I think it’s worth pointing out the fact that Palestinians are a Semitic people, unlike the European and American settlers that have colonised Palestine over the last century.
It therefore stands to reason that sympathy and support for the Palestinians is not antisemitism, nor is opposition to the ghastly genocide currently underway in occupied Palestine.
John Scrivener, Main Arm
• Ed note: Because the root of the word is ‘Semite’, the term ‘antisemitism’ suffers from an etymological fallacy. While it appears to refer to hatred of Semitic people, it was historically and specifically coined to denote hatred of Jews, not a broader group. Some may incorrectly use ‘antisemitism’ to describe hostility towards any group considered ‘Semitic’, but this is not its historical or commonly-accepted meaning.


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