What’s behind the ‘new anti-Semitism’?

[Pekka]

Hmm interesting. I think what really plays into this the most is the media. As in, all we see daily is problems in ME. IDF shoots someone. Someone blows someone up. Retaliation x 1000.

So, it's so mundane and daily, that it gets pounded in your head, that Israel is an aggressor against arabs. And even if this was a legit itnerpretation, it tends to melt into very one way street, but it's not a one way street.

But that's not the point, the point is and notice this is why USA is more unpopular than it should be... because this is all we hear from you guys mostly. That's it. When it's killing time somewhere, it's you guys. Nothing else. What are people supposed to think? That's news man, what you need is some kind of balance, at least one positive news, or something inb etween there except murders, killings and someone presenting extreme views on an issue.

This is what kills your image. Not necessarily the action itself, but the fact that all you can hear is this action and nothing else, days in days out. It' numbing and that's what happens as an aftermath. It's like behaviorism or.. what ever, Pavlov's dogs know when the news bell rings, it's Israel and USA killing foreigners

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Berzerker
Well now, all that doesn't really address the fact that millions of people who ARE Semites regardless of your definition are excluded from the semitic identity, people who ironically would be anti-semites if they didn't like Jews by your logic. It dont matter what we call them, and contrary to your definition semite refers to a large group of Near Eastern peoples, not just Jews.

Semite - 1. a member of any of various ancient and modern peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including the Akkadians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs.
2. a Jew.
3. a member of any of the peoples descended from Shem, the eldest son of Noah.

As 99% of people use it:

Antisemite - someone who hates Jews.

To criticize someone's argument based on your own deliberate misunderstanding of their words is idiocy. Go away.

[Berzerker]

Do 99% of the people who live in the Near East believe semites are Jews? Do they count?

This is the definition of Semite I was taught in school

Semite - 1. a member of any of various ancient and modern peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including the Akkadians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs.

Now, are you anti-semitic because you deny the existence of millions of semites?

[Sandman]

Despite being superficially balanced, the article is quite hysterical. The way it places anti-semitism on a mythical pedestal as the 'oldest prejudice', or says that 'Israel has come to bear the cross of the West's sins' is pretty silly.

[Spiffor]

"Antisemite" was a word coined in the 19th century, to talk about the hatred of Jews, and only them. It doesn't even care about other semitic populations. It was used as synonymous with "Jew-hater" from the beginning on. And still does to this day.

From wiki:

German political agitator Wilhelm Marr coined the related German word Antisemitismus in his book "The Way to Victory of Germanicism over Judaism" in 1879. Marr used the phrase to mean hatred of Jews or Judenhass, and he used the new word antisemitism to make hatred of the Jews seem rational and sanctioned by scientific knowledge. Marr's book became very popular, and in the same year he founded the "League of Antisemites" ("Antisemiten-Liga"), the first German organization committed specifically to combatting the alleged threat to Germany posed by the Jews, and advocating their forced removal from the country.

So far as can be ascertained, the word was first widely printed in 1881, when Marr published "Zwanglose Antisemitische Hefte," and Wilhelm Scherer used the term "Antisemiten" in the January issue of "Neue Freie Presse". The related word semitism was coined around 1885. See also the coinage of the term "Palestinian" by Germans to refer to ethnic Jews, as distinct from the religion of Judaism.

Despite the use of the prefix "anti," the terms Semitic and anti-Semitic are not directly opposed to each other (unlike similar-seeming terms such as anti-American or anti-Hellenic). To avoid the confusion of the misnomer, many scholars on the subject (such as Emil Fackenheim) now favor the unhyphenated antisemitism[9] in order to emphasize that the word should be read as a single unified term, not as a meaningful root word-prefix combination.

The term antisemitism has historically referred to prejudice towards Jews alone, and this was the only use of the word for more than a century. It does not traditionally refer to prejudice toward other people who speak Semitic languages (e.g. Arabs or Assyrians). Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University, says that "Antisemitism has never anywhere been concerned with anyone but Jews."[10] Yehuda Bauer also articulated this view in his writings and lectures: (the term) "Antisemitism, especially in its hyphenated spelling, is inane nonsense, because there is no Semitism that you can be anti to."[11][12]

The bigotry against the Arabs is specific and uses a different word. over here, we call it "anti-Arab racism" (and sometimes "Islamophobia")

[Berzerker]

interesting, why didn't these learned men call it anti-Jew instead of anti-semite when there are millions of semites who aren't Jews? By their definition semites are anti-semitic if they dont like Jews. Am I anti-white if I dont like French people?

[Eli]

Originally posted by Berzerker
interesting, why didn't these learned men call it anti-Jew instead of anti-semite when there are millions of semites who aren't Jews?

Maybe because the only semite people living among Europeans were Jews.

[Sirotnikov]

interesting, why didn't these learned men call it anti-Jew instead of anti-semite when there are millions of semites who aren't Jews?

You are welcome to contact your educators in school and question them on that subject.

Anti-semite has historically, since the 19th century was applied only to the Jews.

To have a superficial semantical argument about this is stupid.

Sort of like arguing about whether Obama is really black

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Berzerker
interesting, why didn't these learned men call it anti-Jew instead of anti-semite when there are millions of semites who aren't Jews? By their definition semites are anti-semitic if they dont like Jews. Am I anti-white if I dont like French people?

Why are you an idiot?

[Kuciwalker]

You know what, I honestly haven't seen a worthwhile post by Berz in ages... I guess I won't be seeing any more either way, now

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Berzerker
interesting, why didn't these learned men call it anti-Jew instead of anti-semite when there are millions of semites who aren't Jews?

Because, as learned as they were, they were bigots. and they wanted to use a more pompous word for their bigotry to sound more scientific. Remember that the 19th century was the high time of pseudo-scientific justifications for racism.

[Arrian]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


Why are you an idiot?

Don't do drugs. Drugs are bad...



Seriously, Berz, you're pressing a ridiculous line of argument. Yes, Arabs are semites. If "anti-semite" had just recently been created as a term and was used exclusively wrt Jews, then you'd have a legit argument. But it is an older (admittedly faulty) term that has survived. One could, if one was in the mood to go off on a semantic crusade that has little to no purpose, try to convince everyone to can the term and replace it with "anti-Jew" or somesuch. You go right ahead.

-Arrian

[Barnabas]

What if you dislike how semitic langauges sound, you know, guttural and stuff

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Arrian
Don't do drugs. Drugs are bad...

Mmmmkay?

Now, we don't need this anti-semantic threadjack, mmmkay?

[Edan]

Originally posted by Berzerker
Given the fact most semites are Arabs, isn't it anti-semitic to exclude all these people from their identity?

The term is idomatic, not literal.