Explainer: Anti-Zionist antisemitism

The heinous terror attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester last week has highlighted once again the shocking rise in antisemitism in Britain following the 7 October atrocities and the ensuing conflict between Israel and Hamas. This is driven by a contemporary form of antisemitism – anti-Zionist antisemitism – which seeks to demonise and delegitimise the world’s only Jewish state. Its origins lay in a form of antisemitism developed in the Soviet Union, but it draws on and propagates traditional antisemitic tropes which have existed at least since Medieval times.This paper defines anti-Zionist antisemitism, explores its origins, and examines the contemporary examples and consequences of it.