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There was a thread here regarding if they considered Ashkenazi Jews to be Semites. Many said no since their native tongue is Yiddish and they're mixed with Europeans whereas others said that yes since they're of Jewish/Semitic origin. So similar case here. The Maltese speak a Semitic language, but are of Sicilian origin. Personally, I don't see the Maltese as Semites since their recent origin is non-Semitic (Sicilian) and I also don't think they self-identify as Semitic. I don't know how much Semitic admixture they have, but it's about the same as Sicilians if it exists in any significant quantity so it wouldn't affect my opinion on whether I view them as Semitic or not. However, if the Maltese were to self-identity as Semitic, I wouldn't think they were crazy to do so.
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