Saturday, November 26, 2011

Wrong to ask if someone well-known is Jewish or not

We read:
"French anti-racism groups dropped a lawsuit Thursday against Apple Inc. over an iPhone app called “Jew or not Jew?” after it was removed from circulation worldwide.

“Where is the anti-Semitism in this case?,” Apple’s lawyer, Catherine Muyl, said during a hearing for the LICRA case on November 17, insisting that “this is not a discrimination case.” “When Johann Levy conceived his application, he was worried that it would be perceived as too ‘pro-Jewish’,” Muyl explained.

For those unfamiliar with the app, it lets users consult a database of celebrities and public figures to see if they are Jewish or not.

SOS Racisme, MRAP, the Union of Jewish Students of France and a group called J’accuse joined in a lawsuit against Apple, arguing that the app violated France‘s strict laws banning the compiling of people’s personal details without their consent.

In an interview published in September, app developer Levy said he developed the app to be “recreational … as a Jew myself I know that in our community we often ask whether a such-and-such celebrity is Jewish or not,” Levy was quoted as saying in the daily Le Parisien.

Source

5 comments:

Sig said...

I wonder what the reaction would be if there were similar apps like "Muslim or not Muslim", or "Gay or not Gay", or "Lesbian or not Lesbian", or "Black or not Black".

Anonymous said...

Jews will always claim anything they dislike or disagree with to be anti-semetic. If nothing else, it's always good for more sympathy and special treatment.

Anonymous said...

I am Jewish and never considered this anti-Semitic, I did think only someone really weird would have it as an app, but that is more a matter of taste then anything else.

Anonymous said...

Well said, Anon 2:22.

Anonymous said...

@Sig- Very likely someone would have a massive fit, the app gets yanked, and Apple gets sued.

Want to see a really fun app? I dare someone to make a "Statesman or Politician?" app. Then base the ratings on how Congressmen voted on bills that directly affected citizens basic right (we'll keep the target list short...just the Bill Of Rights let's say). Then sit back and watch the pols on both sides lose their minds...