For generations, Jewish communities around the world were associated with values born from centuries of persecution: a commitment to justice, human rights, education, internationalism and solidarity with the oppressed. These traditions helped shape some of the most influential movements for civil rights, trade unionism, anti-racism and social democracy throughout the twentieth century.
Yet in recent decades, a different image has increasingly come to dominate public perceptions of Jewish identity, particularly in discussions surrounding Israel and Palestine. This image is not one created by antisemites alone. It has also been shaped by Israeli hawks and Zionist hardliners who have sought to equate Jewish identity itself with the actions and policies of the Israeli state.
The consequences of this political project have been profound. These consequences are discussed here in detail by Alexis Sayle, Miriam Margolyes and Michael Rosen.
Successive right-wing governments in Israel have increasingly promoted the idea that criticism of Israeli state policy is inseparable from hostility toward Jews. Under leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu, the distinction between Judaism, Jewish identity and the policies of the Israeli government has often been deliberately blurred. Critics argue that this strategy has served a political purpose: shielding governments from accountability by portraying opposition as prejudice.
The result is that many people around the world who have little direct knowledge of Jewish history increasingly encounter Jewish identity primarily through headlines about military operations, settlement expansion, occupation, discrimination allegations and political conflict.
This creates a dangerous situation for everyone involved.
When a state claims to speak on behalf of all Jews, its actions inevitably affect perceptions of Jews everywhere. Many Jewish people reject this notion entirely. Large numbers of Jews in Israel and across the diaspora oppose occupation, advocate for Palestinian rights and campaign for peace. Yet their voices are often overshadowed by politicians and lobby groups who insist that support for Israel’s actions is a defining feature of Jewish identity.
Ironically, this approach risks strengthening the very antisemitism it claims to combat.
Throughout history, antisemitism has often relied on the false idea that Jews act collectively as a single political entity. By presenting Israel as “the Jewish state” speaking for Jews worldwide, hardliners can unintentionally reinforce this dangerous stereotype. Instead of challenging collective blame, they risk encouraging it.
The tragedy is that this obscures the remarkable diversity of Jewish thought and experience. Jewish communities encompass liberals, conservatives, socialists, religious traditionalists, secular humanists and countless other perspectives. There is no single Jewish political position, just as there is no single Christian or Muslim political position.
Yet the louder the nationalist rhetoric becomes, the more difficult it becomes for that diversity to be seen.
Many younger Jews have begun pushing back against this trend. Across Europe, North America and Israel itself, growing numbers argue that Jewish identity should not be defined by military power, territorial disputes or nationalist ideology. Instead, they seek to reclaim traditions rooted in ethics, justice and universal human rights.
Their challenge is significant because the international conversation is increasingly polarised. On one side are those who insist that support for Israeli government policy is a test of loyalty. On the other are those who wrongly attribute the actions of a government to Jews as a whole.
Both positions erase individual Jewish voices.
The real lesson is that no people should be judged by the actions of any government. Israelis are not synonymous with Jews, and Jews are not synonymous with Israel. Conflating the two serves political agendas but undermines genuine understanding.
If there is such a thing as “the wrong kind of Jew” being created in public consciousness, it is not a real Jewish person at all. It is a caricature: a simplified political identity constructed by nationalists, amplified by conflict and accepted by opponents and supporters alike.
The antidote is not silence but recognising the diversity, complexity and humanity that exists within Jewish communities everywhere.
The Ultimate Irony
The ultimate irony is that Zionists themselves cannot be proper Jews. Jewish people were commanded to remain in exile until a divinely ordained redemption. Simply refer to passages in the Talmud, particularly the discussion of the “Three Oaths” in the Babylonian Talmud, which objective rabbis interpret as prohibiting the Jewish people from establishing sovereignty in the Land of Israel through human political action. From this perspective, the creation of a Jewish state before the coming of the Messiah represents a departure from traditional religious teaching. Thus, any Zionist who contravenes this is in fact antisemitic.
