1. United States
2. Minn.
3. Letter

It is crucial to distinguish legitimate criticism of the policies and actions of the Israeli government from antisemitism, which is hateful discrimination against Jewish people based solely on their ethnicity or religion. Conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism is an attempt to shut down valid discourse and stifle dissent against human rights violations and the denial of self-determination to Palestinians. Opposing the ideology of Zionism and the establishment of an exclusionary Jewish ethno-state through the subjugation of the indigenous Palestinian population is not inherently antisemitic. It is a principled stance against ethnonationalism and ethnic supremacy, values that any proponent of universal human rights and true equality should reject regardless of the specific context. The right to criticize unjust policies and racist ideologies must be protected to uphold freedom of speech and advance the causes of justice and peace in the region.