What is antisemitism?
Antisemitism is a form of racism directed at Jews, Judaism, and all things Jewish.
Antisemitism is not a recent phenomenon, and has been described as the “longest hatred”, spanning over 2500 years. It manifests differently in different social and historical contexts. However, the common themes of dehumanisation and demonisation of Jews underpin the hatred of Jews and legitimate social and political action against Jews.
Antisemitism is essentially a deep-seated belief that Jews are outsiders who pose a threat to the fundamental values held by the community in which they reside. Jews are thought to be dangerous, manipulative, exploitative and inferior. In some contexts, Jews are seen as villainous, corrupt and parasitic vermin. In other contexts, Jews are viewed as subhuman and therefore deserving of differential treatment. Curiously, the ideology of antisemitism exists even in places where there are no or few Jews.
The term “antisemitism” was coined by Wilhelm Marr in Germany in 1879, in a pamphlet entitled “The Victory of Judaism Over Germanism”. Marr introduced the term antisemitism as a scientific approach to the subject, and a positive alternative to the more confronting expression, “Jew-hatred”. Antisemitism is not hostility towards “Semites” (ethnic and cultural groups associated by their common language features such as speakers of Arabic, Aramaic, or Hebrew). It is the term used specifically to describe hatred against Jews.
The European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) adopted a working definition of antisemitism, developed by a small number of NGOs, which provides a useful starting point for dealing with antisemitism:
Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
Beyond this, antisemitism is involved when Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity, is singled out from the world’s nations.
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Antisemitism 
