By Julia Reeves Santa Monica
(Santa Monica Daily Press) makes a reference to the term “gentile” when speaking about non-Jews’ inability to pronounce the word “Chanukah” (“Name game: Hanukkah or Chanukah?,” Dec. 15, page 1). I find the word “gentile” disparaging, and in the same category as “infidel,” the word used by Muslims to describe non-Muslims. It is not only disparaging, it is polarizing. It has a distinct taste of superiority and denigration.
Further (Rabbi Jeff Marx of Santa Monica Synagogue) states that “English speakers don’t know how to pronounce Hebrew!” Right, and why should English speakers know how to pronounce Hebrew? “It is a holiday about not assimilating into the host culture,” said the rabbi. That is more polarization. Happy Festival of Lights!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 18, 2006. Read the original PDF.