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Self-hating Jew (or self-loathing Jew) is an pejorative epithet used to describe Jews accused of having hate feelings for their Jewish identity.

Origin

According to John P. Jackson Jr., the term arose in the late nineteenth century in German Jewish discourse as "a response of German Jews to popular anti-Semitism that primarily was directed at Eastern European Jews." According to Sander Gilman, the concept of Jewish self-hatred developed to counter suggestions that an alleged Jewish stereotype of mental illness was due to inbreeding. "Within the logic of the concept, those who accuse others of being self-hating Jews may themselves be self-hating Jews." The concept developed around the same time as political Zionism (led by Theodor Herzl), and the two were often linked "since Zionism was an important part of the vigorous debates that were occurring amongst Jews at the time about anti-Semitism, assimilation and Jewish identity." Herzl used the phrase "anti-Semite of Jewish origin" for assimilated Jews who might wish to remain in their home countries while at the same time encouraging the Jewish proletariat to emigrate.

In English the first major discussion of the topic was in the 1940s by Kurt Lewin (who had emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1933), who though focussed on Jews also argued for a similar phenomenon among Polish, Italian and Greek immigrants to the USA. Lewin's was a theoretical account, declaring that the issue "is well known among Jews themselves" and supporting his argument with anecdotes.

The issue has periodically been covered in the academic social psychology literature on social identity. Such studies "frequently cite Lewin as evidence that people may attempt to distance themselves from membership in devalued groups because they accept, to some degree, the negative evaluations of their group held by the majority and because these social identities are an obstacle to the pursuit of social status." Modern social psychology literature uses terms such as "self-stigmatization", "internalized oppression", and "false consciousness" to describe this type of phenomenon.

Usage

it is argued by some academics that the concept of Jewish self-hatred is based on an essentialisation of Jewish identity. Accounts of Jewish self-hatred often suggest that criticizing other Jews, and integrating with Gentile society, reveals hatred of one’s own Jewish origins. Yet both in the early twentieth century, where the concept developed, and today, there are groups of Jews who had "important differences in identity based on class, culture, religious outlook, and education", and hostility between these groups can only be considered self-hate "if one assumes that a superordinate Jewish identity should take precedence over other groupings of Jews." Yet such hostility between groups has at times drawn on some of the rhetoric of antisemitism: "criticism of subgroups of Jews which drew on anti-Semitic rhetoric were common in 19th and 20th century arguments over Jewish identity". In practice, according to one academic, whilst there have been Jewish writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who consistently employed virulent anti-semitic rhetoric without seeming to value any aspects of being a Jew, too often "those who accuse others of being self-haters search for examples of when they have criticized Jews or Judaism but ignore examples of when those they criticize have shown they value being a Jew."

The term is in use in Jewish publications such as The Jewish Week (New York) and The Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem) in a number of contexts. It is used "to criticize a performer or artist who portrays Jews negatively; as a short-hand description of supposed psychological conflict in fictional characters; in articles about the erosion of tradition (e.g. marrying out and circumcision); and to discount Jews who criticize Israeli policies or particular Jewish practices." However the widest usage of the term is currently in relation to debates over Israel. "In these debates the accusation is used by right-wing Zionists to assert that Zionism and/or support for Israel is a core element of Jewish identity. Jewish criticism of Israeli policy is therefore considered a turning away from Jewish identity itself."

Thus some of those who have been accused of being a "self-hating Jew" have characterized the term as a replacement for "a charge of anti-Semitism will not stick," or as "pathologizing" them. Some who use the term have equated it with "anti-Semitism" on the part of those thus addressed, or with "so called ‘enlightened’ Jews who refuse to associate themselves with people who practice a ‘backward’ religion." One novelist, Philip Roth, who - because of the nature of the Jewish characters in his novels - has often been accused of being a "self-hating Jew", argues that all novels deal with human dilemmas and weaknesses (which are present in all communities), and that to self-censor by only writing about positive Jewish characters would represent a submission to anti-semitism.

