Tampa Bay councilman who said ‘we’re getting Jewed’ meets with rabbi
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A Tampa Bay City Council member who used the slur “we’re getting Jewed” to describe a city business deal and then apologized met with a local Jewish leader to learn why it was offensive.
Orlando Gudes was describing the high construction costs for an East Tampa community center to a Tampa Bay Times reporter late last month. He then backed off the use of the term.
“Sometimes people use the word ‘I got Jewed’ meaning by a Jewish person … And I thought, someone could take that the wrong way,” said Gudes, who is African-American. “Let’s not go down that road, OK? I’m not a racist.”
He apologized for the “distraction” at a council meeting the following day, according to the newspaper. He later said his mistake was a teachable moment.
“My goal is now to make sure I educate the community,” he said. “We can get rid of these old terms, these old adages.”
A week ago, Gudes had lunch with Joseph Probasco, president of the board of directors of the Tampa Jewish Community Centers & Federation and Rabbi Joel Simon of Congregation Schaarai Zedek. Probasco wrote about the encounter for The Tampa Bay Times.
“We had a thoughtful dialogue about how anti-Semitic language, and the normalization and ignorance of it, only further institutionalizes anti-Semitism in our society and leads to more egregious acts against our Jewish community,” he wrote. “Our message was clear — words matter. These phrases have no place in our community or our common speech. Councilman Gudes was receptive to our message.”
Probasco pointed out that the community has experienced a rise in nonviolent acts of anti-Semitism such as swastikas painted on local buildings, including a middle school.
The post Tampa Bay councilman who used term ‘we’re getting Jewed’ meets with Jewish leader and rabbi appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
