The film examines whether anti-Semitic has become an all purpose label for anyone who criticizes Israel and the idea that some Jews' preoccupation with the past—i.e., the Holocaust—is preventing progress today.

Defamation follows a group of Israeli high school students on a class trip to Poland where they tour Auschwitz, as well as a number of other notable Holocaust locations (March of the Living).

A case presented concerns about a group of African American boys, ages between 10 and 12, who pelted a school bus with rocks, breaking two windows.

"[3] The New York Times reviewer Neil Genzlinger states that while these ideas deserve a thorough and dispassionate discussion, Shamir has not provided it: "...it feels like just another day on the Op-Ed page.

"[6] The reviewer commended the filmmaker for his fairness writing that "even though Defamation, which is sprinkled with unexpected moments of wry humor, will be inescapably controversial, Yoav Shamir strives admirably to be evenhanded.