Iran’s antisemitism and anti-Zionism: eliminationist or performative?

ABSTRACT The discussion of Iran’s antisemitism and anti-Zionism has been separated from the debate on the Islamist regime’s nuclear project. A synthesis of the issues is needed given that both are the core of the regime’s foreign policy. Some observers consider the regime’s antisemitism and anti-Zionism – promising Israel’s destruction – to be eliminationist. Most others, however, argue that the rhetoric is performative, designed to bolster the Shiite theocracy in a predominantly Sunni region. While the debate cannot be settled, it is well known that nuclear warfare does not allow for a margin of error in predictions. Should the advocates of performative anti-Zionism be wrong, millions of Jews and others would die.