"Hatred, discrimination or abuse of Jews BECAUSE they are Jews."

Yes, that is exactly what "antisemitism" has come to mean in the present social context, even though it's a rather odd term, given that a lot of Semites are not Jews and some Jews are not Semites. Anyway, that's what it has come to mean in common usage.

It should be obvious to any rational person that hating people merely because of who they are is a pointless, destructive, and foolish thing to do. I guess that indicates that many people are just not all that rational. :-) Children would not even think to hate other people on such a basis, did not parents and society around them plant the notion steadily into their minds while they were young and impressionable. By the time they "grow up" the learned pattern of prejudice has usually been set as if in stone.

I think that similar patterns of anti-Muslim prejudice are now being foisted on many children as well (as has happened before, historically). (This, ironically, could also be called "antisemitism", because many Muslims ARE semites.)

Just depends on which chidren one is talking about, doesn't it? The basic problem is the same on both sides of the fence when it comes to this dispute.