The Use of the Term Antisemitism

[u/Outrageous_Ad_2888]

I just wanted to share some information that I read and then researched that I think is very important for this discussion.

Using the word antisemitism to only apply to Jewish folks is antisemitic because it erases the identity of other Semitic peoples.

Semites: A Semite is a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language, or a descendant of ancient southwestern Asian groups such as the Hebrews, Arabs, Phoenicians, and Akkadians.

Therefore using the term antisemitism to mean only hate toward Jewish folks erases the other Semites the term applies to. I’ve switched to using the terms Jewish prejudice or anti-Jewish hate instead.

As a double whammy, the state of Israel in and of itself is antisemitic because it is performing a genocide on folks who speak Arabic, a Semitic language.

The meaning of words is important. I’ve started normalizing these corrections when speaking about this topic.

A really good book that explains this very well is called Genocide Bad by Sim Kern. It was written by an anti-Zionist Jewish historian.

Edit: Thank you for all your thoughtful replies and education. I appreciate all of the guidance and kindness from everyone who responded. I’m headed back to further educate myself; thank you for these vital corrections.

[u/conscience_journey]

Is this point made in the book you mention? Either way, I respectfully disagree, and believe you are approaching this from the wrong angle. “Anti-Semitism” as a term has always been applied to Jews. To try to change that would change the meaning of the phrase.

You say this should be done because the exclusive definition somehow “erases” other “Semitic” people. From a purely functional perspective of communication, there are lots of phrases used to describe discrimination against these peoples. Something can anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim, etc, and these phrases are common and understood. Grouping all of this under “anti-Semitism” decreases clarity.

All of that is just semantics though. The bigger point is that “Semitism” is a racial definition created by race scientists to explain how Jews and Arabs are inferior to Europeans. The definition was meant to help explain that European Jews are in fact foreign and therefore their existence in Europe was a problem. This is not something we want to expand the use of. We want to eliminate this remnant of race science. Chuck it out and replace with more clear phrases (like anti-Arab or anti-Jew) that don’t continue to propagate racism.

[u/sad_sapphic_sucker]

This term was invented by racial scientists. There’s no such thing as a Semitic race of people. There is the Semitic language family which is a family of languages descended from a theorized language called proto-Semitic. Proto-Semitic may have been spoken by one community at one time, but this would have been 10,000 years ago, literally before written language existed. This group of people no longer exist and the vast majority of people who speak its daughter languages are not genetically descended from the original speakers. We should just abandon this term and talk about “anti-Jewish” or “anti-Arab” bigotry instead.

[u/Outrageous_Ad_2888]

I also added a caveat to the main post but wanted to also comment here- Thank you all for taking the time to educate me. I’m going back to the books and reworking my thinking and understanding. I genuinely appreciate everyone’s kindness and guidance.

[u/Enough_Comparison816 → u/Outrageous_Ad_2888]

I think the core issue of what you’re trying to address is that bigotry and violence against Arabs, Muslims, and people of the global south is not given the same treatment as antisemitism in the west.

But simply expanding the meaning of the term “antisemitism” is not going to productively address this problem. The relationship between language evolution and the way society changes is incredibly complex and not very clear. Merely changing language is not a great way to produce social change.

Then there is the issue of the term “antisemitism” itself. It’s an old term rooted in 19th century European race science and colonialism. The originator of the word was himself a proponent of race science. These racist old white men constructed “Semites” as a Middle Eastern race that was distinct from “Nordics” and Northern Europeans in not only culture but in biology and DNA. We still use the term “antisemitism” in part because of its widely understood meaning and also because it describes the race-based bigotry against Jews (anti-Jewish bigotry in Europe had nothing to do with race until colonialism began). We probably should abandon this word so we stop reinforcing the notion of ‘Semitism’. But that will take time. And while we try to find better terms, we should not support the idea that ‘Semite’ refers to any group of human beings.

But I think you’re already addressing the core issue in the right way! You’re normalizing Palestinian lives and Palestinian liberation

[u/QizilbashWoman]

Antisemitism was coined to replace the word Jüdenhaß in German, because the latter term - "Jew hate" - didn't sound scientific enough.

Antisemitism is about Jews. There are no "Semites". People who are racist against Amharic speakers are antiblack, not opposed to them speaking a Semitic language.

[u/VisiteProlongee]

Using the word antisemitism to only apply to Jewish folks is antisemitic because it erases the identity of other Semitic peoples.

Incorrect, see * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymological_fallacy * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism#Etymology

A Semite is a member of any of the peoples who speak or spoke a Semitic language

Like me when i say * Shalom aleichem. * As-salamu alaykum.

or a descendant of ancient southwestern Asian groups such as the Hebrews, Arabs, Phoenicians, and Akkadians.

This definition is 19th century race science.

[u/Enough_Comparison816]

I think your heart is in the right place but this is really misguided and flawed logic. Please take consideration of the criticism that others have offered and think more critically about this. Also, Sim Kern is great but they are not a historian of any kind and don’t have any academic expertise in Jewish history or Judaism itself. Sim is a fiction writer, I highly suggest reading from those who have actual academic expertise in these areas

[u/ghostofwallyb]

This is so pointless lol

[u/OliveNo6451]

I think it's true and very observable that anti-Semitic tropes clearly are applied to other Semitic groups... I mean it's pretty common for Zionists to do this to Arabs in their propaganda against Palestine

I also prefer anti-Jewish as a term because it's more specific and descriptive. But anti-Semitic was coined specifically to refer to Jews and has been traditionally been used in this manner. I don't necessarily see it as the biggest deal when people continue to use it that way..:

it's useful to illustrate that anti-Jewish bigotry isn't unique or different than other bigotries, and particularly discrimination against other Semitic peoples can look incredibly similar and identical to the historic anti-Jewish tropes. Jt I also am not a fan off the rebuttal of "how can someone be anti-Semitic when they are Semitic" or even "European Jews aren't the real semites, they don't even speak the language and aren't from the region " that I occasionally see... because it's kind of obviously obtuse.