Sauk County Supervisor Virgil Hartje of La Valle at first refused to apologize for using the word “Jew” as a verb at a county board meeting this past March.
But on May 16, Hartje did release a letter saying, “At the urging and requests of friends and colleagues I respect, I apologize to anyone offended by a term I used at the March 15th meeting of the Sauk County Board, which is still causing a distraction in May,” according to a report in the May 17 Baraboo News Republic.
Jill Hagler, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Madison, had expressed disappointment in Hartje’s initial refusal, according to a May 7 article in the News Republic. She also expressed disappointment in the county board’s executive and legislative committee decisions not to reprimand Hartje.
Hartje, who manages a lumberyard and a construction company, had defended his use of the word, saying it was in the dictionary to mean bargain down and was “more a business word.”
Michael Blumenfeld, executive director of the Wisconsin Jewish Conference, told the News Republic that he rejected Hartje’s explanation.
“There’s lots of word in the dictionary that I wouldn’t want my kids using, and I don’t think people in elected office should be using either,” Blumenfeld was quoted saying on May 7.
Loading ...