# Jewish anti-semites **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 19, 2001, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029 "2001-07-19T06:58:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ndorward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@ndorward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ndorward)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029/21 "2001-07-19T22:14:25Z")
Jewish anti-semitism/self-hatred is not all that unheard of, I would guess. One instance is Otto Weininger, whose _Sex and Character_ (1903) was a popular antisemitic (& misogynist & homophobic) book of pseudo-philosophy. The author (Jewish and homosexual) took his life at the age of 23 after the book was published. I’ve not read the book, nor do I intend to, but there’s a handy precis in Ray Monk’s biography of Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein was a big fan of the book (despite coming from an assimilated Jewish family). ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029/22 "2001-07-20T01:00:24Z")
Maybe it’s time to change the term to what it really means: anti-Jewish. As long as you keep it “anti-Semite,” people will be able to ask quite logically why it doesn’t include Arabs, Ethiopians, and Eritreans. It’s a relic of a time when Jews were the only Semites that were seen in Europe, and Arabs were away in some far-off country that could be ignored. By now the term as it’s used is outdated and parochial. Either make it inclusive of all Semites or change it to say what you really mean. BTW, in 1992 if there were people against helping Somalia, I thought of calling them “anti-Hamitic” . . . but the moment passed. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029/23 "2001-07-20T02:04:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\*I think if I see Semitic misspelled as “Semetic” one more time I will puke. > > \*\* A _“Semetic”_ (sic) _emetic_? Cool! 😛 OK, now that I’ve got that out of my system… I recall a reading in the past year about a film that was made by a Jewish director about a young Jewish man who either joined the KKK or American Neo Nazis or something like that. It was allegedly based on a true story, but in real life the kid ends up offing himself, if memory serves correctly. Anybody else recall this? ---
**Author:** ![yippeeeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c67d28/32.png) [@yippeeeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yippeeeee)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029/24 "2001-07-20T12:33:26Z")
Roy Cohn was a notable anti-semite Jew, and also interesting to note he persecuted a lot of homosexuals and was one himself! Now there’s a man with issues. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029/25 "2001-07-20T13:31:39Z")
Converted Jews count? I’ve read, maybe a legend, that states that Tomás de Torquemada, the worst judge of the Spanish Inquisition, was a converted Jew. Maybe he wasn’t, but there were probably many such converted Jews that persecuted others; probably because they wanted to prove the Catholic authorities that their conversion was real and not a cover up. > [@](#): > > It’s a relic of a time when Jews were the only Semites that were seen in Europe, and Arabs were away in some far-off country that could be ignored. Not exactly. The Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) was mostly conquered by the Arabs in the middle ages, and they had kingdoms for almost 8 centuries. They finally shared the same fate of the Jews(expulsion) in the 16th or 17th century. Granted, probably after that Jews where the most common semitic group found in Europe. > [@](#): > > It would be a little masochistic to take action against a group as a whole when you’re a member of the group wouldn’t it? Depends on the situation. If it means destroying, killing, denigrating, and belittling said group, I would say it is masochistic. Sadly, it is true and such things happen. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029/26 "2001-07-20T13:57:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yippeeeee \* > \*\*Roy Cohn was a notable anti-semite Jew, \*\* Just curious, but how was Cohn an anti-semite? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029/27 "2001-07-20T18:00:03Z")
Well, among other things, he was highly involved with the McCarthy Hearings (I believe he was the no. 2 man) back when all good, patriotic Americans were expected to be Christian. There were other things, as well, and he was well known for his anti-semitic and homophobic views. Quite a fascinating man, but not in a good way. The movie _Citizen Cohn_ starring James Woods is a pretty interesting account of his life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-anti-semites/73029.md?page=1)