Physical features In
caricatures and
cartoons,
Ashkenazi Jews are usually depicted as having large
hook-noses and dark beady eyes with drooping eyelids. Exaggerated or grotesque Jewish facial features were a staple
theme in Nazi propaganda. The
Star Wars character
Watto, introduced in
The Phantom Menace (1999), has been likened to traditional
antisemitic caricatures.
Nose The idea of the large or
aquiline "Jewish nose" remains one of the most prevalent and defining features to characterize someone as a Jew. This widespread stereotype can be traced back to the 13th century, according to art historian
Sara Lipton. While the depiction of the hooked-nose originated in the 13th century, it had an uprooting in European imagery many centuries later. The earliest record of anti-Jewish caricature is a detailed doodle depicted in the upper margin of the Exchequer Receipt Roll (English royal tax record) in 1233. It shows three demented-looking Jews inside a castle as well as a Jew in the middle of the castle with a large nose. The satirical antisemitic 1893 book
The Operated Jew revolves around a plot of cosmetic surgery as a "cure" for Jewishness.
Hair of
Fagin, a stereotypical
red-haired Jewish criminal from
Charles Dickens's novel
Oliver Twist In European culture, prior to the 20th century,
red hair was commonly identified as a distinguishing negative Jewish trait. This arose primarily from Christian prejudices inherent within European folklore, where red hair symbolised the fires of hell, as well as being commonly associated with archetypal caricatures of demons. In
Medieval European lore, "
Red Jews" were a semi-fictional group of red-haired Jews, although this tale has obscure origins. In part due to
their Middle Eastern ethnic origins, Jews tend to be portrayed as swarthy and
hairy, sometimes associated with a curly hair texture known as a "
Jewfro".
Hands During the
Nazi-era propaganda campaign against Jews, there were repeated mentions of Jews being able to be identified by their use of hands while speaking, "the Jew moves his hands when he talks". This has evolved into modern stereotypes of Jews, much like others in Europe, namely
Italians speaking with their hands.
Behavioral Communication A well-known stereotype about Jewish communication is the tendency to answer a question with a question. In large part, this stereotype arises from the emphasis on questioning in
Jewish education;
chavrusa partnerships are designed around questioning
Talmudic texts, which are structured around questioning
different Talmudic texts, which are structured around questioning the
Torah. This tradition, among others structured to encourage the value of l'dor v'dor (teaching "from generation to generation") such as the
four questions of Passover, have helped create a culture of structured debate. Jews, specifically Ashkenazi Jews, are also stereotyped as being melodramatic and over-zealously (and sometimes comedically) complaining. The Yiddish word for this behavior is to
kvetch. Michael Wex, in his book
Born to Kvetch, notes that this can be a real cultural phenomenon of
Yiddishkeit; "While answering one complaint with another is usually considered a little excessive in English, Yiddish tends to take a homeopathic approach to kvetching: like cures like and kvetch cures kvetch. The best response to a complaint is another complaint, an antiseptic counter-kvetch that makes further whining impossible for anybody but you."
Greed Baron, that boy just stole your handkerchief!" "So let 'im go; we hadda start out small, too." A German cartoon of 1851 implies ingrained dishonesty in Jews. Jews have often been stereotyped as
greedy and miserly. This originates in the
Middle Ages when the Church forbade Christians to lend money while charging interest (a practice called
usury, although the word later took on the meaning of charging excessive interest). Jews were legally restricted to occupations usually barred to Christians and thus many went into money-lending. This led to, through the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance, the association of Jews with greedy practices. 's
Shylock After the Trial, an illustration to
The Merchant of Venice, Stereotypes of Jews Publications like
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and literature such as
William Shakespeare's
The Merchant of Venice and
Charles Dickens's
Oliver Twist reinforced the stereotype of the crooked Jew. Dickens later expressed regret for his portrayal of
Fagin in the novel, and toned down references to his Jewishness. Furthermore, the character of Mr. Riah in his later novel
Our Mutual Friend is a kindly Jewish creditor, and may have been created as an apology for Fagin. Lesser references in
Arabian Nights,
The Three Musketeers, and even
Hans Brinker are examples of the prevalence of this negative perception. Some, such as
Paul Volcker, suggest that the stereotype has decreased in prevalence in the
United States. A telephone poll of 1,747 American adults conducted by the
Anti-Defamation League in 2009 found that 18% believed that "Jews have too much power in the business world", 13% that "Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want", and 12% that "Jews are not just as honest as other businesspeople". Jewish frugality, thriftiness, and greed are among the typical themes in jokes about Jews, even
by Jews themselves.
