Anti-semitism (cont'd)

David Baddiel's Harold Nicolson quote ‘Although I loathe anti-Semitism,I do dislike Jews.’ got me thinking. If Jews are a nation like any other, on the same level as Australians for example, why is it less acceptable to express dislike for Jews than it is for a nation such as Australians? I can only think of one other case where a specific word has been invented to define criticism of a nation: 'anti-americanism'. To paraphrase Noam Chomsky, who's ever heard of 'anti-frenchism' or 'anti-italianism'?

I'd like to add that 'jewishness' is indeed a complicated concept, and I say this as someone who assumes his jewish heritage. However, 'contradictions' embodied in judaism shouldn't be used to apply diferent rules to jews than to other religious or ethnic groups.