Redefining Antisemitism: Why All Semitic Peoples Must Be Included
For over a century, the term antisemitism has been narrowly defined to refer exclusively to prejudice and hostility toward Jewish people. While that usage is rooted in a very real and painful history—particularly the horrors of the Holocaust and the persistence of anti-Jewish sentiment across the globe—it is time to interrogate and expand the term’s definition.
Because Semitic people are not a monolith. And antisemitism, if we are honest, should not be either.
The Linguistic Truth
The term Semite refers to a broad group of people who speak or descend from speakers of Semitic languages—Hebrew, Arabic, Amharic, Aramaic, and others. This includes Jews, Arabs, Ethiopians, Assyrians, and more. The linguistic origin is clear. But over time, the term antisemitism has been exclusively applied to Jews, erasing the Semitic identity of millions of others who have also faced historic and ongoing oppression.
This isn’t just an academic oversight—it has serious ethical and political consequences.
A Weaponized Definition
Today, we see a dangerous misuse of the term antisemitism. Defending Palestinian rights, exposing war crimes, or criticizing the policies of the Israeli government can result in being labeled “antisemitic”—even when these critiques come from Arabs or other Semitic people themselves.
It is not only inaccurate to call Semitic people antisemitic for criticizing their oppression, it’s also morally absurd. The term has been twisted into a tool of suppression, used to silence legitimate resistance and shield systems of violence from accountability.
The Case of Palestine: Occupation, Apartheid, and Silence
Let’s be clear: what is happening to Palestinians under Israeli occupation is not a misunderstanding or a “complex conflict.” It is the deliberate displacement, surveillance, imprisonment, and dehumanization of an indigenous Semitic people.
• Gaza has been described as the world’s largest open-air prison. Today, it resembles a death camp.
• Between 500–700 Palestinian children are kidnapped by Israeli military forces annually, often taken from their homes at night, denied legal representation, and held in military prisons without charge.
• Palestinians are taxed by the occupying power, yet denied equal rights, legal protections, or meaningful political representation.
• Illegal Israeli settlers routinely attack Palestinian civilians under the protection—or participation—of Israeli forces.
And yet, when Palestinians speak out against this, they are told their resistance is antisemitic.
This is gaslighting at a global scale.
Expanding the Definition: A Moral Imperative
If we are going to fight antisemitism, then let us fight it in all its forms—against all Semitic peoples.
• Let us condemn the hatred and demonization of Jews wherever it occurs.
• But also condemn the dehumanization of Palestinians, Arabs, and other Semitic groups who are treated as second-class citizens, occupiable, bombable, and disposable.
This is not about minimizing Jewish suffering—it’s about recognizing that antisemitism cannot be a one-way street. When we exclude Arab Semites from the protection of this term, we reinforce a hierarchy of whose lives, whose languages, and whose lineages are worth defending.
Toward an Inclusive Framework
It is time for our language to reflect our values. The fight against hate must be principled, not political. If antisemitism means the hatred, marginalization, or violent erasure of Semitic people, then Palestinians must be included in that struggle—not criminalized for surviving it.
Reclaiming the full scope of antisemitism is not just about semantics. It’s about justice, solidarity, and truth.
And no liberation movement is complete if it erases others along the way.