milan, Walker Meghnagi, who claims “hatred of Jews is now being driven by the left.” They present this as unassailable fact, the final word from “The Jewish Community.” How profoundly dishonest. How contemptuous of the thousands upon thousands of Jewish voices—from groups like Jewish Voice for Peace to countless individuals—who stand in solidarity with Palestine and are horrified to see their identity hijacked to defend an occupation. They ignore these voices and amplify the one that serves their narrative, hoping you won’t notice the deception.

Look at the political arena. In New York, a progressive politician of color, Zohran Mamdani, dares to stand for Palestinian rights. The response is immediate and predictable: a torrent of accusations labeling him an antisemite. But here’s the new, insidious twist. When his allies point out that these attacks are a transparently Islamophobic campaign against a Muslim politician, the accusers cry foul. They claim Islamophobia is being used as a shield to deflect from antisemitism. It is a perfect, cynical trap. They create a closed loop of accusations where the victim is blamed for defending themselves, and any criticism of the state of Israel is framed as an existential, racist threat.

The Truth They Are Desperate to Hide

For years, we have tried to explain this with patience, but that patience has finally run out. The truth is simple: Criticizing the government of Israel is not antisemitism. Opposing the political ideology of Zionism is not antisemitism. Advocating for the human rights of Palestinians is not antisemitism.

This desperate, coordinated effort to redefine the word has one single purpose: to immunize the Israeli state from any form of criticism or consequence for its actions. It is a strategic campaign to make the occupation of Palestine, the blockade of Gaza, and the daily injustices faced by millions of people an unmentionable topic in polite society. They want to make the price of speaking up for Palestinians so high—the threat of being labeled a racist so terrifying—that most people will simply choose silence.

It is a profound betrayal of history. The fight against real antisemitism—the vile, white-supremacist hatred that has haunted humanity for centuries—is a sacred cause. To see that cause diluted, to see its vocabulary stolen and deployed in the service of a political project, is not just wrong, it is dangerous. When you scream “antisemite” at a student activist holding a sign for Palestinian freedom, you make it harder for the world to hear you when a real antisemite marches with a swastika.

We had hoped the world would see this truth on its own. We had hoped that the moral distinction between a people and a government was self-evident. It is a source of deep and abiding sadness that it is not, and that we must now fight not only for the rights of the oppressed but for the very meaning of the words we use to do it.

A Moral Chasm Divides Us

Let’s draw the line. On one side are those of us who believe in universal human rights. We believe that no government, no military, and no state should be above criticism. Our ranks include people of all faiths and backgrounds—Jews, Muslims, Christians, atheists—united by a common principle: that justice must be for everyone, or it is for no one. We use the tools of protest, boycott, and political speech to hold power accountable.

On the other side are those who would sacrifice this universal principle for a particularist agenda. They defend the indefensible by crying wolf. They demand a special exemption from moral scrutiny for one nation’s political actions. Their tools are not debate and reason, but smears, intimidation, and the cynical weaponization of historical trauma. They are so committed to shielding a political ideology that they are willing to burn down the entire framework of our shared vocabulary to do it. It is an act of breathtaking hypocrisy and moral cowardice.

Why We Must Win This Fight

If we allow them to succeed in this redefinition, the consequences will be catastrophic. It will not just mean the end of effective advocacy for Palestine. It will establish a terrifying precedent that any powerful group can declare itself immune from criticism by labeling that criticism as a form of bigotry.

It will poison our public discourse, making honest conversations about foreign policy impossible. It will chill free speech on university campuses, in the media, and in our cultural institutions. Most tragically, it will render the word “antisemitism” meaningless, leaving us disarmed in the face of the real, violent bigots who still walk among us.

This is not a theoretical debate. This is a battle for the soul of our movements and for the integrity of our language. We are fighting for a world where justice is not conditional and where the cry of “racism” is a shield for the vulnerable, not a sword for the powerful.

The choice is clear. You can either accept their lie and become complicit in the silencing of justice, or you can stand with us and speak the truth.

So what can you do?

• Refuse the Conflation. Every time you see someone equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, correct them. Do not let the lie stand unchallenged.
• Defend the Smeared. Stand in solidarity with the students, artists, and politicians who are being targeted with these false accusations. Their fight is your fight.
• Demand Clarity. From your media, your politicians, and your institutions, demand a clear distinction between hatred of a people and criticism of a state’s policies.
• Speak Louder. They want your silence. Do not give it to them. Your voice is a weapon in the fight for truth. Use it now.