The Discourse: Eric Levitz

Is That Antisemitic? The fraught terminology surrounding the war in Israel.

DEBATES OVER ISRAEL'S POLICIES have always been plagued by antisemitism and specious allegations of the same. This is especially the case in the current moment. Hamas's mass murder of Israeli Jews and others has prompted some of Palestine's sympathizers to betray their disregard for Jewish life. Israel's mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, meanwhile, has led its knee-jerk defenders to use baseless allegations of bigotry as a means of disqualifying legitimate dissent.

The president of the Anti-Defamation League has called a left-wing Jewish organization protesting the bombing of Gaza a hate group because it opposed Israel's "right to defend itself." Republicans in the House have attempted to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, for criticizing Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories in her first statement after the October 7 attack. At the same time, genuinely hateful speech has been disconcertingly prevalent online and in the streets with some supporters of Palestine celebrating the largest mass killing of Jews since the Holocaust.

In this chaotic environment, people may struggle to discern which suddenly ubiquitous phrases—such as “settlers,” “from the river to the sea,” “genocide,” and “Israeli apartheid”—express legitimate points of view and which convey bigotry. Even a supporter of a cease-fire might wonder, Am I supposed to be angry at people who use those words? Or be sensitive to them? Or agree with them?