Is all criticism of Israel antisemitic?
It is important to recognize that Israel, as a democracy, is receptive to fair and legitimate criticism. A valid, yet negative, analysis of Israeli policies should not be considered antisemitic, any more than criticism of another country should be considered racist. However, all too often condemnations of Israel cross the border from valid criticism into regions of denigration that can be considered antisemitic. The generally accepted term for this type of disparagement is “the new antisemitism.” Just as in the past Jews were made into the scapegoats for many problems, today there are attempts to turn Israel into an international pariah. The line between legitimate criticism and the new antisemitism type of criticism is often difficult for some to judge. Former minister Natan Sharansky, in his seminal 2004 article “Anti-Semitism in 3-D,” laid out the criteria for defining the boundary line. The 3-Ds of the new antisemitism are: demonization, double standards and delegitimization. Demon
