On February 2, 2026, Candace Owens revived an old trope by claiming that Jews refer to non-Jews as “goyim,” which she described as a “racist” term meaning “cattle meant to be herded and ruled over.” She asserted that this idea is central to Jewish religious philosophy. This claim traces back to Nazi-era propaganda that falsely alleged the Talmud depicts gentiles as cattle or subhuman. The facts demonstrate that Jewish tradition does not teach that non-Jews are subhuman or undeserving of respect and dignity, and the word “goyim” is a neutral Hebrew term meaning “nations” or “peoples,” not an insult or slur.

The Hebrew word “goyim” simply means “nations” or “peoples.” Over time, it came to be used descriptively to refer to non-Jews. It is not a pejorative term. The same root word is used to describe the Jewish people themselves. In Genesis 12:2, God tells Abraham, “I will make you into a great goy,” meaning nation.

In Isaiah 49:6, Israel is called to be “or la-goyim,” “a light unto the nations.” Rabbinic tradition understands this not as a call to dominate others, but as a mandate to serve as a moral and spiritual example, guiding through illumination, not rule or coercion. President Trump has similarly referred to America as “a light unto all nations,” emphasizing leadership by example.

The Talmud explicitly instructs Jews to sustain poor gentiles alongside poor Jews, visit sick gentiles alongside sick Jews, and bury dead gentiles alongside dead Jews, underscoring equal concern for human dignity. Rabbi Menachem Meiri, a leading 13th-century authority and Talmudist, wrote that members of other nations who are bound by ethical religious norms and monotheism, even if their beliefs differ from Judaism, “are considered as complete Jews regarding these issues and all other things without exception.”

Sefer Chassidim, a medieval ethical and legal rabbinic work, teaches that God holds oppressors accountable whether they are Jewish or gentile, and even portrays an angel of the gentiles crying out when a Jew deceives a non-Jew. The Midrashic work Tana Debei Eliyahu affirms that righteousness, not ethnicity, determines spiritual standing: righteous Jews and gentiles alike are capable of receiving Divine inspiration.

Claims that Judaism denies gentiles full humanity stem from a misrepresentation of a narrow legal discussion in the Talmud about ritual impurity from corpses. The debate analyzes the technical use of the word “adam,” meaning “man,” in a specific biblical verse dealing with ritual law, not human value. It does not assert that non-Jews are less than human.

The Mishnah, the foundational text of rabbinic Judaism, explicitly teaches that all human beings, including gentiles, are encompassed by the term “man” in Genesis 9:6, where Scripture states that humanity was created in the image of God. The Mishnah Avot states: “Beloved is man for he was created in the image of God. Especially beloved is he for it was made known to him that he had been created in the image of God, as it is said: ‘for in the image of God He made man.'”

Other Mishnaic and Talmudic authorities note that gentiles are sometimes referred to as “ha’adam,” “the man” or “human,” further affirming their full inclusion in the category of humanity. Rabbi Avraham Grodzinsky wrote: “Not only Israel, but also all other nations, since they were created in the image of God, have the potential to reach the highest levels. How wonderful are the words of the Tana Debei Eliyahu, which says: I bear witness before heaven and earth, that Jew or Gentile, man or woman, slave or maidservant, all receive holy revelation according to their actions.”

Candace Owens’s claim is not an innocent misunderstanding of Jewish texts. It is a recycled lie that has been debunked for decades, historically illiterate and indistinguishable from Nazi propaganda. Foundational Jewish sources not only refute her claims but consistently affirm respect for non-Jews, which suggests that Owens deliberately chooses division over unity and hatred over truth. Her willingness to promote discredited antisemitic tropes reveals a pattern of reckless disregard for facts in service of an agenda that demonizes Jews and distorts their religious traditions.