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A Self-hating Jew is a Jew who is antisemitic.
Etymology
[change | change source]The phrase “self-hating Jew” was created by Theodor Lessing in the 1930s.[1] He was trying to figure out why Jewish intellectuals liked to criticize Judaism.
People accused of being self-hating Jews
[change | change source]Saint Paul
[change | change source]Some people think Saint Paul was a self-hating Jew who left his people and did bad things to other Jews. Others disagree.[2]
Otto Weininger
[change | change source]In 1903, Otto Weininger, a Jew who converted to Christianity, wrote a book called Sex and Character which called Judaism “the extreme of cowardliness” and Christianity "the highest expression of the highest faith".[3] He complained that Judaism was too feminine, had bad ethics, and hurt family.[3]
Adolf Hitler used some of Weininger’s ideas for his propaganda.[4]
Use in Zionism
[change | change source]In the 1930s and 1940s (and also later than that), Zionists called Jews who opposed Zionism “self-hating Jews.”[5] Theodor Herzl used the phrase “anti-Semite of Jewish origin”.[5]
Daniel Burros
[change | change source]Daniel Burros was an American Jew who joined both the American Nazi Party (ANP) and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Both organizations are openly antisemitic, and Burros kept his Jewish identity a secret.[6] After having joined the ANP in the 1950s, he left over conflicts with George Lincoln Rockwell and joined the Ku Klux Klan.[6]
In 1965, despite receiving death threats, a journalist named McCandlish Phillips discovered that Burros was Jewish and wrote an article about it in the New York Times.[7] Burros killed himself the same day the article was published.[6]
Criticism of the Concept
[change | change source]Self-styled Anti-Zionist Jews have criticized the concept of "self-hating Jews." They argue that this term is misused to accuse people of antisemitism.[source?]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Lessing, Theodor; Appelbaum, Peter C. (2021). Jewish Self-Hate (1ed.). Berghahn Books. ISBN978-1-78920-986-0. JSTORj.ctv2tsx8z0.
- ↑ "How to Read Paul | Commonweal Magazine". www.commonwealmagazine.org. 2024-02-22. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- 1 2 Weininger, Otto (1903). "Sex and Character". depts.washington.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ↑ Janik, Allan (2001). Hitler's Favorite Jew. Simply Charly. ISBN978-1943657773.
- 1 2 Finlay, W. M. L. (June 2005). "Pathologizing dissent: identity politics, Zionism and the 'self-hating Jew'". The British Journal of Social Psychology. 44 (Pt 2): 201–222. doi:10.1348/014466604X17894. ISSN0144-6665. PMID16004646.
- 1 2 3 Auletta, Ken (1996-12-29). "THE MAN WHO DISAPPEARED". The New Yorker. ISSN0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
- ↑ McCandlish Phillips, Jr., John (October 31, 1965). "State Klan Leader Hides Secret of Jewish Origin". The New York Times.
