Part 2, Chapter 11 Summary

Chapter 11, entitled "Mirrors of Semitism," opens with a history of the innocuous linguistic/anthropological term "Semite," coined in 1781, and later turned into a vitriolic political weapon. Shipler recalls a witty Palestinian who claimed that he was a victim of anti-Semitism when targeted by anti-Arab bigotry. After all, Arabs and Jews are both Semites.

Shipler maintains that "conventional" anti-Semitism is a minor undertone in Arab rhetoric against Jews, confined for the most part to professional propagandists. The average Arab sticks with the stereotypes already depicted in this book. He reviews the history of an infamous publication, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and discusses its use by Egyptian President Nasser and in Jordanian textbooks. Another import from the West is the blood libel, which holds that Jews mix the blood of innocent Christian children into the dough for the Passover matzo...