Twitch updated its Hateful Conduct policy Thursday to include a new ban on the word “Zionist” — but only if it’s used “to attack or demean another individual or group of people on the basis of their background or religious belief.” The next line of the statement, which Twitch posted to its blog, states, “We recognize that ‘Zionist’ and ‘Zionism’ also refer to a political movement. Using the term to refer to the political movement, whether in a supportive or critical way, does not violate our Hateful Conduct policy.”
The policy now reads, “We treat ‘Zionists’ as a proxy for Jews or Israelis if the word is used in a context to promote harm or violence, or when used to make dehumanizing comparisons or perpetuate antisemitic stereotypes.” The policy contains one example of allowed speech — “Zionist settlers keep encroaching Palestinian borders” — and one example of prohibited speech — “Zionist [name of animal].”
The concept of equating the descriptor “Zionist” with Jews or Israelis is also not new. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure on Dec. 6, 2023 that classified anti-Zionism as antisemitism and described the phrase “from the river to the sea” as a “rallying cry for the eradication of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.” Vox.com’s Zack Beauchamp defines Zionist as a person who believes “Judaism is a nationality as well as a religion.”
Twitch has not published its own definition of the word Zionist as of the time of writing. Twitch has also not responded to a request for comment.
