Anti-Zionism can be antisemitic. That doesn’t make it antisemitism

Law360 Canada (October 6, 2026, 10:28 AM EDT) --

Faisal Kutty

Antisemitism is real and dangerous. Jewish Canadians should not have to conceal their identity, fear entering a synagogue or endure harassment because they are Jewish. Governments have an obligation to confront it.

But protecting Jews from antisemitism does not require protecting Zionism from opposition. That distinction is becoming increasingly important as definitions developed to identify antisemitism find their way into government policy, university rules and law-enforcement training.

Public Safety Canada has now brought the issue squarely into the Canadian context. Its recent progress report on the federal government’s commitments to combat antisemitism states that “antisemitism, which includes anti-Zionism, is not always obvious.” Elsewhere, it calls for greater institutional capacity to recognize “contemporary manifestations of antisemitism, including anti-Zionism.”

The wording is significant. Saying that anti-Zionism can sometimes be antisemitic is one thing. Saying that antisemitism “includes anti-Zionism” is something else.

Zionism has profound significance for many Jews, who understand it as an expression of Jewish history, identity and self-determination. There is also no question that anti-Zionism can become a vehicle for antisemitism. “Zionist” can be used as a substitute for “Jew.” Jews can be blamed collectively for Israel’s conduct or targeted because they are presumed to support it. Familiar antisemitic stereotypes do not become something else merely because they are expressed using the language of Israel or Zionism.

But Zionism is also a political and nationalist movement concerned with sovereignty, territory and competing claims to self-determination. Jews themselves have disagreed about it since its emergence. Palestinians necessarily have their own historical and political relationship to it. The fact that anti-Zionism can become antisemitic does not tell us when it has done so in a particular case.

Public Safety Canada’s report acknowledges that Canada’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism is nonbinding. IHRA itself describes the definition as “non-legally binding.” The federal report does not criminalize anti-Zionism.

Still, the report discusses the use of IHRA by police, training for police and prosecutors, and the need for greater consistency in how institutions recognize antisemitism. Once a definition begins to inform how public institutions classify speech, investigate conduct or impose discipline, the distinction between an educational tool and a legal standard becomes important.

The contrast with a major report released in Washington only days later is striking.

On Sept. 28, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released the results of a bipartisan investigation into antisemitism on American university campuses. The commission unanimously concluded that campus antisemitism is a serious civil rights problem. Jewish students described harassment, threats, vandalism and exclusion.

But the commission also drew a line Ottawa is blurring. It found that American civil rights law distinguishes discrimination based on Jewish ancestry or national origin from opposition to Israel or Zionism. It warned that institutions often have difficulty distinguishing protected political speech from discriminatory conduct and emphasized that even offensive anti-Zionist or anti-Israel rhetoric can remain protected expression.

This is the first instalment of a three-part series.

Faisal Kutty is a lawyer, law professor and writer focusing on constitutional law, international law, Islamic law, national security, and law and religion. His work appears regularly in Newsweek, the Toronto Star, Lawfare and other publications.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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