Haaretz columnist Zvi Bar’el published an article in the wake of the Israeli election with a simple and quite familiar headline: “Zionism is Racism.” Far from mere clickbait, Bar’el defends the thesis that Zionism is now racism. His implication that it was not so before is there and clear to anyone paying attention, but it is not given much attention in the piece.
Bar’el is a liberal but is certainly not some left-wing firebrand like Gideon Levy or Amira Hass. That this was his point is remarkable. That he defends it without qualification, in terms of the current reality says even more.
In my latest for Mondoweiss, I dive into what it means that someone like Bar’el wrote this piece and how it reflects on the slimy tactic of equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. I also look at what this tells us about the consternation of the pro-Israel Jewish “leaders” who warned Israel’s diplomatic corps about what they could face from mainstream American Jews if this government goes through with its agenda.