: antisemitic stereotypes that focus on physical features or
characteristics
WHY IT’S ANTISEMITIC:
Large curved noses. Curly or red hair. Horns. Dark eyes
with drooping lids. Even though Jesus and all twelve of
his disciples were Jewish, it is red-haired Judas who is
purported to espouse Jewish values of greed and betrayal
(see Judas, greed). From religious woodcuts to inflammatory
publications in the medieval ages, Jewish features like curly
or red hair and hooked noses were grotesquely drawn, fueling
conspiracies that Jews are easily identifiable and subhuman.
The 2020 Aalst Carnival theme:
“UNESCO: Controlled by the Jews?”
The degradation of Jews through fictional facial stereotypes
has been a staple theme in antisemitic propaganda used to
portray Jews as subhuman or disfigured. Stereotypical Jewish
features are still used today — from Internet memes to cartoons
in top-tier news outlets (see smirking merchant) — and they perpetuate the antisemitic
notion that base motives are revealed in ugly features. In fact, the term Jewface refers to negative or inaccurate portrayals of Jewish people and has been a feature of anti-Jewish propaganda for centuries. In
the 2020 Aalst Carnival theme, “UNESCO: Controlled by the
Jews?,” Jews are drawn as distorted, red-nosed, and with gold
teeth, furthering the stereotype that Jews are malformed and
associated with money.
Anti-Zionists also use the common feature of Jews as “white” to
attack Israel as a “white, colonial, settler” power, which ignores
and disavows the identity of millions of Sephardic and Mizrahi
Jews of color living in America, Israel, and around the world (see settler colonialist).
typecast
While typecasting in and of itself is not antisemitic, stereotypical images of Jews can misrepresent the full spectrum and diversity of Jewish identities and Jewish life, perpetuating–even if inadvertently–antisemitic stereotypes.
A 2019 episode of “Nurses” relied on alarmingly inaccurate and offensive portrayals of Orthodox Jewish community members and was subsequently taken off the air.
The American entertainment industry, for example, typically portrays Jews as white-presenting, Ashkenazi (of Central or Eastern European descent), financially successful, and assimilated. Yet one in eight American Jews identifies as a person of color and the majority of Israeli Jews are Mizrahim, Jews from the Middle East and North Africa. Jews also span the socioeconomic spectrum, including many Jews who live in poverty. The Jewish community is incredibly diverse. Yet, the way Jews are portrayed in movies, television, literature, and more often flattens Jewish identities and contributes to stereotypical characterizations of Jews.
Antisemitic figures at a 2019 carnival in Aalst, Belgium.
In addition, some in the entertainment industry, not only in the United States, but around the world, including theater and street performances, have also engaged in something called Jewface. Jewface, a term that dates from the late 19th century, plays off the term “blackface,” which is when non-Blacks use theatrical makeup to impersonate Blacks, often in a demeaning and caricature-like manner. Jewface occurs when non-Jewish actors play Jewish roles employing exaggerated and inauthentic stereotypical Jewish physical features and mannerisms. It is important to distinguish Jewface from an accurate portrayal of a character. While it is offensive for a non-Jewish actor to wear a prosthetic nose just because a character is Jewish, it is not offensive for actors to be given makeup and prosthetics to make them appear more like the characters they are playing. For example, actor Bradley Cooper’s make-up and portrayal of Leonard Bernstein in the 2023 film Maestro was not problematic.
