The Anti-Semitism Argument with Avi Shlaim | Bigger Than Five

Bigger Than Five

In the US and Europe, governments have warned about a rise in incidents targeting Jews following the attacks on Gaza. In the US, the Anti-Defamation League reported 193 anti-Jewish hate incidents after the crisis began. And while lawmakers have spoken out against these acts, accusations of anti-semitism are becoming more widely used to target those who condemn human rights violations by the Israeli government. Here in the US, democrats have long said their criticisms of the Netanyahu government —which some progressives have described as an “apartheid state” —should not be labeled as anti-semitism. This week, four American democratic lawmakers signed a letter to President Biden saying they “re-ject comments from Members of Congress accusing Israel of being an ‘apartheid state’ and commit-ting ‘act[s]’ of terrorism. These statements are antisemitic at their core and contribute to a climate that is hostile to many Jews.” Many Israeli and Jewish scholars are speaking out against attempts to accuse those with legitimate criticisms of the Israeli government as being ‘anti-Semitic’. One of those scholars is Avi Shlaim, professor emeritus of international relations at St Antony's College, Oxford University. He is also the author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World.