Page 14 - Boca ViewPointe - December '21

Page 14, Viewpointe December 2021
A Fishy Fish Name

By William A. Gralnick age-old derogatory cartoons of Jews – not invented by, but The message couldn’t be clearer. Indeed, no one is
made famous by the Nazis. born hating; you have to be taught.
Behold the lowly Some morphed into the name from the species called A solid and sure way to change attitudes is to start to
Jewfish. This denizen of Jawfish. Some have said Jewfish to have once been Dewfish change our own attitudes and then expand the attitudinal
the deep is rarely seen but or Junefish. But Jewfish stuck, following if you will the change to our own circle of colleagues, family, and
recently had its 15 minutes religious dictum that if you’re born of a Jewish mother, friends. They then do the same. A journey of a thousand
of fame and then some. you’re Jewish. miles begins with the first step. Yes, the world faces great
Now known as the Goliath Grouper, the Jewfish has been The bottom line here is the odds heavily favor the name threats, including global warming, which could make such
the subject of some pretty fishy news of late. to have been derogatory. discussions about fish academic for many of them.
But first, a note about the fish itself. Goliath fits well. The response has been “whatever.” Some said, “So But Dr. Nelson asked, “Can’t we do both?” Rabbi
The Goliath Grouper can top out at over 300 pounds. While what?” Some said, “Who cares?” Some said, “Who knew Hillel answered centuries before the question was asked.
ugly, like many with an ugly puss it only seeks love. It is a and why know now?” The world at and above sea level is He said, “If I am only for myself, what am I?” “If not
favorite of divers because it moves slowly, very, and is more going to pot. How important is this? I posed that question now, when?” (It’s very Jewish to answer a question with
than happy to let a visitor closely investigate its enormity. to the good professor out there in the cold and decidedly a question.)
Found in the warm waters off the coast of southern Florida non-Jewish climes of Alberta. Here is his right-hearted and Dr. Nelson, you’re one of the “good guys” and my
and the Caribbean, it has been a protected species because heartfelt response. final answer then to your question is decidedly “yes.”
its reproductive patterns are about as slow as its motion. “Yes. I’ve heard the arguments that we should be worrying
There is a move to lift some of the protective regulations, about migrant workers or getting on with basic research. Columnist and author Bill Gralnick was born and
but for the moment, we’re interested in its historical name: Quite frankly I do not understand these arguments that we raised in Brooklyn, NY. He is writing a three-part
the where, why, and what of it and its historical symbolism. cannot and should not do both. Does it mean that if I feel humorous memoir. The first is “The War of the Itchy Balls
The issue has become news fodder because the American helpless to address the biggest problem of prejudice that I and Other Tales from Brooklyn.” Just published is the
Fisheries Society and the American Society of Ichthyologists should do nothing? Does not showing sensitivity to problems sequel, “George Washing Didn’t Sleep Here.” Both are
and Herpetologists (AFS) decided a name change was in that I can effectively deal with and do something about send available on Amazon. You can find his writing at https://
order. The devil as they say is in the details; a little research a message to those showing hateful prejudice?” www.williamgralnickauthor.com. 
shows this to be a lot more devilish an issue than it first
seemed. Serving Palm Beach and Broward County ª
I daresay those familiar with the Jewfish (or even that
there was such a thing) were few and far between before its YOUR BOCA POinte neiGHBOR AnD ReALtOR
fame came a-knockin’. For those still shut out of that corner
of Davey Jones’ locker, this is a quite interesting tale. Providing you with exceptional service and possessing unrivaled expertise
Being Jewish I thought for sure I could easily find of the Boca Raton and Delray Beach markets.
someone who knew why this fish was deemed a Semite Blessed Holidays toAll experience does matter... Realtor since 1981.
– and if it was likewise anti-Semitism which birthed its
ignoble name. CALL FOR COnSULtAtiOn.
I was wrong. This monster of the reefs had in fact been Prudence J. (PJ) Carswell
swimming for centuries below the Jewish community’s radar. Licensed Real Estate Advisor • Licensed CAM
I turned then to Dr. Joe Nelson, chair of the Department
of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta in Edmonton, two office locations to
Canada. Dr. Nelson chairs the society that names fish. He serve you in Boca Raton
had the rest of the story. & Delray Beach
The Jewfish got its name from Jamaican natives in the Direct: 954-242-4260
17th century, he said. The first story was quite benign. A PJCarswellRealtyHomeAdvisors@gmail.com
world traveler named Dampier in 1697 said the fish was
favored by Jamaica’s Jews for its kosher qualities.
This theory held sway until someone woke up some
300 years later and realized Dampier wouldn’t have had The newest offering from your weekly columnist
a clue what kosher was, much less what laws governed it. and neighbor, hiding in plain sight in Montego Bay
Basically, if any fish has scales and swims instead of bottom
feeds, it’s kosher.
In 1774 along came Edward Long, and no fan of Jews was
he. He held in low regard this tiny minority on the King’s
property. The Jews ate the fish salted. This was different
enough from the norm that Long decided it called for a
separate name – Jewfish (or fish eaten like the Jews eat fish).
And then it got worse.
Dr. Nelson shared with me that there are some 40 species
which have carried the name Jewfish. He offered that this
was perhaps because each and in some way looked like the

On behalf of The Club at Boca Pointe we would like to
remind our residents that NO walking, running, bicycle
riding or dog walking is permitted on the golf course or
golf cart paths. For safety reasons, the paths
are for golf carts only.

Thank you for cooperating with The
Club's policy. 

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