Andrea Zanardo

I don’t want to argue about Israel forever; I want antizionism removed from schools and workplaces.

I've seen a lot of commentary pointing out the logical contradictions in calling Israel an apartheid state when Arabs not only vote but may even play a decisive role in determining who the next prime minister will be. While exposing the absurdity may be satisfying, it assumes that the apartheid libel is meant to be a rational claim. The apartheid libel is a trope of antizionism—and there is about as much hope of persuading someone who believes it to recognize its contradictions as there is of persuading someone who believes Jews murder Christian children to use their blood in matzoh that consuming blood is prohibited by Jewish law. Antizionist tropes exist for their emotive power and propaganda value. They function to stigmatize Israelis and justify violence against them. Those who promote these tropes have no expectation of having to defend them as rational claims.