The New Anti-Semitism

So I've been reading the wikipedia article on "the new anti-Semitism" which is apparently strongly associated with left-wing groups and anti-Zionism. Some people have actually gone so far as to say that any form of anti-Zonism is synonomous with anti-Semitism (one report by the State Department even bizarrely characterized critics of US foreign policy and globalization as anti-semitic). However, the less insane Zionists contend that anti-Zionism can lead to anti-Semitism (though they don't really seem to indicate how this happens) or is a kind of a front for anti-Semitic sentiment. Clearly some of the people involved in leftist politics - and in particular opposition to the state of apartheid in Israel - hold anti-semitic beliefs, but it's really hard to tell how serious of a problem this is. Since the issue of Israel is very politically charged, and anti-Semitism has been (and still is) a very serious problem throughout the world, it is difficult to sift through all the rhetoric to get to the heart of the matter. However, one thing is very clear: someone's views about the state of Israel should not be delegitimized simply because they are in fact anti-Semitic. Anti-imperialism and anti-Jewish sentiment are two distinct issues, and it's almost never appropriate to attack someone's character in the context of a political debate. Secondly, the legitimacy of the accusations seem somewhat suspect. Thomas Friedman (who I've recently learned is pretty much pure evil) says that "Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic, and saying so is vile. But singling out Israel for opprobrium and international sanction — out of proportion to any other party in the Middle East — is anti-Semitic, and not saying so is dishonest." While the far Left does have trouble examining all the injustices in the world, it is psychotic to assume that focus on Israel is due to anti-Semitism. Using that logic, my criticism of the US stems not from a reasoned analysis of global and domestic politics and a passion for justice, but a virulent hatred for all American citizens (sadly, I'm sure a lot of people might agree with that assesment). And furthermore, when people condemn the terrorist activities of some Palestinians but not the terrorist activities of other groups (including *gasp* The USA), are they being islamophobic? Israel's relationship with the US, along with it's strategic presence in the Middle East and its "interesting" attitude towards the Palestinian problem are some of the many reasons that the Left (maybe innapropriately) focuses on it as a target. Again, there are legitimate critiques to be made about the Left's choices of entities to denounce, but racism is not one of them. That doesn't mean that discussion of possible anti-Semitism within the movement (or any other movement) shouldn't occur, just that as they stand now, they are unreasonable and most likely an attack on criticism of Israel instead of a pure objection to bigotry.