Intelligence A stereotype exists suggesting that Jews (often particularly Ashkenazi Jews, though historically sometimes Sephardi Jews) are more intelligent than other people. This idea, also called "Jewish Genius", emerged during the 19th century within the context of
scientific racism. Some 20th and 21st century publications, notably the highly controversial book
The Bell Curve, have suggested it is supported by the results of IQ research, though the idea has been thoroughly criticised by
Sander L. Gilman, who has described it as a "racial myth".
Stereotypical characters Belle juive (after 1866) by Charles Landelle, showing a stereotypical belle juive''
La belle juive (French, "the beautiful Jewess") was a 19th-century literary stereotype. A figure meeting the description is often associated with having and causing sexual lust,
temptation and sin. Her personality traits could be portrayed either positively or negatively. The typical appearance of the belle juive included long, thick, dark hair, large dark eyes, an olive skin tone, and a
languid expression. An example of this stereotype is Rebecca in
Sir Walter Scott's
Ivanhoe. Another example is Miriam in
Nathaniel Hawthorne's romance
The Marble Faun.
Jewish mother The
Jewish mother stereotype is both a common
stereotype and a
stock character that is used by Jewish as well as non-Jewish
comedians, television and film writers, actors, and authors in the United States and elsewhere. The stereotype generally involves a
nagging, loud, manipulative, highly-talkative, overprotective, smothering, and overbearing mother, who
persists in interfering in her children's lives long after they have become adults and is excellent at making her children feel
guilty for actions that may have caused her to suffer. The stereotype is described in detail in
Dan Greenburg's best-selling 1964 humor book,
How to Be a Jewish Mother: A Very Lovely Training Manual. The Jewish mother stereotype can also involve a loving and overly proud mother who is highly defensive about her children in front of others. Like Italian mother stereotypes, Jewish mother characters are often shown cooking for the family, urging loved ones to eat more, and taking great pride in their food. Feeding a loved one is characterized as an extension of the desire to mother those around her. Lisa Aronson Fontes describes the stereotype as one of "endless caretaking and boundless self-sacrifice" by a mother who demonstrates her love by "constant overfeeding and unremitting solicitude about every aspect of her children's and husband's welfare[s]". A possible origin of this stereotype is
anthropologist Margaret Mead's research into the European
shtetl, financed by the
American Jewish Committee. Although her interviews at
Columbia University, with 128 European-born Jews, disclosed a wide variety of family structures and experiences, the publications resulting from this study and the many citations in the popular media resulted in the Jewish mother stereotype: a woman intensely loving but controlling to the point of smothering and attempting to engender enormous guilt in her children via the endless suffering which she professes to have experienced on their behalf. The Jewish mother stereotype, then, has origins in the American Jewish community, with predecessors that originated in
Eastern European
ghettos. In Israel, with its diversity of
diasporic backgrounds and where most mothers are Jewish, the same stereotypical mother is known as the Polish mother (
ima polania). Comedian
Jackie Mason describes stereotypical Jewish mothers as parents who have become experts in the art of needling their children that they have honorary degrees in "Jewish Acupuncture". Rappoport observes that jokes about the stereotype have less basis in antisemitism than they have in gender stereotyping.
William Helmreich agrees, observing that the attributes of a Jewish mother—overprotection, pushiness, aggression, and guilt-inducement—could equally well be ascribed to mothers of other ethnicities, from Italians through Black people to Puerto Rican people. In the book
How to Be a Jewish Mother, the author says in the preface that it is not necessary to be either Jewish or a mother to be a Jewish mother.' One of the earliest Jewish mother figures in American popular culture was Molly Goldberg, portrayed by
Gertrude Berg, in the situation comedy
The Goldbergs on radio from 1929 to 1949 and on television from 1949 to 1955. But the stereotype as it came to be understood in the 20th century was exemplified by other literary figures. These include Rose Morgenstern from
Herman Wouk's 1955 novel
Marjorie Morningstar, Mrs Patimkin from
Goodbye, Columbus by
Philip Roth, and Sophie Ginsky Portnoy from ''
Portnoy's Complaint'' also by Roth.
