Which words should we outlaw?

Some leaders of Israel's Knesset are proposing a new law which would outlaw the use of the word "Nazi." If you were found guilty of uttering the word, you would be subject to a lengthy prison term.

However, Edgar Keret writes in this New York Times piece that such a law would be a terrible mistake. Sometimes Nazi is the right word. Keret writes,

Many years ago, my father, who had to hide in a damp pit for roughly 600 days during World War II, told me that there were only two lessons to be learned from that war. The first was that the Jewish people, who have suffered so much, must do whatever it takes to be strong so that they never again find themselves at the mercy of others.

The second was that the Jews, who have suffered from racial discrimination and inhumane conduct, must be more careful than any other people to avoid the slightest hint of racism and persecution in their own conduct.

My father, may he rest in peace, tried to live by these sometimes contradictory values throughout his 83-year life.

More than three decades ago, he once found himself at a train station in Norway, where a group of local drunks were harassing two Chinese tourists. The drunks called the tourists “slant eyes” and “yellow dogs.” My father stood between the drunks and the Chinese and demanded that the hooligans leave. In response, he was also showered with curses and threats.

When the Norwegians called him a “kike,” he called them “Nazis.”

What my father did, according to the Knesset members who support the “Nazi” ban, was a criminal act that justifies a prison sentence. And in their Brave New Israel, it’s worth noting, the racist Norwegians would have been well within their rights.

Thanks to Conor Friedersdorf for linking to this article.