You hear people plead, “I’m not an antisemite, I’m an anti-Zionist.” There are such people, genuinely (including Jews). But I recall what Paul Johnson said to me, sagely: “Scratch an anti-Zionist, and it won’t be long till you reach the antisemite within.” Yup.

Anyway, here is the president:

Yup. So am I.

In 2011, I published a piece called “The Z-Word.” That would be “Zionist.” The piece began as follows:

A few weeks ago, a Labour MP in Britain, Paul Flynn, expressed displeasure with his country’s ambassador to Israel. “I do not normally fall for conspiracy theories,” he said, “but the ambassador has proclaimed himself to be a Zionist.” What Britain needs in Israel, according to Flynn, is “someone with roots in the U.K.” who “can’t be accused of having Jewish loyalty.”

Golly. Another paragraph:

Britain’s ambassador to Israel, as you may have surmised, is a Jew, the first to serve in that capacity. He previously served in Pakistan and Iran (not Jewish states). As for Matthew Gould’s “roots in the U.K.,” they may not be as deep as Flynn’s, but they are semi-respectable: On one side, his great-grandparents were immigrants, and on the other, his grandparents. Speaking of respectability, Gould is a graduate of St. Paul’s School and Peterhouse, Cambridge. Not bad for a Semitic upstart.

Maybe one additional paragraph:

In his widely publicized remarks, Flynn worried about “neocons and warmongers,” now itching to invade Iran. “Warmongers” is a word we can easily understand. But what about two other words Flynn used, “neocons” and “Zionist”? These are very slippery terms. If you want to paralyze someone who denounces neocons, say, “What’s a neocon?” If you want to paralyze someone who denounces Zionists, or even refers to them, say, “What’s a Zionist?” People use these words cavalierly and ignorantly. And none too nicely, either.

For years, when I heard “neocon” used pejoratively, it was mainly from the left. For the last many years, it has been mainly from the right. In the latest Republican presidential debate, Vivek Ramaswamy said, “You can put lipstick on a Dick Cheney — it is still a fascist neocon.”

Ramaswamy’s political views aside, what a repulsive human being.

• A cleavage has opened up on the left — between traditional Democrats, such as Biden and the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, and Democrats who are less pro-Israel, or who are blatantly anti-Israel.

CNN published an interesting story:

Political appointees and Biden administration staffers held a vigil in front of the White House on Wednesday to call on President Joe Biden to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

More than three dozen people, including political appointees, administration staffers and civil service career staff, attended the early evening vigil in front of the White House. The participants wore sunglasses and masks to conceal their identities.

Well, you can always resign, in protest. That could even be admirable. You don’t even have to wear sunglasses and masks. You can resign right out in the open.

Also, there was a ceasefire. On October 6. Hamas decided there would be one no more. So, there isn’t. You can’t start a war and then cry, “Ceasefire!” You can surrender, true — which would spare a lot of lives.

• For the past two months, we have seen reports saying that Biden may as well kiss Michigan goodbye in next year’s election. Arab Americans will vote against him.

Into my inbox yesterday came a press release:

Influential Nevada Muslim leaders pledge to actively campaign against President Biden and ensure his loss in Nevada in 2024. This decision comes in response to Biden’s failure to call for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Nevada’s Muslim leaders pledge to not vote for Biden and also to actively campaign against him.

A bit more:

This follows the “Swing State National Muslim Conference” — a significant national conference meeting in Dearborn, Michigan on December 1-3 — where leaders from seven swing states convened to launch the national #AbandonBiden campaign.

• #AbandonBiden is very good news for the Republican Party and its presumed nominee, Donald Trump. Young people, in particular, are angry at President Biden. People who supported him in 2020 may not do so again next year. “The young Biden ’20 voters with anti-Israel views,” says an article in the New York Times, “are the likeliest to report switching to Mr. Trump.”

• I have quoted David Horovitz before. He is an Anglo-Israeli journalist, and the founder of the Times of Israel. He is a very judicious person. He says that Israel is now facing “its darkest hour” (and Mr. Horovitz is well aware of all the previous ones).

If you’re an American, or a politician from any other country, and you lose an election because you stood by Israel in this hour — well, all honor to you.