Anti-semitism

Borobuddah

Borobuddah

Well-known member
Why is this term so misused by all of the mainstream media and most of the main players on the ground ?

You learn something every day, thinking about ‘anti-Semitic’ I looked up Semite

Definitions from Oxford Languages
noun
a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs.

So this includes the Palestinians just as much as the Jewish people. Makes the slur ‘anti-Semitic’ look hollow eh?
 
Anti-Semitism, (see Researcher’s Note) hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious or racial group. The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns underway in central Europe at that time. Nazi anti-Semitism, which culminated in the Holocaust, had a racist dimension in that it targeted Jews because of their supposed biological characteristics—even those who had themselves converted to other religions or whose parents were converts. This variety of anti-Jewish racism dates only to the emergence of so-called “scientific racism” in the 19th century and is different in nature from earlier anti-Jewish prejudices.


The persistence of anti-Semitism into the 21st century and the marked rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the early decades of the century have prompted new consideration of how to define and combat the phenomenon, which has both incorporated old tropes and taken on new forms.
 
Borobuddah said:
Why is this term so misused by all of the mainstream media and most of the main players on the ground ?

You learn something every day, thinking about ‘anti-Semitic’ I looked up Semite

Definitions from Oxford Languages
noun
a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, including in particular the Jews and Arabs.

So this includes the Palestinians just as much as the Jewish people. Makes the slur ‘anti-Semitic’ look hollow eh?
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You cannot define anti-semitism by using a definition of a language.

If you are genuinely interested a quick google would provide various sources to educate yourself.
 
Millbrook said:
Anti-Semitism, (see Researcher’s Note) hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious or racial group. The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns underway in central Europe at that time. Nazi anti-Semitism, which culminated in the Holocaust, had a racist dimension in that it targeted Jews because of their supposed biological characteristics—even those who had themselves converted to other religions or whose parents were converts. This variety of anti-Jewish racism dates only to the emergence of so-called “scientific racism” in the 19th century and is different in nature from earlier anti-Jewish prejudices.


The persistence of anti-Semitism into the 21st century and the marked rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the early decades of the century have prompted new consideration of how to define and combat the phenomenon, which has both incorporated old tropes and taken on new forms.
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Couldn’t agree more that nazi anti semitism was a specific form of anti semitism, but that my point is that the semites are a far larger group than just Jewish people .

The term is mostly applied in current events as specific to the Jewish people which it is clearly not according to the definition I have referenced
 
Borobuddah said:
Couldn’t agree more that nazi anti semitism was a specific form of anti semitism, but that my point is that the semites are a far larger group than just Jewish people .

The term is mostly applied in current events as specific to the Jewish people which it is clearly not according to the definition I have referenced
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You have not referenced a definition of anti-semitism and have ignored the source explaining where the term came from.
See my earlier comment.
 
speckyget said:
It's a bit more complicated than a dictionary definition. My main concerns: a) where TF anti semetic came from; b) the attribution of anti semitism to any criticism of a state which is essentially a genocidal fascist state.
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I thought I explained a. Obviously not sufficiently for you.

As too b the claim that Israel is a genocidal fascist state is often used to disguise anti-semitism. I am not suggesting this is applies to you as I think what you suggest happens to divert justifiable criticism of Israel. I also think the opposite applies as well.
 
The English Language is not defined by any dictionary, a dictionary should accurately describe the usage of the language, not define it.

The problem with the current use of the term "Anti Semitism" or "Anti Semite" is the conflation by Zionists with opposition to the Zionist state of Israel. Being anti Zionism or opposing the actions in specific instances of the Israeli government is not necessarily Anti Semitic (though admittedly it can be). But it enables the Zionist cause to conflate the terms to more easily deflect criticism of their acts.
 
Muttley said:
The English Language is not defined by any dictionary, a dictionary should accurately describe the usage of the language, not define it.

The problem with the current use of the term "Anti Semitism" or "Anti Semite" is the conflation by Zionists with opposition to the Zionist state of Israel. Being anti Zionism or opposing the actions in specific instances of the Israeli government is not necessarily Anti Semitic (though admittedly it can be). But it enables the Zionist cause to conflate the terms to more easily deflect criticism of their acts.
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Agree with both points.
 
Millbrook said:
I thought I explained a. Obviously not sufficiently for you.

As too b the claim that Israel is a genocidal fascist state is often used to disguise anti-semitism. I am not suggesting this is applies to you as I think what you suggest happens to divert justifiable criticism of Israel. I also think the opposite applies as well.
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Look at a again, noting italics. On b, I would never assert that genuine anti semitism is no longer a threat. But the knee jerk defence of Israel's atrocities allows anti semitic rhetoric to germinate in the justified revulsion these acts create. I'd like to think those appalled at the acts of the Israeli state - who include Jews - outnumber genuine anti semites. But I guess when the two things are deliberately conflated we'll never know.
 
O/P is what I have always understood 'semitic' to mean. The level of current common useage, however, means you just have to accept it.
 
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