Antisemitism is a plague on the earth, and this article will explain why, but we must first precisely define “Semite” to identify what “antisemitism” actually is. “Jew-hatred” is probably the most commonly accepted shorthand version, invoking a tragic and ugly historical reality in the western world. But the deeper meaning of “antisemitism” is profoundly spiritual and actually indicts many Torah-faithless Jews who unrighteously wield the term as weapon. Their power to smear others with the antisemite brush suppresses scrutiny and criticism of their beliefs and acts that defy God and defile His Creation. Their blatant abuse of that power is itself a form of antisemitism in that it breeds resentment and hostility in the society that all Jews must then suffer.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), for example, is a predominantly Jewish organization. At its founding in 1971, it’s target was hate groups like Nazis and the KKK, both strongly antisemitic by anyone’s definition. Understandably, it’s donor base is reportedly largely Jewish also. Like many Christians, I supported the SPLC goals in those days, perceiving that my Jewish spiritual cousins were acting upon shared Biblical values. Later, however, when the SPLC began to define opposition to homosexuality as hate, Bible believing Christians and Torah-believing Jews were equated with Nazis, and my ministry was libeled as a hate group, as was the group “Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality” (JONAH) which the SPLC successfully sued and shut down in liberal New Jersey.
Public awareness of its malign transformation grew slowly, but today the name SPLC is widely associated with the militant defense of homosexual sodomy and the rejection of God and sexual normalcy. The Christian majority, whose prior sympathy for the SPLC helped it amass its now legendary financial war-chest, is shocked that those resources are now being used to persecute those most faithful to the Torah truths that once defined us as co-stewards of America’s Judeo-Christian cultural consensus.
This brings us to the true definition of “antisemite.” Like so many terms of the God-hating left, it is actually a euphemism as they use it. They obscure the meaning to give it the broadest possible effect as a tool of social manipulation while providing the least possible clarification of its limits and underlying logic.
Technically, a Semite (or Shemite) is any genetic descendant of Shem, first born son of Noah, so a literal, etymological meaning for antisemitism is a non-starter. A sizable percentage of genetic Semites in the world today are, unfortunately, Jew-hating Moslems.
Antisemitism might feasibly be reduced to “hatred of the descendants of the 12 Tribes of Israel,” but that lends too much weight to genetics. There are a great many Jews not of Jacob’s bloodline.
No, to be precise, “Semite” is a religious designation, delineating the followers of Jehovah God (Yahweh) who descend from Jacob/Israel, or were incorporated into Yahweh worship by conversion, and who received God’s promises as passed down, via Isaac, from Abraham, the first person named in the Torah as a Hebrew. Importantly, referencing Genesis 14, Shem is identified by ancient rabbis in the Talmud as Melchizedek, whom the New Testament affirms was “King of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings” who had kidnaped Abraham’s nephew Lot (Hebrews 7:1). A school of Christian theological opinion based partly on the Talmud holds that the priestly Order of Melchizedek began with Adam’s son Seth and continued generation by generation to Shem and onward to Christ (Hebrews 6:20).
As a pastor, I teach what I call Whole Bible Christianity, in which understanding the New Testament requires a thorough understanding of the Old Testament, and a Hebrew rather than a Greek cultural perspective of both. I hold the Bible as literally true, which means I absolutely reject man-created doctrines in which the Christian church is deemed to have replaced Israel in Biblical interpretation (“replacement theology”). With Paul, I warn Christian believers against that falsehood: “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be!…if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you” (Romans 11:1-18).
By my analysis, a “Semite” cannot therefore be defined by DNA, but only by loyalty to God, and must include both Jews and Christians who are faithful to the principles of His Torah, while excluding those who aren’t. (This is not to say that there aren’t plenty of Jew-haters in this world who don’t care one bit about the spiritual reality — but it should be important to Christians and Jews).
“Replacement theology” has produced terrible consequences over the centuries: many utterly indefensible, often horrific persecutions of Jews stain the history of the Christian west. These understandably created among the Jews a deep-seated culture of self-protection that manifests in a variety of ways today, including the pursuit of top-down social and political controls through such key systems as central banks and mass media. It has also sometimes manifested in the US as sabotage of Christian culture through short-sighted cultural maneuvers, such as working to convert Jefferson’s “separation of church and state” metaphor into constitutional law, subverting the constitution itself. The public is not blind to these things, though many fear to discuss, which breeds wild-eyed conspiracy theories and further antisemitism.
Worst and most destructive of all is the overt promotion of sexual perversion, the insane ultimate outworking of the fear-driven impulse to secularize society that, for example, the SPLC’s fundraising so skillfully exploits. Inexcusably, and inexplicably, that has become a defining cultural goal of many American Jews (and leftist Christians) in media, academia, government and the business world.
My recent DNA profile tells me I’m an ethnic Semite, with a high genetic correlation to Sephardic Jews and a lesser connection to Ashkenazi Jews. My theology tells me I’m a spiritual Semite through Christ. I’ve always had a high affinity for righteous Jews, quite a number of whom I’ve considered among my best friends and allies over the years. The prolific Rabbi Samuel Dresner, from whom I learned so much, hired me to rework his manuscript The Case Against Homosexuality: A Jewish View for publication. I dedicated my own book The Poisoned Stream, to the indomitable Jewish cultural crusader Dr. Howard Hurwitz of New York City. My most famous work, The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, was co-authored by my great long-term Orthodox Jewish friend Kevin E. Abrams. And I’ve had a long working relationship with the stalwart rabbis of Torah Jews for Decency.
Relying on all of this for my authority (if the plain truth is not enough), I issue a challenge to the American Jewish community to stop ignoring the antisemitism coming from your own people. Stop funding the SPLC hate group. Stop using your enormous power and resources to undermine Biblical values. Start recognizing the extent to which your rejection of your own Torah’s guidance needlessly fosters resentment and hostility toward you.
You have greatly influenced the rise of secularism and its consequences. I invite you to help undo that damage through the mutual reestablishment of our Judeo-Christian moral heritage.
