Comparing Israel to Nazis predicts tolerance of anti-Jewish violence

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The link between beliefs about Israel and antisemitism is a highly contested and politically charged debate in contemporary discussions of prejudice. Critics reasonably worry that labeling anti-Israel sentiment as antisemitic can be weaponized to deflect legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies. While it is clear that bad-faith and misguided accusations of antisemitism do occur, this debate has sometimes obscured an empirical reality, namely that anti-Jewish hostility today frequently occurs in the context of opposition to Israel. This study provides quantitative, population-based evidence for that pattern. It shows that a specific Israel-related belief — that Israel treats Palestinians just as badly as the Nazis treated Jews — is systematically associated with greater willingness to justify violence and harassment against Jews, even after accounting for other factors, including endorsement of blatantly antisemitic statements. I believe this matters because it brings evidence to the discussion. The association between anti-Israel hostility and anti-Jewish hostility can not be easily dismissed as a rhetorical device or a bad-faith defense of Israeli policy. It is an empirically documented phenomenon, and one that deserves attention from researchers, policymakers, as well as the broader public.

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