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While I am sure there are many people for whom it's not true for, but making a point out of 'look, even jews are protesting against themselves, surely I'm not antisemitic for wanting the same thing' seems to be a phrase you need to publish if you are unsure if you are a racist.

I sometimes fish around these posts and check for good faith dialogue, but it's usually just seething and steam release. I can't really be angry with anyone seeing red, as it is a truly atrocious situation. It's just hard to see racism spill through and being upvoted.

I thought zionism was a belief that Israel should exist.

No, Zionism is the belief that all of the land should belong exclusively to Jews and that assimilation of other cultures is impossible.

If you believe in a 2 state solution then you are anti zionist because you think Palestinians have a right to what Zionists consider exclusively Jewish land.

therefore I've always taken anyone who says,"I'm not antisemetic, I just think Israel shouldn't exist is a closet antisemite at best.

If someone says Israel shouldn't you're right to hear that as suspect.

But that's not anti zionism.

Like a smug dork saying,"I'm not Republican, I'm Libertarian!"

Not sure I get the point. If the Republican votes for Donald Trump and the Libertarian votes for Gary Johnson that seems like an important distinction.

Those aren't semantics.

I can say that I really think the current Israeli gov't should be exiled on St. Helena and not allowed to leave or communicate forever, but that doesn't mean I'm anti-zionist.

That means you're anti-zionist.

Do you believe the current borders should expand in Israel's favor to take more land, or remain where they are so Palestine keeps the land it currently has by international treaty.

One answer is Zionist, the other is anti Zionist.

People who are anti-zionist seem to only have a selective and limited knowledge of a few thousand years of the history of the area.

With respect, you don't even know what Zionism is and are basing your response from a dictionary entry.

Do you have thousands of years of history of knowledge?

If so, instead of the dictionary, how would Theodor Hertzl define Zionism?

Israel should not exist and it is not antisemitic to oppose the existence of a settler-colonial apartheid state

Oh yes, an ethnostate.

What could be more normal and healthy?

therefore I’ve always taken anyone who says,“I’m not antisemetic, I just think Israel shouldn’t exist (IE, anti-zionist)” is a closet antisemite at best.

There are whole sects of Judaism that are anti-Zionist. Zionism/Israel are not synonymous with Judaism or Jewishness in any way and there are both secular and religious anti-Zionist Jewish organizations.

People who are anti-zionist seem to only have a selective and limited knowledge of a few thousand years of the history of the area.

Yes, tell us more about people with a selective and limited knowledge of the history or the area.

therefore I've always taken anyone who says,"I'm not antisemetic, I just think Israel shouldn't exist (IE, anti-zionist)" is a closet antisemite at best

It's not about Israel existing. It's about Israel existing as an apartheid ethnostate that oppresses and eliminates everyone not of the preferred religion/ethnicity.

Just like it's not antichristian to not want other countries to discriminate in favor of Christians, it's not antisemitic to not want Israel to discriminate in favor of Jewish people.

If anything, it's an antisemitic trope to (wrongly, as demonstrated by the OP and countless other pieces of media) assume that being Jewish means that you support a fascist apartheid regime no matter what they do.

Republicans support Isreal because they want the jews to leave and make America a white Christian nation.

Create a Jewish homeland in Florida, then. Stop murdering and brutalising the indigenous Palestinians.

The original goals of Zionism have been achieved in 1948. Everything past that has been classical imperial/fascist expansionism founded on a believe of ethnical supremacy.

You're in favor of a jewish ethnostate?

Lol and that makes you not a nazi how?

I’m an anti-Zionist because I don’t think Britain had the right to carve up Mandatory Palestine. I don’t think Israel should have been created, but I also think nobody has the right to get rid of them now. There might come a point when the Israeli government is as unsalvageable as the third reich, but just as there’s now Germany where that had been, I don’t think the solution is to just remove the people who are citizens of Israel. I do wish the world were better at enforcing consequences on countries/leaders for bad actions though.

therefore I’ve always taken anyone who says,“I’m not antisemetic, I just think Israel shouldn’t exist (IE, anti-zionist)” is a closet antisemite at best.

At best? Do you think Israel is a monolith with no dissenting views over what it is and should be? Do you think settlers are the same as those who just want to leave in peace with a two-state solution?

That's the original simpler definition, but as with many words and phrases, time has changed the meaning in real world usage. Modern usage of the term should probably be referred to more as Revisionist Zionism, but everything gets simplified for modern short attention spans.

This is characterized by territorial maximalism and the idea that Israel should conquer more territory, at any cost. This is clearly the modem day Israeli government perspective. Settlements and the denial of Palestinian rights are a core part of Revisionist Zionism because of that. It is not compatible with a two-state solution, much less a one-state equal rights solution. Which is why it needs to be separated from general antisemitism.

I also have to say though that they've had nearly 80 years to figure this out with Israel being the de facto leadership because of British decisions post-war, maybe it's time that the Palestinians had a chance instead. It was those British decisions after all that took the land promised to the Palestinians for their assistance, to create Israel in the first place.