Antizionist Symbols
Antizionism has developed its own visual and verbal language — symbols, slogans, and props used to signal allegiance, provoke fear, and obscure hate under the mask of activism. Like past hate movements, it relies on repetition and coded imagery to normalize ideas that would otherwise be too grotesque to state plainly. Below is a brief guide to common social media symbols, paraphernalia, and slogans frequently seen at rallies, on campuses, and online.
Slogans, Chants & Rhetoric
Seemingly simple phrases often carry deeper, violent intent — especially when repeated in orchestrated group chants.
“Free Palestine” — Frequently used as a euphemism for removing Jews from Israel.
“Free, Free, Palestine” — Repetitive cadence featured in chants tied to violent acts (e.g., shooter Elias Rodriguez repeated this before killing Sarah and Yaron).
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” — A call to eradicate Israel’s 7 million Jews. While some claim it’s aspirational, Arabic translations often state “Palestine will be Arab.”
“Intifada” — Though literally meaning “shaking off,” the term is historically tied to mass violence against Jews (1st and 2nd intifadas, and the “stabbing intifada” of the 2010s).
“Globalize the Intifada” — A call to export anti-Jewish violence worldwide.
Fake Blood — Used in protests for shock value; invokes blood libel tropes of Jews killing the innocent. Common in “die-ins” and protest theater designed for intimidation and media spectacle.
Two Bloody Hands Raised — Refers to the Ramallah lynching of Israeli soldiers, where attackers waved their bloodied hands and reportedly cannibalized victims.
Blood Libel Placards — Signs accusing Jews or Israel of genocide, organ theft, or child murder — direct descendants of medieval antisemitic libels.
“Hasbara” — Hebrew for “explanation,” but repurposed by antizionists as a slur for any pro-Israel argument or defense. Used to delegitimize Jewish speech by framing it as propaganda rather than engagement.
Drums, Whistles, Smoke Canisters — Used to create chaos and intimidation, these tools simulate a war zone — drowning out dissent and turning protest into a spectacle of menace.
Israeli and American Flags — Burned, stomped on, or defaced to signify rejection of Jewish sovereignty and Western alliances.
Antizionist Paraphernalia
Certain items have become visually synonymous with the antizionist movement. While some have cultural origins, their political appropriation carries violent or dehumanizing connotations.
Keffiyeh — Traditional Middle Eastern scarf now widely politicized. Popularized by PFLP terrorist Leila Khaled, it's often worn wrapped tightly around the face — evoking militant imagery and, in some cases, resembling white-hooded mobs of the past.
Watermelon — Used as a visual pun on the Palestinian flag (red, green, white, black). What began as resistance art has escalated into genocidal iconography, including watermelon patterns superimposed over maps that erase Israel.
Map Erasure — Maps that replace all of Israel with “Palestine” (often using watermelon imagery or stylized flags) constitute calls for eliminationist violence under the guise of geography.
Social Media Symbols
🔻 — Jew-hunting symbol used by Hamas to mark Jewish homes and targets.
🐙 — Echoes Nazi-era imagery: Jews as a global octopus controlling the world.
👃 — Caricature of the “Jewish nose,” derived from Nazi propaganda.
🧃 — Coded stand-in for “juice,” a way to reference “Jews” without detection.
🐀✡ — Jews as vermin or infestations; lifted from exterminationist propaganda.
⛽🧼 — Refers to gas chambers; used to mock the Holocaust.
🧯 — Adopted as a mocking symbol after a 2023 Hanukkah menorah was defaced with a fire extinguisher.
Learn about systemic antizionism.