The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Jewish self-hatred, and the Jews is a collection of essays by playwright David Mamet, published by Nextbook/Schocken in 2006.
In a series of related essays, Mamet uses this concept of the wicked son as a symbol of the atheistic or agnostic self-hating Jew in Western society.
"[3] For example, he writes: "The everyday announcements of the so-called 'cycle of violence' in Israel are race slander, a pro-forma reminder of the availability of the Jews as an object of disgust.
He underlines the double standard of anti-Semitism: "…'reprisals'…'retaliation'…the very words are revelatory, for such actions by the United States are known as 'defense'…"[5] Mamet goes on to analyze what happens when Jews abandon loyalty to their religion and tradition in order, as he sees it, to find acceptance in a liberal society antagonistic to Israel.
"[6] In the lavish bar mitzvah, Mamet sees the sin of the golden calf: "in the absence of God, lapsed Jews worship Man, power, gold.