Single Story: White Jewish Men as Greedy

Artifacts: 

"If I were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof

Cartoon on Right (source: http://jewface.us)

Modern Family Clip
Daily Mail Article about Wigan Owner
Buzzfeed Article about Donald Trump

source: http://jewface.us

A very common single story for Jewish people, especially Jewish men, is that people sometimes believe they are greedy or obsessed with money. I never really paid attention to this single, and didn’t see that much of an effect of it growing up because I grew up in New Jersey. There is a high Jewish population there, and my father is actually Jewish. However, since coming to BYU, when my friends find out that my father is Jewish, they often make jokes about money and other things. I realized that this is because of the perception people have of Jews in the media. Media tends to illustrate Jewish people, even when it is in a joking way, as being greedy for money and having big noses.

There are several artifacts I found that portray this. One is the song “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof. Although this musical is not antisemitic in any way, it shows a Jewish person wishing he had more money. The second artifact is a cartoon picture of a Jewish man. The man is wearing a yalmulka and smoking a cigar and has a rather large nose. One of his hands is holding onto money, while the other is reaching out for more. It sends the single story because it illustrates the idea people have of Jews in the media. Even TV shows, like Modern Family, are embracing this single story. Modern Family made a joke about how Jews always "love a good value." Another artifact I found was an article fromt the “Daily Mail.” The article tells the story of how Wigan Athletic Football Club owner, Dave Whelan,  was reported to have said, “I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else. I don’t think that’s offensive at all.” This shows how he was influenced by the portrayal of Jews. Similarly, Donald Trump recently repeatedly made remarks about money while speaking to Jewish republicans, as described in a Buzzfeed article. 

It matters that these messages are being sent because it illustrates an inaccurate view of Jewish people and culture. This single story, and others, allows people to make assumptions and prejudge entire groups of people. We can see that even politicians and major business owners are buying into this single story, so the implications of this single story is quite serious. 

This single story is limiting because it facilitates people to see Jews in a stereotypical light, and not necessarily a true one. I know a lot of Jewish people, including my father, who are very hard working, and aren't obsessed with money. There are greedy people in all walks of life. Just because you are Jewish does not mean that you fit this single story. People often make jokes that encourage this single story, and although it might not be done with anti-semitic malice, it might facilitate others to have prejudice or anti-semitism. 

The social implications of the message for this group  is that this group can run into a lot of prejudice because of it. People may already have pre-conceived notions of this group because of the single story. Instead of getting to know the person, they might just believe that a Jewish person is a certain way because of the single story. We have seen many social implications of this single story in history, including hate crimes against Jewish people. 

The artifacts I chose show that entertainment and the media have definitely developed somewhat of a single story for white Jewish men. It is a limiting and often untrue single story that many Jewish people have to live with today. Many groups of people are often identified by a single story, and these can have many social implications and implications in how whole groups of people are perceived.