Re: CHAT: Anti-Semitism
| From: | Paul Bennett <paul-bennett@...> |
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| Date: | Monday, April 12, 2004, 22:57 |
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On Mon, 12 Apr 2004 09:31:19 +0100, Joe <joe@...> wrote:
> I am aware of that. It is simply what I assumed he meant by the
> 'modern, narrow definition' - judging by his definition of pro-semitisim
> as unrelenting enthusiasm for Israel and its policies.
The 'old, broad definition' can be found earlier in this thread: Racism
against "Semitic" people, including both Israelis and Arabs. This dates
back to something like the 1880s, IIRC.
Plus, I didn't define pro-Semitism in any terms other than it being the
opposite of whatever is meant by "anti-Semitism". Today, semantic drift
has taken the term "anti-Semitism" and both broadened and narrowed it's
focus to mean racism against Jews, whether their heritage is directly from
that strip of land once known as the Transjordan, or from Europe, or
anywhere else. So, in that sense, yes, I would happily -- strike that --
freely use it to describe people who hold that the Israeli government is
(more or less) infallible.
Paul