Anti-Zionism and Anti-Israel Behavior and Sentiment

Abstract

This chapter examines whether anti-Israel sentiment and behavior predicts discrimination against Jews. It discusses the history of anti-Zionism and demonstrates that at least in some instances it can instigate discrimination against Jews. The authors also discuss general social science theories which address whether the behavior or existence of a country can instigate discrimination against a diaspora from that country. They focus on securitization theory, which has been used to explain levels of discrimination against Muslims, as well as other prominent theories drawn from a wide variety political science and social science literatures. The authors argue that both the anti-Semitism and the general political science literatures can benefit greatly from this cross-fertilization and suggest some theoretical innovations based on this discussion. Empirically they find that both anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Israel voting by governments in the UN General Assembly predict government-based discrimination against Jews. However, these do not predict societal discrimination against Jews.