Israel-related Anti-Semitism and the “Staatsräson”

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Amid all the absurd cries of “antisemitism” from bourgeois politics and the press, it must not be overlooked that, even though a large part of the political accusations of antisemitism are seemingly based on a misunderstanding of Zionism, Israel-related antisemitism nonetheless exists and is gaining influence – especially on social media.

We have previously characterized the misunderstanding of Zionism and its manifestation in the State of Israel as a form of “positive” antisemitism – this text is its counterpart.

In summary: The equation of Zionism, as manifested in the State of Israel, with Judaism as a whole is inherently antisemitic and draws on the anti-Judaic notion that Judaism is a “state within the state.” It is precisely this idea that the German state – increasingly so since October 7 – has used to criminalize large parts of Israel criticism.

Right-Wing “Israel-Related Antisemitism”

Where Zionism is positively associated with Judaism as a whole in the eyes of the German state and the rest of the Western world, and is consequently instrumentalized in the interest of capital security, the equation of Zionism and Judaism also exists in a directly negative sense.

Due to legal prohibitions on open antisemitism, the term “Zionism” has become a synonym for Judaism among particularly right-wing political circles.

Unlike the aforementioned “positive” Zionism-Judaism equation, the rejection of the State of Israel in right-wing antisemitism stems directly from Jew-hatred itself. Antisemitic clichés and hostilities are no longer directed at Judaism as such but at the Jewish state and its inhabitants, in an attempt to avoid criminal charges such as incitement to hatred.

As a constant of right-wing extremism, representatives of the far-right scene – drawing on conspiracy myths – have discovered the State of Israel as the simplest way to circumvent legal consequences for open Jew-hatred.

Ironically, this includes the opportunistic show of solidarity with the Palestinian people, as seen with the known neo-Nazi party “Der Dritte Weg” (The Third Way), which, in their article “Boycott Israel: What Everyone Can Do Against the Zionist Genocide”, called for participation in pro-Palestine demonstrations – while simultaneously participating in arson attacks on refugee shelters, including those housing Palestinian refugees.

In right-wing circles, Israel and “Zionism” often serve merely as coded substitutes in order to avoid prosecution under hate speech laws. Right-wing opponents of Israel project their antisemitic conspiracy myths onto the State of Israel and equate Israel and Zionism with Judaism.

Islamic “Israel-Related Antisemitism”

Antizionism and antisemitism must be considered particularly carefully in the Islamic context. While in both right-wing and bourgeois forms of Israel-related antisemitism, the Jewish foundation of the Israeli state is the core of the position toward Israel, Islamic Israel-related antisemitism is composed of multiple elements.

Firstly, there is the anti-Judaic foundation rooted in the Holy Qur’an (no more than in the Bible, but that’s not the point here). Although the Holy Qur’an contains pro-Jewish verses, the passages in which Jews are portrayed as enemies and described derogatorily (e.g., as ‘apes’ or ‘pigs’) predominate.

This derogatory perspective remains a characteristic element of Jew-hatred in some Muslim contexts today.

The Hamas charter – both the first and second versions – frequently refers to the Qur’an in legitimizing the conflict on religious grounds.

For example, it quotes a hadith stating:

“O Muslim, O servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him!”
Only the Gharqad tree will not do this, for it is the tree of the Jews.

However, it must be said that it is not the Holy Qur’an itself that provides an inherently antisemitic foundation for Islamic Israel-related antisemitism, but rather an antisemitic interpretation of the scripture.

An antisemitic reading of Qur’anic verses about Jews does not contradict the solidarity with the Palestinian people, which is especially strong among Muslims due to the concept of a shared religious community (see the Islamic understanding of Ummah / “أمة”).

In addition, the territorial connection many Muslims feel toward the land of historical Palestine plays a significant role in their position toward Israel: due to centuries of Muslim rule over the geographic area of present-day Israel, many Muslims feel a double sense of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Combined with religious anti-Judaism, this intensifies the likelihood of crossing the line from antizionism into antisemitism.

That this line is particularly thin in this area is shown by the arson attack on a Wuppertal synagogue, where three Palestinian youths threw six Molotov cocktails at the Bergische Synagogue.

Controversy surrounded their 2016 sentencing, during which the attack – seen by many as clearly antisemitic – was classified not as antisemitic, but merely as a political protest in response to the situation in Gaza.

Islamic Israel-related antisemitism particularly reflects the mistake often made by the oppressed: believing the propaganda of their oppressor.

The bourgeois equation of the Zionist state with Judaism as a whole leads many politically uninvolved people to assume that, if Zionism represents Judaism, then Judaism must also represent the State of Israel – a notion that is, of course, false.

Palestinians are victims of the policies of a state that claims to speak in the name of the entire Jewish people – and the Islamic community’s understanding (see above) contributes to a special kind of solidarity. Combined with the bourgeois Zionism-Judaism equation, this becomes fertile ground for antisemitic conspiracy myths and resentments.

Anti-Muslim Racism

Contrary to what the bourgeois press and political parties would have us believe, the vast majority of antisemitic crimes in Germany come from the right:
“According to authorities, 5,164 antisemitic crimes were registered last year – a 95.5% increase compared to 2022. In 3,034 cases, a right-wing background is assumed.”¹

This corresponds to nearly 60% – but it should be noted that “right-wing extremists” (a rather empty term, to be fair) make up around 0.075% of the total population, while Muslims account for about 7.5% – meaning that for every Nazi, there are about 100 Muslims. This statistic must therefore be interpreted accordingly. [1]

Nonetheless, this does not affect the way antisemitism is policed and reported:

In Germany, exponentially more Muslims have been subject to repression and criminalization for their solidarity with Palestine.

Examples include the ban on wearing the culturally significant keffiyeh scarf in schools in the Berlin district of Neukölln, or the heavy restrictions placed on demonstrations in migrant-heavy areas (such as bans on anti-Israel rhetoric at pro-Palestine protests in Neukölln).

Neukölln district councilor Ahmed Abed (The Left) called these bans the “peak of state racism in Germany.”

Even Berlin Rabbi Elias Dray warned, in light of increasing anti-Muslim reports and repression, of “anti-Muslim racism.”

This instrumentalization of Jewish suffering for reasons that often seem racist finds its epitome in the “commitment to Israel,” by which CDU state interior minister Zieschang in December 2023 made recognition of Israel’s right to exist a requirement for acquiring German citizenship.

Considering that many thousands of Palestinians are expected to seek German citizenship in the coming years, this appears almost like an act of bureaucratic humiliation.

The “reason of state” of the German government, which equates Judaism with the imperialist State of Israel, is the decisive factor in the various forms of Israel-related antisemitism – and thus also in the alarming rise in antisemitic violence.

The characterization of a socio-economic conflict as ethnic and religious – in which the German state is a leading actor – gives those unfamiliar with Israeli and/or Jewish history the impression that this is a war between Jews and Arabs. When in fact, it is far more than that: it is a conflict in which the Western world fuels both sides to secure the interests of their corporations in a region hostile to capital.