LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When Daniel Grossberg saw the video of Kentucky lawmakers using an antisemitic phrase in a committee hearing this week, he was struck more by the moments that followed than the language itself.
“My lasting thought was not that the statement was made, but that the initial reaction of everyone else in the room was laughter and complicity,” said Grossberg, who is running for a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives. If elected, he would be the only Jewish member of the body. “Had I been in that committee and in that room, that statement probably would not have been said," he said.
On Tuesday, Rep. Walker Thomas, R-Hopkinsville, used the phrase “Jew them down” in a discussion about the price of a government contract. After repeating the phrase, Sen. Rick Girdler, R-Somerset, turned to Thomas and said “that ain’t the right word to use.”
Thomas later apologized. “I sincerely regret using that term and apologize to anyone harmed by my use of it. This is not who I am, nor is it what my faith leads me to be,” he said. “It is a phrase I have heard throughout my life, but this experience has provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the impact that words have and the fact that we must be smarter today than we were yesterday.”
Girdler also apologized, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. “I am deeply sorry if I offended anyone,” Girdler said. “I have no hate or malice in my heart for anyone in the Jewish community.
Jewish groups quickly condemned the remark. "While belated apologies are welcome, any elected official willfully using the 'Jew them down' phrase is contributing to the spread of a classic antisemitic trope,” said Melanie Maron Pell, with the American Jewish Committee. "Elected officials must be among the first to recognize the harm derogatory terms can cause, especially when antisemitism is on the rise in the United States.”
On its website, the American Jewish Committee explains why the phrase is offensive: “It is an insulting, antisemitic misrepresentation of Jewish behavior that plays into the trope of Jews as greedy money handlers who are unwilling to part with their earnings.”
Grossberg, an entrepreneur and longtime Democratic activist, said embracing the underlying sentiment of the "offensive stereotype" can lead people to dark places.
“It goes typically from saying we're frugal with money, to we’re cheap, to we don't care about charity, to we're insular and only care about ourselves, to world control with money,” he said. “It spirals very quickly and that's the danger of engaging with even the first step of a trope.”
Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, is currently the only Jewish member of the legislature. To join her, Grossberg will have to win a three-way Democratic primary to represent District 30, which includes parts of the Bon Air, Beuchel, Klondike and Newburg neighborhoods in Louisville. The race also includes city planner Neal Turpin and incumbent Tom Burch, who was first elected in 1972 and defeated Grossberg in the 2020 Democratic primary.
The General Assembly is overwhelming Christian, and many members list their church in their official bio. Several members are pastors.
As a Jew, Grossberg said he would bring a different perspective to Frankfort as someone who has experienced discrimination for his religion. “I've had people in Kentucky literally tell me that this is a white Christian nation, and everyone else is just visiting,” he said.
If he wins, Grossberg said he’s eager to focus his attention on the issues affecting the lives of his neighbors, including affordable housing, education, and safety. But he also believes his religious identity will allow him to better represent District 30, which he said is the most diverse in the state.
“I think it's important for the people of the 30th district to have a voice and someone who knows what it's like to be marginalized," he said.