The battles over definitions of antisemitism are taking place in many arenas: among scholars debating the history and nature of Jew-hatred; in traditional and social media; in classrooms, dorm rooms, and dinner tables across many countries; and, perhaps most consequentially, as universities and governments at the state and national levels make policy about what qualifies as hate speech, where the IHRA definition dominates.    These battles over definitions manifest in multiple ways. While antisemitism – the hatred of Jews as Jews – is a real phenomenon with a long history, advocacy for Palestinian rights and expressions of Palestinian identity are often labeled as antisemitism by defenders of the state of Israel. The IHRA examples provide a basis for declaring anti-Zionism as antisemitic. Additionally, some voices are more scrutinized than others: on campuses, in the media, and in Congress, it is Muslim, Arab, and/or African American critics of Israel, and especially Palestinians, who are more likely to face accusations of antisemitism from their peers and opponents.   These debates demonstrate the clash between what is considered political and what is considered non-political identity, and by whom. Conventional understandings hold that what is “political” is oriented towards wielding power and access to resources while what is “identity” includes values, heritage, and culture outside of political struggles. Many Jewish leaders insist that Jewish and Zionist identities are indivisible, and dominant Jewish organizations, including those that work on campuses, claim that their work is about identity and values and non-political, despite their overt engagement with and advocacy for the state of Israel. These claims flatten Jewish identity and undermine Jewish critics of Israel. And for Palestinians, expressions of identity are inextricably linked with advocacy for the right to exist and are consistently read as political - and can be, and often are, condemned as antisemitism under the IHRA. This presentation will look at competing definitions of antisemitism and their relationships to collective identity, political advocacy, and power.