From: perlman@qso.Colorado.EDU (Eric S. Perlman)
Subject: Re: The term "anti-Semitism" (was: Re: Martin Luther King Quotes)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 22:58:26 GMT

In article <6738@pdxgate.UUCP> a0cb@rigel.cs.pdx.edu (Chris Bertholf) writes:
>In article <1jmleaINN3uh@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> friedenb@silver.egr.msu.edu (Gedaliah Friedenberg) writes:
>>In article <kglavgx@Unify.Com> jhf@dbrus.Unify.Com (Jeff Fields) writes:
>>
>>> Also not all Semites are Jews. Anti-Semitism was a term invented in the
>>> Zionist movement of the 19th century.
>>
>>This is false.  Please prove this statement, or post a retraction.
>>
>
>Not my post, but...
>
>Which statement?  I will only confirm the first one, and give you
>a pointer to the time where you can find the reference to the first
>use with the meaning 'hostility toward or descrimination against Jews'.
>
>A SEMITE is 'any member of a group of peoples of southwestern Asia, chiefly
>represented by ARABS and JEWS, but also including Babylonian, Assyrian,
>Aramaens, Cannanite, and Phoenican'.  More specifically, any group of
>people from southwestern Asia whose dialects are derivatives of HEBREW,
>ARAMIC, ARABIC, or ETHIOPIC are Semites.
>
>As for the time frame, the phrases meaning was altered to it's current
>interpretation in 1881.

False.  See below.

>  A dilligent investigator can easily find out
>where.  The first usage predates the 'Official beginning of Zionism'
>which is dated 1896.  Although the Zionist movement existed prior to
>this date, the 'Official' beginning of the organized movement is
>dated many years later, when the term 'Zionist' was coined. The
>'anti-Semitic' phrase as applied exclusively to Jews did grow out
>of that movement.  This is a well known historical fact!

No, it's utter baloney.  The term was coined in the 1860s by a German
racist whose had a  beef against Jews, and who believed statements
straight out of the classic blood libels, to try to make his beliefs and
the political party he founded sound respectable.  This has been pointed
out on this net umpteen times.  You present no evidence for your
alternate hypothesis.  Instead you rely only on a false temporal
association.  It doesn't wash.
 
>I might be off by 1 or 2 years as I am doing this from memory,
>but a Webster's collegiate should, at the minimum, be able to
>confirm the dates, although it may lack the other info you are
>ignorant of.

Actually, it confirms *nothing* of what you say.  You might try checking
your sources before you misquote them.

>You may appologize to the previous poster for doubting his facts,
>and to the net for lying by calling the truth a falsity, and
>for asking someone to retract their statement of fact due to your
>uneducated and biased belief that the statement was not true,
>without anything to back up your belief...

Take your own medicine.  Gedaliah is right on.


-- 
"How sad to see/A model of decorum and tranquillity/become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies to slug it out with glee." -Tim Rice,"Chess"
     Eric S. Perlman 				 <perlman@qso.colorado.edu> 
  Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish