Living next to the Jew

When I was describing the location of our flat to one of my ex-students, he said, “Oh! You live next to the Jew!” “The Jew?” “Yes, the Jew... Right next to you.”

Puzzled silence. “You know, the Jew. Where the animals are.”

“Ah! Right,” I said, finally clueing in.

But I’m still taken aback each time someone says it.