Who gets to define antisemitism? I do.
This is a dilemma I've been struggling with for years now.
On the one hand, every community that experiences bigotry seems to have an absolute right to decide what constitutes bigotry against it. Someone from outside the community shouldn't get to define this, in fact the mere act of trying to co-opt the definition can be racist itself. For example a white person telling a black person that what they're doing or saying is not racist is usually a racist act in itself. Since the white person is presuming the power to define what counts as anti-black racism, which rests on racist assumptions.
On the other hand, there is a huge proportion of Jews whose definition of antisemitism has been expanding exponentially. Something I've been paying attention to in the last 10 years but especially in the last 6 months. And it's gotten way beyond the point where I merely think some definitions are baseless or weaponised. In some cases I think the definition itself is antisemitic.
For example, I actually have seen quite a few times the idea that accusing Israel of genocide is antisemitic precisely because we've had a genocide perpetrated against us. And I consider this very statement to be horribly antisemitic, making us to be a magical exotic other, denying the architects of the Gaza genocide moral agency precisely because they're Jews. Similarly, equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism often rests on the assumption that all Jews are in fact morally implicated in what Israel does, whether good or bad.
So what's the way out? There are definitely other communities where there's a robust debate inside the community at what constitutes bigotry. But without a consensus, who decides?
You could say that I'm in the minority and therefore I'm wrong. But there's a danger in relying on polling data (especially since it's often based on assumption over research). It assumes a community is in stasis and denies change. The idea of what constitutes a bigotry changes both within wider society as well as inside the communities that experience bigotry. Plus, since I think may claims of antisemitism are actually immoral, I don't think that the inhumanity of the majority (if that's in fact the case) should impact me.
So who do I have left? To answer this, watch this classic 20 second scene from Buffy.
Me.
Who can decide what is antisemitic? I do? I'm Jewish, and I believe I have enough knowledge and enough morality to do so. Is that the most satisfying answer? Definitely not. But I don't see why I myself shouldn't have the authority to decide.
This might not help much if you're not Jewish (or are engaging with the question of bigotry against another community you don't belong to), but such is life. I guess my tip would be to try accurately represent the actual views of the community. But as for when it's ok to reject a community's own consensus, that's above my paygrade.