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To: thames_sider who wrote (12432)	5/8/2002 8:49:02 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21057

But the conflation of the two terms by the hawkish right has here done you a big disfavour. IMO, conflation is at the root of a lot of conflict and confusion. I've always thought it important to differentiate among the various threads of an issue. My understanding of anti-Semitism is much like yours. It's a prejudice against a religious/ethnic/cultural group. My father has an anti-Semitic streak. He lives in an elder community where there are many Jews. He sometimes goes off on rants about how "they" are always first in line for freebies and take more than their share so there's nothing left for anyone else and that sort of thing. I've been on his case about it for years. We've reached the point where I only have to roll my eyes or say "now, now" and he stops in mid sentence and looks sheepish. Dad has Jewish friends and doesn't look upon them individually any differently than his other friends and he would be aghast at any prospect of vandalism or violence. But he has that prejudiced attitude about the group that I would call anti-Semitism. I guess it comes from growing up in the New York area melting pot early in the last century. I think that anti-Semitism in the US is much less than it used to be, almost gone. Other than my father, I don't personally know any anti-Semites and the only place I see it showing up publicly is with Farrakhan and his ilk. Likewise, I don't know a soul who questions Israel's right to exist. OTOH, just about everyone I know would question a divine right to any piece of real estate. I see anti-Semite, anti-Israel, and anti-Zionist as different attitudes, although anti-Semitism may be the basis for the other two in some people. There are lots of different opinions on how Israel might best assure its security. That variation may be based on all sorts of considerations, including anti-Semitism. I don't think that lumping three different notions together under an anti-Semitism umbrella is helpful.