Sylvia Barack Fishman's characterization of Marjorie Morningstar and Sophie Portnoy is that they are each "a forceful Jewish woman who tries to control her life and the events around her", who is "intelligent, articulate, and aggressive", who does not passively accept life but tries to shape events, friends, and families, to match their visions of an ideal world. The Jewish mother became one of two stock female Jewish characters in literature in the 20th century, the other being the
Jewish-American princess. The focus of the stereotype was different than its precursors, too. Jewish writers had previously employed a stereotype of an overbearing matron, but its focus had always been not on the woman, but the ineffectual man whom she dominated, out of necessity. The focus of the Jewish mother stereotype that arose was based on a shift in the economic circumstances of American Jews during the 20th century. American Jews were no longer struggling first-generation immigrants, living in impoverished neighborhoods. The "soldier woman" work ethos of Jewish women, and the levels of anxiety and dramatization of their lives, were seen as unduly excessive for lifestyles that had (for middle-class Jews) become far more secure and suburban by the middle of the century. Jewish literature came to focus upon the differences between Jewish women and what Jews saw as being the various idealized views of American women, the "blonde bombshell", the "sex kitten", or the sweet docile "apple-pie" blonde who always supported her man. In contrast, Jewish writers viewed the still articulate and intelligent Jewish woman as being, by comparison, pushy, unrefined, and unattractive. One example of the stereotype, as it had developed by the 1970s, was the character of
Ida Morgenstern, the mother of
Rhoda Morgenstern, who first appeared in a recurring role on
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and later appeared as a regular on its spinoff
Rhoda. According to
Alisa Lebow, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the stereotype of the Jewish mother has "gone missing" from movies. She observes that there appears to have been no conscious effort on the part of screenwriters or film-makers to rewrite or change the stereotype, in pursuance of some revisionist agenda, instead, it has simply fallen back a generation. Despite this, the concept of the Jewish mother can still be seen in popular culture even though it is declining in film. One use of the Jewish mother stereotype-trope can be seen in the popular television program
The Big Bang Theory, which premiered in 2007, and it was played by the character of
Howard Wolowitz's mother who is only heard as a voice character. Mrs. Wolowitz is loud, overbearing, and overprotective of her son. In the television show
South Park,
Sheila Broflovski, the mother of its main character
Kyle Broflovski, is Jewish and represents a caricature of the stereotypes that are associated with her ethnicity and role, such as speaking loudly, having a
New Jersey accent and being overprotective of her son. This character can also be seen from
George Costanza’s mother in
Seinfeld, and Daniela Paguro, mother of the main character of the movie
Luca.
Jewish-American princess Jewish-American princess (
JAP) is a
pejorative stereotype that portrays some
upper-middle-class Jewish women as spoiled brats, implying
entitlement and
selfishness, attributed to a pampered or wealthy background. This stereotype of American Jewish women has frequently been portrayed in contemporary US media since the mid-20th century. "JAPs" are portrayed as being used to privilege,
materialistic, and
neurotic. In 1987, the American Jewish Committee held a conference on "Current Stereotypes of Jewish Women" which argued that such jokes "represent a resurgence of sexist and anti-Semitic invective masking a
scrim of misogyny." The stereotype was partly a construct of, and popularized by, some post-war Jewish male writers, notably
Herman Wouk in his 1955 novel
Marjorie Morningstar and
Philip Roth in his 1959 novel
Goodbye, Columbus, featuring protagonists who fit the stereotype. The term "JAP" and its associated stereotype first gained attention at the beginning of the 1970s with the publication of several non-fiction articles such as Barbara Meyer's
Cosmopolitan article "Sex and the Jewish Girl" and the 1971 cover article in
New York magazine by Julie Baumgold, "The Persistence of the Jewish Princess". "JAP" jokes became prevalent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. According to Riv-Ellen Prell, the JAP stereotype's rise to prominence in the 1970s resulted from pressures that were placed on the Jewish middle class and forced it to maintain a visibly affluent lifestyle even as post-war affluence declined. The concept was the butt of jokes and as a result, it was spoofed by many, including Jews. Mel Brooks'
Spaceballs had a character named Princess Vespa (
Daphne Zuniga), who proclaimed, "I am Vespa, daughter of Roland, King of the Druids!" Captain Lonestar (
Bill Pullman) complained, "That's all we needed, a Druish princess!" Barf (
John Candy) added, "Funny, she doesn't
look Druish!" The stereotypical subject, as described in these sources, is overindulged with attention and money by her parents, resulting in the princess having unrealistic expectations as well as guilt, accompanied by her skill in the manipulation of guilt in others, resulting in deficient love life. who is "spoiled, overly-concerned with appearance, and indifferent to sex", the last being her most notable trait. Frank Zappa was accused of antisemitism for his 1979 song "Jewish Princess", which describes the narrator's lust for "a nasty little Jewish princess / With long phony nails and a hairdo that rinses". Zappa repeatedly denied antisemitic intention and refused to apologize on the basis that he did not invent the concept and further noted that women who fit the stereotype actually existed. In recent years, some Jewish women have made attempts to re-appropriate the term "JAP" and incorporate it as part of cultural identity. It has also been criticized as having a sexist basis, and for pejoratively branding young adult Jewish-American women as being spoiled and materialistic. Concerns about incidents of the JAP stereotype being pejoratively used at colleges and universities have been noted in newspapers, magazines and academic journals. The American television show
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, created by
Rachel Bloom, features a parody song that can be seen as both satirizing and embracing this trope. "JAP Battle" is featured in Season 1's "Josh and I Go to Los Angeles!". Rachel Bloom, and her character Rebecca Bunch, are both Jewish.
