I'm Jewish. Ask me anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, anybody who says the JAP think is just a misogynist canard has not spent time growing up in the Five Towns.

Woodmere representin'!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks 23:56. I'm 15:11. Greatly appreciated your thoughtful remark. My mother-in-law (deceased) was a "Jewess" but I no longer hear people using the phrase so will avoid it because I'm afraid it will offend.

Similarly, I avoid the phrase previously discussed here "Jew them down" because I think it is derogatory, but some older friends of mine (extremely well-educated, thoughtful people) said they would use the phrase. What's your thought?

Not the OP, but a Jewish lady (raised in NY) here. Jew them down is an offensive thing to say. I would be offended and think a little less of anyone who used that phrase. BTW, my grandpa was extremely well-educated and a thoughtful man, but he referred to any professional woman as a girl. I spent a solid half-decade correcting him. "If she's older than 21, she's a woman." "Grandpa, she's not a girl; she's your doctor - she had more formal education under her belt than you do." It's probably just the generation they grew up in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks 23:56. I'm 15:11. Greatly appreciated your thoughtful remark. My mother-in-law (deceased) was a "Jewess" but I no longer hear people using the phrase so will avoid it because I'm afraid it will offend.

Similarly, I avoid the phrase previously discussed here "Jew them down" because I think it is derogatory, but some older friends of mine (extremely well-educated, thoughtful people) said they would use the phrase. What's your thought?

Not the OP, but a Jewish lady (raised in NY) here. Jew them down is an offensive thing to say. I would be offended and think a little less of anyone who used that phrase. BTW, my grandpa was extremely well-educated and a thoughtful man, but he referred to any professional woman as a girl. I spent a solid half-decade correcting him. "If she's older than 21, she's a woman." "Grandpa, she's not a girl; she's your doctor - she had more formal education under her belt than you do." It's probably just the generation they grew up in.

When I hear someone say Jew them down, I am highly offended. That is an anti Semitic thing to say. If it was someone I knew saying it, I'm not sure that I would ever speak to that person again.

[Anonymous]

Thank you 21:07 and 17:25. Good, I win that bet. I found ("jewing them down to be very offensive") but was told by this couple - about a decade or two older in age than I - that they would use it. Good to know. I also dated a Jewish man and he used the phrase, but then he was referring to himself.

And do you have any thoughts on my earlier question about calling someone a "Jewess"? Antiquated or offensive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And do you have any thoughts on my earlier question about calling someone a "Jewess"? Antiquated or offensive?

Bit of both. Kind of the same place as negro or even negress

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I used to make Xmas cookies and I would bring some to the office. I made stars and trees usually. The star cookie cutter I had was a 6 pointed star. I liked it b/c it was a little different than the usual 5 point star. Anyway, I sprinkled the trees with green sprinkles and the stars with yellow sprinkles b/c stars have yellow light -- right?. My closest friends at the office were all Jewish. I never thought that the yellow sprinkles on the 6 point stars might have a negative connection to the Holocaust, but I think someone (might not have been someone at work) told me that it was a bad idea and offensive.

Would you be offended by Christmas cookies that are 6 point stars with yellow sprinkles on white frosting? Am I so clueless that I'm anti-semetic by accident?

Oh boy! Yes, it would be weird to find yellow six point star cookies that someone had baked for an office party. But you have me cracking up.

It wasn't for an office party, I just made cookies to bring to the office to set out in the front area. As I think back on it, I think I also had red-sprinkled bell-shaped cookies along with the green trees and yellow stars. FWIW.

Didn't the Nazi make all Jews were yellow 6 pointed (king David) stars so they would know who was Jewish? I think that's where the offense might be coming from.

[Anonymous]

Why is there a stereo type thatjews are stingy? How did that come about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is there a stereo type that jews are stingy? How did that come about?

I think it comes from the fact that in the middle ages Jews were not allowed to own land and Christians were not supposed to charge interest, so Jews became money lenders. Or maybe it's Jack Benny's fault (anybody remember him?)

By the way, back on that Jewess question, I agree that it is similar to Negress, but Negro seems to me to be totally different, more like Jew. It was the proper term when I was a kid, so maybe that's why I see no problem with it other than it being out of fashion. But then I'm not AA, so perhaps I'm off-base on that.

Another BTW: I'm a non-believing Jew, so should I not say I'm Jewish? Perhaps I'm Jew-ish? Or Jewish-ish?

One last thought: I cringe at "Jew him down", but I think someone who uses that old phrase out of unthinking habit is no more an anti-semite than I am a believer because I automatically say "God bless you" when I hear a sneeze or "God knows" when confronted with a difficult question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you eat pork and or shellfish?

