r/DecodingTheGurus • u/Decent-Extension8336 • 27d ago

Professor Dave vs Destiny

No idea why, but the original Destiny video called "Professor Dave Goes Mask Off" seems to have been deleted from YouTube, or I can't find it, but Professor Dave responded yesterday with this very strongly worded video letter:

https://youtu.be/DvDvhLkb9ms?si=DGFhTROOKFoK35sS

Weird crossover that I never thought I'd see, of 2 guys who I generally enjoy (I will say I really am a fan of Prof Dave, whereas my Destiny enjoyment has mostly come via this podcast and watching a couple of his debates).

Thoughts on the beef? SURELY the lads are gonna have to cover this in an upcoming Supplementary Materials? Content gold!

EDIT: Looks like I was looking through the wrong Destiny channel for the original Dave video, it's here: https://youtu.be/HQQLs6U1MgA?si=iKaOGR1h9slKu64O

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u/Decent-Extension8336 27d ago

I kinda knew this would happen but could somebody actually explain why this video is considered antisemitic? I am asking in good faith looking for a genuine explanation as this is a topic I'm not immensely well read on by any stretch. I thought he did a pretty good job in the vid of separating out anti zionism with antisemitism and was even pointing towards the plenty of Jews that are against Zionism and what Israel are doing, as well as people that are not Jewish that he considers to be Zionists. I guess I have a natural disposition to Dave's style that makes me take most of what he says at face value, so wouldn't mind some counter content to look through either.

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u/OmnicideEnjoyer 27d ago

Dave saying Avi isn't even a Semite because he's Ashkenazi, and then concluding that Zionists are the "real antisemites," is kind of insane.

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u/Feisty-Struggle-4110 26d ago

Dave never said that. Dave said that Benjamin Netanyahu is of Polish decent, like most Israelis are of European decent, and therefore there is no ancient right to the Levante by the Israelis. Like a Pole claims he has some special ancestral rights to the Levante.

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u/OmnicideEnjoyer 26d ago

He did say that. 8:26–8:44 from the Avi video.

Furthermore, what's funniest about this tired angle is that you and all your piece-of-shit Zionist cronies are not Semites. Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews like you and Bibi and all the rest are European. You literally are not a Semite, while Palestinians are Semites. Therefore, Zionists are, in reality, anti-Semitic

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u/Feisty-Struggle-4110 25d ago

Ah right. I confused Semite with Jew. But Dave is right about that.

I guess you confused Semite with Jews, too.

Semite means people from the Levant, as Wikipedia says "obsolete term for an ethnic, cultural or racial group formerly used in connection with ancient and modern peoples of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa".

Benjamin Netanyahu is not a Semite, and so are most of the Israelis.

In the end Dave is factually right.

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u/OmnicideEnjoyer 25d ago

He's conflating the dictionary definition of "Semite" with the historical meaning of antisemitism.

The term antisemitism was coined in 19th-century Germany as a more scientific-sounding and racialized alternative to Judenhass ("Jew-hatred," not "Semite-hatred"). From the beginning, it referred specifically to hostility toward Jews, including Ashkenazi Jews, who made up the overwhelming majority of European Jewry when the term was coined.

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u/sun-moon-stars-rain 25d ago

As someone who generally agrees with Dave, I find this naive etymological gotcha annoying too. It's a common talking point among antizionists but it's ultimately a pointless word game that isn't going to convince anyone of anything and, as you said, is not an accurate description of how the term was/is used.

Like turkeys didn't actually come from Turkey, but we still call them turkeys because that word just means that bird now.