Self-hating Jew
[1][2] Recognition of the concept gained widespread currency after German-Jewish philosopher Theodor Lessing published his 1930 book Der jüdische Selbsthaß (lit.
'Jewish Self-Hatred'), which sought to explain a perceived inclination among secular Jewish intellectuals towards inciting antisemitism by denouncing Judaism.
More recently, this spotlight on antisemitism motivated by self-hatred within the Jewish diaspora is said to have become "something of a key term of opprobrium in and beyond Cold War-era debates about Zionism" in light of how some Jews may despise their entire identity due to their perception of the Arab–Israeli conflict.
[3] According to Ronald Hendel, the Israelites, who were progenitors of the Jews, frequently repudiated their Canaanite heritage by describing their ancestral traditions as "foreign" and "dangerous".
[8] According to Amos Elon, during 19th-century German-Jewish assimilation, conflicting pressures on sensitive and privileged or gifted young Jews produced "a reaction later known as 'Jewish self-hatred.'
[2] The underlying concept gained common currency in this context, "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.
"[3] Herzl appears to have introduced the phrase "anti-Semite of Jewish origin" in his 1896 book, Der Judenstaat (The Jews' State), which launched political Zionism.
[2] "Assimilationists and anti-Zionists accused Zionists of being self-haters, for promoting the idea of the strong Jew using rhetoric close to that of the Anti-Semites; Zionists accused their opponents of being self-haters, for promoting the image of the Jew that would perpetuate his inferior position in the modern world.
"[4] Even Commentary, the Jewish journal which had once been "considered the venue of self-hating Jews with questionable commitments to the Zionist project",[22] came under the editorship of Norman Podhoretz to staunchly support Israel.
"[4] The New York Times reported that the essay spotlighted the issue of when "legitimate criticism of Israel ends and antisemitic statements begin.
"[3] Modern social psychology literature uses terms such as "self-stigmatization", "internalized oppression", and "false consciousness" to describe this type of phenomenon.
"[25] Kenneth Levin, a Harvard psychiatrist, says that Jewish self-hatred has two causes: Stockholm syndrome, where "population segments under chronic siege commonly embrace the indictments of their besiegers however bigoted and outrageous", as well as "the psychodynamics of abused children, who almost invariably blame themselves for their predicament, ascribe it to their being bad, and nurture fantasies that by becoming good they can mollify their abusers and end their torment.
It is used "to criticize a performer or artist who portrays Jews negatively; as a shorthand 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.
"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.
[3][29] Some who use the term have equated it with "anti-Semitism",[30][8] 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.
"[31] One novelist, Philip Roth, who — because of the nature of the Jewish characters in his novels, such as the 1969 Portnoy's Complaint[22] — 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 antisemitism.
[3] The Israeli-born British Jazz saxophonist, writer and Hebrew speaking anti-Semite of Jewish descent Gilad Atzmon openly used the term to describe himself in a 2010 interview for the Cyprus Mail.
In that interview, Atzmon calls himself a "proud self-hating Jew" and also described fellow Jewish anti-Semite, the Austrian Otto Weininger as one as well.
[32] Atzmon has taken several positions on history and politics associated with anti-Semitism including but not limited to, endorsing on his blog the conspiracy theory that "the Jewish people" are trying to take over the world[33][34][35] (though he later amended the original blog post[36] to replace "the Jewish people" with "Zionists"[37][38]), blaming the entire Jewish people for killing Jesus (including those not even born at the time),[39][40] accusing Gideon Falter (the chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism) of faking anti-Semitic incidents for profit (Falter then sued Atzmon for libel which Atzmon lost and was left with expensive legal costs[41]) and promoting the conspiracy theory of Holocaust denial, even publicly advising people to read Holocaust denying books by David Irving.
[42] The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)'s official blog Hatewatch written by David Neiwert noted that Atzmon was "a self-described 'self-hating ex-Jew' whose writings and pronouncements are rich in conspiracy theories, Holocaust trivialization and distortion, and open support of anti-Israeli terrorist groups.
[45] Richard Forer, writing for The Huffington Post, rejects the legitimacy of the term as it is commonly used, calling them so divisive that they make tolerance and cooperation impossible, eradicating the possibility for genuine understanding.
Forer writes: "The notion that any Jew who is dedicated to justice for all people harbors self-hatred defies common sense.
Given the self-esteem it takes to stand for justice amidst fierce denunciation, a more accurate assessment is that these are self-loving Jews.
"[30] Jon Stewart, former host of The Daily Show, was repeatedly called a "self-hating Jew" by people whom he described as "fascistic".
"[48] In 2014, Noam Chomsky said that Zionists divided critics of Israeli policy into two groups: antisemitic non-Jews and neurotic self-hating Jews.