I've never eaten a pork product. I have tried lobster (don't like it).

Bacon is G-d's gift to the planet Earth. Lobster is delish but, the whole bottom feeder thing is pretty gross when you think about it so, I don't think about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, anybody who says the JAP think is just a misogynist canard has not spent time growing up in the Five Towns.

Woodmere representin'!

AE Phi in the HOUSE.

[Anonymous]

how likely are jewish men to date black women?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is there a stereo type that jews are stingy? How did that come about?

I think it comes from the fact that in the middle ages Jews were not allowed to own land and Christians were not supposed to charge interest, so Jews became money lenders. Or maybe it's Jack Benny's fault (anybody remember him?)

By the way, back on that Jewess question, I agree that it is similar to Negress, but Negro seems to me to be totally different, more like Jew. It was the proper term when I was a kid, so maybe that's why I see no problem with it other than it being out of fashion. But then I'm not AA, so perhaps I'm off-base on that.

Another BTW: I'm a non-believing Jew, so should I not say I'm Jewish? Perhaps I'm Jew-ish? Or Jewish-ish?

One last thought: I cringe at "Jew him down", but I think someone who uses that old phrase out of unthinking habit is no more an anti-semite than I am a believer because I automatically say "God bless you" when I hear a sneeze or "God knows" when confronted with a difficult question.

r
I have also heard about this not allowed to own land in the middle ages.
What country specifically are you talking about? and what year?
I ask because I really am curious about it.
Who are the 'Christians' in this context who were not supposed to charge interest?

Would you agree that the word 'goy' and 'shiksa' are derogatory?

[Anonymous]

Not OP and can't speak to specifics of money lending. Goy and shiksa are derogatory terms. Yes.

[takoma]

Anonymous wrote:I have also heard about this not allowed to own land in the middle ages.
What country specifically are you talking about? and what year?
I ask because I really am curious about it.
Who are the 'Christians' in this context who were not supposed to charge interest?

Would you agree that the word 'goy' and 'shiksa' are derogatory?

I did not have any specific knowledge, but this paragraph from the Wikipedia article on Usury expresses the general impression I had:
"The term may be used in a moral sense — condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes — or in a legal sense where interest rates may be regulated by law. Historically, some cultures (e.g. Christianity in much of Medieval Europe, Islam in many parts of the world today) have regarded charging any interest for loans as sinful and most still do today."

Since we're talking medieval, I guess "Christianity" means the Catholic Church.

As a kid (many decades ago) I heard my parents use "goy" and "shiksa", and my impression is that it usually just meant non-Jew. But sometimes it had a hostile tinge to it, if that non-Jew was doing something negative. DW still sometimes refers to some foods as "goyish"; no value judgments, just stuff she she remembers from non-Jewish friends' houses rather than her own -- sometimes stuff she really likes. For me, the terms do not come naturally, and I would feel it was an affectation for me to use them.

[Anonymous]

takoma wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have also heard about this not allowed to own land in the middle ages.
What country specifically are you talking about? and what year?
I ask because I really am curious about it.
Who are the 'Christians' in this context who were not supposed to charge interest?

Would you agree that the word 'goy' and 'shiksa' are derogatory?

I did not have any specific knowledge, but this paragraph from the Wikipedia article on Usury expresses the general impression I had:
"The term may be used in a moral sense — condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes — or in a legal sense where interest rates may be regulated by law. Historically, some cultures (e.g. Christianity in much of Medieval Europe, Islam in many parts of the world today) have regarded charging any interest for loans as sinful and most still do today."

Since we're talking medieval, I guess "Christianity" means the Catholic Church.

As a kid (many decades ago) I heard my parents use "goy" and "shiksa", and my impression is that it usually just meant non-Jew. But sometimes it had a hostile tinge to it, if that non-Jew was doing something negative. DW still sometimes refers to some foods as "goyish"; no value judgments, just stuff she she remembers from non-Jewish friends' houses rather than her own -- sometimes stuff she really likes. For me, the terms do not come naturally, and I would feel it was an affectation for me to use them.

Wikipedia is not exactly an encyclopedia without errors.
'Medieval Europe' can mean several countries in several different centuries. Some sections were ruled more strictly by the church than others, some were not at all. Some places had a mix of different ethnic groups and they were not all treated equal. No central power except what some interpret as the power of the catholic church, except other parts were under islam and others by the orthodox church. Others coexisted with the existing paganism

So this is something I would really like to know more about. I know it could not be Spain as that was muslim. Italy is not really 'medieval europe', so I assume you are talking about the Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Poland etc?
Poland did not have jews in 'medieval' times.