Inventing the Jew: Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central-East European Cultures
Inventing the Jew follows the evolution of stereotypes of Jews from the level of traditional Romanian and other Central-East European cultures (their legends, fairy tales, ballads, carols, anecdotes, superstitions, and iconographic representations) to that of “high” cultures (including literature, essays, journalism, and sociopolitical writings), showing how motifs specific to “folkloric antisemitism” migrated to “intellectual antisemitism.” This comparative perspective also highlights how...
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Inventing the Jew follows the evolution of stereotypes of Jews from the level of traditional Romanian and other Central-East European cultures (their legends, fairy tales, ballads, carols, anecdotes, superstitions, and iconographic representations) to that of “high” cultures (including literature, essays, journalism, and sociopolitical writings), showing how motifs specific to “folkloric antisemitism” migrated to “intellectual antisemitism.” This comparative perspective also highlights how the images of Jews have differed from that of other “strangers” such as Hungarians, Germans, Roma, Turks, Armenians, and Greeks. The gap between the conception of the “imaginary Jew” and the “real Jew” is a cultural distance that differs over time and place, here seen through the lens of cultural anthropology. Stereotypes of the “generic Jew” were not exclusively negative, and are described in five chapters depicting physical, occupational, moral and intellectual, mythical and magical, and religious portraits of “the Jew.” Times Literary Supplement "Inventing the Jew is a necessary book. Nobody interested in the history (past and present) of Eastern and Central European anti-Semitism, radical nationalism and ethnocentric populism should miss it."— Vladimir Tismaneanu, Times Literary Supplement
\ Journal for the Study of Antisemitism - Gunther Jikeli\ "Inventing the Jew is an outstanding contribution to the study of images of the "imaginary Jew" in Romania and an important book for those who are interested in cultural perceptions of Jews in Eastern and Central Europe."—Günther Jikeli, Journal for the Study of Antisemitism\ \ \ \ \ Times Literary Supplement"Inventing the Jew is a necessary book. Nobody interested in the history (past and present) of Eastern and Central European anti-Semitism, radical nationalism and ethnocentric populism should miss it."—Vladimir Tismaneanu, Times Literary Supplement\ — Vladimir Tismaneanu\ \ \ \ Eastern European Jewish Affairs"[Andrei Oisteanu] has produced a superb piece of research which will serve as a fundamental resource for future work on the cultural roots of ideas about Jews, not just in Romania but in the wider East European context."—Alex Drace-Francis, Eastern European Jewish Affairs\ — Alex Drace-Francis\ \ \ \ \ \ Andrei Codrescu"This scrupulously researched study is a profound revelation of 'the other' in western culture. The 'imaginary Jew,' in its specifically Romanian and central-east-European incarnation, reverberates through all of Europe's hellish myth-making, beginning in the first Christian century. The layering of stories and images has the effect of a masterful horror-film. Andrei Oisteanu's book is an unflinching look at Europe's darkest secret. It is therefore an indispensible text."\ -Andrei Codrescu, MacCurdy Distinguished Professor at Louisiana State University\ \ \ \ \ \ \ Moshe Idel"This book is erudite, richly documented and intelligently written. Though both a comprehensive and explicit analysis of so many themes concerning the images of the Jews, it is at the same time an implicit critique of an important component of Romanian culture. However, Andrei Oisteanu's book is above all a very courageous one."\ -Moshe Idel, Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought at Hebrew University in Jerusalem\ \ \ \ \ \ \ Norman Manea"A profound and illuminating anthropological study, with many cultural, historical, social-political, and religious layers about an old-new topic. The image of the stranger says a lot about the stranger's own history and psychology but perhaps even more so about his neighbor-observer. Between the fictionalized Jew and the real one rests an entire history of thousands of years. The author of this fascinating book offers a thorough, subtle, and lucid description and analysis of a certain location, but its meaning goes well beyond it."\ -Norman Manea, Professor of European Literature and writer-in-residence at Bard College\ \ \ \ \ \ \ SOCIETY"Disturbingly timely and truly enriching, Inventing the Jew is a rewarding book. Nobody interested in the history (past and present) of East and Central European anti-Semitism, radical nationalism, and ethnocentric populism should miss it."—Vladimir Tismaneanu, SOCIETY\ — Vladimir Tismaneanu\ \ \ \ \ \ American Historical Review"This monograph has much to offer to scholars and graduate students not only of East European and Jewish Studies, but also of Ethnic Studies and Cultural Anthropology."—Joanna B. Michlic, American Historical Review\ — Joanna B. Michlic\ \ \ \ \ \ Journal for the Study of Antisemitism"Inventing the Jew is an outstanding contribution to the study of images of the "imaginary Jew" in Romania and an important book for those who are interested in cultural perceptions of Jews in Eastern and Central Europe."—Günther Jikeli, Journal for the Study of Antisemitism\ — G�nther Jikeli\ \ \ \ \ \ Times Literary Supplement"Inventing the Jew is a necessary book. Nobody interested in the history (past and present) of Eastern and Central European anti-Semitism, radical nationalism and ethnocentric populism should miss it."—Vladimir Tismaneanu, Times Literary Supplement\ \ \ \ \ Holocaust and Genocide Studies"This work of cultural anthropology is unparalleled in scope and interest for a whole range of disciplines."—Peter Sherwood, Holocaust and Genocide Studies\ \ \ \ \ Eastern European Jewish Affairs"[Andrei Oisteanu] has produced a superb piece of research which will serve as a fundamental resource for future work on the cultural roots of ideas about Jews, not just in Romania but in the wider East European context."—Alex Drace-Francis, Eastern European Jewish Affairs\ \ \ \ \ Journal of Modern History"Historians eager to explain the operation of anti-Jewish politics in a particular time and place would do well to study Oisteanu's rich inventory of anti-Jewish myths and stereotypes. His account of the depth, variety, and longevity of antisemitic stereotypes is a well-taken reminder of how powerful and widely felt the image of the Jew as “Other” has been and continues to be in the region."—Paul Hanebrink, Journal of Modern History\ \ \ \ \ American Historical Review"This monograph has much to offer to scholars and graduate students not only of East European and Jewish Studies, but also of Ethnic Studies and Cultural Anthropology."—Joanna B. Michlic, American Historical Review\ \ \ \ \ Journal for the Study of Antisemitism"Inventing the Jew is an outstanding contribution to the study of images of the "imaginary Jew" in Romania and an important book for those who are interested in cultural perceptions of Jews in Eastern and Central Europe."—Günther Jikeli, Journal for the Study of Antisemitism\ \
