Both Arabs and Jews were recast as Semites for Western-mediated representation

Evidence

Lest we jump immediately to the simple conclusion that the Arabs were believed incapable of representing themselves, we would do well to remember that both Arabs and Jews in this instance were Semites (in the broad cultural designation I have been discussing) and that both were being made to be represented for a Western audience. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 743

Categorization

• XREF: The conflation of Arab and Jew under ‘Semite’ is a point the Islamophobia readings can build on—how categories lump distinct peoples for the purposes of Western representation.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 743