Does anti-Zionism necessarily lead to anti-Semitism?

There has been an increase in reports of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism worldwide since Israel launched its war on Gaza.

While neither term is new, some people who have criticised Israel for its actions in Gaza say they are labelled as anti-Semitic.

Israeli leaders in particular have conflated condemnation of the response to the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 as both anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist.

Analysts argue that blurring the difference helps Israel undermine any opposition to – or rejection of – its policies.

Israel is accused of weaponising the two terms – to justify its attacks on Gaza and other Palestinian territory.

But with no end in sight to the wars in the Middle East, what are the dangers of – and the fallout from – conflating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

Giovanni Fassina – Executive director of the European Legal Support Center

Arielle Angel – Editor-in-chief of Jewish Currents

Omer Bartov – Samuel Pisar professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University