“Goyim”

x.com/henri_fjord/status/2050005831668875451

Grok says:

Yes, the post is true in what it presents: it accurately reproduces a real 2015 news article from The Times of Israel about a documented incident at a Satmar Hasidic school in London. The sarcastic caption (“iT jUsT mEaNs NaTiOns 🤡”) is commentary on the common defense that “goyim” is a neutral Hebrew/Yiddish term simply meaning “nations” (or non-Jews/gentiles), implying the worksheet example shows it being used in a clearly derogatory or inflammatory way in practice.

What the post shows

The attached image is a direct screenshot of a Times of Israel article titled “London Hasidic school apologizes for using term ‘goyim’” (published 2 September 2015). It reports on worksheets used at the Beis Rochel D’Satmar Girls’ School (a Satmar Hasidic school in Hackney, northeast London) for preschoolers aged 3–4.

The underlying incident (verified across multiple sources)

• A whistleblower provided worksheets to The Independent (a major UK newspaper), which broke the story on 1–2 September 2015.

• The worksheets were in Yiddish and part of a Holocaust lesson tied to a Satmar commemorative day (21 Kislev, marking the rescue of the Satmar Rebbe from Bergen-Belsen during WWII).

• Key example from the worksheet (independently translated):

• Question: “What have the evil goyim (non-Jews) done with the synagogues and cheders [Jewish primary schools]?”

• Answer: “Burned them.”

• Another question: “What did the goyim want to do with all the Jews?” Answer: “Kill them.”

The reporting framed this as preschoolers being taught that non-Jews are evil.

The school’s response and defense

• The school issued a statement apologizing for any offense: “The language we used was not in any way intended to cause offense. Now that this has been brought to our attention, we will endeavor to use more precise language in the future.”

• A spokesman (Shimon Cohen) clarified to outlets like the Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News that:

• There is no direct Yiddish word for “Nazis.”

• “Goyim” in this specific context referred only to the Nazis/perpetrators of the Holocaust in that historical lesson, not non-Jews in general.

• Claims that the school teaches “non-Jews are evil” were called “nonsense and simply false” or “mischievous.”

• They pledged to modify future worksheets.

Some Jewish media (e.g., The Jerusalem Post, VIN News) covered it similarly, while a former teacher quoted in The Independent suggested such attitudes toward non-Jews were “not uncommon” in ultra-Orthodox settings.

Linguistic and contextual nuances

• Etymology: “Goy” (singular) / “goyim” (plural) is standard Biblical/Hebrew for “nation” or “people.” It’s used neutrally in the Torah (e.g., “goy kadosh” = holy nation for Israel; other nations as “goyim”). In Yiddish-speaking Orthodox/Haredi communities, it commonly just means “non-Jew” or gentile—parallel to how “gentile” functions in English. It is not inherently a slur like the N-word in all contexts.

• But usage varies: In insular Hasidic communities (Satmar is one of the most insular and anti-assimilationist), it can carry pejorative or dehumanizing connotations when paired with “evil,” “wicked,” etc., especially in educational materials for very young children. This isn’t unique to Judaism—many tight-knit religious groups use insider/outsider language—but it stands out here because of the age of the students and the Holocaust context.

• Not representative of all Jews: Satmar Hasidim are a specific ultra-Orthodox sect. Mainstream Jewish organizations, Reform/Conservative Judaism, and even many Orthodox groups reject blanket negativity toward non-Jews. Jewish law and ethics emphasize treating gentiles with justice and kindness (e.g., the Seven Noahide Laws apply universally).

Broader implications and related considerations

• Why it resurfaces: Posts like this often appear in debates about Jewish/non-Jewish relations, antisemitism accusations, or claims of “dual loyalty”/supremacism. The 2015 story gets shared to counter the “it just means nations, stop being antisemitic” talking point. Similar reports have surfaced occasionally about other Haredi schools (e.g., later UK investigations into Hasidic boys’ education).

• Edge cases:

• Defenders argue context is everything (specific historical evil, not blanket). Critics say referring to Nazis exclusively as “evil goyim/non-Jews” without distinction risks generalizing to all outsiders, especially to toddlers.

• Religious education in private faith schools (especially insular ones) often prioritizes internal cohesion over secular sensitivity—similar tensions exist in other minority religious schools worldwide.

• Free speech/regulation angle: UK Ofsted inspects faith schools; this incident led to no closure or major sanctions, just an apology.

• No fabrication: The story was reported contemporaneously by mainstream outlets (Independent, Times of Israel, JTA, Jerusalem Post, etc.) with no credible debunking. The worksheet photos existed; the apology was on record.

In short, the event happened exactly as the screenshot describes. The sarcasm in the post highlights real tension around the term’s loaded usage in certain contexts, even if the school maintained it was narrowly about Nazis. This doesn’t prove universal attitudes across Judaism but does illustrate how language in closed religious education can clash with broader societal norms. If you have more context or a specific angle (e.g., the full worksheet or recent related events), I can dig deeper.