Source: Is Anti-Zionism a Form of Anti-Semitism?

[...] The establishment of an intended “Jewish state” in a country where an Arab majority and a small Jewish minority lived at the time could only mean their expulsion from their land. Tolerance prevailed at that time, with religious Jews living in Palestine before Zionism, as is clear from the many Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safad. Arab peoples had no familiarity with anti-Semitism. The Ottoman Empire and Arab countries occasionally underwent waves of incitement and brutal practices against religious minorities, especially in times of crisis. Yet this was the exception rather than the rule. There were no particularly hostile anti-Jewish phenomena that could be called anti-Semitism. It is noteworthy that one of the first condemnations against secular Zionist settlement in Palestine was issued by the Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem. They were the first to denounce Zionist settlement in Palestine ideologically in a petition directed to the Ottoman sultan.

Azmi Bishara, General Director and Member of the Board of Directors

Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Doha, Qatar

https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/is-anti-zionism-a-form-of-anti-semitism/