Anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel : Methodology and results of the ASCI survey

Abstract

Building upon psychological conflict theory, on the one hand, and item-response models, on the other, the present paper develops an integrated methodology that aims at differentiating the various ways of criticizing Israel. An application of this methodology to the Anti-Semitism and Criticism of Israel (ASCI) survey found two ways of criticizing Israel resulting from two different and antipodal processes. (1) Anti-Semitic criticism of Israel is generally laden with prejudice and shares not only anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli, but also anti-Palestinian resentments as well. (2) Non-anti-Semitic criticism of Israel is motivated by pacifism and human rights commitment and rejects any form of anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist, anti-Israeli or anti-Palestinian resentment. However, even critics of Israel who were not originally motivated by anti-Semitism are also in danger of developing anti-Semitic prejudices.