More than semantics
"Make no mistake, the word antisemitism has ever and always only referred to the ancient and illogical hatred of the Jewish people."
The NSW Parliament Hansard department – which officially records parliamentary proceedings – has adopted the official spelling of the word “antisemitism” over “anti-Semitism”.
The change, which brings the NSW Parliament into line with growing international practice, was communicated last week by the Editor of Hansard, Vanessa Schlenert.
It was made after representations from NSW Labor frontbencher, Walt Secord, who is deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel and NSW Patron of the Labor Israel Action Committee.
“Unfortunately, we are entering an era in which groups are trying to appropriate the word or obfuscate its meaning. Make no mistake, the word antisemitism has ever and always only referred to the ancient and illogical hatred of the Jewish people,” Secord said.
“Antisemitism is not directed at Semitic languages or Semitic people as a whole. It is directed solely at Jews.”
He recalled The AJN adopting the spelling while working as a journalist for this publication from 1988 to 1991.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president Lesli Berger welcomed the change.
“It is important people understand what antisemitism is,” he said.
“While this is a symbolic change, it is part of what is an urgent need to educate the general population about antisemitism.
“Our job now is to continue to educate and inform political and civil society leaders and the general population about the evils of antisemitism.”
Former JBOD CEO and AJN editor Vic Alhadeff said, “This is not about semantics and it’s not about grammar.
“Deleting the hyphen in ‘antisemitism’ makes the important point that the word does not denote hatred of Semites – which would include others outside the Jewish community – but hatred of Jews. And only Jews.
“It’s a distinction which is vital to understanding the true nature of the issue – and one which we identified during my tenure on The AJN 30 years ago – and full credit to Mr Secord for driving this change in Hansard.”
Over the last two decades, a number of international organisations have officially adopted the spelling – including the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the Associated Press and the US Holocaust Memorial and Museum.
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