New antisemitism

New antisemitism refers to the concept that a form of antisemitism, typically manifesting as anti-Zionism, developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The concept dates to the early 1970s, and was popularized in The New Anti-Semitism by Arnold Forster and Benjamin Epstein of the Anti-Defamation League.

Proponents of the concept generally argue that anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel – or double standards applied to Israel's conduct (some also include anti-Americanism, anti-globalization, and Third-Worldism) – represent an evolution in the appearance of antisemitic beliefs that are linked to antisemitism, or constitute disguised antisemitism, particularly when emanating from the far left, Islamism, and the far right simultaneously. Some call this a third political wave of antisemitism, after the religious and racial forms dominant in previous periods, and constituting the first and second waves.

Critics argue that, in practice, the concept is used to weaponize antisemitism. This conflates political anti-Zionism, criticism of the Israeli government with racism, or likening the Israeli government's actions to the Holocaust, with condoning violence against Jews, while stifling both political debate and freedom of speech about the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. These arguments have in turn been criticized as antisemitic and rhetorically irrelevant to the contested reality of new antisemitism. Critics argue that the concept defines legitimate criticism of Israel too narrowly and demonization too broadly, trivializing the very notion of antisemitism.