Nasser Mashni‘s Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) has repeatedly campaigned against the adoption and use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. Among their arguments, they claim it:
- Is used as a political tool rather than a genuine anti-racism safeguard
- Conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism
- Suppresses “Palestinian” advocacy
- Chills free speech, particularly on campuses
At the same time, they (predictably) created their own version to cover something called “Anti-Palestinian” Racism.
Here’s how they define it:
Exclusion
Excluding Palestinians and advocates of Palestinian human rights through various measures, including barring the appointment/firing of Palestinians and allies; denying funding or sponsorship of projects relaying Palestinian narratives, omitting references to Palestinian identity or cultural contributions.
Denial, Distortion, and Silencing
Defamation of Palestinians and allies via the dehumanising, racist, stereotypes that aim to ‘other’ Palestinians in Western societies. Also occurs by discrediting and/or defaming Palestinians and allies by utilising anti-Palestinian stereotypes (i.e. they are a terrorist sympathiser or antisemitic for holding pro-Palestine views)
Justifying Violence Against Palestinians
Includes equating the oppressed with the oppressors; or blaming the oppressed for the actions of the oppressor; or rationalising the use of violence against Palestinians. This justification encompassaes Palestinians within historic Palestine and the diaspora.
Nakba Denial
Nakba denial includes the erasure of Palestinian connections to the land across emotional, ancestral, cultural, economic, and historical lenses. It includes the denial of the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948.
Failing to Acknowledge Indigeneity
Failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an indigenous people manifests in several ways, including denying the existence of Palestine and Palestinians as a people, denying the settler-colonisation of Palestine, and appropriation of Palestinian heritage and culture.
Given that “Palestinian” is not a race, it already makes no sense. But worse than that, it contains the very same things they object to with the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. What’s more, they are guilty of the same things when it comes to Jews and Zionists.
Contains same things they object to with IHRA definition
Let’s now go back to their main objections to the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and apply them to this framework.
Is used as a political tool rather than a genuine anti-racism safeguard
The first clue this definition is used as a political tool is the fact “Palestinian” is not even a race. What’s more, the examples they give are ahistorical (e.g. “Failing to Acknowledge Indigeneity”) and also largely legimitate arguments (e.g. “they are a terrorist sympathiser or antisemitic for holding pro-Palestine views” – which is invoked when these people are actually displaying terror support and antisemitism)
Conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism
This clearly conflates criticism of the nasty behavior and ahistorical lies of palestinian Arabs and their allies with bigotry
Suppresses “Palestinian” advocacy
This is designed to suppress Israel advocacy by claiming we are all bigots and racists
Chills free speech, particularly on campuses
Similarly, it chills free speech.
They are guilty of same things
Now let’s look at their definition of “anti-Palestinian racism” and apply it to their own behavior against Jews and Zionists.
Exclusion
Excluding Zionists and Jews and advocates of Jewish human rights through various measures, including barring the appointment/firing of Zionists/Jews and allies; denying funding or sponsorship of projects relaying Zionist/Jewish narratives, omitting references to Jewish identity or cultural contributions.
This is basically an apt description of the BDS movement, which is something APAN fully endorses.
Denial, Distortion, and Silencing
Defamation of Jews/Zionists and allies via the dehumanising, racist, stereotypes that aim to ‘other’ Jews/Zionists in Western societies. Also occurs by discrediting and/or defaming Jews/Zionists and allies by utilising antisemitic stereotypes (i.e. they are a terrorist sympathiser or anti-palestinian for holding pro-Israel views)
We clearly see that antisemitism in the anti-Israel movement is a feature, not a bug, as I have time and again shown on this website. Israel-haters like APAN’s own Nasser Mashni have also called all Zionists “terrorists” and othered us using vile slurs.
Justifying Violence
Includes equating the oppressed with the oppressors; or blaming the oppressed for the actions of the oppressor; or rationalising the use of violence against Jews/Zionists. This justification encompasses Jews within historic Palestine and the diaspora.
The anti-Israel movement constantly blames the Jews/Israelis for palestinian Arab terrorism. APAN’s Nasher Mashni has infamously liked tweets celebrating October 7 and refused to condemn it as terrorism. And we have seen many Israel-haters justifying things like the Bondi massacre or – in Mashni’s case – use it to spread the antisemitic trope of “Jewish priviledge.”
Nakba Denial
Nakba denial includes the erasure of Jewish connections to the land across emotional, ancestral, cultural, economic, and historical lenses. It includes the denial of the mass ethnic cleansing of Jews.
The palestinian Arabs and their allies constantly deny the Jewish connection to the land, painting us as colonizers. Many – like Nasser Mashni – deny we originate from the land, instead painting us as “White European” settlers. Many also deny the Jewish “Nakba” – the mass expulsion and persecution of Jews from Arab and Muslim lands between 1948 and the 1970s. Some engage in Holocaust denial.
Failing to Acknowledge Indigeneity
Failing to acknowledge Jews as an indigenous people manifests in several ways, including denying the existence of Israel and Jews as a people, denying the settler-colonisation of Israel, and appropriation of Jewish heritage and culture.
It is historical fact that Jews are the indigneous people of Israel, something the palestinian Arabs and their allies deny. They reject the existence of Israel, and some claim we are not the real Jews mentioned in the Bible, instead invoking the antisemitic trope of us as Khazarian converts from Europe. They all also deny the Arabs are the settler-colonizers, despite history clearly showing they conquered the area in the 7th century, well after a Jewish presence in the land. And yes, they also appropriate Jewish heritage and culture, such as calling the Jewish Western Wall Al-Buraq Wall, tied to Prophet Muhammad’s supposed miraculous night journey, where he tethered his steed al-Buraq.
So let’s be clear about what is actually going on here.
APAN does not oppose the concept of defining and combating group-based hatred. They oppose it only when Jews are the protected group. In other words, the problem was never the structure of the IHRA definition. The problem was that it applied to Jews – and that it exposed the antisemitism embedded in the anti-Israel movement.
Besides, APAN’s new definition of “racism” is essentially a list of their own favorite tactics.
