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Somebody Please Define "Anti-Semite"

posted August 15, 2008 - 1:15am
Somebody Please Define "Anti-Semite"

Today, in the comments section of an article, I was inaccurately labeled an "anti-Semite" without qualification and without a defining of the word. By my definition--someone who hates persons of Jewish or Arab ancestry--I am anything but an anti-Semite. I have been raised having many Jewish friends, my best friend throughout high school was Jewish, and I have tremendous love and respect for the Jewish culture, history, and their strength in the face of adversity. Similarly, I have a deep appreciation for Arabs and Muslims and feel that they have been unfairly demonized in the Western media by those who seek to subjugate them.

Okay, so having qualified my personal beliefs to counter the erroneous and I daresay libelous label, I now come to my question. What exactly constitutes an anti-Semite in terms of a more broadly accepted definition? Is it just hatred of someone of Jewish or Arabic ancestry? Is it someone who has a disagreement with such a person? Is it criticism of Israel? Is it all three or none of them? I find myself scratching my head over it because the person who hurled the epithet claims to be for free speech and against political correctness, then he calls me this.

Well, I did a little research and found a little insight into the actual epithet. I leave it up to you to read this article and make up your own mind about it.

There Are Much Larger Threats: Criticism of Israel is not Anti-Semitism By MICHAEL NEUMANN

Quote:

Jewish and non-Jewish commentators alike have deplored a recent upsurge in anti-Semitism. In Europe, journalist Andrew Sullivan says, "Not since the 1930s has such blithe hatred of Jews gained this much respectability in world opinion."

Yet, Jews like myself and the Israeli journalist Ran HaCohen feel quite differently. He writes in Antiwar.com: "It is high time to say it out loud: In the entire course of Jewish history, since the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC, there has never been an era blessed with less anti-Semitism than ours. There has never been a better time for Jews to live in than our own."

Why would a Jew say such a thing? What is anti-Semitism, and how much of a danger is it in the world today?

If both sides agree on anything, it's that the definition of "anti-Semitism" has been manipulated for political ends. Leftists accuse ardent Zionists of inflating the definition to include--and discredit--critics of Israel. Zionists accuse the left of deflating the definition to apologize for covert prejudice against Jews.

It's a sterile dispute. Even in this age of intellectual property, no one owns the word. But the definitional sparring does have its missteps and dangers.

A Google search to try to find the definition, which is usually pretty straightforward and reliable, turns up many things, but no really clear definition.

This can only mean that I was unfairly called an anti-Semite for having the audacity to call attention to the Israeli connection to the situation in Georgia, including the fact that Israel has invested over US $1 Billion dollars in that country. Most ironically, I cited Haaretz, an Israeli news service, and y-post, another Israeli internet news service, in bringing this information to light.

I am not worried about being called what I am not because I've faced far worse in my 40 years on this planet. What does concern me is that our country has devolved to the point where speaking the truth about something--regardless of how flattering or unflattering--is answered with racial epithets and blatant disregard for the principles of free speech.

This is the article in question that served as the basis for my being labeled. Decide for yourself:

Republican Russophobes in Denial Over Georgia

I will probably get a PSA for this article, but it is worth it to get the information out there. If it becomes a problem for Xomba, Nick and Jeremy, please feel free to remove the article.



Comments

@Imorovan: Anti-Semitic or Pro- ... coulditbe, oh, coulditbe ...

... Dana Carvey fans know the next word ... ... signed, Uncle MythMan---Big Fan of stars like Tori Spelling, Fussin`, Vanessa Montagne & Lena Li--Xombie Plan

---when You Join Xomba, you can join this- and MythMan's other-hot discussions!

Maybe Anti-Semite Means Something Different to Those Who ...

... take 'the Book of Holy B.S.' literally--they who know b.s. stands for 'big stuff' AND NOTHING ELSE--but I hear 'anti-Semite' and I think 'against "Tra-di-tion----Tra-di-tion ... Tra-di-tion ... Tra-di-tion----Tra-di-tion ... Tra-di-tion ..." ... signed, Uncle MythMan---Big Fan of stars like Tori Spelling, Fussin`, Vanessa Montagne & Lena Li--Xombie Plan

---when You Join Xomba, you can join this- and MythMan's other-hot discussions!

So, telling the truth is anti-Semitic?

The mere speaking of the truth and calling attention to what has truly happened can be boiled down to...hatred of the Jewish people everywhere in the world wherever they may be found. That is the biggest load of BS that has ever soiled the pages of this website, Publius. There are many Jewish people who disapprove of the heavy-handed manner in which Israel conducts its business. Does that make those Jewish people anti-Semites, too? NOT IN MY NAME Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership True Torah Jews Against Zionism Mr. Bush, What about Israel's defiance of UN Resolutions? Of course, you believe that any UN Resolution against Israel is automatically unjust and if the US doesn't exercise a veto against the resolution, then Israel will be wiped off the map by Bogeymen of indeterminate origin. Pax Americana will be the end of the country as we know it. If you are going to support the end of the country, then you shouldn't be calling me anti-American for calling you on it. DO YOU HAVE THE WRITE STUFF?