Jewish lawyer The concept of the "Jewish lawyer" is a stereotype of Jews, which portrays Jews and Jewish lawyers as being clever, greedy, exploitative, dishonest, and depicts them as engaging in
moral turpitude and excessive
legalism. Ted Merwin writes that in the United States the stereotype became popular in the mid-to-late 20th century when Jews started entering the legal profession. Jews entered the U.S. legal profession decades before the middle of the 20th century – by the time of the Great Depression, many Jews had already established themselves as lawyers. The
stock character of the Jewish lawyer frequently appears in popular culture. Jay Michaelson writes in
The Jewish Daily Forward that the character of
Maurice Levy, in the drama series
The Wire, is stereotypical, with a "New York
accent and the quintessential pale skin, brown hair and Ashkenazic nose of the typical
American Jew". In
Curb Your Enthusiasm,
Larry David (playing a fictionalised version of himself) fires his divorce lawyer Berg, who likewise pretends to be Jewish, and hires a Jewish lawyer instead.
Nice Jewish boy The
nice Jewish boy (NJB) is a stereotype of Jewish
masculinity that circulates within the
American Jewish community, as well as in mainstream American culture. Jewish men have been historically viewed as
effeminate, especially in contrast to the more violent masculinity of the
Roman society where Rabbinic Judaism emerged from. Jewish masculinity puts more emphasis on studying and academic pursuits than on physical strength. However, male Jews have also been labeled as feminine in an antisemitic context. It was once even a widely-held view that Jewish men menstruated. The trope stemmed from the belief that circumcision was equivalent to castration. Jewish men have often been assigned feminine physical and mental traits in order to designate them as deficient in comparison to the dominant idea of masculinity. For example, in the late 1800s, Jewish men were depicted with narrow chests, chubbiness, and hysteria, all of which were traditionally female characteristics. The idea that Jewish men were effeminate even made its way into Nazi racial theories that adopted Austrian philosopher
Otto Weininger's claim that "the Jew is more saturated in femininity than the Aryan." The qualities which are ascribed to the nice Jewish boy are derived from the
Ashkenazic ideal of אײדלקײַט (
eydlkayt, either "nobility" or "delicateness" in
Yiddish). According to
Daniel Boyarin's
Unheroic Conduct (University of California Press, 1997),
eydlkayt embraces the studiousness, gentleness and sensitivity that is said to distinguish the
Talmudic scholar and make him an attractive marriage partner. The resistance that a Jewish male may launch against this image in his quest to become a "regular guy" has found its place in
Jewish American literature.
Norman Podhoretz, the former editor of
Commentary, made the following comment about
Norman Mailer's literary and "extracurricular" activities:He spent his entire life trying to extirpate what he himself called the 'nice Jewish boy' from his soul, which is one of the reasons he has done so many outrageous things and gotten into trouble, including with the police. It's part of trying to overcome that lifelong terror of being a
sissy.For
Philip Roth's semi-autobiographical avatar Alex Portnoy, neither the nice Jewish boy nor his more aggressively masculine counterparts (the churlish Jewboy, the "all-American" ice hockey player) prove to be acceptable identities to attain. The ceaseless floundering between the two fuels ''
Portnoy's Complaint.'' == History ==