Letter

In response to Antisemitism and abuse of power

A key point missing in the antisemitism debate

Les Macdonald rightly observes that in the discussion of antisemitism it is not recognised that Palestinians are the true Semites, and that if we use the term then all Semitic peoples should be included.

But astonishingly he fails to observe that Ashkenazi Jews are not semitic but almost uniformly Slavic in origin. This includes most Israeli leaders past and present, who have been from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus.

It also includes Jillian Segal, born in South Africa, from parents of East European origin. In addition, speaking Hebrew does not make someone “Semitic” any more than it can make them ethnically Jewish, as historically Hebrew was only recently revived as the official Jewish and Israeli language.

— David Macilwain from Sandy Creek, NE Victoria