Offensive Google definition of ‘Jew’ replaced
On Tuesday, Google’s first online dictionary entry for the word “Jew” defined it as a verb, rendering it into an anti-Semitic form that means to bargain for a better price.
This usage of the word communicates a prejudicial stereotype that has been used to characterize individuals of the Jewish ethnicity.
The slight is also a reference to the profession of many Jews in the 19th century, who made a living through money lending, merchandizing and trading of goods – having been blocked from various other professions by the nations they belonged to.
Apologizing for the offensive entry, Google blamed the mistake on third-party license experts that are utilized by the company.
The World Jewish Congress stated that it was “deeply troubling that Google artificial intelligence fails to recognize obvious anti-Semitic hate speech in featured results for the term ‘Jew.’”
By Tuesday evening, the definition was corrected, as a noun, and defined: “a member of the people and cultural community whose traditional religion is Judaism and who trace their origins through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel to Abraham.”
The anti-Semitic representation of the word offended many individuals and organizations who registered their shock on social media.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
