A publisher pulled its dictionary after an uproar over the definition of Jew as “miser.”
Minerva Publications said it would stop printing and circulating copies of the seventh edition of its Little English Dictionary after India’s Jewish community objected to its definition of Jew as “a Hebrew, a miser, one who charges a high rate of interest.” The dictionary was published last year.
The Indian Jewish federation wrote in a letter to Minerva, “The meaning assigned to the word ‘Jew’ in the Little English Dictionary published by you is not only false, but is malicious and grossly defamatory of Jews as a community and harmful to the reputation of Jews,” according to the Press Trust of India. “The entry showed total insensitivity to the feelings of the Jewish community and a ‘regressive attitude.'” Minerva then apologized for the “hurt, harm to the reputation and bad feelings caused by our wholly inadvertent entry against the word Jew,” the Press Trust reported.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
