ANTISEMITISM VS. ANTI-SEMITISM: WHY WE DON’T INCLUDE A HYPHEN
What does it mean to be ‘anti-‘ anything? Usually, it seems to signify opposition to something definable, be it physical, conceptual or both. Ordinarily, it is quite self-explanatory. Whether somebody is anti-racism, anti-vaccination or anti-wallpaper, we immediately grasp these ideas because we can conceive of what racism, vaccination and wallpaper are. It also suggests that an inverse exists: someone can be pro-racism (as abhorrent as that is), pro-vaccination or pro-wallpaper.
The term ‘anti-Semitism’, when hyphenated, implies that there is such a thing as ‘Semitism’ around which various viewpoints can pivot. It implies that ‘pro-Semitism’ also holds meaning as a position that can be held. It implies that ‘Semitism’ alone encompasses any number of facets of Jewish life and identity. This is simply not the case.
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