A harsh accusation (thought not always unjustified) is calling someone an “anti-Semite” - which has a connotation of having an irrational hatred for Jews and Judaism, usually by being corrupted by anti-Zionist, anti-Judaism conspiracist filth.
However, many so-called anti-Semites are also pro-Arab. For what it’s worth, many, many Arabs are anti-Semitic. (I have yet to meet an Arab who’s okay with Jews and/or Judaism.) This makes no sense - Arabs are, technically, Semites too.
I propose replacing “anti-Semite,” when referring to anti-Jewish and anti-Judaism hatred, with “anti-Jew” and “anti-Judaism,” whatever may fit.
(I know this will create a flame war - let’s stick to the semantics here.)
You’re right that anti-semite is a misnomer, since it only refers to Jews. But I doubt you’ll be successful in changing it. These kinds of things have a lot of inertia going for them.
So, while everyone agrees that it isn’t semantically correct, words don’t always follow their origins. Usage is what counts, and since the term was coined, it has been used to mean anti-Jewish sentiments.
“Antisemitic” works perfectly well to describe attitudes or actions against jews. No need to replace the word with something else.
Practically speaking, Semitic peoples as a whole have not been similarly targeted. No need to coin a word for that which essentially doesn’t exist.
If you’ve been seduced by the idea of making language consistently follow logical precepts (Esperanto, anyone?), I would suggest you instead take up the endeavor of demolishing the Great Wall of China by beating your head against it. Much greater chance to get desired results.
My friend is an Iraqi Jew by descent. Her parents fled the country in the sixties, because of persecution. Now they are Canadian citizens and are constantly harassed at the border because their passports show Iraq as their birthplace. The fact that they were pretty much chucked out of there - they hate Saddam as much as anyone - is completely irrelevant. And so they all have to put up with both anti-Semetic and anti-Arab prejudice, which is a position I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.