Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

210 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF ANTISEMITISM [ VOL. 1:209
Jude” [The Jew] was demonized, 5 and after 1945, when open antisemitism
was banned in the public discourse, Jude was used in a pejorative way in
Germany in colloquial language (Benz 2008).
The usage of the terms for “Jew” as a slur against Jews and particularly
against non-Jews has reappeared today. There is mounting evidence
that these words are widely used as slang words in French and German, 6 as
well as in other languages such as Dutch (European Commission against
Racism and Intolerance 2008, 27). In Britain, the issue was discussed by
The Independent in 1999 (Margolis 1999), but such usage appears to be less
frequent in Britain today. 7
In France, three studies have dealt with the phenomenon. Didier
Lapeyronnie analyzed antisemitic language, largely as used by youths with
migrant backgrounds, by drawing on interviews and observations in conversations
and gatherings in a number of districts in the regions Ile de France,
Angoulême, and Bordeaux in 2003-2005 (Lapeyronnie 2005). Even though
the main focus of the study was on social life in working-class neighborhoods
and not on antisemitism, Lapeyronnie observed explicit antisemitic
vocabulary in everyday language, particularly with the use of the term
“feuj,” the translation for “Jew” or “Jewish” in the French slang verlan:
“The term “feuj” is in itself an insult or at least a pejorative attribute”
(Lapeyronnie 2005, 9, translation from French by the author). Lapeyronnie
found that “feuj” as an adjective [Jewish] is often used as a negative term
with the meaning of weak, broken, or bad. Antisemitism is inscribed in the
language of the group; thus, he argues, the words become responsible in a
sense and not the one who uses them. The individual can avoid this form of
antisemitism only by silencing him or herself or by protesting against it. In
both ways the individual puts him or herself out of the group. Protesting
even validates and highlights the antisemitic notion. Therefore, witnesses
such as teachers, youth workers, and, even more, Jewish victims, are
trapped between scandalizing and thereby acknowledging the antisemitic
meaning at a high emotional price and with consequences for the present
and future collaborations, or ignoring it. The blunt antisemitic language is
also an invitation for antisemitism: Those who do not react become confed-
5. The demonization of Jews by the National Socialists also is shown in the
language (Schmitz-Berning 1998).
6. Reports and studies on the issue from France and Germany are discussed
below.
7. Our interviews in London, which were similar to those in Paris and Berlin,
indicate that this usage of the word “Jew” in Britain is not as common as in France
and Germany among youths. Stenström et al. (2002) did research on common
insults among youths in London and did not report of the use of “Jew” as an insult.