Similar terms

"Self-loathing Jew" is used synonymously with "self-hating Jew". "Self-hating Jew" has also been compared to the term "Uncle Tom" as used in the African-American community. The term "auto-antisemitism" (Template:Lang-he) is also used in Hebrew synonymously.

See also

• The Operated Jew (1893 book)
• The Believer (2001 film)

References

1. Jackson, John P, Jr (2001). Social Scientists for Social Justice: Making the Case Against Segregation. NYU Press. pp. 121–122. ISBN 0814742661, 9780814742662. Retrieved 2009-02-14. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
2. Gilman 1986, as described by Finlay (2005:208). Gilman, S. (1986). Jewish self-hatred: Anti-Semitism and the hidden language of the Jews. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Finlay was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. Gibson, Martin (2009-01-23). "No choice but to speak out - Israeli musician 'a proud self-hating Jew'". The Gisborne Herald. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
5. Marqusee, Mike (4 Mar 2008). "The first time I was called a self-hating Jew". extract from If I Am Not for Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew. The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-01-17. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
6. "Limbaugh agrees 'Soros is a self-hating Jew,' claims 'there is so much anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party'". Media Matters. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
7. Brackman, Rabbi Levi ("09.01.06"). "Confronting the self hating Jew". Israel Jewish Scene. ynetnews. Retrieved 2009-01-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. Eugene Kane, "A phrase whose time has come and gone", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 10, 2002.
9. Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman, BLACKS & JEWS: Facilitator Guide, 1998.
10. Hendelsaltz, Michael. "Letting the animals live". Haaretz. Retrieved 2008-08-17. Template:He icon
11. Dahan, Alon (2006-12-07). "The history of self-hatred". nfc. Retrieved 2008-08-17. Template:He icon
12. Dahan, Alon (2006-12-13). "Holocaust denial in Israel". nfc. Retrieved 2008-08-17. Template:He icon

Further reading

• Henry Bean, The Believer: Confronting Jewish Self-Hatred, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002. ISBN 1-56025-372-X.
• David Biale, "The Stars & Stripes of David", The Nation, May 4, 1998.
• John Murray Cuddihy, Ordeal of Civility: Freud, Marx, Levi-Strauss, and the Jewish Struggle With Modernity, Beacon Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8070-3609-9.
• Sander L. Gilman, Jewish Self-Hatred: Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8018-4063-5.
• Theodor Lessing, “Jewish Self-Hatred”, Nativ (Hebrew: translated from German), 17 (96), 1930/2004, pp. 49–54 (Das Judische Selbsthaas, 1930).
• Kurt Lewin, "Self-Hatred Among Jews", Contemporary Jewish Record, June 1941. Reprinted in Kurt Lewin, Resolving Social Conflicts: Selected Papers on Group Dynamics, Harper & Row, 1948.
• David Mamet, The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-hatred, and the Jews, Schocken Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8052-4207-4.
• Raphael Patai, The Jewish Mind, Wayne State University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8143-2651-X. Chapter 17, "Jewish Self-Hate".

External links

• Rabbi Levi Brackman, "Confronting the self hating Jew", Ynetnews, September 1, 2006.
• Rabbi Michael Lerner, "Israel's Jewish Critics Aren't 'Self-Hating'", Los Angeles Times, April 28, 2002. Reprinted at Common Dreams NewsCenter.
• Daniel Levitas, "Hate and Hypocrisy: What is behind the rare-but-recurring phenomenon of Jewish anti-Semites?", Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Report, Winter 2002.
• Jacqueline Rose, "The myth of self-hatred, The Guardian, February 8, 2007.
• Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, "Love, Hate, and Jewish Identity", First Things, November 1997.
• Menachem Wecker, "In Defense of ‘Self-Hating’ Jews: Conversations with the Targets of Masada2000’s S.H.I.T. List", Jewish Currents, May 2007.
• Template:Fr Martine Gilson, Le petit soldat de la pieuvre noire, Nouvel observateur, 2003-10-09
• Template:Fr Les « traîtres juifs » d'Alexandre Adler, 2003-11-01

• Antisemitism
• Jewish culture
• Jewish society
• Jews and Judaism-related controversies
• Pejorative terms for people