Dear Robin
The question as put “How have Jews justified…..?” is of itself in an anti-Semitic format. It refers to Jews as a class and therefore the question itself is not valid and any researcher tackling such a question must surely fall into the trap of trying to defend or justify a non-existent condition or malevolent myth. It is a question only asked of the Jews, and of no other minority, if it were asked of others, it would be marked as racist and invalidated. The question is of the incriminatory type such as “When did you stop beating your wife?” which includes an assumption of an “existing” unfavorable condition that may not exist, thereby attaching guilt by association. That a Jew or group of Jews may at any particular time appear to have all the trappings of white minority or majority power or privilege, this designation cannot apply to the Jews as a class or as a whole. The historical reality (from medieval England through inquisitional Spain and 20th century Europe) is that the “power and privilege” of such Jews is ethereal. The real power lies elsewhere. Your researcher would be better employed refuting the endemic anti-Semitic myths still prevalent in present day society. Yoel Sheridan Israel <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <http://www.tenterbooks.com/> www.tenterbooks.com From: Hasafran [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Robin Gluck Sent: 26 February 2016 19:02 To: [email protected] Subject: [ha-Safran] Research Question Hello, I have a student who is researching Jewish power and privilege pre 1929. He is asking the question: How have Jews justified superiority to "inferior" classes or races pre 1929? I know this is a broad question! If anyone can direct me to specific research that might narrow this topic or address this question, I would be very appreciative. Shabbat shalom, Robin Gluck -- Robin Gluck Librarian Jewish Community High School of the Bay 1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94115 www.jchsofthebay.org <http://www.jchsofthebay.org/> | <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] Empowering Individuals | Enriching Community | Embracing Pluralism --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list [email protected] https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
