Robert Forstag Mar 7, 2016:

@Phil The reference you present is something of a "special case" in which the term is being used in an ironic way in an Israeli publication intended for a mainly Jewish readership.


But if you look at most instances of the use of such language, you will find that the context is offensive. It really is the kind of language more typical of anti-Semitic websites than of Israeli newspapers, but I do applaud you for managing to find an exception.

*
"Judaize" would not work here either, at least in my view (in part because this term has particular connotations with regard to certain Christian rigorist movements and tendencies (mostly in the Early Church [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaizers#Continuance_of_obser...] but also more recently [see http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Judaizers]).

Robert Forstag Mar 7, 2016:

@Phil The reference you present is something of a "special case" in which the term is being used in an ironic way in an Israeli publication intended for a Jewish audience.


But if you look at most instances of the use of such language, you will find that the context is offensive. It really is the kind of language more typical of anti-Semitic websites than of Israeli newspapers, but I do applaud you for managing to find an exception.

*
"Judaize" would not work here either, at least in my view (in part because this term has particular connotations with regard to certain Christian rigorist movements and tendencies (mostly in the Early Church [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaizers#Continuance_of_obser...] but also more recently [see http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Judaizers]).

philgoddard Mar 7, 2016:

Maybe they mean "Judaize". And it's not always offensive:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ahead-of-a-very-jewy-emmys-a-sh...
It would be interesting to know the context, though.

Robert Forstag Mar 7, 2016:

"Jewify" I think that what has happened here is that a non-native English speaker has used an offensive term without intending to do so.