Toronto, Canada – The Canadian Jewish Congress says the Toronto Police Service is pushing anti-hate law “to its most absurd level” by listing “non-Jewish Shiksa” as a victim category in its latest hate crime study.
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The statistical report reveals that officers investigated hate crimes in Toronto last year against such unusual victim groups as teachers, feminists, infidels, police, Nazis and pedophiles.
But it is the redundantly named category of “non-Jewish Shiksa” — a slur for a non-Jewish woman, from a Hebrew root meaning “a detested thing” — that has especially baffled the CJC, a prominent advocate for stronger hate crime laws.
“You just can’t apply it to literally everything,” said CEO Bernie Farber.
The report, not yet released on the TPS website, shows an increase in “hate/bias occurrences” over the year before, from 153 to 174, with 23 charges laid.
Jewish, black, and LGBT were the top victim categories, but Tamils also registered, with six occurrences. By far the most common crime was mischief, usually graffiti, followed by assault and threatening.
The 2009 shiksa incident, classified as “mischief,” happened in 53 Division, a central uptown area colloquially known among police as “Sleepy Hollow” because it includes the city’s most pleasant residential communities, including some of the Jewish neighborhoods around Bathurst and Lawrence.
It is not known whether a charge was laid, or a prosecution successful.
A letter of complaint to Alok Mukherjee, chairman of the Toronto Police Services Board, says the 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 an “unchangeable” or “inescapable” aspect of the victim.
The Criminal Code allows for sentences to be increased if there is “evidence that the offense was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, color, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor.”
It is those last five words that give rise to the category controversy.
“While it is recognized that every individual has multiple aspects to their identity, more than one of which could be cause for an offender to target them, it is the practice of the [Toronto Police Service Hate Crime] Unit to classify a hate/ bias occurrence based on the best known information that exists relevant to the offender’s perception of the victim,” the report reads.
Whether they consider “shiktza” immoral, makes no differance.
Any Ball Yiras Shomaiyim who knows that HKB”H is the Bashefer of every Human and Child, and He sustains their life every moment with so much care, will refrain from having his children use such a degrading word as ‘Shiksa’ or ‘Shegetz’.
A good way to start would be, When we end our Droshos with the sentance “Let this summer be filled with health and happiness for ‘Klal Yisroel’,”, we should instead say “for all of Humanity”. That way we will show HKB”H and show our children that we truly care about all Briot of HKB”H in His Tzelem Elokim.
Then we can hope that Hashem will never again instill the Non Yidden, with hatred towards us.
I happen to be involved with the above case, and it’s being pusht by a teen who nebech went off the derech, against an erliche naighbor, who told him to drop his non Jewish girl friend couse she is a shikseh. It was the police who practily has forcet this helples neshomoh into presing hate crime charges, the case is in front of the courts curently. The problom with the candien police force is that they are canadien and buy every lukshen some shoteh feeds them.
Pedophiles as a victim group? What, the children forced them to do it? NO.
Dear Chayim but I think you just misst the concept of the last few days and the upcoming few days, ever heard of yom hmeyuchus. Yes every person is created betzlem elokim, but we have what’s calld a nefesh while they only have a neshemah, I know it’s harsh but from one Jew to another judiesem is racist and the Torah excpects us to be proud of it, of course with sechel and not houghty, but yes we are yidden and there is a difference
To # 1 you are well intentioned.
Yet you are wrong. Very wrong.
As an am hanivchar we are a light unto the nations.
Yet the creator who chose us to be this beacon to the world,has also given us guidelines to live by.
He told us what food can come into our mouth and which can’t. The reason being it is unfit not holy impure repulsive….
The point is when its not for us we must have inherent repulsion for it.
Not to degrade or disrespect. But to know that callously saying or thinking it aint for me,isn’t strong enough.
You need to be passionate about it. Hence beautiful non jews earn the term shiksa so we remind ourselves they are forbidden to us.
Your thinking is fully flawed. Due to your lack of knowledge.
God bless you
The word is degrading and should not be used. However, a government that has taken upon itself the responsibility of prosecuting its citizens for improper use of their right to free expression is far more degrading than an obnoxious slur. Canada needs to repeal this idiotic law, and go back to being a free society.
I have known of several instances where Jewish men became frum after their “shiksa” wives converted, and they were smart enough to want a halachic conversion.
Since the time I was old enough to understand, the word “Shiktza” was a derogatory term used to refer to a gentile. How do I know? My Mother Z”tl, was a Geress. Whenever people spoke of her, they would call her a “Shiktza”. This was from the “erlicha” Yidden in shul. I remember the fights I would have with these so called Erlicha Yidden. They would wrap themselves in their talises, andpretend to be such frum Yidden. Then when the holidays would roll around, who do you think called our house to speak to my Mother. All these frumkite yidden’s wives. They all needed recipes, and what to make for the holidays.
