Is the Word “Jew” a Slur?

Question

Recently my husband was given a write up at work for using the word Jew to help pronounce a word. His boss was enraged and said that he shouldn’t be using that word and gave him a written warning that stated if he used the word again he would be in a lot of trouble. She said the word was very offensive and shouldn’t be used in the work place. I am not Jewish so I honestly had no idea how this word could be in any way a slur. I was hoping that someone here would be able to tell me what his boss meant by the word being offensive sense she herself is also not Jewish and failed to give an explanation to it. I also can’t really find anything online on the topic either. I’m not looking to get into any arguments or offend anyone just to better understand.

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Is the Word Jew a Slur? It’s an interesting question because I do not think it has any real answer to it. Why is that? Because everything depends on the way the word Jew is being used. If the use of the word Jew is completely innocuous, I do not think that it can be defined as a slur. If it is being used to rhyme or match a derogatory word, for example, then it is certainly a slur.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team