Israel must combat rising antisemitism worldwide

Israel does not exist because the Holocaust occurred; rather, the Holocaust would not have occurred had Israel existed. This is perhaps the most vital paradigm shift critical to the realization of Israel’s role in identifying and combating rising antisemitism. More than 80 years after the horrors of the Holocaust, toxic hate is mainstreamed once again. Old-new forms of virulent, libelous tropes and “propaganda” target Jews worldwide, manifesting in and translating to real world consequences, intimidation and harm. It seems we are, once again, at a critical junction, where global and local processes intersect and must be accurately diagnosed if we are to effectively address the scourge of antisemitism that historically destroyed societies in which it was allowed to fester and flourish. 

In seeking to address any form of hate, the first step is to define it. When it comes to antisemitism, we have an important consensus resource to turn to. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition is the result of a long democratic process. Adopted by 38 countries and hundreds of entities, its significance cannot be overstated. The definition comprehensively identifies the entire gamut of permeating strains of the “oldest form of hatred” – ranging from “traditional” antisemitism barring the individual Jew from an equal place in society, to “modern” antisemitism barring the collective Jewish nation state from an equal place among the nations. Partial definitions recognizing one form of antisemitism, for instance Holocaust denial, are insufficient. They can limit, serve as a fig leaf, hinder critical comprehensive identification of this ever-mutating hate, augmenting the toxicity and resilience of unnamed variants. 

It is critical that the 75-year young Israel – a nation state to which Jews, an archetypal indigenous people returned after millennia of exile and persecution – take responsibility, recognize, and expose the viral mutation and permeation of antisemitism as part and parcel of an unconventional, all-out war waged on its very right to exist, in any borders. Part of this role must be to consistently sound a clear voice, exposing and explaining that the systematic demonization, delegitimization, and double standards applied to it as a member in the family of nations do not harm only Israel and all those around the world who support or are presumed to support it; by definition, they collapse the entire infrastructure created to uphold, promote, and protect foundational principles of international rules-based order built upon the ashes of the Holocaust.  

Connecting the dots must include the recognition that while traditional warfare failed to annihilate Israel, international principles, mechanisms, and institutions have been appropriated and weaponized to the raging war for public opinion against its legitimacy, simultaneously denying Jews their identity and equal right to self-determination. Examples are abundant, from the infamous 1975 UN resolution alleging “Zionism is racism” to the 2001 Durban Conference “Against Racism” turned-antisemitic-hate-fest, which paved the path for the “Israel as apartheid” insidious lie.

Israel must emancipate Zionism and listen and learn to global Jewry

A critical step forward is for Israel to lead in emancipating Zionism – a 140-year-old progressive national liberation movement anchored and steeped in heritage, ancestry, faith – and reclaim the right and responsibility of the Jewish people and their state to define individual and collective identity. According to the AJC Survey on the State of Antisemitism in America 2020, some 85% of American Jews consider anti-Zionism – the belief that Israel has no right to exist – a form of antisemitism. The majority of Jews self-define as Zionists, based on millennia-old yearning and prayer for Zion as an integral part of their identity. 

In order to address acute intersecting three-fold challenges – to Israel’s internal resilience, to its relations with global Jewry, and to its standing internationally – all manifesting in rising antisemitism, it is imperative to translate and implement theoretical understanding into practical steps. As a member of Israel’s 23rd Knesset, I submitted the Basic Law: Declaration of Independence, identifying the imperative to anchor Israel’s founding mission, vision and values. As Knesset’s first liaison to the issue of the International Criminal Court (ICC), I worked to ensure that local and international elected peers understood the implications to international structures and mechanisms when the “court of last resort” is intentionally misappropriated for political means. Championing the case and cause of two deceased soldiers and two civilians held in more than eight years of standing violation of law and morality, I underscored the imperative that Israel and all entrusted to uphold, promote, and protect them not allow terrorist ideology to dictate reality with impunity, demanding and ensuring equal and consistent application of foundational principles, such as reciprocity, to bring them home.  

To best fulfill its role as a nation state, including identifying and combating antisemitism, Israel can and must engage, listen to and learn from global Jewry. As chair of the Subcommittee on Relations between Israel and Global Jewry, I invited university students from around the world to appear (virtually) in Israel’s Knesset and to share their experiences of antisemitism. Initiating and holding four parliamentary hearings with social media giants in Knesset exposed the imperative for transparency, calling on platforms to end double standards and the inconsistent application of policies, extending them to Jewish users equally. In their aftermath, I co-founded the Interparliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism, a multi-partisan group comprising elected officials from around the world. We continue our collaborative efforts to seek and advance transparency, oversight and accountability; digital platforms adoption and implementation of the IHRA definition; and the addition of “Zionist” as a “protected characteristic,” recognizing that it replaces and codes “Jew,” fueling rising antisemitism – online, on campus, and on the streets.

Combating a toxic, ever-mutating, global hatred requires a global solution. Online and off, it is critical that Israel play a significant role in these conversations. At nearly 75, it is time that Israel lean in, engage global Jewry, comprehend and champion the fight against antisemitism, and call it out in the international arena in order to uphold, promote, and protect international rules-based order. In so doing, it will realize the foundational vision, mission and values of a nation state to which an indigenous people returned after millennia, committed to equality.  ■