[UPDATE: As of July 9, Meta has updated its Hate Speech policy to reflect the fact that in some cases “‘Zionist’ … may be used as a proxy to refer to Jewish or Israeli people”. See bottom or post for more details.]

Way back in 2007, Nick Jackson wrote a piece for the the Independent titled ”Zionist” has now become an insult, an epithet for evil’. Here’s part of what Jackson wrote:

“There are many spheres in Britain in which it has become common sense that Israel is a unique and radical evil in the world. ‘Zionist’ has now become an insult, an epithet for evil.

These shared assumptions about Israel are fertile ground for the emergence of an anti-Semitic movement…..

There’s an overenthusiasm about anti-Zionism. British and American operations in Falluja cared less about civilian casualties than Israeli operations in Gaza. Israel is far from the most serious human-rights abuser on the planet, but how to explain this focus on the uniqueness of Israeli evil? ….

You can see it in the way people think about Hizbollah and Hamas. Both have openly genocidal policies towards the Jews, and yet, in the summer, placards reading, ‘We are all Hizbollah now’, were accepted on peace demonstrations.

This hasn’t always been the case. In fact, Nick Jackson’s 2007 article is the first time (that I know of) that anyone had publicly called attention to how “Zionist” was becoming more widely used as “an epithet for evil”.

A key moment in the evolution of “Zionist” into an antisemitic slur was June 9, 2009, when Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright infamously claimed, in an interview with the Daily Press of Newport News Virginia (direct link to article): “Them Jews ain’t going to let him talk to me.” This was an in-your-face textbook example of one of the hallmarks of classical antisemitism: the sinister, all pervasive power of “Them Jews”. Two days later, Wright tried to extricate himself with the explanation: “I meant to say ‘Zionists'” (in an interview with Sirius XM host Mark Thompson – here is a politico.com article about it). While this didn’t convince anyone, it did send out the clear message: you can take even the most obvious antisemitic tropes and simply repace “Jews” with “Zionists” and, voila, it’s no longer antisemitism! And the real beauty of it is that everyone still knows exactly who you are really talking about! The one rule is: don’t say “Jews” first and then later claim you meant to say “Zionists”. Just say “Zionists” from the start, and you’re good.

Here is a somewhat random collection of links and quotes that give a very rough outline of how things have progressed since then.

Demystifying Zionism Yakov Rabkin September 2009
https://yakovrabkin.ca/israel-and-zionism/demystifying-zionism/

The word “Zionism” means different things to different people. Some use it a badge of honour, unconditionally defending the state of Israel right or wrong. Yet, many Zionists take umbrage at the appellation of Israel as a Zionist state. They insist that it is a “Jewish state”, a “state of the Jewish people”. Quite a few people who identify themselves as Zionists, are distressed by what Israel is and does, but remain reluctant to express their distress in public. Others, including quite a few Israelis, see Zionism as the main obstacle to peace in Israel/Palestine, a path to collective suicide. And, finally, in some circles the word is used as an insult.

What Exactly is Zionism? Camera on Campus December 30, 2015
https://cameraoncampus.org/blog/what-exactly-is-zionism/

Zionism is how I connect to my Judaism and it is being slandered as a racist ideology that supports apartheid and oppression across college campuses by anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hate groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). It is a new way to insult Jewish people without directly coming off as anti-Semitic.

Zionisms …this is, in part, a plea to the left to stop saying ‘Zionist’ (Andrea Shieber | 05 May 2016)
https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/countercurrents/2016/05/05/zionisms-this-is-in-part-a-plea-to-the-left-to-stop-saying-zionist/

Zionism has become a dirty word for many on the left.

Antisemitic anti-Zionism and the scandal of Oxford University Labour Club Alex Chalmers, Spring 2016
https://fathomjournal.org/antisemitic-anti-zionism-and-the-scandal-of-oxford-university-labour-club/

“Instead, when I was at the 2015 Labour Party conference with fellow members of the Oxford University Labour Club (OULC), several attended the LFI (Labour Friends of Israel) reception wearing Palestine Solidarity Campaign lanyards and made a point of smirking when the assassination Yitzhak Rabin was mentioned by one of the speakers. When I confronted one of those members later in the evening and raised the work Rabin had done for peace, working with the Palestinian leadership to produce the Oslo Accords, the response I received was, ‘Who cares? He was a Zionist.’

Anti-Zionism as a prerequisite for antisemitism (By AVI TEICH APRIL 16, 2023)
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-739302

Anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism; not always out of ill intent but often from ignorance to a term regularly spewed but rarely defined clearly.

Meta considers reporting derogatory use of “Zionist” term amid rising anti-Semitism (February 10, 2024):
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/americas/1707596559-meta-considers-reporting-derogatory-use-of-zionist-term-amid-rising-anti-semitism

A spokesperson for Meta stated that the company is reviewing posts containing the term “Zionist,” recognizing its potential to convey anti-Semitic sentiment. While acknowledging that “Zionist” often refers to a political ideology rather than a protected characteristic, Meta emphasized that the term can also be used to target Jewish or Israeli individuals.

World Jewish Congress Praises Meta Policy Decision to Prevent Antisemitic Use of the Term ‘Zionist’ 09 Jul 2024
https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/wjc-praises-meta-decision-antisemitic-use-of-zionist

‘Zionist’ as a proxy for hate speech JUL 9, 2024
https://transparency.meta.com/Hate-Speech-Update-July2024

Other related posts in this blog:
Does Wester Buddhism Have a “Zionism Problem”?
Top Ten Signs Your “Criticism of Israel” Is Really Just Antisemitism