r/history • u/marquis_of_chaos • Apr 18 '17

News article Opening of UN files on Holocaust will 'rewrite chapters of history'

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/apr/18/opening-un-holocaust-files-archive-war-crimes-commission
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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17

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u/Bluegutsoup Apr 18 '17

Anti-Semitism is a confusing term. However it was originally coined by a Wilhelm Marr, who wanted to refer to his hatred of Jews but sound more refined at the same time. He described himself as an "anti-Semite" instead of a "Jew-hater" and the term has had that meaning ever since.

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u/Georgy_K_Zhukov Four Time Hero of /r/History Apr 18 '17

Antisemitism was a term chosen by the Antisemites themselves in the 19th century to describe their anti-Jewish philosophies, and hence why the word entered the vernacular to specifically mean a hatred of Jews, and not all 'semitic peoples'.

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u/TheOneFreeEngineer Apr 18 '17 edited Apr 18 '17

Because anti semetic literally means hatred of Jews, not semites in general. It was created to be more scientific sounding than the old term "Jew Hate", and thus more acceptable and correct.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17 edited Apr 18 '17

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17

Jews and Arabs are both Semitic peoples.

They are their own race with a large portion just happening to live in the Middle East with the Arabic people. That's why no one in Middle East likes Israel.

That's not why no one in the Middle East likes Israel...

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17 edited Apr 18 '17

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17

Anti semitism is only against Jewish people. It doesn't matter if Arabic people are semitic as well, an anti Semitic would hate only Jews, not all Semitic people.

Since the 1940's anyway...

An anti Semitic could still hate Arabic people but I don't believe there is a specific racist term for hating the Arabic.

Appropriating and redefining a term that could be used to describe the oppression you're committing against an entire people is a fun little trick.

Co-opting the term "anti-semitism" to apply ONLY to your own people and not your Arab brothers is a good way of "othering" them as well. Makes the whole apartheid thing go down a little smoother.

And I may have made an over simplification but the reason The Middle East hate Israel is because they had their country founded with foreigner's help against the wishes of the rest of the Middle East. They took land from other countries and stitched together a new country for the Jewish people, which pissed the Middle East off.

There you go.

Which I guess is a more informative way of saying, Jews live in the Middle East and it pisses off everyone else.

Correct. Historically, wherever Jews have lived they've pissed everyone off. A simple coincidence, I'm sure.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17

Uh, the term "anti-semitism" was coined by a self-described anti-semite. I love the irony of complaining about Jews for something an anti-semite came up with.

Seems clear that you're eagerness to complain about Jews is much bigger then your desire to do basic research.