People, especially politicians, in the West are afraid of being called antisemite, and they may hang the antisemite label on the neck of their enemies if they get a chance.

What is so powerful about “antisemite” or “antisemitism”?

Hating the Jews? Hating Judaism?

Hating the Jews can be racism. Hating Judaism can be religious discrimination. Both are bad.

But criticizing Israel – exactly, criticizing the current Israeli government, in its savage conduct of the war in Gaza and in West Bank, and calling the devil by his name “Terrorist”, “Terrorist State”, or “State Terrorism”, how can that criticism, which is correct to most people of the world, be called “antisemitism”?

If you learn the Bible, you would naturally love and follow Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus. They all were Jews and their religion was Judaism. (Christianity actually formed slowly after Jesus’ death). Hard for you to be antisemite if you are familiar with the Bible.

Even for the Muslim, the Quran mentioned “People of the Book” and many personages in the Bible and the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible – Old Testament on Christian Bible), such as Adam, Abraham, David, Elias, Elisha, Eve, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Jesus, Joseph, Lot, Mary, Moses, Noah, Solomon…

So, it is hard for the true Muslim to be antisemite.

However, the government of Israel is a totally different story.

The problem with the Israeli government has no relationship with the Jews or Judaism. It has a lot to do with Israel’s illegal occupations and annexations of Palestinians’ lands over the years, and treating the Palestinians as third-grade citizens and prisoners right on their homeland; and now – in the name of fighting Hamas “terrorist” – Israeli government has indiscriminately bombarded and shelled residences, hospitals, schools, churches, temples, ambulances and UN facilities, and turned northern Gazza into a wasteland, killing almost 19 thousand people and injuring 50 thousand people, most of them women and children; intentionally encircled Gaza in such a tight circle that has stopped food, water, fuel, medical supplies and daily living supplies (except a tiny bit of international aid) from coming into Gaza, creating a near-death condition for everyone on the land; indiscriminately shot, arrested and jailed everyone in sight, especially boys and men; and continued indiscriminate bombing and shelling on everyone’s head.

Gaza’s conditions are worse than Hell.

Such savagery is State Terrorism of the First Rank. It needs to be criticised clearly, frankly and loudly by everyone, to stop this carnage from going any step further.

And that has nothing to do with antisemitism.

So, please stop using that label when someone criticizing the Israeli government’s conduct.

Trần Đình Hoành, Esq, JD