Conflating Judaism or Jewish identity with the official policies or the actions of The Haganah, The Palmach, The Irgun (Etzel), Lehi (The Stern Gang), The State of Israel, the IDF, Likud, Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Amichai Eliyahu, or aggressive Israeli settlers in the West Bank displacing Palestinians is not acceptable and may constitute dangerous antisemitism.

This conflation is too often done by people who oppose Israel for political reasons or by those who are predisposed to antisemitism, or it can happen due to a genuine lack of knowledge or understanding about the diversity within Israel, where Muslims, Christians, Baháʼí, Samaritans, and Druze are granted Israeli citizenship alongside Jews based on civil criteria. However, the public blurring between Judaism/Jewishness and Israel can also happen among those with an incentive to paint those who oppose current Israeli military or political policies broadly with the brush of antisemitism in bad faith.

Israeli society features deep internal political, ideological, and cultural divisions. Jewish Israelis hold a wide spectrum of views regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, governance, and military strategy, ranging from hardline right-wing nationalism to left-wing peace activism, conscientious objection, and anti-occupation movements. Attributing the actions or policies of a specific government coalition or administration to an entire ethnoreligious group erases this rich internal dissent.

Put plainly, confusing the world’s Jews with Israel due to opposing or supporting Israel is antisemitic, and history has shown how and why that is unsafe. And now, in the second half of 2026, New York is demonstrating a very real rise in hate crimes against Jewish communities and individuals. NYPD data underscores that, even after the city enjoyed its absolute safest summer in recorded history, Jewish New Yorkers continue to be disproportionately targeted by bias-related crimes, accounting for over 55% of all citywide hate crimes.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is wildly popular among many New Yorkers for policies seeking to improve the lives of residents regarding workers’ and tenants’ rights, disability access, universal childcare, and improved transportation, has faced criticism regarding his interaction with the city’s Jewish community. While many agree with the mayor’s views and even his rhetoric on Israeli policy, Palestinian rights, and Benjamin Netanyahu, others, including progressives outside the Jewish community, feel he and his........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)