Antisemitism & Code Words
Throughout history, coded terminology has spread quickly which vilifies Jews without saying so outright. This kind of speech turns people against Jews, defines them as other or evil, isolates the Jewish community and leaves Jews vulnerable to ethnic, political, physical, and social persecution.
By amplifying such code words, antisemitic people invite well meaning people advocating for justice to use those words as well – normalizing the terminology, establishing a culture that isolates Jews, and paving the way for more harmful antisemitism.
Many terms are being used across society that contribute to a culture that’s permissive of antisemitism. Don’t fall for it. While many people may use these words casually, we have a responsibility to understand the implications of doing so, and to choose more specific language to communicate what you mean without contributing to antisemitism.
For example,
“Colonizer” language implies that Jews are not indigenous to this land, which is not true. When used casually*, this term is demonizing, implying that all Jews are complicit. In fact, history - including Islamic and Christian sources - clearly shows that Jews were in this land thousands of years ago, before being persecuted and expelled by various empires, the last of which was the Romans in the year 70. While Jews’ return to British-occupied Palestine in the last century is complex, the term “colonizer” erases the Jewish people’s indigenous ties to the land, and contributes to conspiracy theories and misinformation. (*Using the term in a much more specific sense to describe extremist settlers while explicitly not referring to all Jews or all Israelis could be a more acceptable use of this term.)
Zionist/Zionism: These words are often used in a way that means “all Jews”, without saying so explicitly. Both the white-nationalist right and the progressive left use this term interchangeably with the word “Jew”, which demonizes the entire Jewish people for the actions and policies of the recent government of the State of Israel. Using this code word in this way is antisemitic as it is intended to label a whole people as racist and supremacist. Given how widely, casually and harmfully this word is being used, it’s important to understand the difference between intent and impact.
For example, this graffiti in Seward Park (a very Jewish neighborhood of Seattle) is demonizing the majority of those residents - Jewish Seattleites who believe that Jews have a right to live in some portion of their ancestral homeland, but do not vote in Israeli elections.
Clearly antisemitic.
(While people may interpret various meanings of the term Zionism, at its core it means Jewish people’s right to live in some portion of their ancestral homeland. By extension, “anti-Zionist” is understood to mean Jews do not have a right to live in their ancestral homeland. To be clear, you can be both critical of the Israeli government and be a Zionist. While some may argue the nuances of the meaning of this term, centering Jews and their lived experience means you must take into consideration the impact of this word on Jews and the Jewish community.)
A Brief History of Antisemitism : Antisemitism is a special kind of hatred that shape-shifts according to the societal issues of the day. Historically, antisemitism has reflected us-vs.-them stereotypes which are intended to divide a population, blaming Jews for the ideological preoccupations of the time.
This results in historical patterns that look different than other kinds of hate. The pattern has repeated over thousands of years. Jews are accepted and comfortable in a society … until they’re not. Hatred, persecution, violence and expulsion follow. This has been true in countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
When white nationalists chanted “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville we saw one manifestation of these conspiracy theories that assign blame to Jews on the right. When others blame the Israel counterterrorism training of US police for police brutality against people of color, we see Jews being blamed for systemic racism.
Today, Jews are feeling assaulted and abandoned by both the right and the left. Historically, when this happens, Jews are left vulnerable and it doesn’t end well.
Get educated. Stand up against hate. Be an ally.