Representations+of+Jews



=**Introduction**=

Jews have been the object of persecution for millenia. In the past century, however, this persecution turned to attempted genocide when Adolf Hitler led Germany and Austria into committing the most vile crime in history - the Holocaust. Over 6,000,000 Jews and many Slavs, Gypsies and political dissidents were sent to their deaths in the concentrations camps Auschwitz-Birchenau, Sobibor, Matthausen, Dachau and others.

We cannot, however, consider the Holocaust as a uniquely German crime; the prejudice against Jews stretches back into the history of Literature. Shakespeare's //Merchant of Venice// is interesting because it cannot simply be written off as an anti-Semitic text. For many critics, //The Merchant of Venice// condemns Christians rather than Jews.

=Representations in Film and Television=

//Seinfeld//
In this segment from the tv sitcom, //Seinfeld//, an acquaintance of Jerry's converts to Judaism and Jerry becomes embroiled in a holy war against dentists.

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//Annie Hall//
Before he was embroiled in a tawdry scandal, Woody Allen was one of the world's renowned directors. His characters were always neurotic, self-doubting atheists grappling with life, love and being Jewish. In this scene, Allen's character is discussing a perceived anti-Semitic slur he received.

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//Hannah and Her Sisters//
In this scene from the film, //Hannah and her Sisters//, Allen's character faces his parents as he decides to become a Catholic.

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//The West Wing//
//The West Wing// is a television drama about the inner workings of the White House. In this episode from the first season //("Take This Sabbath Day"),// the President's communications director is speaking with his rabbi about whether or not the President should commute the death sentence placed on a prisoner. Here, the representation of Judaism takes another angle.

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Munich
The clip below is from Steven Spielberg's film, //Munich//, about a group of Jewish Israeli operatives who hunt down and kill the Islamic terrorists responsible for the 1972 Munich Massacre where 11 Israeli athletes were murdered during the Olympic Games.

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