[SJackson]

Apparently saying that a group of 19th century racists who incorrectly used a reference to Semites are wrong is offensive. Evidently this places me in the "brownshirt" category, according to these posts. I meant the original post as a small barb to the media, in passing as it were. I'm completely in agreement that many Arabs are anti-Jewish and that this is a bad thing.
Some people seemed to take that remark personally, as if noting the fact that both Arabs and Jews are Semites is wrong, somehow.

I’m not accusing you of being a “brownshirt”. It sounds to me as though you simply made a comment based on the word semite. You should understand though, that your argument is an old one. It is frequently used by those in the Arab world. It was coined deliberately to cause this type of confusion.

When earlier this year Syrian President Assad made a virulently anti-semitic speech in the presence of the Pope, his defense mirrored your comments, “"How could he be an anti-Semite, when Arabs are Semites?". The next day, his defense minister, made his famous "When I see a Jew before me, I kill him. If every Arab did this, it would be the end of the Jews."

I’m not attributing these feelings to you, simply pointing out why people might react harshly to what you may have meant as an light, innocent comment. The point of the term, the reason it was coined, was to engender confusion, and make Judenhass politically acceptable.

[Lumberjack]

I?m not accusing you of being a ?brownshirt?. It sounds to me as though you simply made a comment based on the word semite. You should understand though, that your argument is an old one. It is frequently used by those in the Arab world. It was coined deliberately to cause this type of confusion. When earlier this year Syrian President Assad made a virulently anti-semitic speech in the presence of the Pope, his defense mirrored your comments, ?"How could he be an anti-Semite, when Arabs are Semites?". The next day, his defense minister, made his famous "When I see a Jew before me, I kill him. If every Arab did this, it would be the end of the Jews." I?m not attributing these feelings to you, simply pointing out why people might react harshly to what you may have meant as an light, innocent comment. The point of the term, the reason it was coined, was to engender confusion, and make Judenhass politically acceptable.

Thank you for the reasoned reply.

I understand completely where you are coming from. Couldn't the argument be intelligently made that the continued use of the word antisemite by those opposed to racism/religious persecution only add fuel to the fire and further the cause of confusion originally intended by those who coined this word? IOW, why refer to this as antisemitism and not straight forward racism or intolerance, or the simpler and much more honest phrase Jew Hatred?