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Observation

April 26, 2017

There’s No Need to Reclaim the Word “Jew”

By Philologos

Contrary to a Times column, the reason people say "he's Jewish" rather than "he's a Jew" has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. It's just a quirk of grammar, and it's not unique to Jews.

Got a question for Philologos? Ask him directly at philologos@mosaicmagazine.com.

“We Jews recoil from calling ourselves Jews,” writes Mark Oppenheimer, the host of the Jewish podcast Unorthodox, in an op-ed entitled “Reclaiming ‘Jew’” in the April 24 New York Times:

In my experience as an editor at a publication focusing on Jewish news and culture . . . I have noticed how many Jewish writers—me included—avoid calling anyone a “Jew.” I frequently edit articles that mention “Jewish politicians” or “Jewish artists” but not “Jews.”

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