A major obstacle to fighting Anti-Jewish prejudice worldwide is the existing nomenclature itself. The term antisemitism is highly problematic because it is partially antiquated. Scholars of Anti-Jewish hatred recognize three major historical phases of the phenomenon. These are usually referred to as:
- Anti-Judaism
- Anti-Semitism
- Anti-Zionism
It is important to emphasize that this terminology was invented by Anti-Jewish bigots. This means that the term antisemitism has two scientific meanings; namely one historical form of Anti-Jewish prejudice (originally referring to Anti-Jewish Orientalism) and Anti-Jewish prejudice generally. Most contemporary disputes over what constitutes Anti-Jewish prejudice is between people deploying the narrow signifier (Anti-Semitism) and people deploying the general signifier (antisemitism).
Both Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism are misnomers and the terminology are antiquated. Why is this so? First we need terminology to distinguish between pre-modern Anti-Jewish prejudice, modern Anti-Jewish prejudice and post-modern Anti-Jewish prejudice.
- Pre-modern Anti-Jewish Prejudice: This is framed in religious terms.
- Modern Anti-Jewish Prejudice: This is framed in racial and/or conspiratorial terms.
- Post-modern Anti-Jewish prejudice: This is framed in political terms, primarily in the form of double and triple standards in a highly structured manner against the Jewish state.
The solution is simply new terminology. One term is long since in some use, that is the term ’Judeophobia’. I have elsewhere suggested the Hebrew-English neologism ’Antivrism’ (anti-ivri-ism) which loosely translates as anti-hebraism. Antivrism is a dynamic and evolving phenomenon and its three phases should be recognized as distinctive and parallel. In fact we should anticipate a fourth phase.
Aliyah Organization 