What is the difference between criticism of Israel and antisemitism?

Criticising Israel is not automatically antisemitic.

Israel is a country and its government can be criticised just like the governments of Britain, the United States, Iran or any other country.

For example, someone can oppose Israeli settlements, criticise the bombing of Gaza, campaign for Palestinian rights or argue that Israeli government policy violates international law without hating Jewish people.

It becomes antisemitic when criticism targets Jewish people because they are Jewish — for example, blaming Jewish people around the world for Israel’s actions or using antisemitic stereotypes.

It is also possible for criticism of Israel to contain antisemitism, just as accusations of antisemitism can be wrongly used to dismiss legitimate criticism of Israel.

The important question is: is the criticism about the actions of a state, government or political movement — or is it attacking Jewish people as a group?