21 February 2019•Update: 22 February 2019
By Vakkas Dogantekin
ANKARA
French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism.
At a dinner with Jewish leaders Macron said his administration is getting ready to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism which includes criticism ‘toward Jewish community institutions” set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), in the face of increasing "anti-Semitic attacks in France".
“Anti-Zionism is one of the modern forms of anti-Semitism,” Macron said.
New York-based World Jewish Congress was quick to laud the effort.
“This is just the beginning of a long road ahead. Adopting this definition of anti-Semitism must be followed by concrete steps,” the group’s president Ronald Lauder in a statement.
Lauder also claimed anti-Semitism in France rose 74 percent in 2018.
The U.K.'s opposition Labor Party in 2018 also accepted the IHRA definition in an attempt to bring to an end the long running accusations of alleged anti-Semitism within the party.
Critics draw attention to the abysmal difference in meaning between the two terms and argue that being critical of Israel and its aggressive policies in Palestine should not be labelled as anti-Semitism.
Policies of all countries are subject to criticism and Israel is not an exception, according to critics.
"Some criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, but it’s entirely possible to oppose Jewish ethno-nationalism without being a bigot," wrote New York Times Jewish columnist Michelle Goldberg.
"Indeed, it’s increasingly absurd to treat the Israeli state as a stand-in for Jews writ large, given the way the current Israeli government has aligned itself with far-right European movements that have anti-Semitic roots," wrote Goldberg.
“If we consider opposition to Theodore Herzl’s theory as anti-Semitic, then we’re saying that the millions of Jews who do not wish to live in Palestine and the occupied territories are anti-Semites,” French journalist Dominique Vidal told France 24 in 2018 in referencing the 19th century founder of the Zionist movement.
He commented in response to a Macron's speech in 2018 that hinted his administration's eagerness to associate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
“It’s historical illiteracy, or worse, stupidity,” said Vidal.
