Who Is Really Silencing Debate About Israel?
Despite the charge that pro-Israel voices label all criticism of Israel as antisemitic, Zionist communities are often marked by open internal debate about Israel’s policies and a willingness to compromise for peace.
On the contrary, much of the contemporary pro-Palestinian movement enforces ideological conformity and suppresses dissenting views. Activist groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and their leaders treat recognition of Jews’ right to self-determination and condemnation of terrorist violence as a disqualifying opinion for engaging in dialogue, thereby narrowing the space for pluralism, accountability and any realistic path to coexistence.
In his campaign, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran on a platform that included anti-Zionism, and since day one, he has stayed true to his platform. While he did concede that Israel has the right to exist, his agenda ultimately agrees with the rest of the anti-Zionist movement: that Israel should be a small and vulnerable territory, and Jews do not have a right to a Jewish state. Whether Mamdani did so to placate the Jewish community or genuinely believes in the viability of coexistence is irrelevant. What mattered to his anti-Israel supporters is that he said the words “Israel should exist.”
At one campaign speech, an activist heckled Mamdani, accusing him of being a “hypocrite” for supporting Palestine while saying Israel has a right to exist. The activist shouted, “It’s not your land to say that Israel has the right to exist.”
Similarly, a Palestinian activist recently declared on a radio show that “as a Palestinian, [I am] not interested in peace, I am interested in liberation … and we are going to get it back by force.” When the host suggested they had not given the “peace option” a chance, the guest repeated, “I want liberation, I don’t want peace.”
Shortly after Oct. 7, 2023, a rabbi and an imam hosted an interfaith dialogue at CUNY. The imam, Shamsi Ali, said he participated “to listen with the hope that we can build a sense of sympathy or empathy for one another.” Some of the Muslim students did not tolerate the two faith leaders engaging in dialogue. “Say you’re a Zionist. You’re not welcome. Nobody wants you here,” a pro-Palestinian declared.
These interactions reveal a broader problem in the pro-Palestinian movement: The language of peace is still absent from mainstream pro-Palestinian discourse.
Dominant public opinion among pro-Palestinians continues to view terrorism — mislabeled as armed struggle — as the only means of achieving their goals. They are unable to recognize any other strategy, not because they lack the capacity, but because they are so confident in their current one. Pro-Palestinian thought leaders control their internal narrative and suppress views that deviate from the consensus of violence and extremism.
The anti-Israel movements on college campuses all seem to follow the same dynamic: resistant to disagreement and self-reflection.
Instead of condemning terrorism and violence, many prominent student activist groups openly celebrated the Oct. 7 massacre. Groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and Palestinian Youth Movement organize protests around the anniversary of the attack and constantly parrot Hamas propaganda. Without internal criticism, how can they take any accountability and choose a different path?
Tearing down posters of hostages in New York City was common during the war and active suppression of all things Zionist has mainly been left unchallenged. For example, last April, a group of anti-Israel protesters rallied outside an event in Teaneck held by ZAKA, an organization that recovered the deceased on Oct. 7, because ZAKA’s testimony made “false claims that fuel Gaza genocide.” Setting aside that their accusation is a political distortion with no legal credibility, this behavior is intimidation, not healthy discourse.
While some accuse Zionists of being unable to accept criticism of Israel, it is the pro-Palestinian movement that suppresses conversation and debate about its views. Their commitment to extremism doesn’t allow for accountability in their hateful views and support of terror.
This internal and external ideological bullying is an insecurity that the pro-Israel movement does not suffer from. On the contrary, Zionist discourse thrives through debate and diversity of opinion. During the past two years, Israelis openly debated whether Israel should defeat Hamas or accept a hostage deal. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli protesters routinely took to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and outside the prime minister’s house in Jerusalem to call for a hostage deal and ceasefire.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism is sometimes used against Zionists as evidence of the attempt to silence criticism and debate over Israel. However, the IHRA only provides examples when being anti-Israel turns antisemitic, such as promoting blood libels related to Israel or equating Zionism and Nazism, not mere criticism of Israel. Furthermore, the definition does not restrict criticism of Israel or free speech but serves as a legal criterion for identifying antisemitism in discrimination cases or hate crimes.
Zionists are accused of hiding behind antisemitism to dismiss criticisms of Israel, but in truth, it is pro-Palestinian activists who silence criticism and preach conformity to a violent and hateful ideology. If the mainstream pro-Palestinian movement is unwilling to engage in self-criticism, those outside the movement must be willing to hold them accountable. When confronted by activists pushing anti-Zionism, we must be able to challenge their single-minded denial of Jewish rights, support of terrorism and rejection of any solution that is not wiping out Israel. The goal is not to turn anti-Zionists into Zionists, but to introduce ideas such as the possibility of peace, the Jewish claim to the land and the atrocities of Hamas to serve as gradual steps in challenging their worldview.
The author of this article is a fellow at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle Eastern Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA).
Photo credit: Unsplash.com
Photo caption: A pro-Israel group on a college campus holds a tabling event while Pro-Palestinian students protest
