Why are Americans who oppose Israel labled "anti-semitic"? What about the many jews who oppose Israel??

Question

ITS COMPLETE BS TO SAY THAT IF AN AMERICAN CITIZEN IS AGAINST ISRAEL, THAT HE OR SHE IS "ANTI-SEMITIC". FIRST OF ALL, BOTH JEWS AND ARABS ARE SEMITES, SO BEING ANTI-SEMITIC COULD MEAN MANY THINGS. SECONDLY, ISRAEL IS THE WORLDS LAST APARTHEID STATE AND THEY MUST WITHDRAW ALL OF THEIR BRUTAL MILITARY FROM ALL OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN LAND IMMEDIATELY!

Answer 1

Opposition to Israeli policies is not anti-Semitism. opposition to the existence of Israel and the Israeli people is. And anti-Semetism refers only to Judaism; don't try to pull semantic tricks.

Also, Israel has withdrawn militarily from Palestinian land, apart from in settlements. And it's certainly not apartheid. Israeli Arabs vote and can fight in the army. There's even one in the Cabinet.

Answer 2

First of all, you need to look up words in the dictionary as clearly you do not know what they mean.

A Jew or Arab are both Semites, assuming you think all Jews are descendants of Semites. I think the Jews of Ethiopia would disagree with you, as would the Jews of Spain. I bet the blued eyed blond Jews of Denmark would laugh in your face. Your claim that both Jews and Arabs are Semites is stupid.

"Anti-Semitic" is a specific term that means to be against Jews. It does not matter how the term developed, TODAY it means something said or done against Jews. The fact that part of the root word is "Semite" does not matter. When that term is used, it means specifically, comments or actions aimed at the Jews.

Look up the terms before making another stupid comment.

Secondly, in disguise, people attack Israel who really want to attack the Jews. They feel by attacking a nation rather than a people, that somehow makes it ok. I am listing a reference below, should you desire to actually educate yourself and not be lead around by the nose.

Third, use of the term "Many." For some who wish to make a point when they have no evidence, the use of the term "many" is just perfect. To them, five or ten is "many". The vast majority of Jews in the USA support Israel. (Majority means more than half, just in case you do not understand that term either.)

Lastly, your claim of Israel being an apartheid state. Assuming that is true, is that not better than a state where all who are different are wiped out or forced to flee? Check out Saudi Arabia. No christian churches, no Hindu temples, no Buddha statues, no synagogues. If you are caught with a bible, you are in big trouble. If you are caught proselytizing a faith other than Islam, you are beheaded. Israel has over a Million non-Jews living safely within their nation. You have the balls to comment negatively about Israel without condemning Saudi Arabia? Your double standard is showing. Your mustache is covered with crap.

Answer 3

Attempting a non-political explanation here, solely on word usage:

Israel as a political state was created in 1948, and the term 'anti-Semitism' had existed before then (generally in reference to people who were opposed to ethnic Jews), so it's not an all-or-nothing relation. A lot of Americans see Israel as solely Jewish land, right or wrong, and so to oppose Israeli policies or the Israeli state itself is to oppose solely Jewish land, and thus by process of determination, it's claimed as being anti-Semitic.

I'm speaking as someone who is non-religious and not Jewish in the following assumption, but: Jews who oppose Israel are presumably not IN Israel because of their opposition, and so the question is still one in America of questioning a solely Jewish (and politically favorable of its own policies) state.

The question is also one that the religious right in America has seized upon, for right or wrong. Because they view themselves as the inheritors of the Jews and Jews as a people who must be protected, their state must be protected, and anyone who advocates otherwise is by correlation stating that the Jewish people should not be protected.

This seems to be particular to the American mindset versus, say, the European, but I may be wrong. Politics and word usage are what determine "anti-Israel/Israeli policy = anti-Semitism," and I'd say that's pretty established in the American colloquia as a whole.

Answer 4

i be attentive to a pair South African Jews myself. They despised Apartheid and a few rather did do issues to combat it. they have been to Israel too, and don't recognize it as Apartheid the two. The newspaper boasts becoming numbers, besides the fact that if this is rather in elementary terms a guy or woman asserting it. in keeping with risk this is becoming, yet i do no longer see the archives in front of me. From what i will tell, maximum South African Jews are professional-Israel, and in keeping with risk the form of anti-Israel ones are becoming via a disconnection with the Jewish state and unlucky incorrect information that the information can provide.

Answer 5

my mother accused me of being anti-Semitic because i don't support Israel. the reason people accuse in this way is because they are under the mistaken impression that Zionism=Judaism, despite the fact that much of the populace of Israel doesn't support the occupation or non-recognition of Palestine either.

ret_roch_cop,

Semitic refers to the people from the geographic area that encompasses Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. so yes, Arabs are Semitic too. their language and Hebrew come from the same SEMITIC root.

but of course you are right that the well-funded, well-armed, and well-trained Israeli military is of course forced to defend themselves against poor, disenfranchised, unemployed, starving and dying Palestinians by controlling their water, their imports and exports, their entire economy and by destroying their homes and killing their children. yup. that's totally justified, you putz.

and just so you know, Ariel Sharon, an Israeli, was responsible for the second intifada. you can check if you don't believe me, just read some English language versions of Israeli newspapers. they say it.

edit : dear dave, i study this for a living and you are the one with the bad facts. also you are assuming that just because someone is condemning one country, that they are automatically approving of another. way to go on the false dichotomies. Jewish is not a race, and Jewish does not equal Zionist. I am an American Jew and i don't support Israel. Zionism has gone from a nationalist movement to an exclusionary military philosophy.

Answer 6

I believe the word you are looking for is anti-zionism. most uneducated people use the term "semitic" and I find this to be ridiculous, show me any jew or muslim that can trace their roots back to Noah's son Shem. Until that day the term should be dropped. The israelis left gaza and the first thing that the palestinians did was set up a military installation. if all of this fighting stopped tomorrow, what would these people do? humans can be disgusting.

Answer 7

Opposing certain policies of the Israeli Government is not in it self anti-Semitic. What is anti-Semitic is pretending that there is some moral equivalency between Israel and the Palestinian authority. Israel has a Representative form of government, a rule of law, a free market economy, human rights, women's Rights, gay rights, and protection of it's minority populations(There are Arabs in the Israeli government) None of these conditions exist in the Palestinian state. To suggest that these two entities are opposite sides of the same coin is therefore anti-Semitic

Answer 8

The aparteid analagy doesn't really hold water in that Isreal does not regulate 90% of the acts of its citizens based on skin color. Isreal is a democracy with a free press.

There are plenty of labels going around - for instance your labeling Isreal as the "worlds last apartheid" in your argument regarding the use of the term "anti-semitic".

I think it would be easier for Isreal to withdraw their troops from Palestine if the Palestinians would stop advancing on Isreal.

Answer 9

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH your little rant makes no sense. You are an anti-Semite because you just can't get the truth into your narrow little mind that Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself from the Arab terrorists who are constantly trying to kill innocents. Every single war that Israel fought was started by the Arabs, and when Israel pulled back to it's pre-1967 borders, the terrorists just stepped up their attacks because either were that much closer. Arabs are not Semites so get that dopey idea out of your head and for God's sake, turn off your caps lock because you sure aren't impressing anyone by yelling. maybe you're just to used to all the loud noise from the Sig heiling at the Nazi conventions.

Answer 10

there is a huge difference between being "anti Semitic" and "anti Zionist".

there are thousands of people of Jewish decent that abhor the Zionist agenda of the government of Israel and do not support it one single bit.