THE rIGHT IS THE lEFT:

Calling out any Zionists for being aliens and foreigners in their own country activates the history of anti-Semitic stereotypes. Whatever his intentions, Corbyn attacked Zionists as Jews. He insults them not for their ideas, but for their lack of true English character, and inability to assimilate. That's anti-Semitic.

It also plays directly into Zionist talking points that undermine Corbyn's supposed commitment to Palestinian rights. Netanyahu's hard-right conservative government in Israel does exactly what Corbyn did here--conflate Zionists with Jewish people, and suggest that both are only truly at home in Israel.

Netanyahu's government passed a law last month affirming that Israeli national identity is specifically Jewish; a measure that seems designed to turn non-Jewish Israelis into second-class citizens. Netanyahu has enthusiastically embraced the Trump administration, including figures like Steve Bannon with connections to the virulently anti-Semitic alt-right. For Netanyahu, Israel's interests are Jewish interests, and someone like Bannon, who supports Israel oppression of the Palestinians, can't be anti-Semitic no matter what he says about, or does to, Jewish people in the diaspora. Corbyn and Netanyahu agree; the core of Jewish identity is Israel.

This is a lie. Many Jewish people support Palestinian rights and oppose Netanyahu's government. Many Jewish people don't care about, or think that much about Israel. Conversely, the most influential Zionists in the United States, and therefore in the world outside Israel, aren't Jewish. They're American evangelicals and imperialist Islamophobes who support Israel because of its supposed role in the endtimes, and/or because they see it as a geopolitical ally.

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