Kentucky legislators apologize after using anti-Semitic phrase during committee meeting
Editor’s Note: This story contains direct references to anti-Semitic language.
Two legislators in the state’s Capital Projects and Bond Oversight Committee have apologized after using anti-Semitic language when commenting on a state lease agreement on Tuesday.
Rep. Walker Thomas, R-Hopkinsville, and committee chairman Sen. Rick Girdler, R-Somerset, both used the phrase “Jew them down” in reference to bargaining for a lower price on a lease.
Thomas made the first use of the phrase following a brief presentation from Scott Aubrey, Director of the Division of Real Properties. Aubrey informed the committee of the Department of Corrections’ $1 lease from a company in Mayfield – needed due to the devastating Dec. 10 storms – and another $1 lease there from the same company for the Cabinet of Health and Family Services.
Girdler then asks if there are any questions on the matter. Thomas is heard faintly on a hot mic laughing after asking if the state could “jew them down on the price.”
The committee chairman then repeats Thomas’ words, shortly thereafter recognizing their impropriety.
“We’ve got a representative up here (asking) if you could Jew them down a little bit on the price,” Girdler said, pausing briefly. “That ain’t the right word to use. ‘Drop them down,’ I guess.”
Thomas said he has heard the phrase “throughout” his life and offered an apology to anyone harmed by his use of it.
“I sincerely regret using that term and apologize to anyone harmed by my use of it. This is not who I am, nor is it what my faith leads me to be,” Thomas said. “It is a phrase I have heard throughout my life, but this experience has provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the impact that words have and the fact that we must be smarter today than we were yesterday.“
Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, executive director of Chabad of the Bluegrass and chairman of the Kentucky Jewish Council, called the phrase a “dangerous relic of a hateful bygone era” that has no place in Kentucky.
“The phrase ‘Jew them down’ Is an extremely offensive one, with a long and bloody history of use against the Jewish community,” Litvin said.
Litvin added that he knows and respects Girdler and was “extremely surprised” to hear the senator use that phrase.
Girdler, in his apology, said that he has “no hate or malice” in his heart for anyone in the Jewish community.
“I am deeply sorry if I offended anyone,” Girdler said. “I have no hate or malice in my heart for anyone in the Jewish community.”
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) lists the phrase in its “Translate Hate Glossary.”
“Rooted in the false stereotype that Jews are cheap or stingy, the phrase ‘jew down’ may seem to be a harmless expression that’s used in everyday vernacular. However, it is an insulting, antisemitic misrepresentation of Jewish behavior that plays into the trope of Jews as greedy money handlers who are unwilling to part with their earnings,” the entry reads.
More reaction
News of the remarks made during the committee meeting sparked reaction from Jewish leaders and Democrats in Kentucky.
Melanie Maron Pell, AJC Chief Field Operations Officer who is based in Louisville, said that “belated apologies” are welcome but that elected officials who use the phrase are contributing to the spread of a harmful trope.
“Certainly, there are plentiful words and phrases in the English language to use in making a point in the state legislature without succumbing to traditional, derogatory references to Jews,” Maron Pell said. “Elected officials must be among the first to recognize the harm derogatory terms can cause, especially when antisemitism is on the rise in the United States.”
Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge indicated that the phrase spoken by two Republican legislators was emblematic of the party’s values.
“This is more offensive, divisive and hateful language from Republican legislators that have no place in our society and absolutely no place coming from elected leaders in our state Capitol,” Elridge wrote. “... Unfortunately, no one is surprised or shocked because, at every turn, the Republican supermajority has shown us who they are by prioritizing division, hate and discrimination over priorities and legislation that build a better Kentucky and bring our people together.”
The Jewish Democratic Council of America said there was “no excuse” for using the phrase.
“Words matter. When two Republican elected officials use a vile anti-Jewish slur during a committee hearing, it emboldens antisemites and makes Jews less safe,” the organization said on Twitter.
Corey Shapiro, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, also spoke out against the use of the phrase on Twitter. He pointed out that Thomas’ use of the phrase comes when he is co-sponsor to a bill that Shapiro says would “limit” students’ ability to learn about anti-Semitism.
“In 2022, Antisemitism is real. And yet at least one of the legislators who used the antisemitic phrase, Rep. Thomas, is co-sponsoring HB 18, that would limit KY students’ ability to learn about the history and existence of antisemitism, racism, and hate in our country,” Shapiro wrote. “Shameful.”
Pam Dossett, the only Democrat running for Thomas’ 8th District seat in Christian and Trigg counties, also chimed in.
“My opponent, Rep. Walker Thomas, has revealed his true character: using a racial slur when he thinks no one is listening,” Dossett wrote in a Tweet asking for support in her campaign.
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 12:22 PM.
