The Real Meaning of Anti-Semitism Explained

It is known that the term “anti-Semitism” was coined in the late 19th century, referring to hostility toward the Jewish people, who were considered by its originators to be an “inferior race”. Literally, however, anti-Semitism would mean “against the descendants of Shem,” the brother of Ham and Japheth. If we know that the Nazis were seen as descendants of Amalek, who came from Esau, who himself was a descendant of Shem, then they too are Semites. Why, then, is their hatred for Jews called anti-Semitism? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it anti-Jacob?

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The key to understanding this lies in how the Jewish people are defined. God did not choose Abraham because of lineage or race, but because of his decision to dedicate himself fully to God. Anyone in the world who makes that choice can convert, and in doing so become a true child of Abraham.

Whether African, Chinese, European, or Arab, any person who chooses to convert to Judaism can, within a year, become fully Jewish in both body and soul. All their descendants from that moment on will be Jewish as well, without any need for conversion.

Why We Are Called “Children of Abraham”

We are called the children of Abraham because we walk in his path. Esau’s descendants, however, are not called by this name, because they did not continue in Abraham’s ways.

Judaism is not based on race, but on the soul — the spiritual mission assigned to our people.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived before the Torah was given, and yet we are called Bnei Yisrael — the children of Jacob. This is because they walked with God, and we continue along their path. It was through the merit of the Patriarchs that the Torah was given to us, and it is through the Torah that we preserve their spiritual legacy.

Why Only Israel Are Called “Semites”

Although many nations descend from Shem, in practice the title “Semitic” became associated with us alone, because we are the only nation that faithfully continued the sacred path of our forefathers, without deviating into idolatry or corrupt cultures.

We are “Semites” in the truest sense, because we walk in the path of Shem, who after the Flood established the yeshiva of Shem and Ever, a place of Torah and spiritual study. That path was carried forward by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ultimately by Israel, their descendants.

Other nations, such as Esau’s, turned away from this spiritual heritage. Though biologically descended from Shem, they abandoned his way of life. Therefore, they are not considered “Semites” in the spiritual sense, nor are they heirs to Abraham’s covenant.

At the same time, any non-Jew who chooses to join the Jewish people through conversion becomes fully part of this spiritual legacy, a true child of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — a genuine “Semite.”

The term anti-Semitism stuck historically, even if literally inaccurate, because in reality it refers to enmity, not against all descendants of Shem, but against the one people who remained faithful to Shem’s spiritual mission — the Jewish people.