What is Antisemitism?
Debunking the Myths of the Black Hebrew Israelites
Lately we have all seen a strong resurgence of antisemitism across the world. Many visible cases of Jews being physically and verbally assaulted in public are becoming more and more prevalent. This seems to be especially true about the situation in the United States lately. Jews are accustomed to discrimination. Usually this discrimination comes from white supremacist and extremist Islamic groups, all for their own various reasons. Lately a new hate group has arisen with the same age old hatred of the Jew. This hate group is the so-called “Black Hebrew Israelites”.
We are seeing a huge uptick in hate speech towards Jews from African American groups within the US. These groups, who identify themselves as the Hebrew Israelites, believe they are the true Israelites of the Bible. Evidence of this upsurge is seen in today’s mainstream media, where public figures Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, have popularized claims made by the BHI. Since the Black Hebrew Israelites believe they are Semites, they make the assertion that anything they say negatively about the Jewish people is not antisemitic. Jews disagree. The purpose of this article is not to rehash all of the various claims either of the men above have claimed publicly, but to analyze the roots of the phrase “Antisemitism”.
So where does the term antisemitism even come from? Who first started using the term? Why was it being used? Who was the term directed at, and who did these “antisemites” in history have such a problem with? This article will shed light on a term that has been made commonplace in modern society, yet can be confusing when describing its intended victims.
The term antisemite gains its etymology from the story of Noah in the Bible. Noah had three sons; Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They are listed in the Table of Nations in Genesis Ch.10 as seen below.
1 And these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and sons were born to them after the Flood.
א וְאֵ֨לֶּה֙ תּֽוֹלְדֹ֣ת בְּנֵי־נֹ֔חַ שֵׁ֖ם חָ֣ם וָיָ֑פֶת וַיִּוָּֽלְד֥וּ לָהֶ֛ם בָּנִ֖ים אַחַ֥ר הַמַּבּֽוּל:
Of the three sons Shem is viewed as the “chosen” son who receives his father Noah’s greatest blessings, as can be seen from the Torah portion below. It takes place a bit earlier in Chapter 9 of Genesis. The reader can acquaint themselves with the full story by reading Genesis 9:18–27 Specifically v. 25–27 describes Noah’s blessings and curses on his three sons. They read as such:
25 And he said, “Cursed be Canaan; he shall be a slave among slaves to his brethren.”
כה וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אָר֣וּר כְּנָ֑עַן עֶ֥בֶד עֲבָדִ֖ים יִֽהְיֶ֥ה לְאֶחָֽיו:
26 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be a slave to them.
כו וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בָּר֥וּךְ יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹ֣הֵי שֵׁ֑ם וִיהִ֥י כְנַ֖עַן עֶ֥בֶד לָֽמוֹ:
27 May God expand Japheth, and may He dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be a slave to them.”
כ זיַ֤פְתְּ אֱלֹהִים֙ לְיֶ֔פֶת וְיִשְׁכֹּ֖ן בְּאָֽהֳלֵי־שֵׁ֑ם וִיהִ֥י כְנַ֖עַן עֶ֥בֶד לָֽמוֹ:
As you can see above the blessings of Shem are understandably better than what the other two sons receive. These “Shemites or Semites” continue to have their descendants blessed accordingly through the patriarchies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the father of Israel as a nation. His 12 sons become the twelve tribes of Israel. The Jewish people are a conglomeration of the Tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. i.e. what becomes later know in the Tanakh as the Southern Kingdom. The other tribes not mentioned above make up the Northern Kingdom which is ultimately conquered by the Assyrians. They become know as “The Lost Tribes Of Israel”.
That being said, the Israelites are by no means the only descendants of Shem. Genesis chapter 10:21–31 enumerates 26 various descendants of Shem. These 26 descendants branch out to become various different people groups and ethnicities, all technically “Shemites”. The path from Shem to Israel is as such: Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (Israel).
There are also multiple languages spoken which are grouped as “Semitic Languages”. These include, but are not limited to Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic. The speakers of these various “Semitic” languages overtime have also been known to fall under the labels of Semitic peoples. Whether it’s right or wrong to consider them all as such is outside the scope of this article.
Now that I have laid out the back story of where the term “Shemite or Semite” is derived from, we can move on to where the actual term “antisemitism” finds its origins in modern society.
