Weaponization of antisemitism
Politically motivated accusations of antisemitism / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The exploitation of accusations of antisemitism for political purposes, especially to counter anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel,[1] may be described variously as weaponization of antisemitism, instrumentalization of antisemitism, or playing the antisemitism card.[2] Such accusations have been criticized as a form of smear tactics.[3][needs copy edit] Some writers have compared this to playing the race card.[4][5]
This article may be unbalanced toward certain viewpoints. (May 2024) |
Suggestions of such exploitation have been raised during phases of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict,[6][7] in various organizations' adoptions of the controversial working definitions of antisemitism,[8][9][10][11] during the 2014–20 allegations of antisemitism in the UK Labour Party,[12][non-primary source needed] at the 2023 US Congress hearing on antisemitism,[13] during the 2024 Israel–Hamas war protests on university campuses[14][15][non-primary source needed] and in discussions of Israel and apartheid.[16][17][18][19][20]
Critics have argued that the charge of weaponization amounts to an antisemitic ad hominem attack whose use fails to address antisemitism as the issue at hand.[21][22] The charge has also been criticized as a "testimonial injustice", rooted in presumption rather than evidence.[23]