‘The Shiksa Incident’ Debate
Image by istockphoto
‘The Shiksa Incident” might bring to mind a potential title for an upcoming Judd Apatow flick, or a shorthand reference for a run-in with your parents about your dating situation last summer. But in 2009, it was the nickname of an event that served as the impetus behind a study that may lead to a new hate-crime law in Canada protecting, well, non-Jewish women.
According to Canada’s National Post, the Canadian Jewish Congress says that the Toronto Police Service is taking hate-crime legislation “to its most absurd level” by listing “non-Jewish Shiksa” as a victim category in its latest hate-crime study, to be released the week of May 17.
Three problems here. First, it’s hard to imagine a phrase more redundant than “non-Jewish Shiksa.” Second, why is “shiksa” capitalized? While it is, admittedly, an offensive slur for a non-Jewish woman, derived from a Hebrew root meaning “a detested thing,” it is not a proper noun. Last, while some nebbishy guy seeking to escape his Freudian mother issues may fetishize non-Jewish women, is legislation truly required in order to protect them? Is the “Save Our Shiksas” movement close behind?
The 2009 “Shiksa Incident,” occurred in an area of Toronto that includes some of the city’s Jewish neighborhoods. It was obliquely classified as “mischief,” and, sadly, no further details were given. It is unclear whether any charges were filed and, if so, if anyone was successfully prosecuted.
According to the National Post, a letter of complaint to the chairman of the Toronto Police Services Board says that CJC is “frankly mystified,” not just because “shiksa” is “sometimes used as a pejorative” and is therefore “inappropriate” for an official police category, but because hate-crime sentencing provisions were meant to reflect not just simple membership in a group, but also an “unchangeable” or “inescapable” aspect of the victim.
Meaning, perhaps, that the condition addressed is one that can be “escaped” — by taking a few dips in a mikveh? CJC was unavailable for comment.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
