The play is not about Israel but instead tells the story of a Jewish man preserving his family’s traditions in a village in imperial Russia at the turn of the 20th century. The performance on Monday went ahead as planned after the protest at the cafe.

“This is a performance of Fiddler on the Roof,” they wrote alongside footage of the protesters. “So, if you’re busy condemning racist demonstrations, but not this, & you don’t think they should be prosecuted, stop preening yourself. You’re happy with racism – it’s only the target that you worry about.”

  • @gedaliyahOP
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    -11 month ago

    This article has nothing to do with Semites. You are wandering down a pointless thought experiment, and likely attempting to derail the conversation. I can understand your confusion; antisemitism as a word is historically derived from the same root as Semite, much as “antipasto” and “pastor” are derived from the same Latin root, although they have no common meaning today. Antisemitism is and has always been a specific prejudice against Jews.

    Merriam-Webster | Oxford | Cambridge | Dictionary.com | Collins | American Heritage | The Atlantic (article)

    • @stoly
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      -11 month ago

      You are wandering down a pointless thought experiment, and likely attempting to derail the conversation.

      That was something you just made up.

      If you want to throw a definition at me that shows that antisemitism only applies to Jewish persons, then I can just as easily show you a definition that the word “literally” now means “really a lot” as in “I literally died when I heard that”. Language use changes.

      • @gedaliyahOP
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        -31 month ago

        What on earth are you talking about? You give me an awful lot of credit if you think I made up EVERY dictionary. I don’t think I missed any except for the community forums like wiktionary and urbandictionary. Of course language changes. That’s why professional linguists are employed by professional dictionaries to study the language and why words are frequently added or changed. That doesn’t mean words mean whatever you feel like at the moment.

        You understood the use of the word in the article. You are trying to derail the conversation to make it about etymology rather than the subject of the news. You are wasting my time, as I’ve already sent you links to SIX dictionaries and an article in a major publication. You sent nothing but your personal feelings.

        • @Madison420
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          21 month ago

          Just as an fyi it’s first use is in 1881 as interchangeably anti Judaic and anti semitic.

          The use of anti semitic to mean anti Judaic is in fact bigoted as fuck. The word is literally taken from a racist who thought openly that Arabs were lesser than a Jew and didn’t care he was throwing them under the bus right alongside Jews. Just say anti Judaic since it’s actually accurate to an inarguable level and doesn’t make some weird bigoted class system.

          • @stoly
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            21 month ago

            The person we are responding to has an agenda. They aren’t in it to exchange ideas, they are in it to force you to accept their view of world. This person is offended personally that we don’t automatically agree.

            • @Madison420
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              11 month ago

              There’s tons of that here, same as Reddit just more echo chambers.

              • @stoly
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                21 month ago

                You notice it when you’re downvoted heavily and go back an hour later to see that you’ve been voted into the low positives again. It’s really sad how people astroturf so often.

                • @Madison420
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                  01 month ago

                  I don’t care about downvotes, I find it funny more often than not especially if they come with a ban for a odd reason.

                  • @stoly
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                    11 month ago

                    This Lemmy instance seems to be pretty light on bans but others are not so much.

          • @gedaliyahOP
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            01 month ago

            Many Jewish organizations have advocated using the term “Jew hate” in order to avoid the linguistically and historically problematic “antisemitism” or “anti-Semitism,” but I am skeptical of the success.

            By the way, you are close, but to clarify: the term was originated by Wilhelm Marr, who founded the Antisemiten-Liga (League of Anti-Semites) in 1879. This organization was not concerned with Semites in general, but with Jews in particular, as evinced by publications such as “Do not choose a Jew!” “Jew’s Mirror,” and “The War of the Jews.” You are absolutely right in that it is bigoted and coined by a bigot.

            • @Madison420
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              01 month ago

              I’m for anti Judaic, follows the same form but it’s accurate.

              https://www.etymonline.com/word/anti-Semitism

              No I’m correct, it want used until 1881 not 1879 and Wilhelm was scared of Jews he however didn’t think much of and disliked arabs. He only added specificity to make sure people knew he was against semites generally and Jews specifically. I dunno if you’ve actually read his book but it makes it pretty clear.

              • @gedaliyahOP
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                01 month ago

                I’m not sure where they are getting the date - maybe that was the first use in English? The group was founded in 1879. The term (at least in German) traces to that date.

                I don’t speak German and I haven’t read any of his works, so I appreciate your educating me on that point. If there is an English-language resource I can learn more about his anti-Arab views, please share it. TIA

                • @Madison420
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                  -11 month ago

                  They sourced it boss. It’s the first published use, could it have been used before? Sure, we just have evidence of it.

                  I have a translated copy somewhere, I’ll dig to see if I can find it.

                  • @gedaliyahOP
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                    11 month ago

                    I’m confused about the reply - is it possible you missed a word? In any case, you can see from the source I mentioned that the word dates from at least 1879 in German print, but again, we are arguing about 2 years. It looks like Douglas Harper made a small error on his excellent website, but no one’s perfect. Again, I appreciate you taking the time to share. Which book are you referring to though? He has several as I mentioned.

                    (see also Encyclopedia Britannica, German Digital Library, Brill)

        • @stoly
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          11 month ago

          This hilarious part is that I am actually a linguist. But you’re obviously sensitive to this topic so I’ll walk away.

          • @gedaliyahOP
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            -31 month ago

            Sensitive? You are the one arguing that every dictionary is wrong. If you have an axe to grind, take it up with your editors - not me.

            • @stoly
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              1 month ago

              You could have walked away just now, you had every chance.

              You’re acting in bad faith. Stop putting words in my mouth, stop projecting yourself at me. Whatever is going on here comes from your own insecurities. You appeal to authority in every exchange, and you are gatekeeping how other are allowed to use language as if there was some objective truth in the use of language. Every part of this is done for your own purposes that have nothing to do with this conversation.

              Walk away, stop talking.