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Aren't Arabs also "semitic people" [1]? (Since Ishmael and Abraham are also descendants of Shem...). In this case "antisemitic" would also mean "against Arabs".
by pulse7 5y ago
Aren't Arabs also "semitic people" [1]? (Since Ishmael and Abraham are also descendants of Shem...). In this case "antisemitic" would also mean "against Arabs"...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_people
- fidesomnes 5y agoThis is embarrassing.
- wchar_t 5y agoYes, they are also a Semitic group, but "Anti-Semitic" has come to refer to hatred specifically against Israelis. Maybe because that hatred is more widespread than hatred against all Semitic people...?
- olivierduval 5y agoActually, "anti-semitic" is against "jewish" person (as a religion) and not against "israeli" citizen (as a nationality). The last one is called "anti-sionist"... The fact that Israel is a nation "home for jews" doesn't help, as some people think that every critic against Israel politic is the mark of "anti-semitism" even if religion has nothing to do with. Sometimes it might be the indicator of "anti-sionism" and sometimes... just the indicator of political difference! After all, you can criticize any country for its politic without critizing the counrty "per se" Moreover, a lot of people in Israel are not jewish but muslims.
- tempodox 5y agoYou are right, there are Jews who aren't Semites an there are Semites who aren't Jews. The term “anti-Semitism” came up near the end of the 19th century [1] when it was all the rage to find scientific-sounding words for whatever you do or sell. “Anti-Semitism” sells better than plain “hatred of Jews”. I for one wouldn't give racists the satisfaction of using their own choice for cloaking their prejudice and stupidity in pseudo-science but the term seems to have taken hold everywhere. [1]: https://www.britannica.com/topic/anti-Semitism https://www.britannica.com/topic/anti-Semitism
- AzzieElbab 5y agoLanguages are Semitic, people are not. These categories are outdated to the extreme.
- seoaeu 5y agoSometimes words don't mean exactly what their etymology suggests. So I'm sorry but, objecting to using the world 'antisemitism' to refer to "anti-Jewish racism" comes across as trying to deny Jews the ability to describe their own oppression
- bjourne 5y agoHanlon's razor applies: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." Many or most people incorrectly assume that anti-Semitism has something to do with Semitic people because the words (but not their meanings) are similar.
- will4274 5y agoHard disagree. One of these (anti-Semitism) is far more common than the other (references to Arabs as "Semitic"). It's like saying that you've only heard of "negro" as a color. In a culture and a place (the United States) where that is absurd, assumptions of malintent and bad faith are a better heuristic.
- bashinator 5y agoIsn't "Caucasian" a specific ethnicity of the region between eastern Europe and western Asia?
- raincom 5y agoThe point you bring up is an example of "fallacy of equivocation". Yes, words are polysemic. In this case, 'anti-semetic' is seen as "anti-jewish". That's one sense of 'anti-semetic'. You can also add another sense of that word: "against speakers of Semetic language or people". This sense is not used when people use 'anti-semetic'. In Europe, there has been centuries of discussion about jews: it was called "the Jewish question". Anyway, this anti-semitism started as a product of religious rivalry (which religion is True? Christianity or Judaism). Then extra features were added, etc.
- jessaustin 5y agoI don't mean to imply that the word makes any sense in this context. However, if one chooses to complain about Israeli abuses of Palestinians, it is a fact that one will be called "antisemitic".