So yes it is a derogatory term, To this day I still find it OFFENSIVE WHEN USED.
I dont see how the term Shiksa, refers to race, national or ethnic origin, language, color, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, except perhaps for sex. Its an all encompassing term for any female who isn’t Jewish. A shiksa can be of any race, nationality, preference etc. It can be used to describe 99% of the females in the world, over 50% of the world’s population and therefore can not be discriminatory.
We can use the word “machshife” instead. it cannot be considered hateful because to many it’s even a compliment. and since it has the sound of ches in it only we can pronounce it right.
To #1
Rabbi Yechiel Yakov Weinberg ZT”L, in a letter to Prof Atlas, writes in a very emotional way, of his anguish when he observes our non-caring attitude towards the Umos Ho’Olom and towards their children, including their Oilulim Vyonkim.
He blames all the Tzorohs (Pogroms & Holocaust) as a message from HKB”H to us that we should improve our love and caring to all HKB”H’s children.
How can we be a light onto the Nations, when we don’t truly worry about their physical well-being, as one Human Being to another?
Face it – it is a slur
How appropriate this conversation is a day before kobulas hatorah.
Shigse is the yiddish word for ‘slut’. It can be used against any person, jewish or not. It has nothing to do with race. As a practicle matter it is more likely that a jew will use this term to describe a non-jew, since more non-jews tend to cross the orthodox criteria treshhold of a slut.
Shiksa in my circles is just as often a Jewish “freha” as it is a very low class non-Jewish tramp (like Britney Spears or Anna Nicole Smith). I rarely hear it used for a regular non-Jewish female. That tends to be the use more in secular circles.
There’s too much of this “politically correct” thing going on. Calling someone a “Shiksa” is just refering to their non-Jewish status. so what? I don’t find it
derogitory unless someone else has bad intentions when they use this word.
The same with “Shvartze”. I grew up in the 1970″s and we only used the
word Shvartze to identify that the person was black. simply that and nothing else.
When I was shopping at a retail store recently and was ready to pay for my items, the
cashier asked me who helped me….how was I to identify the only black female who
kindly helped me….African American? is she from africa? Was I supposed to search the whole store for her and point her out so I should’nt use the word Black?
It’s all relative. It never used to be an issue before the whole “Politically Correct”
stance came about. ( I never call my house help “Shiksa” …she is called
“housekeeper” ). A Kosher and Freilichin Shavuous!
I understand the comments of 1 and 5. We are different and, as a result, are blessed by Hashem. Still, it’s the way some people use the word Shiksa and Shvartzer and other terms that I find cruel and mean spirited. Yes, we should be vigilant for our children not to marry outside out faith. But we should also be vigilant not to teach hatred of others.
Maybe somebody should give Canadian police a phone call and remind them to at “Goy” to the hate crime dictionary list. It is by far the most common derogatory term invented to make us Jews feel more “human” and “righteous” compared to non Jews in terms of how we should feel about them and perceive them and treat them.
#13
you misquote-
not in part but completely!
read #5 again he makes a basic and clear point.
Shikza is the female version of Shekez ( sheigetz) .
A Lesson in Language:
“Shiksa” is the female version of “Sheigetz” or “Sheketz” = A detestible thing.
“Goya” is the female version of “Goy” = [Other] Nations. Simply put, non-Jews.
Have you ever eaten “Meal Mart” gefilte fish? The label reads: Glatt Kosher.
Can fish be Glatt Kosher? The answer is NO! Certain words and phrases have lost their meaning over the years and are now being used for something else. Today, “Glatt Kosher” is used to describe the “highest standards of kashrus”.
Those who don’t know any better use “shiksa” to describe their non Jewish cleaning lady (who, many years ago in Europe, was a low class person usually a Gypsy) and to describe a non-Jewish woman.
Would the Canadians be upset by the term “Shabbos Goy”? I have heard prominant elected officials fondly refer to their childhood duties as a “Shabbos Goy”. In fact even Elvis Pressley was a Shabbos goy in his youth.
Sziksa in Polish means an immodest lady.
To 37 what type of crock is that ? The tragedies that befall us are due to our averois, and hakadosh Baruch hu breachamuv punishes us in this world so we earn a share in the next, so what shyuchus it has nothing to do with the shtusim your writing about
i dont think the term shikska or svarszta is a negative …just descriptive….
After following this thread today, it would seem that there are two questions on the table.
1. Can you be a good Jew without also being a good person?
2. Does being religious carry some inherent level of prejudice? If the answer is yes, then how do we reconcile the inherent hypocrisy?
“Shemuel”, aren’t there enough Christian/Reform sites you can go to? There are relatively few Jewish news sites, and we would be thankful if you stop spamming them with your rubbish.
And hopefully the moderators start doint their job and stop posting your keffira here.