Don't worry about the mistake, Volgadon. Many people read what they believe into a message rather than what is actualy there or what is intended. That's what this thread is about :D

So, anti-semitic was first coined by an Austrian-Jewish scholar in the 1860s was it? I have no reason to doubt that he did use it in the context you suggest but I seriously doubt that the phrase had not been used earlier. The Etymology of the word appears to be Late Latin / Greek / Hebrew so, when the Romans took over the area they were oppressing not only the Jews but also the Gentiles who lived there. The invaders took the land regardless of creed so they were not being particularly anti-Jewish but they were indeed anti-Semitic in the true sense of the word. I would have thought that the Phoenicians, for instance, who were non Jewish semites would have complained severely about the anti-semitism of the Roman government!

However, as I can offer no proof of this I must accept that your Austrian scholar did indeed invent the phrase. Now we come to another point. If he did, who is to say he was right? Was everything that scholars said in the 1860s correct? Did he realise that by hijacking the phrase 'semite' he corrupted the description of a whole peoples of Asia. How dare he! It's as bad as hijacking the word 'gay' and giving that a whole new meaning.

I fully understand that most people believe the term means anti-Jewish. But again it is not necessarily true that most people are right. You carry on using the term anti-semitic and I will stick to anti-Jewish if you don't mind. And if I believe my fusilier is a happy chap I will also continue to call him gay...:-)

Cheers

Dave