No, Shirley...I don't

No, Shirley...I don't jest. Take a minute to read just that one entry since you claim to have not found definitions of anti-Semitism. Better yet...I'll quote from it myself: "Professor Dietz Bering of the University of Cologne further expanded on Professor Fein's definition by describing the structure of antisemitic beliefs. To antisemites, 'Jews are not only partially but totally bad by nature, that is, their bad traits are incorrigible. Because of this bad nature: ...(3) Jews bring disaster on their "host societies" or on the whole world, they are doing it secretly, therefore the antisemites feel obliged to unmask the conspiratorial, bad Jewish character.'" "In 2005, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), a body of the European Union, developed a more detailed discussion: '...Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for "why things go wrong".'" Now, these are just a few of your more recent comments: "So, we recognize and support Israel, who many Arabs believe stole the land from the rightful occupants in Palestine, and provide the logistical support for the Israelis to murder Muslim women and children....Israel should learn to fight its own battles without our help." - These comments can be found here. "AIPAC practically owns our Congress, so any politician who doesn't toe the Israel-First party line will find himself running against AIPAC next election cycle. Once we've removed Israel from the list of people who set our foreign policy, then we will stop fighting proxy wars for them in the Middle East. George Bush creating the conditions for global economic collapse by fighting illegal proxy wars for Israel in the name of oil and imperial conquest? Why, my good fellow, he is an upstanding Christian man of high moral principles." - These comments can be found here. "I have also been opposed to Bush's sabre-rattling toward Iran because he is doing so disingenuously in light of the available evidence, including his own CIA's National Intelligence Estimate, or to placate Israel, whose lobbyists seem to dictate our foreign policy." - This comment can be found here. Now, these comments clearly fall under the previous definitions of anti-Semitism. You repeatedly make the claim that our Congress is run by Israel (in essence, Jews) and that if it weren't for them "controlling" our actions, we'd be better off. This is the type of distorted view you have and these are only a few of the multitudes of comments you've made over the past year or so on this topic. I don't have the time, nor do I care to go find all of your anti-Semitic statements...or more accurately, your diatribes. You are doing it, it is a pattern, and the assessment I made is quite accurate according to accepted analysis of anti-Semitism in the context in which it is used today. It certainly is not an "ad hominem" because I was not attempting to use it as a form of logical argument - I was merely stating an observed fact. I think your own failed observations and completely biased analysis took care of most of your arguments already. *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

Wikipedia as a source, surely you jest

Perhaps, Publius, you would be so kind as to show which comments were specifically "anti-Semitic". You said "in the past few days" when you J'Accused me. I showed Israeli involvement in current events and the Israeli connection FROM ISRAELI PUBLICATIONS and you said I was somehow blaming Israel for everything. Let's see if I follow your train of thought. jdubhub says Israel is involved in the Middle Eastern situation. jdubhub cites articles from Israeli sources, which proclaim their participation in the Middle Eastern situation. Publius doesn't believe that Israel's name should even be mentioned ever at all. Therefore, jdubhub is an anti-Semite for mentioning Israel and making Publius think of Israeli participation. It is you who made the accusation. Therefore, it is you who needs to justify it with specifics. Otherwise, you are guilty of ad hominem attacks on another Xomba member. DO YOU HAVE THE WRITE STUFF?

You should put this in the

You should put this in the "Humor" section. You Googled "anti-Semitism" and couldn't find a definition? Did you spell it right? That doesn't matter actually...Google will correct the error. OK - so I really did Google it and the first thing that came up was the Wikipedia entry for "Antisemitism." And guess what...if you read the opening paragraph, you will see that "Antisemitism" is not used or understood in the sense that includes Arabs as Semites. (Nice try though.) It's a pitiful attempt to play with semantics on your part. Wikipedia - Antisemitism If you scroll down that page to part 2.1, you will see an entire section labeled "Definitions." If you actually read that section, you will see just how accurate I was when I called you "anti-Semitic." If you're not sure why I would call you that, go read any number of articles you have written or comments you have made since joining this site. I did not make the comment to you simply because of your "criticism" of Israel. There has been a history of you blaming almost every foreign affairs problem we have on Israel in some way. It is quite clear, I think most people here have seen it, and your attempt to not define the term or deflect my assessment as some sort of "libelous" accusation or "epithet" is very telling. *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

Don't worry too much. Being

Don't worry too much. Being called another "anti" is one more of them added to your list. To read my posts and articles click here: http://www.xomba.com/xombyte/lmorovan

To read my posts and articles click here:

http://www.xomba.com/xombyte/lmorovan

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