Anti-Zionists contend that anti-Zionism is a political position rooted in progressive values and principled advocacy for Palestinians whom they consider the rightful heirs to the Holy Land and that charges of anti-Semitism are just cynical smears meant to muzzle legitimate criticism of Israel. They claim that anti-Semitism is limited to the far-right, white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

It is instructive therefore to compare the language and rhetoric used by prominent anti-Zionist organizations, politicians, journalists and activists to the classic antisemitic tropes disseminated by Nazis in the prelude to and during the Holocaust.