Anders Neergaard argues against equating Jewish identity with Zionism

Anders Neergaard, a sociology professor at Linköping University, argues in a debate piece that Sweden requires better tools to combat anti-Jewish racism. He contends that equating Jewish people with Zionists, and anti-Zionism with anti-Jewish racism, is a destructive practice.

Neergaard suggests this conflation has two negative consequences: it obscures the reality of Israeli settlement projects and violence against Palestinians, while simultaneously weakening the fight against actual racism directed at Jewish individuals. He notes that while some Christian nationalists in the US are vocal Zionists, there are also Jewish organizations and intellectuals who oppose Zionism or criticize the Israeli state.

Citing sociologist Nira Yuval-Davis, the text warns that defining ‘new antisemitism’ solely as criticism of Israel or Zionism shifts the focus from combating hatred against Jewish people toward defending a state ideology.