Traif!
You know how gays and blacks and Hispanics, and even Jews to a degree, have sought to reclaim the slurs with which they were once branded and humiliated?
So how about reclaiming this word: traif.
Yiddish for "non-kosher," the term has evolved to where it's a catch-all for anything forbidden or vile, and now a Reform Jewish restauranteur in Williamsburg, Jason Marcus, wants to reclaim it, embrace it, wear it proudly.
Yes, that Williamsburg, site of the Cold War between the Chasidim and Hipsters faced off on either side of Division Avenue. Now, there's a fresh outrage in the neighborhood, and it's name is traif.
The New York Post reports:
As of Monday morning, Marcus' restaurant ranked fourth in a Google search for the word "traif." That may be the biggest outrage of all.
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Moishgil
04/19/10 11:18 PM
I respect the right of any Jew to eat what he or she wants. I respect the right of any Jew to open a restaurant that serves non-kosher food. Jason Marcus, the owner of this restaurant in Williamsburg can deny it until he’s blue in the face, but his choice of names for his eat establishment is at best, arrogant, at worst its intended to “flip the bird” to his Chassidic neighbors. Do you really wonder who couldn’t love prawns Jason? Your insensitivity and sense of self importance is certainly consistent.