The Whys And Wherefores Of Spurs Fans' Use Of The Y-Word

Events in Israel and Gaza have put the spotlight on how a section of Tottenham supporters identify themselves

Standing at Seven Sisters overground station on the way to White Hart Lane last month, two men behind me were talking. One was telling the other about his Rabbi. It brought a smile.

Tottenham Hotspur have long been associated with the Jewish community and I was happy to hear a manifestation of that. The identity has played a big part in the culture of the club and is part of what makes Spurs so distinct.

But that distinctiveness comes with a flip side. Their fans chant “Yid army,” and “Yiddos,” something that makes many people uncomfortable. That discomfort is likely to be magnified tonight when Tottenham face Fulham in their first home game since Hamas’s murderous incursion into Israel.

The Israeli backlash against Gaza has spawned a political counter-reaction. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place across the country, particularly in London. Anti-Israeli protests often come with an unhealthy side order of antisemitism. Jews worldwide are once again feeling unsafe. I wonder whether the men behind me will so casually discuss Rabbis tonight.

There will be a bigger focus on White Hart Lane than usual. The reaction of the crowd will be under scrutiny. Elements of the support want Spurs to take a militant pro-Israel stance. After the club condemned “the horrific and brutal acts of violence against innocent civilians,” the Jewish chair of the Tribute Trust, the fundraising charity for former players, resigned, accusing Tottenham of a “chronic lack of moral clarity” because the Spurs statement referred to Gaza as well as Israel. One figure who knows the club intimately described the resignation letter as “highly inflammatory,” adding, “I fear for Monday night at our place.” Chants of “Yid army” may be seen to take on a different significance in the circumstances.

There has been a long running campaign to stop Spurs supporters using the Y-word. A decade ago, the FA warned that anyone chanting it could face criminal charges. David Baddiel has been vocal in his disgust for its use. The Chelsea-supporting comedian asked The Times, a newspaper to which he contributed, to asterisk the word and fired off an angry email when a subeditor forgot that the style was ‘Y*d.’

A significant amount of Jewish supporters of Tottenham are troubled by the chants – especially as Jews are estimated to make up a mere five per cent of the overall support. A survey by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust last year found that 52 per cent of those respondents who identified as Jewish disagreed with attempts by the club to stop the use of Yid.

An American Spurs supporter – a self-admitted newbie – defended the chants in the Jewish Journal earlier this year, knocking down suggestions that the Y-word has been reclaimed in a similar manner to the way the N-word is used by elements of the Black community.   

“’Yid’ is the Yiddish word for ‘Jew,’” wrote John Mirisch. “Unlike the ‘N-word,’ with which it has been sometimes incorrectly compared, the word ‘Yid’ has been used for centuries by Jews to describe themselves. This has never been a matter of taking an inherently pejorative slur (like ‘kike’) and trying to flip it, as some suggest Black people have done with the N-word.”

One thing is clear. Opposing fans have aimed vile antisemitic abuse at Tottenham supporters for decades. Ossie’s Dream, the 1981 FA Cup Final song, was quickly adapted to “Spurs are on their way to Auschwitz" (in Liverpool, for some reason, it was “Belsen”). That’s not the only chant that references the Holocaust. Also, in the 1980s it was not unusual for entire stadiums to make hissing sounds when Tottenham were the visitors in an attempt to evoke the gas chambers. It still goes on.

The Jewish presence grew in N17 around the turn of the 20^th century. Eastern Europeans escaping pogroms found a safe haven in east and northeast London. Working-class Jewish men became matchgoers and it added to their sense of being part of the wider community. When Germany played England at White Hart Lane in 1935, local activists opposed the fixture. One of the organisers told a newspaper: “The Jews have been the best supporters of the Tottenham club ever since its formation, and we shall adopt every means in our power to stop the match.” They didn’t succeed but a fan managed to scale the roof of the west stand and drag the swastika off the flagpole. The Nazi flag did not last long over the Lane. There is a noble Jewish tradition in N17. 

Most students of the club agree that the word Yid was in use to describe Spurs fans in the 1960s. Alf Garnett, the bigoted West Ham fan in Til Death Us Do Part, used the term to describe them. In the 1970s it became commonplace to refer to Tottenham supporters this way – ironically at a time when the ethnic makeup of the fanbase was widening. Spurs’ away mob was the first travelling support I saw at Anfield that included Black faces. Tottenham were different and they revelled in that difference by taking the perceived insult and turning it around. “We are the Yids,” they began chanting.

So, clearly, from Spurs mouths – predominantly gentile mouths, at that – Yid is not used as a racist or pejorative term. Even so, it’s easy to see why people are uncomfortable with its use. The conflict in the Holy Land has thrown up numerous questions.

One non-Jewish Spurs fan who spoke on condition of anonymity, admitted he felt part of the Yid Army and a kinship with Jews but was conflicted by the injustices against Palestinians. His problem, he said, was with Israeli policy. “I stand with Jews but not Israel,” he said. He is, like anyone with any sense, appalled by Hamas’s actions.

The positive side of the Tottenham identity is there is probably less antisemitism among their fans anywhere else in the English game. It has become a component in a distinct and individual football subculture, something that is unusual at a time of increasing homogenisation in the game.

The negatives? It can be a trigger for Jews who see the word as objectionable. Some say it provokes hate from opposing fans, although the counterargument is that this is victim blaming. Both sides have a point.

But let’s be clear. If there is an upsurge in antisemitism in football or elsewhere, it won’t be the fault of Spurs fans, whether they chant the Y-word or not. The existential fears Jews are enduring have their roots a long way away from N17. Tottenham fans are as conflicted as anyone by events in the Middle East.