The Working Group Against Antisemitism (WGAS), together with the European Jewish Congress, the EPP Group in the European Parliament, and B’nai B’rith International, organised the conference “Anti-Zionism: The Accepted Face of Antisemitism in Europe?” at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Hosted by WGAS Chair MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe, the event shed light on the rise of anti-Zionism as a form of hate speech in Europe and explored how criticism of Israel has increasingly become a disguise for antisemitism, as well as its impact on those who have had the courage to speak out.
During the conference, which was attended by Members of the European Parliament, EU officials, diplomatic representatives, civil society organisations, and members of the Jewish community, the speakers addressed the historical origins of anti-Zionism as a propaganda tool, examined how it operates and circulates across political, academic, and digital spaces, and explored the relationship between anti-Zionist rhetoric and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism.
In her opening remarks, MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe reflected on the normalisation of anti-Zionism in society, and how it has become increasingly accepted, contributing to Jews across Europe feeling unsafe in expressing their Jewish identity and their connection to Israel, in ways that stand at odds with democratic values, pluralism, and human dignity.
Afterwards, EJC Executive Vice-President Raya Kalenova delivered a powerful address, strongly denouncing the denial of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. She warned that antisemitism in its latest incarnation, anti-Zionist activism, does not offer a world in which Jews can live in peace, but rather one in which Jews have nowhere they are truly welcome.
She stressed that denying the right to self-determination uniquely to the Jewish people, while recognising it for every other nation, constitutes discrimination, noting that the use of “Zionism” as a substitute for “Jew” enables the collective targeting of Jews while maintaining a veneer of legitimacy and that, in stark contrast to rhetoric often heard in public discourse, she emphasised that Zionism is, above all, an anti-colonial movement par excellence.
Concluding the opening remarks, Alina Bricman, Director of EU Affairs at B’nai B’rith International, noted that what makes anti-Zionism particularly challenging is that those who promote it often believe they are acting in pursuit of a noble cause and therefore do not perceive themselves as prejudiced.
She further highlighted how so-called “virtuous antisemitism” helps explain why anti-Jewish tropes have become increasingly mainstreamed in public discourse, and stressed the importance of accurately diagnosing the phenomenon as neither accidental nor incidental.
The conference continued with a panel discussion moderated by EJC Director of European Affairs, Ariella Woitchik, featuring renowned scholars and academics, including Dr Maarten Boudry, Independent Scholar; Dr Christer Mattsson, Director of the Segerstedt Institute at the University of Gothenburg and Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy; and Izabella Tabarovsky, Fellow at the Wilson Center and the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, and Senior Fellow at the Z3 Institute.
Ms Tabarovsky addressed how Soviet anti-Zionist propaganda helped shape many of the narratives and conceptual frameworks that continue to influence discourse today, connecting contemporary manifestations of anti-Zionism to their broader historical context.
For his part, Dr Boudry presented an intervention titled “A Spiral of Silence: How Academia Enforces Anti-Zionist Orthodoxy”, reflecting on the intellectual climate surrounding debates on Israel and Zionism within academic and cultural institutions, as well as the pressures, silences, and forms of conformity that shape public discourse on these issues.
Finally, Dr Mattsson, whose research focuses on antisemitism, radicalisation, and democratic education, presented findings from his recent study examining the measurable relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, as well as the methodological challenges in identifying and quantifying Israel-related antisemitism in contemporary societies.
In her closing remarks, MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe thanked the speakers for their contributions and the audience for their engagement, underlining the importance of raising one’s voice to confront these challenges in everyday life. She stressed that responsibility does not rest solely with politicians but with society as a whole, noting that without civic courage nothing will change.
Photo credits: EPP Group