# The Anti-Zionist Idea: History, Theory, & Politics (Faisal Bhabha, Heidi Matthews, & Max Weiss) Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe9gu5tE7Co Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/fe9gu5tE7Co --- ## Quick Overview The panel analyzes how anti-Zionism is increasingly framed as unlawful discrimination or anti-Semitism, contrasting the historical UN resolution equating Zionism with racism with current efforts to suppress anti-Zionist discourse. This framing constitutes a strategic "counter-insurgent" effort to re-legitimize Zionism and the state of Israel, often through legal and policy mechanisms, while avoiding direct adjudication of anti-Zionism's discriminatory nature in courts. **Key Points:** - The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379 in 1975, declaring "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination," a resolution later retracted in 1991. - The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism, published in 2016, includes "denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination example by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist Endeavor." - Canada, along with multiple provinces and municipalities, has adopted the non-binding IHRA definition, influencing anti-racism strategies and public policy, as seen with Ontario's executive order adoption after Bill 168 failed. - Legal cases, such as Robert Walker's human rights complaint against Durham College's Student Association for denying a Hasbara Fellowship table due to BDS support, test whether anti-Zionism constitutes discrimination based on perceived Jewish or Israeli identity. - Max Weiss defines "anti-anti Zionism" as a "counter-insurgent form of knowledge production" that demonizes and mischaracterizes anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism or racism, framing it as a "delegitimization campaign" or "asymmetrical warfare." - The ongoing Food Benders case in Toronto, involving allegations of anti-Semitic posts like "zionists are not welcome," is expected to address whether anti-Zionism is discriminatory, a question decision-makers have historically avoided adjudicating. - Heidi Matthews highlights that self-determination, as argued by Brad Roth, is a remedy for subjugation, not a right of subjugators, and references the ICJ's finding that Israeli policies violate the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. **Context:** This panel features legal scholars Faisal Bhabha and Heidi Matthews from Osgoode Hall Law School, and cultural and intellectual historian Max Weiss from Princeton University. They delve into the complex history, theory, and politics of anti-Zionism, particularly focusing on its legal implications and the evolving discourse surrounding it. The discussion provides a critical examination of how anti-Zionism is defined, challenged, and suppressed in contemporary legal and political contexts. ## Detailed Analysis The panel, featuring law professors Faisal Bhabha and Heidi Matthews, and historian Max Weiss, explores the legal, historical, and political dimensions of anti-Zionism. Faisal Bhabha and Heidi Matthews trace the international legal discourse from the 1975 UN General Assembly Resolution 3379, which declared "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination" (later retracted in 1991), to the 2016 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism. The IHRA definition includes "denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination example by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist Endeavor." They detail how Canada and its provinces have adopted this non-binding definition, influencing policy and potentially legal interpretations. They analyze how Canadian anti-discrimination law might treat anti-Zionism, using the settled Robert Walker case (Hasbara Fellowships vs. Durham College Student Association) and the ongoing Food Benders case in Toronto as examples, highlighting how decision-makers have historically avoided adjudicating whether anti-Zionism constitutes discrimination. Heidi Matthews further critiques the IHRA handbook's conflation of Zionism with self-determination, citing Brad Roth's argument that self-determination is a remedy for subjugation, not a right of subjugators, and referencing the ICJ's finding that Israeli policies violate Palestinian self-determination. Max Weiss introduces "anti-anti Zionism" as a "counter-insurgent form of knowledge production" linked to anti-anti-colonialism. He argues this assemblage demonizes and mischaracterizes anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism or racism, framing criticism of Israel as a "delegitimization campaign" or "asymmetrical warfare." Weiss connects this to "hasbara" (public diplomacy) and academic hasbara, asserting that this strategy aims to silence dissent and re-legitimize Zionism, indicating a struggle by the Zionist ideological formation to manage its contradictions and legitimation crises. ### Introduction to the Panel and Topic - Heidi Matthews and Faisal Bhabha, law professors at Osgoode Hall Law School, and Max Weiss, a cultural and intellectual historian from Princeton University, discuss the legal, historical, and political dimensions of anti-Zionism - The panel aims to add a legal perspective to the conference's theme of anti-Zionism's history, theory, and politics. ### Historical Legal Context of Zionism as Racism - The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379 in 1975, stating 'Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination,' which was later retracted in 1991 - This resolution was influenced by the non-aligned movement's view of Zionism as a threat to world peace and security. ### The IHRA Definition and its Adoption in Canada - The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) published its working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016, including 'denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination example by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist Endeavor' - The US State Department, Canadian government, and multiple Canadian provinces and municipalities have adopted this non-binding definition, influencing policy and potentially legal interpretations - The Ford government in Ontario adopted IHRA via an executive order after Bill 168 failed to pass due to grassroots opposition. ### Anti-Discrimination Law and Anti-Zionism - Canadian anti-discrimination law defines discrimination as imposing burdens or denying benefits connected to a protected ground that exacerbates historical disadvantage without justification - No Canadian tribunal or court has yet adjudicated whether anti-Zionism constitutes unlawful discrimination, with decision-makers often avoiding these questions on procedural grounds - The Robert Walker case (Hasbara Fellowships vs. Durham College Student Association) involved a human rights complaint after Hasbara was denied a table at a social justice fair due to the student association's BDS resolution, with Walker claiming discrimination based on perceived Jewish or Israeli identity - The ongoing Food Benders case in Toronto, involving allegations of anti-Semitic posts like 'zionists are not welcome,' is expected to address whether anti-Zionism constitutes discrimination against Jewish people. ### Critique of Anti-Anti Zionism - Max Weiss introduces 'anti-anti Zionism' as a 'counter-insurgent form of knowledge production' linked to anti-anti-colonialism, which aims to demonize, delegitimize, and mischaracterize anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism or racism - Joel Fishman and Aud Sprinzak describe this as a reaction to a 'delegitimization campaign' against Zionism and Israel, framing it as 'asymmetrical warfare' or 'people's war' - This strategy involves public diplomacy ('hasbara') and academic hasbara, seeking to influence elite public opinion and silence criticism of Zionism and the state of Israel - Anti-anti Zionism is seen as a sign that the Zionist ideological formation struggles to manage its own contradictions and legitimation crises, creating a global battlefield over the legitimacy of the Zionist project. ### Self-Determination and its Misapplication - Heidi Matthews highlights the IHRA handbook's conflation of Zionism with self-determination and the 'right to exist as a Jewish state' - Brad Roth's perspective is cited, arguing that self-determination is a remedy for subjugation, not a right of subjugators - The International Court of Justice's advisory opinion on the legality of the occupation found that Israel's policies (settlements, land confiscation, movement restrictions) violate the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.