The Saudi Arabian newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat this week, in a bizarre defense of Jew hatred, claimed that the very use of the term "anti-Semitism" by Zionists ?is itself racist.? The Saudi paper said that ?Zionism uses the term ?anti-Semitism? against those who try to bare Zionism as a racist ideology or those who criticize Israel's atrocities? and decries some Western governments enactment of laws against hate speech directed at Jews.
The al-Sharq al-Awsat article then addresses the semantic question of the use of the term ?anti-Semitism? in reference to hatred of Jews. Says the author, while ?it is clear that the Jews are not the only Semitic people? the Jews are the lowest caste of the Semitic people in general? a weak branch of the Semitic tree??
However, according to the article, ?[f]ollowing the Zionism conference in Basel, Switzerland, Zionist intellectuals decided to call themselves Semitic denying any other people the right to this title.? Then, according to the Saudi article, Zionists ?invented many stories, lineages and tales to support their claim that they are God's ?chosen people? and that they are the only Semites in the world.? Furthermore, the Zionists ?use ?Semitic? in their media repeatedly, in order to claim that anyone who hates the Jews is, in fact, anti-Semitic?? According to the editorial, however, ?the Jews were not popular and disliked by many due to their insular policies and refusal to blend with others in various societies?? At the same time, the Jews ??had no civilization. This is due to their lack of principles and concentration in urban areas.?
After detailing the history of the Jews as tent-dwelling Bedouins and then menial laborers in Egypt, based on the Bible, the author of the al-Sharq al-Awsat editorial concludes, ?The story that they [Jews] are descendants of Shem, a son of Noah, and that they are God's ?chosen people? is just a Zionist legend. This claim, too, is baseless just like the claim of anti-Semitism they have been perpetuating.?
The al-Sharq al-Awsat article then addresses the semantic question of the use of the term ?anti-Semitism? in reference to hatred of Jews. Says the author, while ?it is clear that the Jews are not the only Semitic people? the Jews are the lowest caste of the Semitic people in general? a weak branch of the Semitic tree??
However, according to the article, ?[f]ollowing the Zionism conference in Basel, Switzerland, Zionist intellectuals decided to call themselves Semitic denying any other people the right to this title.? Then, according to the Saudi article, Zionists ?invented many stories, lineages and tales to support their claim that they are God's ?chosen people? and that they are the only Semites in the world.? Furthermore, the Zionists ?use ?Semitic? in their media repeatedly, in order to claim that anyone who hates the Jews is, in fact, anti-Semitic?? According to the editorial, however, ?the Jews were not popular and disliked by many due to their insular policies and refusal to blend with others in various societies?? At the same time, the Jews ??had no civilization. This is due to their lack of principles and concentration in urban areas.?
After detailing the history of the Jews as tent-dwelling Bedouins and then menial laborers in Egypt, based on the Bible, the author of the al-Sharq al-Awsat editorial concludes, ?The story that they [Jews] are descendants of Shem, a son of Noah, and that they are God's ?chosen people? is just a Zionist legend. This claim, too, is baseless just like the claim of anti-Semitism they have been perpetuating.?