# "Jewfish Creek" = anti-Semitic? "Jew" not used as noun is derogatory? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 25, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727 "2002-11-25T18:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/1 "2002-11-25T18:33:20Z")
[http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-1125jewfish,0,585599.story?coll=sfla-news-sfla](http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-1125jewfish,0,585599.story?coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dsfla) > [@](#): > > Last year, a Georgia scientist successfully lobbied that the official name of Florida’s largest grouper species be changed from jewfish, which he found offensive, to goliath grouper. > > Now, another man is seeking that the name of the narrow Key Largo channel known as Jewfish Creek also be amended. > > Arnold G. Konheim of Washington, D.C. has petitioned the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to change the name. > > "The word Jew in any form other than a noun is derogatory,’’ Konheim wrote I never heard before that using the word “Jew” as anything other than a noun is derogatory. I can see that when used as an adjective, “Jewish” would probably be more correct, but how is “Jew” derogatory? ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/2 "2002-11-25T19:08:53Z")
This reminds me of a case a few years ago when the PETA folks wanted Staten Island residents to change the name of fishkill. IOW, it’s a bunch of hooey about nothing. So there’s a fish called the “Jewfish.” Big deal. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/3 "2002-11-25T19:15:38Z")
There’s a fish here called “Sultan Ibrahim.” It always makes me laugh to see the Sultan’s flesh on special offer at the fish counter… …and I would be quite flattered to have a fish named after me, **istarafish**. Not as picturesque as a star or a rose, but pretty damn cool nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/4 "2002-11-25T19:21:17Z")
The fishkill thing is stupid, because “kill” is just another term for a river or a stream. But I’d want to know _why_ the Jewfish is called a Jewfish, and how recent the coinage is. It makes a difference. Trying to say it’s much ado about nothing is kind of a catch 22… if it’s a not a big deal, why does anyone care about it being changed? If it is a big deal, why is it unreasonable that it would bother people? -fh ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/5 "2002-11-25T19:27:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hazel-rah \* > \*\* But I’d want to know _why_ the Jewfish is called a Jewfish, and how recent the coinage is. It makes a difference. > \*\* It may be that there was a sinister origin to the name. But you know what? 99.99% of the population doesn’t know it. As such, it really isn’t a big deal. So it’s called the Jew fish. What’s next? St. Peter’s fish is Catholic bashing? Will Jeanau, Alaska be next on the hit list? 🙂 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/6 "2002-11-25T19:34:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > \*\* Will Jeanau, Alaska be next on the hit list? 🙂 \*\* Well, it is pronounced “Jew-no”. Damned anti-semites… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/7 "2002-11-25T19:46:38Z")
And how about the planet Jupiter? That’s obviously anti-semitic too. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/8 "2002-11-25T19:55:51Z")
I’d better stock up on Jujubes! Some debate, hey? ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/9 "2002-11-25T19:58:39Z")
Can’t forget about the Juniper trees. You know, the trees that nip Jews. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/10 "2002-11-25T20:13:46Z")
In case you were wondering, here’s [the jewfish itself](http://www.floridasaltwater.com/fl/gamefish/Jewfish.htm). An actual photo can be found [here](http://www2.sptimes.com/aquarium/FA.2.4.4.html). Merriam-Webster says the name dates to 1679, but nothing specific on how the fish acquired the name. I go diving off Key Largo pretty much every year, and I know both the “creek” (it’s really a channel) and the fish. A big jewfish is really, really impressive. They’re also fat, slow-moving targets for spearfishers, so they were decimated for decades until Florida banned their fishing. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/11 "2002-11-25T20:17:18Z")
“Jewfish” was first recorded in 1697. However, the reference indicates that the term was in common parlance before then. –OED The author of the quote indicates that he thought it was thus yclept because since it has fins and scales, it is kosher–therefore an acceptable “Jew fish.” Personally, I think it was coined as an anti-Semitic dig. Let’s face it. Did you ever take a look at one? They look just like Edward G. Robinson (born Emmanuel Goldenberg). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/12 "2002-11-25T20:26:37Z")
Not just Edward G., either. As someone has said, they do have a resemblance to some other actors, too: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=86035&highlight=jewfish](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=86035&highlight=jewfish) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/13 "2002-11-25T20:27:16Z")
You dirty rat! (Hey, somebody was going to say it…) ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/14 "2002-11-25T20:34:39Z")
One fish, two fish Red fish, Jew fish. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/15 "2002-11-25T21:14:36Z")
I don’t care much about jewfish and their place in fish hierarchy. But how about the plant(s) known as wandering jew - a common name based on an anti-Semitic legend? I wouldn’t mind seeing that name dumped. As far as I know, “kill” is a Dutch name for stream - which is why Staten Island has waterways known as the Kill van Kull, the Arthur Kill (which once caught on fire) and the wondrously named Fresh Kills, famous landfill. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/16 "2002-11-25T21:26:27Z")
Hmmmm, that’s funny, it doesn’t\* look\* Jewish . . . ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/17 "2002-11-25T21:40:09Z")
> [@](#): > > You dirty rat! Yeah wise guy, but that’s not Edward G. Robinson, see? It’s Jimmy Cagney. Yeah, Cagney, See? Yeah! ---
**Author:** ![ScoobyTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@ScoobyTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScoobyTX)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewfish-creek-anti-semitic-jew-not-used-as-noun-is-derogatory/138727/18 "2002-11-26T04:17:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zev\_steinhardt \* > **It may be that there was a _sinister_ origin to the name.** Hey, let’s leave the left-handed out of this! 😃