Antisemitism has been a constant in Jewish life for millennia. It has driven the Jews out of multiple places and is the direct cause of some of the most destructive and harmful events of the 20th century.
A year and a half ago, on Oct. 7, another one of those events happened at the Israel-Gaza border. Since then, antisemitism and anti-Zionism are on the rise, which has caused much turmoil throughout Jewish communities. But what exactly is antisemitism?
A fierce debate surrounding the actual definition of antisemitism has emerged both in and outside of Jewish communities.
In the state of Missouri, the House of Representatives in Jefferson City is working towards two bills (HB 746 & HB 937) that essentially eliminate critical and harmful speech about Jews or Israel in public schools. This bill designates Israel as having a protected status concerning speech about its politics that other countries don’t enjoy.
Additionally, the Kansas legislature just passed a bill (SB 44) that works similarly to the Missouri legislation. According to the Antisemitism Research Center, 37 states have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism in an effort to curb public antisemitism.
However, a legal definition of antisemitism across a state has the potential to violate the First Amendment protection of speech. It could also silence young voices from speaking out. In Missouri, one of the most famous high school newspapers, The Kirkwood Call, could potentially have student articles censored because of these new bills. Some published articles could be censored under the law as antisemitic speech. For example, an article written on December 20, 2024, by Kirkwood High School student Ibraheem Khan highlighted a relief company operating in north Gaza called HEAL Palestine, which is geared toward rebuilding children’s lives after they’ve been uprooted. The article does not specifically have hateful rhetoric towards Jews. Still, the very documenting of this charitable organization could be seen as antisemitic and in violation of the law, and subsequently taken down as a result of these new bills.
Not everyone has the same definition of antisemitism, which is why creating a legal definition is so difficult. For example, many Jews have vastly different Jewish upbringings. They are taught different traditions, practice unique customs, and are brought up with a variety of experiences of religious observance, all of which influence their perception of antisemitism. This issue will not soon be resolved, but it is important to understand it and be able to assess it.
Depending on a Jewish individual’s relationship to the religion, they could be offended by something that another Jew sees as innocuous humor. In other words, antisemitism is experienced by Jews on a spectrum, and it is largely dependent on one’s relationship with Judaism. There are many ways to explore the breadth of this belief spectrum, but the most effective would be to examine the two poles.
Former director of the AJC/JCRB of Overland Park, Kan., Gavriella Geller says, “anti-Zionism or denying the Jewish people’s self-determination is considered antisemitism, so we don’t see those things as separate.”
On the other side of the spectrum lies Neturei Karta. Neturei Karta is an international Jewish ultra-Orthodox, anti-Zionist group with strong bases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Israel. Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss is a spokesperson and leading representative for Neturei Karta. When reflecting on the conflict in the Middle East, he said, “It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re a Jew or not, you took [Palestinians’] property, you took a holy land.”
Israel is an immensely holy land, “A very sensitive land, so if we are not up to par in serving Hashem, the land rejects us. Similar to how if we stick a foreign substance into our body, it will reject it,” shares Weiss. To him, Israel has rejected the Jewish people.
Jerusalem is regarded as one of the holiest places in the world, holding deep religious significance in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. “To explicitly deny the Jewish people self-determination while advocating for other ethnic groups to have self-determination is hypocritical,” Geller shares. She says that allowing and advocating for Islamic and Christian states while opposing a Jewish state is blatant antisemitism.
Rabbi Weiss and Neturei Karta have been known to rally and march with Palestinians. “Some people may disagree with us going to demonstrations with the Palestinians, and most of that comes from a lack of knowledge,” says Weiss. At first glance, this revelation that Jews are marching with Palestine and against Israel can be shocking, and Geller describes it as “really sad and depressing.”
Many Jewish children grow up in communities and attend Jewish day schools where Israel is represented as a country that can do no wrong, so growing up and being exposed to other viewpoints, possibly opposing ones, can create a sense of whiplash for them.
Geller says, “It created this sense of betrayal, and all these young people swung to the other side of the pendulum because of that feeling.”
To many anti-Zionists, including Rabbi Weiss, “[Israel] is causing the death, they are causing the death. They beat religious Jews that demonstrate[d]…They are the ones who are killing and beating Jews.” Potent beliefs such as these cause Zionists to be resistant to any criticism of Israel and regard all of it as antisemitic.
When it comes down to the root of this difference about how to define antisemitism, every political stance or religious practice vastly impacts someone’s perspective on Israel. Geller says, “The truth is absolutely in the gray, in the messiness,” and the truth is however you see it, and the ability to understand and sympathize with other opinions is one way to navigate this topic.
