The Truth and History About Semites and Antisemitism
“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 7:6)
Israel has battled its enemies since the day Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River and entered Canaan (Joshua 1:11). Since that time, antisemitic sentiments have continued to rise around the world. But are the Jewish people Semites? And what exactly is a Semite? If one is going to have an opinion about the Jewish people, it is essential to understand the history and definition.
The modern cultural definition of antisemitism tends to be “prejudice or hostility toward Jews as a religious, cultural, or racial group.” On the contrary, despite what many people believe, Semites are not a religious, cultural, or racial group at all, and it does not solely include the Jewish people. So, this definition is false.
The dictionary definition of Semite is “a member of any of various ancient and modern peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including the Akkadians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs.” According to this definition, a Semite is anyone who comes or came from the Middle East or Africa and speaks Hebrew, Arabic, or Aramaic. This definition is better but also wrong.
Semites do not include people of any ethnicity — it is a term referring to a group of languages and dialects spoken by a group…
