Anti-Israel activists in Germany downplay role that German antisemites played in shaping anti-Zionism in Middle East

Anti-Israel activists in Germany who call on the country to “free Palestine from German guilt” ignore the significant role that German antisemites played in shaping anti-Zionism in the Middle East .

Islamic anti-Judaism traces back to the religion's early scriptures, and Israel ’s military and economic success challenges claims of Muslim superiority.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , a fabricated document falsely purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination, gained significant traction in the Mideast .

Anti-Zionism already played a crucial role in German antisemitism long before the Nazis rose to power.

Eugen Dühring characterises Zionism as “part of the Jewish threat itself,” warning that it will lead to “an increase in Jewish power” In 1925 ’s Mein Kampf, Hitler reiterates this sentiment, adding, “For while Zionism tries to make the rest of the world believe the ethnic self-consciousness of the Jew would find its fulfillment in the creation of a Palestinian state, the Jews once again slyly deceive the naive goyim”.

In Weimar Germany , opposition to Zionism was not limited to racist antisemites .

The influential German Communist Party ( KPD ) vehemently rejected it from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Anti-Zionism gained significant traction during the 1960s , particularly within the left-wing student movement.