Only if you go by the International Holocaust Rememberance Alliance definition that people are starting to drop… By their definition if you criticise Jews or Israel you’re antisemetic. They even call their new definition something like a work in progress
While yes, the specific term “anti-Semitism” was popularized by the German journalist Wilhelm Marr as an alternative to the (at the time) more common phrase Judenhaß (e.g. Jew-hatred).
Basically, he wanted a more scientific-sounding term that made it sound less like plain hatred of other people but made it seem like the supposed deficiencies of Jewish people was a byproduct of their race rather than belonging to Jewish individuals.
His use of semitism/semitic as only referring to Jewish people rather than the broader group of peoples the terms had, originally, been coined for was also in line with other Germans of both his era and the previous century (and certainly into the next century as the Nazis used these reasonings to back their more developed “race” science and world-view).
That targeting has often been retained by the word even as it’s outgrown its original prejudiced purpose.
If true, this is ironic in that the Israeli government is the most similar to the Nazi government in our collective world history as far as genocide atrocities committed.
Aren’t the Palestinians Semites?
The word “semite” has two definitions, one mediveal and one modern.
Palestinians are Semites according to both of them.
Are eastern European origin Ashkenazis, semites, under any definition?
Only if you go by the International Holocaust Rememberance Alliance definition that people are starting to drop… By their definition if you criticise Jews or Israel you’re antisemetic. They even call their new definition something like a work in progress
While yes, the specific term “anti-Semitism” was popularized by the German journalist Wilhelm Marr as an alternative to the (at the time) more common phrase Judenhaß (e.g. Jew-hatred).
Basically, he wanted a more scientific-sounding term that made it sound less like plain hatred of other people but made it seem like the supposed deficiencies of Jewish people was a byproduct of their race rather than belonging to Jewish individuals.
His use of semitism/semitic as only referring to Jewish people rather than the broader group of peoples the terms had, originally, been coined for was also in line with other Germans of both his era and the previous century (and certainly into the next century as the Nazis used these reasonings to back their more developed “race” science and world-view).
That targeting has often been retained by the word even as it’s outgrown its original prejudiced purpose.
If true, this is ironic in that the Israeli government is the most similar to the Nazi government in our collective world history as far as genocide atrocities committed.
And the award for best comment goes to you. Why didn’t we all think of that?
I’m being serious. Good argument.
In practice, “antisemitic” means “anti-Jewish”.
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Only by the Jew’s IHRA definition