Yes they are Semitic. But not so 'pure' semitic b/c they did brush against the celts; just the same as the assyrians, lebanese and north africans did.

edit:{and yes, most history books debate whether or not they were solely a semitic ppl or whether they are a nice mix of all the NOMADIC ppls who occupied the area,including the celts. they could have come from the land of snow and ice or maybe they originated in the desert, point is, they are one of those 'unique' races that is extremely hard to trace. there are plenty of jews w/sandy blond hair and blue eyes who trace their roots back to israel}

chicken or the egg thing-kinda sort of.