What does 'anti-Semitic' mean?

[romano]

What does ‘anti-Semitic’ mean?

 

[gilliam]

a dictionary is your friend:

Pronunciation: "an-ti-'se-m&-"ti-z&m, "an-"tI-
Function: noun
: hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group

m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=anti-Semitic

 

[FightingFat]

So there must be more to this than you asking for a definition; care to enlighten us?

 

[bapcathluth]

Why is this in the “news” section? I don’t see how it has any relevance to the news. Perhaps “other religions” would be a better place for this post with an agenda.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Actually, the Semites include Jews and Arabs (and maybe someone else? I can’t remember). So to hate Arabs is to be anti-semetic, technically, though it has come to mean a hatred of Jews specifically. Hatred is against the teachings of Our Lord and of Holy Mother Church.

 

[katherine2]

JKirkLVNV:

Actually, the Semites include Jews and Arabs (and maybe someone else? I can’t remember). So to hate Arabs is to be anti-semetic, technically, though it has come to mean a hatred of Jews specifically. Hatred is against the teachings of Our Lord and of Holy Mother Church.

Amen, my brother.

And let us pray for our Holy Father in his illness. He has done so much to create good relations with the beloved Jewish Community. His apology in the name of Catholics who have sinned against the Jewish people, his visit to the Jewish people’s House of worship in Rome, his constant teaching against ethnic and religious hatred and his warmth and affection for the Jewish people has each been a blessing to the Church in the Modern World.

 

[Fitz]

Here’e a thread that is more in depth about this topic that you might like to read:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=36466

 

[romano]

bapcathluth:

Why is this in the “news” section? I don’t see how it has any relevance to the news. Perhaps “other religions” would be a better place for this post with an agenda.

Its in the news section because this is a word that crops up constantly in the news. And there’s no agenda. I’m curious to know what people actually ‘mean’ when they say this.

 

[bapcathluth]

romano:

Its in the news section because this is a word that crops up constantly in the news. And there’s no agenda. I’m curious to know what people actually ‘mean’ when they say this.

Well, if there is no agenda, your choices are certainly very illuminating. For example, anti-Semitic is somebody who Jews hate or that the word is meaningless and just a smear. These choices imply that there is no such thing as anti-Semitism and it is in the minds of paranoids. I would call that a very sad agenda. Unfortunately, there is still anti-Semitism in this world, and other hatreds and racism as well.

 

[romano]

bapcathluth:

Why is this in the “news” section? I don’t see how it has any relevance to the news. Perhaps “other religions” would be a better place for this post with an agenda.

And BTW - I have seen all three of the poll options I listed expressed recently as opinions in the news, though I forget where. That’s why there are only three listed.

 

[gilliam]

romano:

And BTW - I have seen all three of the poll options I listed expressed recently as opinions in the news, though I forget where. That’s why there are only three listed.

Options? opinions maybe. Anyway, it is a well defined term used in the English Language.

 

[bquinnan]

I remember years back reading in the newspaper about a survey that supposedly showed that a large percentage of Americans hold anti-Semetic viewpoints. However, one of the views that was considered anti-Semetic was the belief that American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the United States. At the time, I was in a poli sci class with two American Jews who had said themselves that they would fight for Israel before they would fight for the U.S. So, in some cases, certain American Jews are more loyal to Israel. That, however, doesn’t mean I hate them or even look down on them.

I think it’s important to understand exactly what one means when one uses the word.

 

[Brendan]

The ‘textbook’ definition would be : Hatred against the Semitic races, namely the Arabs and the Jews.

 

[gilliam]

Brendan:

The ‘textbook’ definition would be : Hatred against the Semitic races, namely the Arabs and the Jews.

What textbook are you referring to? I don’t know any textbook that says that.

Anyway, for word definitions we normally go to a dictionary.

 

[Brendan]

gilliam:

What textbook are you referring to? I don’t know any textbook that says that.

Anyway, for word definitions we normally go to a dictionary.

Well ‘Anti’ means against, and ‘Semitic’ means pertaining to a member of a Semitic race.

That’s Jews and Arabs. Both races are Semitic. Arabic is a Semitic language.

Sort of like how ‘Anti-Gaelic’ would be against the Irish and Scots.

 

[DaveBj]

Brendan:

Well ‘Anti’ means against, and ‘Semitic’ means pertaining to a member of a Semitic race.

That’s Jews and Arabs. Both races are Semitic. Arabic is a Semitic language.

Sort of like how ‘Anti-Gaelic’ would be against the Irish and Scots.

It is true that both Jews and Arabs are Semites. However, as a lexical item the meaning of “anti-Semitism” includes only hatred of Jews. That many Arabs are anti-Semitic is not a contradiction; it is a fact of life.

DaveBj