Speaking at a conference dedicated to the fight against anti-Semitism, Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer attacked Israel's critics, saying that they often use Israel as a means of promoting their hatred of Jews.
"The only thing that should surprise us about the return of anti-Semitism is that anyone is surprised," he said. "Today many believe that Israel is the cause of anti-Semitism. The irony is that at the dawn of modern Zionism, many believed that Israel would be the cure for anti-Setimism ... the early Zionists believed that once Israel was established anti-Semitism would wither on the vine, so we have come full circle ... Israel is neither the cause nor the cure for anti-Semitism but it has given the Jewish people something we did not have – the power to fight back."
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The event, called the Anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism Symposium was hosted by The American Zionist Movement and the World Zionist Organization, in partnership with the Embassy of Israel and Combat Anti-Semitism in Washington, DC. More than 200 people attended, including many high-profile figures from various Jewish organizations in the United States. US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism Elan Carr was also in attendance.
Yaakov Hagoel, the Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, said at the event: "We have gathered here in this hall as one people, in order make our voices heard clearly and loudly and say, 'Enough is enough!.' Stop anti-Semitism, stop hatred, stop incitement, and stop the boycott! We have seen for far too long how anti-Semitism has been combined with anti-Zionism, and this is worrying. Hatred of Jews has been combined with hatred of Israel and delegitimizing Jews around the world, but it is evidently clear that those who call for the boycott of Israel, those who undermine Israel's right to exist, those who claim that they are not anti-Semites but only anti-Israeli have in fact joined forces with anti-Semites, directly or indirectly."
