Schvartze (from ; cf. German: ; OED) is a racial slur for black people in the Yiddish language.[1] [2]
Schvartze is derived from the Yiddish word schvarts, which means "black".[3] The term was rare prior to the 20th century. An article for the Washington Jewish Week refers to it as "the S-word".[4]
The term schvartze has been described as "the Jewish N-word" or "the Yiddish N-word".[5] [6] [7]
Among white South African Jews, the term has a history of being used to describe Black South Africans, as well as Indian South Africans and Coloured South Africans.[8]
Black Jewish writer Michael W. Twitty noted in 2017 a handful of public instances in which the term was used. He notes that he had never heard the term used in earlier stages of his life and spoke against a return of the word's use, comparing it to the term "kushi".[9] Black Orthodox Jewish rabbi Shais Rishon rejected the notion that the term is not meant to be offensive and racist, writing that
In 1991, the stand-up comedian Jackie Mason was criticized by African-American organizations including the NAACP, when he called New York City mayor David Dinkins "a fancy shvartze with a moustache";[10] Mason later apologized.[11] In 2009, Mason referred to Barack Obama as a shvartze during one of his stand-up routines, which prompted members of the audience to walk out.[12]
In 2021, the Republican Jewish Coalition and other Jewish groups in North Carolina urged Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to apologize for antisemitic comments, including a Facebook post that said the film Black Panther was created by an "agnostic Jew" and a "satanic Marxist" in order to extract "shekels out of your Schvartze pockets." Robinson refused to apologize.[13] [14]