Antisemitism: What does it all mean?

The United States State Department defines Anti-Semitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Its website state.gov goes further to list ways Anti-Semitism manifests itself with regard to the state of Israel: Demonizing Israel, holding the nation to a double standard and delegitimizing the country’s right to exist.

But Merriam-Webster defines Semitic as “of, relating to, or constituting a subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic language family that includes Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Amharic.” And a Semite is defined as “a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs.”

That about covers most of the people living in the Middle East so the whole conflict — all of them — could be considered antisemitic.



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  • David Fleming on December 5, 2023

    To oppose Israel’s Palestinian policies is not antisemitism. And to understand Hamas’ actions against Israel is not to condone them. Good to see balanced reporting of the issue here.