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Canada: Michael Neumann, a teacher of philosophy at Trent University in Canada, eloquently argues the problem of the term anti-Semitism
being co-opted for political gain by both sides of the fence.
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.
The first tells against deflationists who claim that anti-Semitism is really hatred of Semites (including Arabs), not just Jews. This confuses etymology with meaning. You might as well say that, in reality, lesbians are simply those who live on the Greek island of Lesbos.
On the other hand, to inflate the definition by including critics of Israel is, if not exactly incorrect, self-defeating and dangerous. No one can stop you from proclaiming all criticism of Israel anti-Semitic. But that makes anti-Semites out of Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, not to mention tens of thousands of Jews.
What then prevents someone from concluding that anti-Semitism must be, at least in some cases, justifiable, courageous, highly moral? Is this a message any prudent Jew or anti-racist would want to encourage?
Anti-Semitism: A Minor Problem, Overblown—LA Times, 28th December 2003.
Posted in
Rare Common Sense
at 01:37. Last modified on September 28 2006 at 23:42.
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Comments
1: Posted by: Feòrag | December 30, 2003 12:58 PM
I know several Jewish people who are appalled at the behaviour of the current Israeli government, and the Israeli military is beginning to see consciencious objection and desertion over it, so presumably all these people are anti-seminitc.