|
|
 |
British politicians collaborate to make anti-Semitism a major news story
British politicians from different political parties have called for "urgent action" to stop "anti-Semitism".
A group of 14 MPs known as the "All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-Semitism" announced that "Islamist extremists in the UK had incited hatred against Jews" and the story has been reported by the mass media in news headlines throughout the UK. Fortunately, "the number of incidents have fallen" since 2004 "according to figures from the Jewish-led Community". But the "All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-Semitism" has published a 60 page report about a "disturbing rise" in anti-Semitism.
The "urgent" measures demanded by the report include special programmes to educate the police and school-children about Jewish concerns and sensitivities, and new powers for the authorities to control what is said and written about Jewish people on the Internet and in Universities.
There are still far fewer incidents of racism against Jews compared to other groups, especially Arabs and Muslims who are currently experiencing more racism and prejudice than ever before. At present there is no "All Party Parliamentary Inquiry" or any other special group of MPs set-up to stop racism against other groups.
Arabs are also a "Semitic" race (descendents of Shem), but the term "anti-Semitic" has been used so extensively and repeatedly to exclusively describe racism against Jews that the meaning of "Semitic" in this context has effectively changed in common parlance, although the dictionary definition has not yet been updated.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MPs urge action on anti-Semitism
Urgent action to tackle a rise in anti-Semitism in the UK is being called for by a cross-party group of MPs.
The panel of 14 MPs said the "disturbing" rise had been exacerbated by the situation in the Middle East.
They concluded that a minority of Islamist extremists in the UK had incited hatred against Jews.
The panel's report has been welcomed by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, who said the Jewish community would "fight prejudice in whatever form it takes".
Panel chair Denis McShane said the most worrying discovery was that anti-Semitism was entering the "mainstream".
"Anti-Jewish sentiment is appearing in the everyday conversations of people who consider themselves neither racist nor prejudiced.
"This behaviour is driven by ignorance and complacency and allowing it to continue unchecked is not just a problem for the Jewish community but society as a whole," Mr McShane said.
Key recommendations in the panel's 60-page report include improved recording of anti-Semitic incidents by the police, better education about anti-Semitism in schools, a crackdown on anti-Jewish activity on university campuses and action to prevent the spread of anti-Semitic material online.
The All Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-Semitism was set up in 2005 to investigate the nature and extent of contemporary anti-Semitism.
It was established against a background of steadily rising anti-Semitic attacks which reached a peak of more than 530 incidents on members of the UK's 300,000 strong Jewish community in 2004.
Since then the number of incidents have fallen but remain at high levels, according to figures from the Jewish-led Community Security Trust.
'Multi-faceted'
In addition to more than 100 written submissions from organisations and individuals, the panel of MPs heard oral evidence in four sessions in February and March.
Among those who gave evidence were the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke, the Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, race watchdog chief Trevor Phillips and the former head of the Muslim Council of Britain Sir Iqbal Sacranie.
They called for the adoption of a clearer definition of anti-Semitism by the government and law enforcement agencies which reflected its "complex and multi-faceted" nature.
"Anti-Semitism is not one dimensional. It is perpetrated in different ways by different groups within society and for this reason it is hard to identify," the report stated.
The MPs said it was "inexcusable" that there was not a requirement for all police forces to record anti-Semitic incidents given that such a duty existed for racist crimes.
And they called for an investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service into the low number of charges being brought for anti-Semitic abuse saying fewer than one in ten incidents resulted in a prosecution.
The report also called for more research on the correlation between the conflict in the Middle East and attacks on Jews in the UK saying a greater understanding was necessary to tackle the problem.
SOURCE
BBC News, "MPs urge action on anti-Semitism", 6 September 2006.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5319716.stm
FURTHER READING
Oxford Dictionary of Etymology - Semite
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O27:Semite/Semite+.html?refid=ency_botnm
Semite
Hebrew, Arab, Assyrian, or Aramaean, regarded as a descendant of Shem (Gen. 10). XIX. ...
YourDictionary.com - Semitic
http://www.yourdictionary.com/wotd/wotd.pl?date=2005-12-28
Semitic (adjective)
Pronunciation: [sę-'mi-tik]
Definition: Pertaining to the Semites: the Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Ethiopic, and Assyrian peoples. Also pertaining to an Afro-Asiatic family of languages that includes Hebrew, Aramaic and modern Syriac, Amharic, Tigré, and others, all clearly sharing a common stock and origin.
Usage: A Semitic person is a "Semite" and a "Semiticism" is a Semitic word or turn of phrase, as "algebra" (from Arabic) and "shibboleth" (from Hebrew) are Semiticisms in the English language. Hebrew and Arabic are sister languages (Hebrew shalom = Arabic salaam "peace"). Since World War II, however, when the people of Jewish descent were so severely persecuted, the term has been more closely associated with them than with their Arabic sisters and brothers. Now, "anti-Semitic" in the minds of most English-speakers refers to prejudice against Jews rather than against all Semitic peoples.
...
Online Etymology Dictionary - Semite
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Semite
Semite
1847, "Jew, Arab, Assyrian, Aramćan," from Mod.L. Semita, from L.L. Sem "Shem," one of the three sons of Noah (Gen. x:21-30), regarded as the ancestor of the Semites (in the days when anthropology was still bound by the Bible), from Heb. Shem. Semitic (1813 of languages, 1826 of persons) is probably from Ger. semitisch (first used by Ger. historian August Schlözer, 1781), denoting the language group that includes Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, Assyrian, etc. In recent use often with the specific sense "Jewish," but not historically so limited.
Wikepedia - Semitic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic
...
As language studies are interwoven with cultural studies, the term also came to describe the extended cultures and ethnicities, as well as the history of these varied peoples as associated by close geographic and linguistic distribution. The late 19th century term "anti-Semitism" came to be used in reference specifically to anti-Jewish sentiment, further complicating the understood meaning and boundaries of the term.
...
The word "Semitic" is an adjective derived from Shem, one of the three sons of Noah in the Bible (Genesis 5.32, 6.10, 10.21), or more precisely from the Greek form of that name, namely Σημ (Sēm); the noun form referring to a person is Semite. The negative form of the adjective, anti-Semitic, is almost always used as a misnomer to mean "anti-Jewish" specifically.
...
"The Insider" mailing list article, 07 September 2006.
|
