The Second Surprise Attack of 10/2023: Antizionism as Strategic Antisemitism

October 2023 triggered two surprise attacks for the world’s Jewish communities. The first was the October 7th terrorist attacks by Hamas, whereas the second was the meteoric rise in antizionist antisemitism unleashed globally, and particularly in the West. In this article, the authors argue that antizionism represents the principal, contemporary mode of strategic antisemitism. The roots of antizionism are traced, highlighting that there is both continuity and yet also discontinuity in the antizionism expressed after the 10/7 attacks. The authors invoke the distinction between instigators and perpetrators of antisemitism to help make sense of the drivers and consequences of the current spike in antisemitism.