Social Media Snafu on Antisemitism

There is a big debate in Jewish/pro-Israel circles on whether being anti-Israel is inherently antisemitic. The basic argument is that no other country has its legitimacy questioned and every other ethnicity/religion has its own country. The concept of Mexico is not generally called illegitimate nor is the concept of New Zealand, albeit some fringe groups would disagree. But the United Nations or other major countries/organizations disagreeing is another story and that’s what we see with Israel. The other side of the coin argues that being anti-Israel/anti-Zionist is a belief that Israel is in the wrong place and at the wrong time, while also calling into question the Jewish states policies.

That said, Facebook has a strict policy against discriminatory groups. Err, strict, unless it’s anti-Israel. There’s a new group out there claiming to be anti-Israel, not antisemitic, yet the group’s page is plastered with Nazi symbols, antisemitic mantras, and genocidal threats. But, the group is anti-Israel, not antisemitic, remember?

In this case, the antisemitism is thinly veiled as anti-Israel and Facebook, if it adheres with its own policies should remove the page and other discriminatory pages. Or, Facebook should go the free speech route and let whatever psychopath create biased groups. But, in this case, a discriminatory and hateful ideology is masqueraded as political activity, finding a loophole that should be shuttered.

That said, I personally do not think ALL anti-Israel comments are inherently antisemitic. It is possible to criticize Israel and not hate Jews. But, often times anti-Israel comments are merely a mask to hide the true antisemitic sentiments hiding in the shadows.