The word Jewess

Your response to the letter in ESRAmagazine 199 about the above word is unexpected.  Google the word and you’ll find that it is old-fashioned, insulting, unacceptable. It is a word that is both anti-women and racist. 

Anti-women? Since World War II the addition of ‘ess’ to words such as manager, editor, poet, author, director, has been dropped as far as English is concerned. Even women stars of stage and screen are now actors. (I don’t know what happens with royal families. Princess? Duchess? Baroness?)

Racist? Have you heard the one about three grannies rocking on the porch of their retirement home, one Christianess, one Muslimess, and one Jewess? Of course not.

Isn’t it interesting that we have lioness, tigress, leopardess, Negress, Jewess? So Colored and Jewish women have been classified along with animals. No one else. 

By the way, you write that 'Jewess' has been popularized by “wake” Jews. I thought they’d be '‘woke’. 

R.M. Kiel
Tel Aviv