The Problem of ‘Jewish Self-Hatred’ in Herzl, Kraus and Kafka

Pathologizing dissent: Identity politics, Zionism and the self‐hating Jew

“…The examples he describes certainly seem to equate to Lewin's description of self‐hatred, although analysis of the psychological processes of those dead for centuries is of course rather difficult (Janik, 1987). Some of these writers, particularly those converts from Medieval times, were clearly attempting to escape being identified as Jews in the public domain, espoused anti‐Semitic views, and lived in societies where being Jewish was to be in danger (see Robertson, 1985, for further examples). These, however, are rather extreme examples.…”

“…Many of the later writers Gilman discusses, although criticizing other groups of Jews, were clearly not disowning their own Jewish identity. Indeed, as Gilman points out, many of the writers of the 18th to the 20th century were distinguishing between those they considered ‘good’ Jews, invariably those accultured, sophisticated German Jews, and ‘bad’ Jews from the Eastern European countries who were poorer, spoke Yiddish or heavily accented German, and who were less a part of mainstream German life (see also Gay, 1978; Robertson, 1985; Weitzmann, 1987).…”

“…Lewin, and other writers on Jewish self‐hatred (e.g. Booker, 1991; Gay, 1978; Gilman, 1986; Patai, 1977; Robertson, 1985), make much of the conflict between different Jewish groups, particularly those who had come into contact with each other as a result of immigration. Examples include the hostility of assimilated German Jews to newly‐arrived Eastern Jews at the beginning of the 20th century, and the reactions of different groups of Jews in the USA to each other as successive waves of immigration occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries from Europe.…”

“…The question of when this amounts to self‐hate is not easy to assess, however, although it may be more appropriate in cultures which had both widespread and dangerous anti‐Semitism and in which boundaries between Jews and Gentiles were dissolving, such as German culture at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century (see Le Rider, 1993, for a description of the dilemma facing Viennese Jews in the 1880s when political anti‐Semitism began to develop). Names such as Otto Weininger, Karl Kraus, and Josef Pfefferkorn are notable for the generality and harshness of their accusations against Jews and in their active disavowals of Jewish identity (examples can be seen in Gay, 1978; Gilman, 1986; Le Rider, 1993; Robertson, 1985). Their statements seem consistently dangerous and damning of all Jews and there is little evidence that they also valued aspects of being a Jew.…”

“…However, whilst the doll studies of Clark and Clark (1947), and studies which claim to show evidence of ‘Black self‐hatred’, have been subject to much criticism of their methods and conclusions (e.g. Baldwin, Brown, & Hopkins, 1991; Banks, 1976; Cross, 1991; Katz & Zalk, 1974; Nobles, 1995; Owusu‐Bempah & Howitt, 1999), Lewin's assertions have received less criticism in the social psychological literature (although see the historians Janik, 1987; Robertson, 1985). This article critically reviews Jewish self‐hatred as a psychological concept, examining in particular the criteria used to identify its presence in individuals.…”