Weaponizing antisemitism needs to stop, there are actual enemies to combat - opinion

At the end of 2021, Israel and Russia marked 30 years of formal diplomatic relations. While the Israeli media celebrated the occasion, most Russian media opted to overlook or barely acknowledge it. 

One newspaper, however, stood out: the privately-owned Kommersant, which dedicated an entire interview to Israel’s then-foreign minister Yair Lapid. I remember this vividly, because I served at the time as tourism minister on behalf of Lapid’s party, Yesh Atid. For me, the interview in Kommersant did not come as a surprise, as they were always considered more pro Israel in their editorial stance. 

My recollection of this episode resurfaced recently while I read a report about a decision by the European Court of Justice, accusing the same newspaper – and its owner – of antisemitism, for publishing an op-ed by Dmitry Medvedev.

As a former Israeli politician who dealt extensively with Israeli-Russian relations, and as someone who closely followed the internal processes in Russian society over many years, I was intrigued. Reading the EU Court decision in its entirety left me disappointed and uneasy. 

Symbolism and antisemitism

In its judgment, the court argued that Medvedev’s reference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Jewish roots while comparing his country’s situation under his rule to that of Germany, was antisemitic. 

“Mr. Medvedev uses strong symbols linked to antisemitism and the oppression of Jews during the Second World War,” the judgment read. While I disagree with Mr. Medvedev, I would not define his statement as antisemitic. As my friend Natan Sharansky wisely observed, the Russian narrative might be seen by many as offensive, but surely not antisemitic. 

In recent years too many politicians and governments, including the EU itself, have been playing a dangerous game, using antisemitism as a tool to advance their political goals. This approach is becoming increasingly perilous given the explosive rise in antisemitism in Europe. Painting every political opponent as an antisemite and every argument as antisemitic renders the fight against real instances of antisemitism meaningless.

The European Union court decision, which aimed to dismiss an appeal by Uzbek billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov against imposed sanctions, is in itself puzzling because of its implicit accusation of antisemitism.

Usmanov’s life partner and wife of 30 years was Jewish. He is also known in Russia as a generous donor to Jewish causes, despite being a Muslim. 

Oddly, this is not the first time antisemitism has found its way into the EU sanctioning process. Last September an internal EU working paper that laid the groundwork for sanctions against Roman Abramovich contained antisemitic tropes. The paper stated that, “Abramovich, as the main shareholder of Omsk Bacon, found nothing wrong in benefiting from the annual slaughter of 300,000 pigs.” The European Jewish Association described this “working paper” as “antisemitic, pure and simple.”

In another incident, EU President Charles Michel was forced to apologize to Moshe Kantor, former president of the European Jewish Congress, for including Kantor’s Jewish roots in the secret evidence which led to sanctions against him. According to Politico, Michel wrote that the EU “sincerely regretted the error,” and notified Kantor that the evidence “has been rectified.” 

There are many other recent examples where antisemitism was misused to either accuse or sling tired tropes for political causes, but the EU sanctions regime is an especially interesting case. 

In some instances, as reported by Politico, EU officials had to rely on evidence from blogs and Wikipedia entries to justify imposing sanctions on thousands of people. In other words, where reason ends, antisemitism can come into play. 

Over the past few years, Europe has experienced an alarming surge in true antisemitic incidents, prompting the European Commission to publicly address this disturbing trend. 

Recent statistics compiled by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reveal a 300% increase in antisemitic incidents in Austria, while London reports more than a thirteen-fold rise in antisemitic hate crimes during October, as compared to last year. A recent ADL study underscores the persistence of anti-Jewish tropes in 10 European countries, revealing that approximately one in four individuals still harbors historically-rooted antisemitic beliefs. 

Interestingly, antisemitism can even be found in the European Court itself. 

According to the UK’s Jewish Chronicle, a judge named Bostjan Zupancic was found to have shared extreme antisemitic content online, claiming that Jews are the central enemies of Western civilization. This prompted calls to reexamine all of his judgments where Jews were involved.

The modus operandi of weaponizing antisemitism must stop. The fight against antisemitism should be directed towards actual antisemites, maintaining focus on combating genuine instances of hatred and discrimination.

The writer is a former tourism minister.