Sometimes “Anti-Zionism” Really Is Just Anti-Semitism

It is absolutely true that sometime supporters of the Israeli state conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. But it is also true that sometimes anti-Zionism is invoked as an excuse by anti-Semites. An pristine illustration of the latter can be found in the case of a Bushwick coffee shop owner who is upset about gentrification that doesn’t involve selling expensive coffee. He ranted on Instagram earlier this week:

My stubborn Bushwick-oroginal neighbor is a hoarder and a mess- true.. and he’s refused selling his building for lots and lots of money. His building and treatment of it makes the hood look much less attractive and I would like him to either clean up or move along. BUT NOT be bought out by Jews however, who in this case (and many cases separate- SORRY!) function via greed and dominance. A laymen’s terms version of a story would simply be- buying buildings, cutting apartments in half, calling them luxurious, and ricing them at double. Bushwick IS rising and progressing, and bettering, but us contributing or just appreciating this rise and over all positive change do not want to be lumped with greedy infiltrators.

There are two salient facts about this collection of words, some of them in English: 1)it is unambiguously anti-Semitic, and 2)it has nothing to do with the state of Israel. His defense:

After a flood of negative responses to the post, Avila told DNAinfo New York Thursday that he was “misunderstood.” “I’m anti-Zionism. It’s about politics, it’s about greed,” he said. “I’m certainly not anti-Semitic. That would stand against everything I believe I stand for.” The post was intended to create awareness about greedy landlords, he said.

Um, unless the Netanyahu government has extended the occupation to Brooklyn, I don’t think this is going to fly.  Not only would the rant be anti-Semitic either way, it is entirely devoid of anti-Zionist content.