Zion-Nazi, noun. A Zionist supporter of Israel who acts like the Nazis who committed genocide against the Jews 75 years ago. Like their Nazi forbearers, Zion-Nazis actively harass, slander, dox, blacklist and in some cases physically attack those who dare speak out against Israel’s genocidal war against Palestine.
Zion-Nazis MUST BE called out and exposed.
Adam Guillette is the current president of “Accuracy in Media,” (AIM) a right-wing group formed in 1969 to combat the news media’s “socialist bias.”1 Since then, AIM has been all-in on everything from calling Barack Obama “a member of an international socialist movement” to denying climate change.
More recently AIM has been backing up fascist governors in Texas and elsewhere in “cleansing” public schools of discussion of the lives of LGBTQ people, the historic oppression of Black people, or any other knowledge that undercuts their toxic hallucination of American “greatness.” AIM’s website is peppered with secretly filmed videos “outing” educators discussing how to teach children the truth in spite of these laws.
When Israel invaded Gaza in October, AIM shifted gears to focus on “combatting antisemitism” on college campuses. AIM embraces the outrageous Zionist claim that any serious criticism of Israel is antisemitic. Pointing out that Israel is an apartheid state… calling for exiled Palestinians to be allowed to return to Israel/Palestine… even calling for a ceasefire in the war…. These and many other righteous statements are labeled “calls for genocide against Jews.”
So when student organizations at Harvard published a letter supporting Palestinians, Guillette showed up with “doxing trucks” with digital billboards displaying names and pictures of members of the signatory groups, labeled “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites.” AIM pulled the same stunt at Yale, and claims to be spreading their message at six other prestigious colleges.
Guillette also played a role in forcing Harvard president Dr. Claudine Gay to resign. Guillette showed up on campus the day after her resignation with two U-Haul trucks and filmed himself going to her home and ringing the bell “to offer to help her move.”
We face a crossroads. Now is not a time to tamp down our resistance in the face of such repression. Or just go back to homework or plan for vacation. No.
But Guillette is more than an obnoxious aging frat boy engaging in reactionary theater. AIM is well-funded itself and is feeding into a larger repressive ecosystem. In particular, AIM urges “employers” to sign a pledge not to hire “antisemites,”2 and directs them to go to the Canary Mission website, which is a blacklist of thousands of students, professors and professionals, each one with a “dossier” with a picture and significant personal information.
All this has real impact. Doxed people have been flooded with racist and threatening messages; some have lost job offers. A Harvard student said, “I truly believe that there are a lot of people looking at the situation right now. And knowing it's messed up and are just scared to say something.” But this student emphasized their own determination that “the situation is too great to stay silent” regardless of “repercussions.”
That is the spirit with which Zion-Nazi bullying can be met and defeated.