Far left, far right antisemitism likely to rise amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Traditionally known to stem from far right and radical Islamist circles, antisemitism is also present among the political far left. Following the Israel-Hamas conflict, a series of pro-Palestinian protests seem to be bringing together actors from various ideologies, including those that sympathise or support Hamas’ terrorist tactics from 7 October. Both on- and offline, it seems that— similarly to other times of conflict in the Israel-Palestine region— Jews, Zionism and Israel are being used in an interchangeable manner.

POLITICO draws on our Explainer on far-left antisemitism quoting: “Far-left antisemitism nonetheless has a significant and pernicious impact on Jewish communities, stoking an increase in harassment, abuse and threats against Jews.”

“Of course, elements of Europe’s left have had a long history of conflating Jews, Zionism and Israel— something that some scholars put down to the influence of Soviet propaganda, which used antisemitic tropes to push anti-Zionism and portray Israel as a colonial project of the US, according to the ISD. These features continue to play out in the far left’s rhetoric today, often portraying Israel as a racist Western colonial outpost.”

The full Explainer is available on our website.