''Israelophobia: The Newest Version of the Oldest Hatred and What To Do About It'' is a

polemical Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

book written by British journalist

Jake Wallis Simons Jacob Timothy Wallis Simons (born 1978 or 1979) is a British columnist, broadcaster and foreign correspondent. Born in London, he graduated with a first class degree in English from St Peter's College, Oxford, before completing a PhD in creative ...

and published in 2023 by

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

. The book argues against

anti-Zionism Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

and presents methods for combating it.

Background

is a British journalist and author who has been the editor of the London-based ''

Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

'' since 2021.

Synopsis

In the book, Simons argues that the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

is a target of an

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

campaign of

delegitimization Delegitimisation (also spelled delegitimization) is the withdrawal of Legitimacy (political), legitimacy, usually from some institution such as a state, cultural practice, etc. which may have acquired it explicitly or implicitly, by statute or acce ...

, contends that

is merely a new incarnation of antisemitism, lists eight identifiers for antisemitism, and presents five methods for combating anti-Zionism.

Reception

The book received four out of five stars by Con Coughlin, a defense editor for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. A review in the journal ''Israel Affairs'' by Roza El-Eini said that the book left "no doubt as to the full extent of the threat sraelophobiais to the Jewish people and to Israel." George Chesterton of the '' London Standard'' called the book "particularly timely," whereas Roger Boyes of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' opined that it could have made a stronger argument against anti-Zionism. ''

New Humanist ''New Humanist'' is a quarterly magazine, published by Humanists UK and based in London, that focuses on culture, news, philosophy, and science from a sceptical perspective. History ''New Humanist'' has been in print for years, starting out ...

'' writer

Keith Kahn-Harris Keith Kahn-Harris is a sociologist and music critic. He is an honorary research fellow and senior lecturer at Birkbeck College, an associate fellow of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, and a lecturer at Leo Baeck College. Khan-Harris wa ...

was more critical, describing the book as "an expression of angry, inert futility."{{Cite magazine , last=Kahn-Harris , first=Keith , date=14 February 2014 , title=Book review: Israelophobia by Jake Wallis Simons , url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/6236/book-review-israelophobia-by-jake-wallis-simons , access-date=25 May 2025 , magazine=

, volume=139 , issue=1 , issn=0306-512X

References

2023 non-fiction books English-language non-fiction books Books about antisemitism Books about Israel Anti-Zionism Books about Zionism

Background

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References