Let's get a few facts straight before we allow these discussions of governmental policy to devolve to where they always do with someone pointing the finger of anti-Semitism.

First of all, the Jews in Israel are not an ethnically unique race. They evolved from the exact same subset of humans that make up the vast ocean of people populating the Mideast. The people that are calling for their extinction (and I fully acknowledge there are those that scream that daily) are their own relatives. We can go on all day claiming distinctions based on ancient tribes and migratory splits but if you did a DNA analysis to find distant heritage we'd see that this is mere infighting. That leaves really only one distinction to determine who's on what side - religion. In essence (and I know that people will quibble about the definition) being an anti-Semite is being against someone of the Jewish faith. It's really all that's left.

The term got its power during the ethnic cleansing put forth by the Nazis when the Jews had no country of their own and were spread out through various lands. Still, the distinction was largely decided by faith since even converted Jews (ones that had originated in other cultures) were targeted. It was a horrific time and a terrible stain on humanity and the term anti-Semite gave a name to the disgusting ethical actions of the Nazis and their allies. It was a necessary term to define something that had to be fought and destroyed, the eradication of an entire human subset.

Somehow though, the term survived the defeat of the Nazis and evolved into one that could take on any meaning one wanted it applied to. No longer is it about wanting to exterminate an entire subset of people. It can now be used for anyone that questions a governmental decision of Israel despite that country being made up of not only people of Jewish faith but also many Muslims and Christians. It can be used against someone uncomfortable with any religion as I am because a portion of my unease naturally falls on the Jewish teachings.

Here's something to consider. I am constantly incensed at the leaders of the Catholic church and the huge damage their policies do to the future of our species, promoting bans on birth control and elevating bigots like the current Pope to superhuman status. Yet, there is no term that has the derisive nature of my disgust for their leadership that comes close to a similar attitude about the Jewish faith and the label of anti-Semitism. I am equally pissed off at Mormonism and Scientology but somehow it's socially okay to be uneasy about the existence of those religious sects. I don't want to exterminate any follower of any religion but because my beliefs could be held as derisive to Jews I naturally fall into the category of anti-Semite and all the history that goes along with that term.

It's a term that has definitely outlived its usefulness. Jews are not an endangered species as they were in Europe in 1939. The state of Israel and many of it's citizens have enemies today, some for good reason because of failed and poor policy, others because the enemies are just as inherently evil as Hitler and his followers. People in all countries and of all faiths and ethnicity are targets of the latter. That second group will hate from here to eternity but they have no industrial and military giant government supporting them as the haters did in Germany. Hamas, Hezbollah, fundamentalists in Iran all have those inherently evil components to them but not a one of them can ever do what Hitler attempted. The world is a different place these days and none will ever attain the world conquering power that Germany reached even if atomic weapons magically come to them.

It's time to stand up to people that throw out that label of anti-Semite at the first slight and point the finger back at them for making the hornet's nest even worse. There may still be a place for the term but it's my contention that it only applies to a tiny subset of humanity, those evil pricks that truly want to find anyone of Jewish faith and wipe them off the face of the Earth.

As for me anymore, the term almost feels like a badge of honor it's been so distorted. When I see it used, I almost assume it's aimed at someone that's standing up to a bully.

Art