On or around 1860 a French author named Ernest Renan was heavily pushing the ideology that the Jews were an inferior race or “untermenschen” to Aryans. Untermenschen which translates roughly to “sub-human” is very reminiscent of how those who participated in the Trans Atlantic slave trade viewed the Africans that they took into slavery, less than human, or sub-human. In Germany during WWII there were strict laws against cruelty against animals and dogs especially, yet Jews could be robbed and shot dead in the streets with no regard. How can humans treat other humans in such a vile and heartless manner as was done to the Jews in the Holocaust or Africans in the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade? It all comes down to convincing others that the vilified group in question are less than human, so inhuman treatment against them is completely acceptable. Black Hebrew Israelites are commonly known to call Jews Edomites, Amalekites, or Khazars in that same type of evil spirit. It is aimed at dehumanizing Jews and those that do it are no better than Nazi’s or Slave Traders. Their spirits are one and the same.
An Austrian Jewish author, Moritz Steinschneider wrote a pamphlet countering the teachings of Ernest Rehan with his work “anti-Semitic prejudices” or (antisemitische vorurteile). This may be the first time the term “antisemite” was actually used in literature.
The phrase antisemitism was made popular in 1879 by a German author named Wilhelm Marr with his pamphlet, “The Way to Victory of Germanism over Judaism,” Wilhelm was a far left democratic journalist and leader of various democratic groups in Germany who wanted to fall under Prussian control. He frequently used the term “antisemitismus” to define those who vilified Jews. The term seemed easier to digest that the other common German phrase used “judenhauss” which translates to “Jew-Hatred”. Soon after his notorious pamphlet he formed the “Antisemiten-Liga” (League of Antisemites) where he taught that Jews were not capable of assimilating into German society but should be forcefully removed. Marr was a major proponent of the idea that scientifically Jews were less than the “Aryan race”.
We can see above how the term antisemitism is really a poor description of this human phenomenon of hate towards the Jewish people. The phrase “Judenhass” or “Jew-Hatred” of the Nazi’s actually describes this hatred far more accurately. Islamic Arab extremists may have many “antisemitic” feelings about Jews and Israel which people label as “antisemitic” while technically it would actually be more accurately assessed as a hatred of one Semitic group against another Semitic group.
That being said, we can clearly see above the origins of the term antisemitism. It stems directly from European, especially German beliefs that the Aryan race is more pure than their Jewish counterparts in Europe. The Jews have always been the intended victims of this European “antisemitism”. When a Black Hebrew Israelite or a member of The Nation of Islam states that they cannot be antisemitic because African Americans are the true “Shemites” is that a license for them now to act like racist bigots? The term was never crafted for them or about them. They have always had their own separate battles to deal with. This is not one of them. The term “antisemitic” whether a great descriptor or not, is what has been used for this phenomenon for the last 100+ years about Jews and only Jews.
So who defines what the term should be used for now in modern times? Is it the victims of this age old prejudice, or every modern group that appears with the same ancient hatred of Jews who now choose to appropriate the term for themselves?
This is exactly what Kanye West is doing. This is exactly the same type of hatred portrayed in the film “From Hebrews to Negroes” by Ronald Dalton Jr. that Kyrie Irving shared on Twitter. Hatred of the Jew is as old as the Bible itself. Just because you believe yourself or your people to be “Shemites” does not give you the right to speak and teach racist theologies and ideologies innocently as if you are doing nothing wrong. What you are doing is no different than what the Nazis did. You are spreading misinformation while playing the innocent victim yourself. Lets be completely clear. Black Hebrew Israelites are a racist hate group who have made skin color their idol. They contain the same spirit that flows through a Nazi or a Klan member. Calling yourself a “Shemite” does not exonerate you from that. The term “antisemite” has not now, nor has it ever been a way to describe hate against African Americans. Your attempt at cultural appropriation does not exonerate you from hate speech.
Literary Sources:
- Moritz Steinschneider — Hebräische Bibliographie. Blätter für neuere und ältere Literatur des Judentums, vol. III, Berlin, A. Ascher
& Comp., 1860 - Wilhelm Marr — “The Way to Victory of Germanism over Judaism,” 1879
- JPS Hebrew/English Tanakh, 1999
- https://njop.org/the-origin-of-word-anti-semitism/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism
- https://www.ajc.org/news/understanding-the-origins-of-antisemitism
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/anti-Semitism
