There is no distinction between Jews and Zionists - ask Jews from Arab countries

Six months after a mass shooting on Sydney's Bondi Beach, Australia's Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is preparing for hearings. The commission has received over 16,000 submissions, including one from Harif, an organization representing UK Jews from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Harif aims to provide a crucial perspective from the 10-20% of Australian Jews who are Sephardi or Mizrahi, descendants of those who fled Arab and Muslim countries.

These communities experienced ethnic cleansing from MENA countries, where nearly a million Jews were forced to leave. Their persecution stemmed from Arab governments conflating all Jews with Zionists, viewing them as potential spies for Israel. Regardless of their political views, Jews faced arrest, trial, and even execution for the "crime" of Zionism.

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legitimate criticism of the Israeli government takes the form of verbal and physical abuse of Jews, firebombings, arson, and shootings at Jewish schools and synagogues, and ultimately, the murder of Jews simply for being Jews.

The article contends that a similar dynamic is at play in the West today, where "Zionism" serves as a cover for antisemitism. While proponents of the Palestinian cause claim to oppose Zionism, not Jews, their actions often manifest as verbal and physical abuse, firebombings, arson, and shootings targeting Jewish institutions and individuals. The article notes that the gunmen at Bondi Beach did not inquire about their victims' political views.

Mizrahi Jews resettled in the West are experiencing a disturbing sense of déjà vu, facing renewed bullying and harassment reminiscent of their experiences in their birth countries. Historical slogans like "slaughter the Jews" and "the Jews are the dogs of the Arabs" from Arab countries are finding echoes in contemporary chants such as "globalize the intifada," which calls for replicating past violence. The piece argues that there is no distinction between Jews and Zionists in the current wave of Western antisemitism.

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Itbah al-Yahud (slaughter the Jews) and Yahud kalb al-Arab (the Jews are the dogs of the Arabs) are finding their echoes in barely-disguised genocidal chants like “globalize the intifada,” calling to replicate the spate in the early 2000s of suicide bombings, stabbings, and car rammings in Israel.