What do you mean by Zionist?— Anti Jewish racism on the British left and right poisons the well for all of us, says National Holocaust Museum

8 October 2024, 16:56 | Updated: 8 October 2024, 17:31

After the summer riots, the leaflet screamed: “GET FASCISTS, RACISTS, NAZIS, ZIONISTS & ISLAMOPHOBES OUT OF FINCHLEY!”.

At Labour Party Conference, the banner screeched: “LABOUR IS CONTROLLED BY ZIONISTS”.

On the anniversary of the October 7th pogrom, the placards shouted: “ZIONISM CAUSES POLIO” and “INTERN ALL ZIONISTS NOW”.

It is often said that politics is a horseshoe – the far left and the far right meet in the middle. These slogans crawled out of the far left and are heavily influenced by Soviet propaganda of the 1970s. Yet they share with Donald Trump more than just a love of ALL-CAPS.

Trump argues that the “Jewish people would really have a lot to do” with him losing the US election. The far left sees social justice as served by the removal of Jews from Finchley. Both perceive Jews as one amorphous mass, wreaking terror and evil.

There must be many marchers at the weekend who could distinguish between the Israeli government and the world’s 15 million Jews. But a significant minority could not. And it is they who are poisoning the well for all of us, of whatever creed or colour, who consider ourselves British.

So, to the gentleman with the smug smile and the polio placard, I ask:

What do you mean by Zionist? Can you see a world where Palestinians deserve a state – for the same reasons that Jews deserve one?

Were the Israelis who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas victims? If so, why can’t you mourn a victim, as you mourn the loss of innocent Gazans?

Were the Hamas members who killed them murderers? If so, why can’t you condemn a murderer?

Do you think that echoing centuries-old conspiracy theories of Jewish power helps to alleviate Palestinian suffering?

Why is it so difficult to distinguish between Israeli Ministers and British Jews who, in great numbers, despise those Ministers?

And can you be pro-Palestinian without being anti-Jew? If so, prove it.

Whatever our views on ceasefires and suffering, if we are to live together on this island, we must all challenge this minority. If we are motivated by a love for humanity, it is that love which should make us weep for the innocent victims in Israel and Gaza, work to ensure their number stops growing, and challenge the bigotry which sees Jews as a problem to be resolved, not a neighbour to be embraced.

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Mark Rusling is Director of Learning at the National Holocaust Museum.

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